Granted it wasn’t until the evening in time for the Demolition Derby, but I will take it. It was sooo wonderful to sit in the Grandstands and pound my feet on the metal floor with several thousand of my dearest Fair Fans. Such glorious, Fair-filled music to my ears!
I loved exiting the Grandstands after the derby and being deposited into crowds of Fairgoers that I had to dodge as we were walking around. I haven’t been dodging anything except sleep and indigestion all week.
What a wonderful night.
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| PEOPLE! |
If only the finale had been all the models out on stage clapping for Grandma Carol
When we were eyeing the sewing display yesterday, I noticed an exhibit I had never seen before. It was a small stage about three feet tall with a track in it. Above it was a sign that said “Doll Fashion Show.”
Sitting on the stage was a sign indicating the schedule for four shows held during the Fair. I immediately informed Rob we would be attending the one today at 1:00pm.
Milkshake in hand, we arrived 10 minutes early in order to get front row seats. I anticipated much to photograph.
By the time the audience had reached its apex, we had about ten people joining us including two reluctant husbands, three kids, and one extremely enthusiastic older lady who was supposed to be working the canning exhibit across the way. She would occasionally trot over in her apron to get a closer look or shout a word or two of approval from behind the green beans.
When it was finally show time, a middle-aged woman with long hair that had just gotten stuck in a fan (nasty knot) took the microphone and explained the excitement that awaited us.
A lady named Grandma Carol had made all of the outfits we were about to see. Many were from patterns but some were her own creations. The stage was built by her husband, who sat off to the side with love and support of his wife’s hobby. He was also at the ready to jump into action should his track malfunction and start flinging fashionably dressed dolls into the audience. (Spoiler alert: all dolls behaved appropriately. Boo.)
The red velvet curtain opened. I was immediately mesmerized by a jauntily dressed doll standing on a wooden platform that made a loop on the stage along a motorized track. She was introduced as an American Girl doll with a name, an ethnicity, and a bio.
Fortunately, thanks to some much younger cousins, I have some vague awareness of the American Girl doll phenomenon. Years ago, I was introduced to one such doll with much formality. I started to laugh at the cuteness of my cousin’s make-believe, not yet understanding the intensity of the American Girl culture.
When I noticed neither my aunt nor my grandma were laughing with me and instead were actually giving me the stink eye for disrespecting the newest member of our family, I quickly understood American Girl dolls with their outfits and accessories and stores and cafés are a VERY BIG DEAL. Why? I had no idea. Just looked like you basic everyday generically-faced doll to me. But I astutely realized I needed to keep my smirks to myself and was probably not going to be invited to any tea parties any time soon.
Back to the fashion show.
It featured about 25 American Girl dolls, all introduced with backgrounds about their families, their hobbies, their causes. We learned one doll is very concerned about water pollution and the destruction of the coral reefs. Another had a stutter (unconfirmed since she silently waved to the audience) and was trying to raise awareness about various disabilities. Some dolls were very good students, others struggled with spending too much time on their sports and ignoring their studies.
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| Our eco-advocate. I have a video of her, too, but with my molasses DSL connection, imagine Kailey smoothly gliding across the stage with an ever-so-slight whirring noise. |
The girls and mothers around me murmured excitedly when a doll they knew appeared on stage. With their scripted personalities and histories, the dolls seemed oddly real to the kids. Even some of the moms were buying in.
Apparently “Game On” isn’t the only exhibit with virtual reality at the Fair?
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| I snapped this photo because I have that same mixer! I presume she's a better cook. |
Rob and I watched the entire show. We were both impressed by the stage catwalk mechanism. If we hadn’t been rushing to the afternoon Demolition Derby show, I fully expect we would have lingered to chat with Mr. Grandma Carol to learn more about how he created the stage.
We also both agreed that as hokey as the fashion show was, it was also adorable and silly and perfectly Fair.
Oh, and this was the finale:
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| We learned that when an American Boy doll is needed, the customary solution is to cut the hair of an American Girl doll. Because short hair is for boys dontcha know. |
Women drivers
Demolition Derby is always my favorite day of the Fair. I just adore watching grown-ups play bumper cars with real cars with real metal and real radiators that might blow.
