Fair 2015 - Visit #2: Oh, What a Night

Friday, September 4, 2015

Round 2 of the State Fair for 2015 this afternoon. Took Mom to see Prairie Home Companion at the Grandstand for her birthday. I had school today and Mom came by to help in the classroom. We met Dale at the house after school, got Athena taken care of and were off to the Fair by 4:30.

We arrived a little past 5:00. It was 90 degrees out and the radio had just reported a heat index of around 100, which, I believe, made it just about the hottest day of the year. The humidity was nasty. Mom was sore and moving rather slow having just started a new exercise regime earlier in the week. I was a little worried about her but she insisted that she was okay if we didn’t mind moving a little slower than usual and were willing to sit down from time to time. Wasn’t a problem.

We stopped by the John Deere booth to visit with her friend Gary who was volunteering there. We then hit the Pronto Pup stand (for me) and the gyros stand (for Mom and Dale). Yummy stuff. The Pronto Pup wasn’t as substantial as the gyros so I grabbed a slice a pizza from Green Mill.

Our next stop was beer for Mom and Dale. On the way to the Leine Lodge we stopped by the Kemps Cow for a photo taken by Mom. I thought it turned out cute.

Mom and Dale got their beer and we found a bench under the Space Needle. It was a cooling station so water misters above us rained little droplets to keep us comfortable. It wasn’t heavy enough to get us wet. We had a great view of Judson Avenue as it wraps around toward the International Bazaar. Great people watching.

Our next destination was the Corn Roast stand. Mom and I each got an ear drenched in butter. It was very sweet and delicious. Dale said it probably came off the stalk that morning.  My, my that was some tasty stuff.

Next to the Blue Moon Dine-In Theater. I’d convinced Dale that he really needed to try the chilled bread pudding there. I went with the chocolate brownie version again with candied pecans only this time I went with the caramel sauce instead of chocolate. Dale went with the corn muffin bread pudding and, like me, got the caramel sauce with candied pecans. He loved it as I suspected he might.  We found a bench for Mom and Dale to sit down and looked up the street past Andy’s Grille toward the Midway.

Finally it was time to move toward the Grandstand for the Prairie Home Companion show. What a delight that turned out to be. It wasn’t surprising how wonderful the whole experience was since I’ve seen it at the Fair twice before. Mr. Keillor warmed up the crowd by walking through the audience while singing. The guests included Jearlyn and Jevetta Steele who sang, among other things, Reach Out (I’ll Be There) and Proud Mary. The Steep Canyon Rangers, a bluegrass group that I’d never heard of before, played as well. They were great. Garrison Keillor, Sue Scot, and Tim Russell performed a hilarious bit about a son calling home and talking to his passive aggressive mother and distant father. Of course, there was a report from Lake Wobegon and a Guy Noir appearance. It was all fabulous fun. Mom and Dale loved it as well.

Our trek back to the car after the performance was leisurely so as to accommodate Mom. On the way back she convinced me to get an order of Tom Thumb mini-donuts to share. It was all great fun and I’m already looking forward to next year.

Fair 2015 - Visit #2: Chilled Bread Pudding

Friday, September 4, 2015

On the way over to the Grandstand we stopped at Blue Moon Dine-In Theater and picked up some chilled bread pudding. We found a bench for Mom to rest and then we ate and chatted. We were looking up the street toward the Andy's Grille and then the Midway.

Fair 2015 - Visit #2: Prairie Home Companion

Friday, September 4, 2015

With Dale

With Mom

Waiting for Prairie Home Companion to begin.

Garrison Keillor on the Jumbotron.

Fair 2015 - Visit #1: The Food Building

Saturday, August 29, 2015

We next stopped at the Food Building to get Shay some cheese curds. I love cheese curds but I can never eat more than 1 or 2 pieces before I’m done-in so I never buy any on my own. There are probably about 15 pieces per order. Anyway, the line was INSANE so we headed off to check out the International Bazaar. There was  lots to see once we got there. Fortuitously, the band, The Good, The Bad, and the Funky was playing on the main stage there. They’re a great local cover band and were doing Purple Rain upon our arrival. A contingent of our group went in search of restrooms and while the rest of us waited I got a phone call from Mom. When I told here were I was she wished us a good time and told me she’s looking forward to seeing A Prairie Home Companion at the Grandstand with Dale and me next week. I can’t wait. I’m guessing it’ll be his last State Fair appearance with the show since he’s retiring from the program this year. 

Second Visit 2014 - Fine Arts Building

Mom and I liked this painting found in the Fine Arts Building this year. It reminded me of Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Jeremy Fisher.

Second Visit 2014 - Sparks Trailers

Friday, August 29, 2014

I had 3 tickets for Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor at the Grandstand at the Minnesota State Fair for tonight. Dale couldn't make it but Mom was able to go. There were torrential rains as we left the house but it all magically stopped when we made it to the north parking lots just of Larpenteur in Falcon Heighs.  The above photo is for Sparks Trailers on  Machinery Hill.

