This Just In – Another year, another State Fair accomplished.
This year’s NC State Fair spanned across the typical stretch of uber-fantastic weather – classic sunny, cool days that make walking five or six miles for recreation seem not only possible but mandatory. Thank you, Chamber of Commerce.
I went to the fair with my grandkids, which gives me a big advantage on the enjoyment side. For an almost-four and just-turned-six-year-old, this outing is awash with new experiences, games to win, animals to pet and rides to make you scream your head off.
Among my favorite deadpan quotes came from the almost four-year-old. From some distance we saw the “drop tower” ride. We stopped to watch as the platform inched up and up, then stopped. We explained while we watched that the platform would suddenly drop … that this is the fun part.
The platform dropped … from our point of view, it dropped out of sight. My grandson said flatly, “All those people are dead now.” We explained that they weren’t. He took our word for it and we rolled along. I probably laughed off and on for about a half hour from that.
There was drama. When that same almost-four-year-old got on the monster truck ride (appropriately controlled for very young kids) there were tears when he found himself in the front seat without a pretend steering wheel. As compensation for the negative experience, he got his face painted and transformed into a tiger. Fantastic.
This got me thinking that a face painting booth in the House of Representatives might do very well for drying tears and getting a Speaker elected, but I digress.
Of course, we HAD to go see the 2,000 pound squash and the baby pigs and hatching eggs. What is more special for a chicken than being born at the State Fair?
We went to the fair last Wednesday afternoon – the middle of the week, in the middle of the day. This might mean we wouldn’t have to brave any big crowds and would have an easier time finding parking. We did okay on the parking (better than usual, I’d say) but WOW … there were plenty of people at the fair.
We waited in line, sure, but not too much. The kids were well behaved (as they almost always are) and stayed close to us. No one got separated or scared. That’s a win for a big scale event like that.
On the midway games, we came home with toys and stuffed things and the all-important contingent of GOLDFISH – four of them (and all still alive!). What memories this brought back of the first year with the boys’ daddy at the fair. So much of the fair is exactly the same. It’s a comfort.
The state fair is the closest I get to that many chickens and geese and pigs all in one place. I appreciate the smells of the fair and the taste of all that food that we know we shouldn’t eat. But hey – it’s the fair. It’s only once a year – like candy on Halloween. I’m so grateful for all the people I’ve never met who put on this event every year and I look forward to discovering it all over again next year.
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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