So hey! If you have been following along on Instagram (@its_the_fair), you know I’ve been having a blast-and-a-half fairing despite my intermittent recaps here. My spirit is soaring and I’m not totally on fumes like I typically am by Day 6 of My Beloved Fair. Sleep – and the wisdom to get some – is a game changer!
We are taking today off. Laundry is clickety-clacking, Rob is working on another paper, the cat is relieved to have laps to lounge on, I am wearing white.
I bopped over to the Fairgrounds
early this afternoon after a dentist appointment (thankful for dental floss removing all evidence of my recent diet). A dear Fair Friend met me outside the
Green Gate so we could talk Fairs, catch up on life, and exchange some goodies
(see Fair Food Feast Collage below).
I loved sitting on an iconic yellow wooden Fair bench in the
shade and breeze of the RV Shuttle stop, swapping behind-the-scenes Fair chatter
with a friend, watching Fair life meander around me. Although it seemed all
sorts of wrong to not go into the Fair, I really enjoyed hanging out in the Shuttle
stop.
I spent brief moments with a gaggle of 4-H kids heading "home" to get snacks, got to chat
with an 8-year-old and his parents about the totally spiffy belt buckle he had
just won for Showmanship of his steer, and I tried not to eavesdrop on a mid-Fair
melt down by a 4-H leader whose phone-a-friend listened patiently to the
frustrations of absolutely nothing going right today. Although there’s no crying in baseball, many
tears are shed in fairing. Tears of frustration, gratitude, sadness, exhaustion…I’ve
seen, heard, and shed them all. A lot of life happens at the Fair.
The past two days have felt wonderfully, joyfully, quintessentially Fair. I am in my groove, my tummy is settling down, we’re pacing ourselves with frequent Fair-watching respites on favorite benches in the shade or air conditioning. We have had great catching-up chats with friends and neighbors who are friends. We’ve gotten hugs and big smiles from Youth Group kids of years gone-by. We’ve camped out in the Grandstands and inhaled so much dirt and car exhaust. It has been my heaven on earth.
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| I'm pretty sure heaven will look something like this -- with llamas, a Slurpee machine, and an all-you-can-eat pasta bar in the back |
We finally wandered around the Big Air Conditioned Building. I was a little nervous that I’d find a whole lot of gaps. And yes, there weren’t as many quilts or canned goodies or photos or artwork or flowers. And there were maybe half as many cookware-politicians-and-ring-cleaner folks as usual. But there were still quilts and cookware and politicians. And that made me very happy. Even the politicians, since I pretended I didn’t hear them trying to get my attention.
I still had several finalists to choose from for my favorite quilt and painting and piece of Kid Art. I was still amused by the number of green tomato entries since ripe red ones are hard to come by in early August here in the temperate Pacific Northwest. Thank you, local gardeners and creative people, for creating and growing and entering. You are a critical part of my Fair and I so appreciate your efforts.
Having Faired recently in California, I noticed -- for the first time -- how many roses and hydrangeas and dahlias are entered in my Fair. And how the primary subjects of photography are nature – waves and sunsets and flowers and animals. And how Legos seem to be the medium of choice for young art expression. How cool to learn more about home by going somewhere else!
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| Love the stained glass! Runner Up was a machine-quilted blue and yellow flower ensemble |
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| My 2022 winner for Best Kid Art! Mr. Cluck just makes me smile Artist is between 6 and 11 years old |
We also spent time in the animal bars, me particularly excited that the pigs finally arrived. I was super excited to watch some pig-tapping-training and was sad that the pigs were apparently not supposed to come over and sniff my shoe. We chatted with llama folks, listened to cows mooing, and I inadvertently hogged a guinea pig who was SOOOO soft!
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| I had no idea a line had formed behind me. Oops. |
We also spent some quality time in the Grandstands. With the concerts done, the dirt moved in. Two nights ago was the rodeo and last night was the Demolition Derby. Both were surprisingly better than typical years, and I don’t think that’s just because it’s been a while. No, the bucking broncos were pro-quality having just finished a tour of a fancypants competition in Wyoming. They bucked higher and with more enthusiasm than anything I’ve seen in our arena.