In Leavenworth

I'm in Leavenworth, KS visiting my brother Sam and his family (he's in the military, not the prison). We went to a rib joint for dinner tonight and were reminiscing about going to the fair as kids.  I talked about saving money a little bit at a time for the whole year and also saving some of the Eisenhower silver dollars that Grandma Alice would give us for our birthdays and on holidays. I remember one year we went, Mom pulled out a light jacket for me since it was starting to get cool at night aroud the time of the fair and finding 20 dollars in the jacket pocket. I really felt like a big spender that year. We talked about starting out at the Mexican Village and getting Mexican food, which I loved, and then shopping in the market after that. We also talked about getting our photographs taken and having them put onto buttons that we could wear. I asked Sam if he knew the difference between corn dogs and pronto pups. He didn't. I told him that I had only found out in the last couple years - a pronto pup batter is flour based and a corn dog's batter is corn based. These buttons were probably taken in 1973 and 1974.

MN State Fair 2011 - From Dale's Blog

Dale took the above photo of me on one of our two visits to the State Fair this year. The following is written by him and from his blog:

"Joe and I went to the State Fair twice this year, which has never happened before. Once is usually enough but this year we went at the beginning of the Fair's run then went again just this past Friday to celebrate Joe's mom's 70th birthday by taking her to see Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion at the Grandstand."

"The picture above is of Joe outside the Horticulture Building. In Colorado, the State Fair is not part of the shared state culture, so my family never attended, nor did anyone I knew. When I moved here, I realized it is very much part of the culture of the state and almost everyone goes or has gone and everyone knows about it, regardless."

Joe has very fond and long memories of the State Fair, and compared anticipating it and experiencing it much the same way as kids anticipate and experience Christmas. I like this picture of him because his pleasure being at the Fair is just obvious. And it gives him an opportunity to wear his European Man Clutch."

The Fair 2011 (2nd Visit) Part 11 - Deep Fried Apple Pie

On our first trip to the fair this year, Dale and I found a booth that was selling deep fried apple pie. It sounded intriguing but, at the time we discovered it, we had both eaten enough for the day and were not willing to take in any more food. I was bound and determined to try it on our second fair outing for 2011. After the Prairie Home performance, Mom, Dale and I trekked across the grounds to get to the Minneapple Pie booth. It was worth it. The pie was like the ones McDonald's used to sell only 10 times better. You also got your choice of vanilla or cinnamon ice cream to go with it. I went with cinnamon which was a great pairing. Three of the fair's food judges were guests on the Prairie Home performance we had just seen and they sampled about three different fair foods as part of the show. One of the foods they sampled was the same deep fried pie I'm now writing about. They all liked it to one degree or another. One of them even said it had a good "mouth feel", whatever that means. Another, while generally liking it said it had too much crust. I remember leaning over to Mom and saying, "How can you have too much crust? I'd eat it all by itself!" I remember Mom making pie crust cookies with extra pie dough when she made pies years ago. Anyway, the fair's deep fried apple pie was worth seeking out.

Top two photos taken July 26, 2011. Bottom photo taken September 2, 2011.

The Fair 2011 (2nd Visit) Part 5 - Walleye On a Stick

We went to the food building and Mom and I both got the walleye on a stick. It was fantastic. Dale got a gyro sandwich.

The Fair 2011 (2nd Visit) Part 3 - Corn Dog

Mom got a corn dog.

The Fair 2011 (2nd Visit) Part 1 - Prairie Home

Dale, Mom and I went to the fair last night to see Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. It's been a long, long time since I've seen a Grandstand show and even longer since I've been to the fair twice in one season. The show was fantastic (more on that later). I find the above photos adorable and the bottom one confirms Dale's habit of pushing people's button's...

Photos taken September 2, 2011.

The Fair 2011 (First Visit) Part 12 - The Grandstand

I'm looking forward to seeing Garrison Keillor at the Grandstand a week from today. Dale and Mom are going with me.

Photo taken 8-26-11

MN State Fair 2011 Day 2

In this morning's Strib there was a photo of the State Fair's Giant Slide with the caption:

"The Giant Slide is a staple at the State Fair, just as the State Fair is a staple of summer's end in Minnesota. The fair, which opened Thursday, runs through Labor Day."

I believe I've only tried the Giant Slide once way back when I was a just a kid. I was probably about 6 years old so it would have been in the early 1970's. I went by myself as Mom, Dad and Sam didn't want to go. As you can see in the above photo, you need to walk up a long set of stairs. At the top of the slide is a landing with a bunch of burlap potato sacks. You grab a sack to slide on on your way down. Once you're up the only way down is the slide unless you want to push through all the folks on the crowded set of stairs. I had second thoughts once I made it to the top but, being a good mid-westerner, I didn't want to chance bothering anyone by pushing my way back down the stairs. I grabbed a sack and down I went. I hated it. I felt like the air was being pushed out of me as I went over every bump. Oddly, despite this bad experience, I still have fond memories of the Giant Slide.

Minnesota State Fair Memories

I have some very early memories of attending the Minnesota State Fair. I remember going with my Mom and Dad and my Grandma and Grandpa (on my Dad's side) in what would have been the late sixties or very early 1970s. In some ways the Fair is like Christmas. It comes but once a year, it's exciting, I have memories of it that go way back, it brings to mind a specific time of year, and the anticipation preceding it (especially as a kid) is intense!