Rob and I were wrapping up our third and final day at my beloved Clark County Fair. We then skipped over to Chicago and spent 10 spectacularly fun and delicious days exploring the Wisconsin, Iowa, and Indiana State Fairs. It was a trip that had been dreamed about for years…and the ridiculous fun exceeded my imagination. SUCH A BLAST!
The Fair Fun was going to keep rolling this year. The Orange County Fair in Southern California was first on the calendar for July. Then the full 10-day run at my most favorite Clark County Fair in August. Then off to the Minnesota State Fair in early September and then Texas a few weeks after that. It was going to be a mind-blowing Fair Run to rival last year’s epic adventures!
And then…things went all wonky the way they do during global pandemics.
Cancelled. Cancelled. Cancelled. Cancelled.
I admit, I spent about a month being a teensy bit pouty and mopey. Fair Season is my most favorite season of the year…and it, along with so much else, was hijacked by a stupid microbe.
But then a 30-something friend was joking online with her fun-times friend group. They emojied and GIFed great amusement that they should all buy remote controlled cars and have a mini Demolition Derby of their own in honor of the Fair That Wouldn’t Be.
Not only was that a brilliant idea (stay tuned! THANK YOU, Shannon!), it was the spark that got me out of my No Fair! funk. Creative…and admittedly silly…ideas started bouncing around my deep-fried-starved brain about ways to capture some of the spirit of The Fair while quarantined.
Coincidentally, about that same time, the Fine Fair Folks asked me if I would be willing to “provide some content” for their planned 2-day Best Of The Fair celebration coming up in a few days. They graciously gave me no other direction, inviting me write whatever made my Fair-loving heart sing.
Before I knew it, I had 2,346 words of ideas about how to Fair At Home – including feasting (see below for a peek). I got excited! I started making lists! Emails were sent! Orders were placed! Ideas were floated! Co-conspirators were enlisted! Plans were made!
FAIR SEASON WOULD NOT BE HIJACKED!
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| A HUGE thank you to my teen friend, Molly who drew "a cow wearing a face mask" for me without any idea why. You ROCK, Molly! |
So yes, Fair Fans, I WILL BE FAIRING THIS YEAR!
Not at the Fairgrounds, not in the grandstands, not in the Big Air Conditioned Building, not in the Llama Greenway.
Instead, I will be at Woodhaven or on a neighbor’s driveway or in my car or at a six-foot distance from anyone whose clothes are not in my washing machine at the moment.
I will be doing my best to approximate some of my favorite parts of The Fair, while adding in new silly fun because there are no rules here! And suggestions are welcome!
This year is not going to be anything like what I expected my 2020 Fair Season to look like. But I have high hopes that the next 12 days will be goofy, friend-filled, communal, delicious, and bloggable. I am excited to have you join me!
FAIR! FAIR! FAIR! FAIR!
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| The centerpiece to my Fair Feasting At Home: a mini deep-fat fryer! Now taking requests for foods/candy you want me to deep fry and eat for your virtual enjoyment! |
1 comment:
So Toni, I see you're asking for suggestions about what to deep fry and eat. I'm tempted to ask you to go full "state fair" and try a deep fried stick of butter or deep fried Oreos but that would be too cruel and too tasteless, respectively. How 'bout a good ol' fashioned corn dog? The fact that I'm a Cornhusker and have a field of corn within spitting distance of where I'm writing this from is totally unrelated to my request.
When you tire of eating deep fried items, why don't you ask for suggestions of foods to eat on a stick. I know the Iowa State Fair if famous for their pork chops on a stick, for instance.
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