Fair on A Stick
FAIR ON A STICK
or You Aren’t in Puyallup Anymore
Where can you find cotton candy on a stick, pork chops on a stick, pizza on a stick, deep fried shrimp on a stick, corn on a stick, beef on a stick, fried twinkies on a stick, corn dogs on a stick, and deep fried candy on a stick?
Where can’t you find scones, strawberry shortcake, elephant ears, hamburgers (with or without onions) roasted corn, bbq sandwiches or dinners, did I mention no scones.
Where do you find Texas Long horned cattle, a few llamas, a kool-aid colored calico sheep and a camel?
Where can’t you find horses, dairy cows, chickens, pigs or goats, did I mention scones?
Where can you find personal amphibious vehicles in camouflage, tractors, cowboy hats and cowboy boots?
Where can’t you find 4H exhibits, crafts, agricultural displays and pavilions filled with hawkers trying to convince you to buy their latest and greatest products, did I mention scones?
The Nebraska State Fair!
We had set a goal of attending at least one state fair in the land where the once a year coming together of a community to celebrate their year of production and harvest must have begun and then traveled across the country as people settled further west. Nebraska’s State Fair was the closest to us as we drove thru, if we slowed down for 1 day we could attend the fair. So slow down we did.
The State Fair Park appeared to be in a parking lot area squeezed between the University of Nebraska and Salt Creek. The entrance gate was a blow-up arch denoting that the Nebraska State Fair was brought to us by US Cellular. We were now on the Good to Party Street, the main street of the fair. We walked into their one animal barn and was greeted by a pastel calico sheep colored with-yellow, pink, blue and green kool-aid from head to tail. He was the only sheep not covered in head to tail canvas with only their eyes peeking out (he probably should have been the only one covered!). Check the website, we will post a picture. Next stop was food, we had been saving most of our calories for the day to spend at the fair, but where were the food booths. This is Nebraska where were the roasted corn, boiled corn, corn on the cob, corn in a dish, corn bread, corn anything….we saw a small sign telling us fresh corn on a stick, we followed the sign to a very small little trailer where they were selling boiled corn on a stick. It turned out to be the ONLY corn at the Nebraska State Fair, the home of the Cornhuskers. We had to have one, it was delicious corn. Next stop was the exhibit pavilion, there wasn’t one. A small building had a few hunting and fishing displays and a display of literature on the newest cattle that are bred for a genetic mutation that increases muscle size.
There was a free concert in an open air auditorium, we are always drawn to local musical productions and the price was right---free. The concert was at 7pm by 6pm the area was over half full, they must love their local talent. We made a quick call to my sister, Kitty , had she ever heard of Mark Chestnut—oh Mark Chestnut, a big country recording star. She said definitely country, good guitar player, you can understand the words and very good looking—well with all that going for him we took our seats and waited for the show to begin. Well, he was definitely country and the audience loved him. Cowboy hats and extra large plastic beer glasses raised high and swaying to the music. You know you can learn a lot from music and we learned about beer, bars, fishing, ammo and the W awards (Mark Chestnut was one of the first to receive a W award from President Bush because of financial and vocal support). He captivated us with his ballad "Bubba Shot the Jutebox cuz it played a sad song and it made him cry".
The thunder and lightening started, the rain soon followed, it was time to leave the Nebraska State Fair. Did I mention no scones?