The afternoon show was much more lively than typical. Usually the drivers hold back a little since they still want to be around to participate in the evening show. But today we got to see something we had never seen in any demolition derby round before: a car flipped over in the ring. Sometimes they flip over when they get pushed up against the dirt barrier, but it takes just the right conditions to get a car to flip like this in the mud. It was awesome!
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| The driver was not hurt. In fact, he scurried out through the back window pretty easily. |
Tonight’s show was historic (for us) as well. For the first time ever, we saw a female driver win the derby. Wow!! Women demo drivers aren’t unusual; there is typically at least one in every derby and her presence is always made known by the announcer.
From the derbies we’ve watched, though, the women are usually among the first few cars to stall out. They typically end up watching the bulk of the derby from their suddenly inoperable vehicles. Whether it’s inexperience or timidness or something else, it seems women derby drivers are often not quite aggressive enough to take home the big money and bragging rights.
But tonight, a woman was the last man standing. She and her pink helmet chased around an orange Passat until she pushed it up on a berm and clinched the win. By the time she emerged from her smushed silver Toyota, the crowd (including us) was on its feet cheering louder than I have heard in a long time.
FAIR! FAIR!! FAIR!!!
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| YOU GO, GIRL! |
STATS
Number of miles walked: 3.0 miles or 7,171 steps. It felt like at least half a mile more.
Re-entry stamp animal: The most perfectly stamped happy little squirrel. No square edges, no uneven lines, absolutely perfect. I was going to take a picture of it but by the time we got home, all the deep fat frying oil seeping out of my pores caused the ink to bleed. Now I have a blurry squirrel that looks about the same whether I have my glasses on or not.
Number of friends we saw: 9. Clearly most of our friends come early during Fair week and only come once. I love them anyway.
Number of times we saw Dave: 1
Number of times we saw Linda: 0. I'm guessing she was working on the jigsaw puzzle.
Best freebie I’ve acquired so far (aside from pieces of John’s wife’s banana bread): These stylin’ purple plastic sunglasses from Metro PCS. I got them for simply answering 5 questions about my cellular telephone needs. OK, maybe they weren’t completely free but aren’t they snazzy?
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| I'm going to guess these don't have UV protection. But they are purple! |
FAIR FOOD FEAST PARADE
It was a very good food day, although I’m getting a bit miffed at the Church Ladies.
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| We tried a new place today! The Chuck Wagon just inside the Green Gate. This corn dog was the same as what is offered at the Lion's Booth but this one was cooked better - slightly more crispy on the outside. Rob liked his burger, too. We will eat here again! |
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| Marionberry milkshake! Mmmm! For those unfamiliar with marionberries, they were developed in the 1950s in Marion County near Portland. They taste like a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry. Sort of a tart blackberry. And delicious as a milkshake. In other news, check out the ridiculously short line for the milkshake barn. This Fair has been soooo weirdly under-attended! |
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| My afternoon Smasher. Strawberry Mango. This is not on the menu but it should be. |
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| Still eating my white cheddar popcorn. In real life, the closest I get to this is white cheddar rice cakes. This is clearly so very much better. |
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| A delicious Lime-Cinnamon Hawaiian Shave Ice made by the owner himself. He makes the best ones. And boy do I like the Cinnamon! Apparently what I don't like is photobombers. |
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| This was a very tasty piece of rhubarb pie from the Church Ladies Pie Booth. Unfortunately what I ordered was a piece of strawberry rhubarb. Ladies, this is the second time in a row you have given me the wrong food. I only get to eat like this once a year so I make my choices carefully. I haven't decided yet if I am going to boycott you or triple check my order before I dive in. Either way, thanks for the two forks. They made for more efficient consumption of the wrong piece of pie. |
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| My evening Smasher. NW Berry Pineapple. This is not on the menu but it should be. |
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| So deeply happy with my yakisoba noodles from Patrick's Hawaiian Cafe. I was thinking about them all day. As I type this at 2:00am, my tummy is grumbling and make its point that I really should have given it one more treat before we headed home tonight. But what I was craving was a chocolate chip cookie and I couldn't think of where I might find one at the Fair. Boo. |
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