Fair!

I spent an entire day at the Mississippi Valley Fair last week. I didn’t buy a Fun card this year, though I highly recommend it as a great value. I knew I wasn’t going to be going every night, so I planned on just one day and to fit as much as I could into that day.

Funny though it may seem now, it turns out the day I chose for my fair day was also senior day. The good news? Unlike McDonald’s, the MVF doesn’t consider anyone under 60 to be a senior. McDonald’s informed me recently I qualify for senior discounts. Go figure…

That means of course, the bad news is that I had to pay full price for my ticket. I’ll be rockin’ that discount in 10 years though!

Senior day includes the antique tractor parade. I had just left the exhibit hall and found myself smack dab in the middle of a parade. So, with nothing better to do, I took out my camera and took a few tractor photos.

This year’s diving show was all about penguins.  People dressed in penguin suits diving into a 9 foot pool was sort of cool… but I bet they were roasting in those suits when they weren’t in the water.  And they really do spend most of their time out of the water.  The divers made for some interesting photos – and are giving me a chance to work on a Photoshop technique I learned.

When I was a little girl, we looked forward to entering items in the textile and arts exhibits at the fair. Last year I noticed the exhibits seemed a lot smaller than I remembered. With all of the arts programs in this area, I would think there would be a bevy of children entering their work. And the adult exhibits are shrinking as well.  I entered this year – fine arts and photography, of course. My photos didn’t fare so well, but I took away some lessons and will make some changes before I enter next year. I was thrilled to have one fine arts piece place. This was my first time back in over 30 years.  I still have my last entry (actually, I tried to get rid of it, but it just kept coming back, so I finally gave up). It’s a latch-hook rug that is hanging on the wall in the playroom in my basement.

I’ve already started dropping hints to local arts organizations that work with children. I plan to approach the Fair entry committee too – to see if there is some way for the MVF to partner with arts organizations and schools to get kids interested in entering. It’s a great way for kids to show their work, and to the average child, it’s like having your very own art show.

Several times during the day I circled back around to the show ring. Thursday brought 4H horse participants. When I arrived they were showing the halter classes, where the kids (wearing their appropriate western or English style garb) led their horses into the ring for a once-over by the judge.

These Native American hand prints caught my eye

The next time I swung by the ring, they were putting their horses through an obstacle course. First they had to retrieve mail from a mailbox while mounted on their horse. Then they made their way around to a set of cones where they had to turn the horse around and proceed backwards past the cones. Then a quick turnaround and forward, backward and forward again over what appeared to be a low log. They then had to cross a “bridge” and dash to the finish.

Two hours later, they were retrieving a flag from a barrel, running the horse around the ring where they had to stick the flag into a barrel on the other side and dash to the finish. No points if they missed the barrel! Another trip around delivered a single barrel race – up, around, and back as fast as they could go. I thought a couple of them were going to crash into the gate, but they stopped on a dime.

I had some local music acts in mind when I headed to the fair. I caught up with a young singer who is trying to put together a band. Stephen David Johnson has a smooth country voice, and sang with pre-recorded music. If he can make the transition from the pre-recorded music to working with a band, he could go a long way.

Gymboree was doing their thing in the CASI tent (it’s that senior day thing again). I took a couple of shots of two of the singers on stage, when I was approached by the person selling their CDs. She suggested I wait until after the show, and they would “pose” for photos. I told her thanks, but I prefer to take photos of bands while they play – I’m looking for action, not portraits. So I moved on…

I finished my fair day at the Wells Fargo Pavilion with Simon Says Uncle.  Those guys put on a great show – but I didn’t stay long. It was Thursday, after all, and I had a date with a Jam…