tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post4451181365289749147..comments2024-03-28T12:00:47.858-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: On State Fairs and County FairsJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-58069822989578147972009-09-28T16:15:56.679-04:002009-09-28T16:15:56.679-04:00I love the Washington County Fair, in RI, where my...I love the Washington County Fair, in RI, where my grape jelly won a white ribbon and my healthy iced oatmeal raisin cookies won a blue ribbon!CeliacGirlRIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09984715271411792335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-36290788331005978722009-09-26T11:37:38.192-04:002009-09-26T11:37:38.192-04:00I so rarely eat fried food of any kind (tempura ma...I so rarely eat fried food of any kind (tempura maybe once a year?), but if I go to the Fair -- okay, I have to try the weird fried stuff. Even fried Dr. Pepper, which we have here ...and I don't even drink soft drinks!Susannah Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04660387525544941776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-22149372832448427222009-09-25T19:56:13.976-04:002009-09-25T19:56:13.976-04:00Aren't we lucky to live in a country where you...Aren't we lucky to live in a country where you can get deep fried anything...Oreos...pickles..Rosemary Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08033747422699443024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-87949289673221191502009-09-25T18:26:26.271-04:002009-09-25T18:26:26.271-04:00My best Fair memory is from Minnesota in 2000, wal...My best Fair memory is from Minnesota in 2000, walking the exhibits, arcades, and amusement park with a group of adult friends. My inclination is to eat and eat and ride everything possible -- the faster and more upside down the better -- and no one in the group would go with me, except one NPR Bureau Chief, who bless him, ate staggering quantities of deep-fried everything, topped the lot with cotton candy, and didn't puke when we rode the Tilt-a-Whirl a third time.<br /><br />Now that's Moxie! Cajones! Pioneer Spirit! Now that's a great inner ear.<br /><br />Made me proud to be American.Susannah Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04660387525544941776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-53878597702362074882009-09-25T12:02:30.657-04:002009-09-25T12:02:30.657-04:00I refuse to believe that there's something Han...I refuse to believe that there's something Hank is not brilliant at.<br />(I know...revolting sentence...but you know what I mean.)<br /><br />The pie cone sounds fantastic. I'm thinking blueberry crumble.Rosemary Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08033747422699443024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-35047551708460279762009-09-25T10:19:00.585-04:002009-09-25T10:19:00.585-04:00Oh, the Indiana State Fair! When I was growing up ...Oh, the Indiana State Fair! When I was growing up we went every year--and it was so wonderful..the smell of "fried dough" with powdered sugar on it, and big pots of fresh corn, and popcorn and cotton candy. And corn dogs, too, of course. (I've never had one of those..I think they look disgusting.) Anyway..it all smelled fantastic. <br /><br />There were rides, too, I remember. And oh, those obviously-rigged carney games where you had to knock over a stuffed cat-looking thng with a baseball. ANd it was impossible.<br /><br /><br />And lots of pavilions with cows and pigs. 4-H members, all proud, with blue ribbons on their stalls. And a horse show. It was very cool to be in the horse show. You could strut around in jodphurs and a little black hard hat. <br /><br />And--a baton twirling contest, which I think was held on the same dirt track where they had some kind of car races. Which, being relentlessly competitive, even at age 11, I entered. I had such dreams of being a majorettte, sigh.<br />I stunk. But I loved it.Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-88615509816101798332009-09-25T09:45:25.154-04:002009-09-25T09:45:25.154-04:00In Maine, the Common Ground Fair, sponsored by the...In Maine, the Common Ground Fair, sponsored by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, starts today and runs through Sunday. <br /><br />It is a uniquely Maine experience.<br /><br />The fairground is in beautiful Waldo County, in the town of Unity. All of the food is local and organic. Lamb kabobs, lobster rolls, fresh apple cider and a local delicacy known as the pie cone, which is a cylinder of whole wheat pie crust into which they pipe the filling of your choice.<br /><br />There are loads of craftspeople selling handmade soap, leather goods, handknit socks and hats, pottery. <br /><br />There are demonstration tents (canning techniques, composting for city dwellers, raised bed garden dos and don'ts, how to fillet a whole fish) and kids showing off their goats and chickens. <br /><br />And there's a table for every (progressive) political cause you can imagine. <br /><br />No midway, no cotton candy, yet it is one of the most well-attended fairs in the state. <br /><br />Plenty of old hippies, but all kinds of other people too.<br /><br />Brenda B.Brenda Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14161539130987122737noreply@blogger.com