The Lure of the Midway
About a week and half ago, Jeff and I managed to wrangle some time off from work, and we headed down to Virginia for an all too quick visit with my mom, my brother, and our very great pals Barb and Beth, and their sweeties Charlie and Cortney. The weekend happened to include Barb and Charlie's daughter Jenni's birthday (she's 14--damn, does that make me feel OLD!), and a portion of the festivities included a road trip to the West Virginia State Fair where Jenni and her pal Summer could ride the rides and scream their lungs out while ogling Corbin Bleu. Now, until that very weekend, I had no idea who this Corbin Bleu fellow was--hermit that I am. But I was put wise, pronto.
At any rate, on Friday, August 17, Jeff and I found ourselves tooling west on I-64 with Barb, Beth, Cortney, Jenni, Summer, and Stacy (who came along to wrangle the teens), bound for Lewisburg in Barb's BAV (Big-Ass Vehicle). Our destination:
Lights! Action! Souvenirs!
Now, I have only attended two other state fairs in my life (well, multiple times for each): the Virginia State Fair and the New York State Fair. The West Virginia State Fair is smaller than either of those--about double the size of a decent county fair. But that doesn't mean it didn't pack lots of amusment into a petite package (as state fairs go).
Of course, there were the rides--guaranteed to make everyone over the age of 16 sick as a dog:
There were the ubiquitous funnel cakes (this picture is for YOU, Barb!):
There was the hall of commerce, where you could buy all kinds of funky things, such as Bat Boy...
And the sparkly goodness of blown glass.
Just in case you're wondering, this is what a West Virginia State Fair glassblower looks like (he's the one on the left... I think...):
Beth and Barb succumbed to the high-tech siren song of the handwriting analysis computer:
And just in case you are wondering what the West Virginia State Fair handwriting analysis computer looks like, well, it looks an awful lot like the handwriting analysis computer that graced the Virginia State Fair in the '70s and the New York State Fair in the '80s, right down to its operator. Except now it is bilingual:
Soft-serve ice cream was touted on the midway...
As were games...
Cortney won Beth a nice prize at the pick up the duck game--a game that requires a steady hand and a steely resolve:
Then there was the dime-toss game. Check out these guys. We decided that they were headed to a wedding, forgot to get a gift, and decided to stop by the state fair to win some fine glassware before the ceremony:
There was one game with no carney barking for it... lonely and deserted. We couldn't figure out what the hell it was, except for its skeery name:
This was probably the worst juxtaposition of attractions on the midway proper--The Bible Story and Face Painting tent placed right in front of the Mardi Gras funhouse:
Just in case you can't see what's painted in technicolor splendor on the facade of said funhouse, here is a closer look:
Good lord! Think of the children!!
And speaking of children, here's a kiddie ride I could have been persuaded to try, had I only purchased any ride tickets:
Alas, the one thing this midway lacked was any kind of sideshow. I realize that freak shows are a thing of the distant past, but where the heck was Ooka, the woman who turned into a gorilla before your very eyes? Where was the world's littlest horse? Where were the hootchie-cootchie girls? Nowhere to be found at the West Virginia State Fair. So Beth did her best to make up for the lack of general weirdness:
Well, this is getting long, and I have more pictures with which to regale my readership: exhibitions, foodstuffs, LIVESTOCK! And the midway at night. Stay tuned for more!
At any rate, on Friday, August 17, Jeff and I found ourselves tooling west on I-64 with Barb, Beth, Cortney, Jenni, Summer, and Stacy (who came along to wrangle the teens), bound for Lewisburg in Barb's BAV (Big-Ass Vehicle). Our destination:
Lights! Action! Souvenirs!
Now, I have only attended two other state fairs in my life (well, multiple times for each): the Virginia State Fair and the New York State Fair. The West Virginia State Fair is smaller than either of those--about double the size of a decent county fair. But that doesn't mean it didn't pack lots of amusment into a petite package (as state fairs go).
Of course, there were the rides--guaranteed to make everyone over the age of 16 sick as a dog:
There were the ubiquitous funnel cakes (this picture is for YOU, Barb!):
There was the hall of commerce, where you could buy all kinds of funky things, such as Bat Boy...
And the sparkly goodness of blown glass.
Just in case you're wondering, this is what a West Virginia State Fair glassblower looks like (he's the one on the left... I think...):
Beth and Barb succumbed to the high-tech siren song of the handwriting analysis computer:
And just in case you are wondering what the West Virginia State Fair handwriting analysis computer looks like, well, it looks an awful lot like the handwriting analysis computer that graced the Virginia State Fair in the '70s and the New York State Fair in the '80s, right down to its operator. Except now it is bilingual:
Soft-serve ice cream was touted on the midway...
As were games...
Cortney won Beth a nice prize at the pick up the duck game--a game that requires a steady hand and a steely resolve:
Then there was the dime-toss game. Check out these guys. We decided that they were headed to a wedding, forgot to get a gift, and decided to stop by the state fair to win some fine glassware before the ceremony:
There was one game with no carney barking for it... lonely and deserted. We couldn't figure out what the hell it was, except for its skeery name:
This was probably the worst juxtaposition of attractions on the midway proper--The Bible Story and Face Painting tent placed right in front of the Mardi Gras funhouse:
Just in case you can't see what's painted in technicolor splendor on the facade of said funhouse, here is a closer look:
Good lord! Think of the children!!
And speaking of children, here's a kiddie ride I could have been persuaded to try, had I only purchased any ride tickets:
Alas, the one thing this midway lacked was any kind of sideshow. I realize that freak shows are a thing of the distant past, but where the heck was Ooka, the woman who turned into a gorilla before your very eyes? Where was the world's littlest horse? Where were the hootchie-cootchie girls? Nowhere to be found at the West Virginia State Fair. So Beth did her best to make up for the lack of general weirdness:
Well, this is getting long, and I have more pictures with which to regale my readership: exhibitions, foodstuffs, LIVESTOCK! And the midway at night. Stay tuned for more!
Labels: Barb, Beth, carneys, Cortney, fairs, funnel cakes, Jeff
posted by Cathy VanPatten at 8:44 PM
4 Comments:
The World's Littlest Horse has a regular gig at the Texas State Fair. That's where he is, or will be in October. He always looks sad.
Awww... poor guy. He must be really old by now, as I recall seeing him at the VA state fair back in the '70s. Or could they be breeding for size? Heh!
I'll bet the Texas State Fair is a wonder to behold--we have a photo of "Big Tex" in our Texas studies book (developed for grade 4).
Oh, I love our state fair! Tons of interesting exhibits. Steven has already requested a day off work in October so we can go when it's not crowded.
The Dallas Morning News did a report a couple of weeks ago on the dry-cleaning costs of Big Tex's clothing. It was some astronomical number! Big Tex is a very big deal around here. For whatever reason, there are always a lot of articles and news reports swirling about him whenever we get close to fair time.
Ah, thanks fer da memories! I had no idea how lovely I actually looked in that weightlifter picture. Gah!!! But the appeal and joy of blown glass, funnel cakes, rides, and all-around funness of the State Fair is captured well. You have quite the camera gal's artistic eye. I have the blue 'n' red horn "prize" on my bookshelf for future funnery (not to be confused with funness or funnelcakeness.)
Cheers!
Beth
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