Ohio State Fair

I returned to the Ohio State Fair for the first time in about four decades. I vividly remember going to the fair in the late 70s and early 80s when we made our regular trips to Columbus, Ohio to see Aunt Debra. It was always super super hot. Mom made us wear matching clothes in case we got separated -- the most memorable were the "Paramus Land of the Wild Turkeys" tee-shirts in an assortment of colors. (The name Paramus is derived from the Lenape word for "land of the wild turkeys," see what one learns from Google.) Even with the different colors, there was no chance anyone else in the middle of Ohio was wearing a tee-shirt featuring my hometown.

Forty years later, that's what stands out in my memory. That and a certain aroma I'll call "fair smell." It is a combination of diesel fuel with crushed grass and a hit of fried food. As Heidi and I walked through the parking lot I was hit with smell memory.

After I came home, my dad asked me if it was just like I remembered it. Honestly, it felt smaller than I remembered. The footprint is probably the same, but Heidi and I didn't linger over the kiddie rides, farm animals, or the food (well, except for the ice cream). Within a couple of hours we saw everything we wanted to see, which mostly included the Butter Cow and having the official ice cream. This year the Butter Cow was surrounded by great Ohio inventors, including Thomas Edison (born in Milan, Ohio, but us Jerseyans claim him as ours), Josephine Cochran (hand-powered dishwasher), and Garrett Morgan (three-position traffic signal). The sculptures took 450 hours to create and used 2,000 pounds of butter. They are kept at 46 degrees F and still looked fresh on the last day of the fair. 

This year's official Ohio State ice cream flavor was Cinnamon Churro Streusel by Velvet Ice Cream (a company I was not familiar with). Their stand was located in the Dairy Barn next to the Butter Cow. It was a popular location. Heidi and I took our ice cream outside to enjoy in the shade near the cows (not too close to the aroma of the cows -- another scent associated with the Fair).

Heidi and I had pretty decent timing that day. We saw some pig races, and watched trick horseback riding. Our luck failed us when we tried to go to the Ohio Village -- a place I have very fond memories of visiting as a kid and seeing my aunt as a docent in the doctor's house. She instilled my love of history and my dabbling in being a volunteer docent at Rockingham. I heard admission was free with Ohio Fair admission and that there were shuttle buses to take you from one to the other (something that should be walking distance, but a chain link fence between the two made that a challenge). The shuttle took us to a different parking lot with an "easy" walk. Afterwards we found the right shuttle bus for the return trip. The Village was very empty, which made it seem more Ghost Town than a thriving Civil War era village.

We popped into Kasich Hall to see creative arts -- including cakes, and miniature rooms, clothes, quilts, photographs, etc. All impressive. 

The day was ticking away, and the main purpose for my trip was to go to Uncle Sterling's benefit concert, so we went home to regroup, have some dinner, and relax a bit.

I returned to the Fair the next day to see Laura's Matt. Matt is very involved with the Boy Scouts and didn't have much time to visit that weekend. By going to the Fair, I was a le to hang out with him in the air conditioned Lausche Center, across from Kasich Hall. It was great seeing him, even if I did forget to take a selfie.

While at the Fair, I searched for something unique for lunch. I decided on a deviled egg slider from the Devilishly Good stand inside the Taste of Ohio Cafe. In addition to traditional deviled eggs, they also had specialty flavors including cotton candy and many others. Each order was made one by one. It was a very slow, and long line, but worth it to have something different.

The display samples didn't fare well during the fair

The slider included a tiny burger,
tiny tomato, lettuce, and pickle. 

I channeled my dad and hung out with some of the tractors. Pretended I was at Art All Night and studied the artwork (did not take pictures out of respect for the artists and the sign asking us to not take pictures). My favorite was a sculpture by Bill Merz called Steampunk AirFryer Basket.

I returned to the Kasich Center to admire the creativity some more. 

I wonder what memories I would have written after visiting the Fair as a pre-teen. What would have stood out on those days, well, besides the matching tee-shirts? I remember seeing Leif Garrett perform. Over the years we saw other bands (I learned last week not only did my family see The Beach Boys, but they hung out with them and Uncle Tom before they performed). What did we do to fill our hours at the Fair? Of course part of the time is filled with waiting as the more people who go someplace, the more time we are waiting for someone to go to the bathroom or stand in a different line for someone else because they are hungry now. But, really, what did we do all day at the Fair?