Some random notes from this year’s iteration of the Erie County Fair:
:: One regret that was in my control: No ride on the Big Wheel. It was such a gorgeous night…shoulda done that.
:: One regret that was out of my control: Apparently the Fair has done away with the daily parade? I hate this decision. We loved that parade and we hope it comes back. What the hell, Erie County Fair!
:: Another regret out of our AND the Fair’s control: Due to avian flu, no birds were on display at all. So no cool-looking chickens from local farms. Bummer!
:: I read people complain about prices on rides (well, duh) and food. The food one catches me by surprise. Granted, it’s more expensive depending on how many people you have along, but I think we spent around $50 to $60 on food, all day, for the three of us. If you’re spending a lot more than that for a small group, are you eating all the things? Or buying your own drinks? Bring in a cooler with stuff in it! They let you do this! The only drinks we bought were a couple of birch beer refills.
:: There’s an outpost of the local Antique Mall at the Fair every year. I don’t usually buy stuff there…but this time, I did. Did I ever.
Yup: the NCC-1701-A Enterprise, the Klingon Bird-of-Prey, and the Alien from, well, ALIEN. Now, I’m on record for hating the ALIEN franchise from pillar to post — I’ve disliked every single one of those movies (in fairness, I never watched the fourth one, figuring that I was deeply unlikely to enjoy it after the crappy first three), but the Alien beastie him/herself? That is one of the iconic creatures of all time. Just a fantastic design. So I bought him.
:: More importantly, I kept The Wife properly adorned. Check out this bracelet!
:: The model railroad layout included an alien abduction, and Minions. Because Minions are this close to kicking the Frozen crowd off the stage.
:: As always, for me the highlight of the Fair is the Creative Arts building, where people show off paintings and quilts and items they’ve sewn and photography and place settings. I love this stuff so much and I always spend at least an hour looking at the creative efforts of Erie County people. Seriously, this stuff is always good. Here’s but a small sampling:
(Sorry about the size differential there…I hadn’t got ’round to uploading the lower six photos to Flickr yet, as of this writing.)
:: Most importantly, though? A dream came true this year! Our day at the Fair was cool enough that I was finally, at long last, able to attend whilst rocking overalls. Granted, it was my Carhartt white painters’ pair, which is made of lighter fabric and therefore cooler, but still: Overalls at the Fair. One more item off the Bucket List!
It’s the little things, folks! But if there’s an event that cries out for overalls more than the Erie County Fair, I’ve not found it.
See you next year, Fair! (And bring the Daily Parade back!)