The Demotion Derby was also a smashing success. A new competition was added for little kids in toy cars, the object to pop balloons attached to other cars. Very few balloons actually popped. Much more entertaining was watching the kids get out of their cars, wander around retrieving balloons that had fallen off, waving at parents every time they motored by. All while the derby was underway. It was adorable!
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| Note mom returning kid to her car. This was during the derby. |
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| High importance: retrieve all balloons Note: derby underway just outside camera range, behind Mom |
At first glance, I was convinced the derby for grown-ups was going to be a huge disappointment because the arena was waaaaay smaller than I had seen it before. And then they brought in 16 cars. I couldn’t imagine there was enough room for any momentum or movement. Boy was I wrong!
The smaller arena actually provided a higher concentration of obstacles – bumpers, tires, headlights – to navigate. And there were actually more crashes than typical, what with so many options and limited space. And drivers surprisingly got some speed by going in circles around the arena instead of doing straight shots towards a competitor. I was impressed! Plus there was smoke, one fire, and a VW Bug -- yes, a BUG -- won. I never expected to see a Bug in a derby, let alone declared the winner. Epic!
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| The Aftermath |
More than the entertainment in the dirt, though, what made my heart so profoundly happy was simply being there. Sitting in Our Spot (the Grandstands version of Our Pew at church), meeting up with friends, seeing my favorite sunset view for the first time since 2018 (in 2019 we were fairing in the Midwest by the time the dirt events started). More than a few times, I just sat and tried to soak it all in. The noise, the smell, the friendship, the familiarity, the contentment, the joy.
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| South side, top of lower level Usually not crowded and provides a backrest and a nice breeze. Hallelujah and amen. |
I also had a completely uncharacteristic (for me) blast with
a 7-year-old named Riley. She’s the niece of one of our Youth Group alumna.
Riley sat next to me for the Demolition Derby, an event she had never seen or heard
of before. Since I don’t have kids and
don’t spend a lot of time around them, I really don’t know how to talk to them.
So I talk to them sort of as if they are newer-to-the-world adults. Riley seemed amused by this. She either
thought I was super fun or super weird. Honestly,
I consider either one a compliment.
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| Me eating and explaining the finer points of Demolition Derby |
As an added bonus, it turns out Riley isn’t quite old enough
to understand sarcasm, so I totally fell in love with her when she took my
suggestion seriously to use my White Cheddar popcorn as earplugs
when she feared the crashing cars would be too loud.
Who knew grade-school kids were so fun!? Totally a new life-lesson this Fair!
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| After declaring the popcorn ineffective as earplugs, Riley asked what she should do with them. She laughed pretty hard when I suggested she eat them. We then discussed ear-flavored popcorn. |
As for food, I feel like my appetite has sort of kicked in. We found the BEST elephant ear in years, and we finally felt properly conditioned to go all in for deep fried cookie dough. Trust me, experience has taught me I need to work my GI tract up to such extravagances.
To get us up-to-date, here are the past two day’s Fair Food
Feast Collages, plus today’s day-off consumption.
Tuesday’s Fair Food Feast Collage:
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Top Row:
Wednesday’s Fair Food Feast Collage:
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2. Lemon hummus with carrots and pita bread. Loving the hummus from this new stand near the hot tubs! This one had a tiny bit of a curry flavor and the lemon wasn't strong. Good! The Cilantro Jalapeno is still my favorite.
3. Still working on my White Cheddar popcorn. Not pictured -- a few more Nerds.
4. Chicken gyro from the Greek Cuisina stand. I really liked their tzatziki sauce! The pita was a little too chewy. Overall I liked it, but I kept longingly eyeing other people's salty fries and pretzels.
5. Deep Fried Cookie Dough. First in years! Worth the wait! From Sweet Cheeks!
6. Red Rope! I planned to only have half. I finished it.
7. Daily Smasher! Strawberry Mango.
8. Returned to the Hawaiian Shave Ice truck near the Parrot Pirate show. Tried Cherry and Banana. Much better this time! There was enough syrup, the flavors were distinct, and the ice was a nice texture (more smooth than crunchy). Glad I gave them a second chance -- now a fan!
Friends Who Feed Me Collage:
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