I have been going to the Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee since age 3!!
It had become a family tradition for my original family of 5. Dave enjoys going each year too although he did not go to it sa often as a child. It is always held late in summer, usually starting on the first weekend in August so it was the last fun thing we did before school started in the Fall.
I remember when my family went to the fair when I was in grade school, my dad would make us kids wait until we went through all the animal barns, "flower barn"( one of his favorites), and the fish/forestry area BEFORE he would take us to the midway to ride the rides! It was kind of like how my Grandma Florence would make us eat all the food on our plate on a holiday before she would give us our milk to drink!! This was torture for a Wisconsin kid!! But through the years I even now look forward to the animal barns as my favorite thing at the fair. My dad helped us enjoy the best the fair had to offer before the glitz of the carnival rides and games.
This year I decided to take my good ( 35mm) camera to take a "photo shoot of the pigs"...my absolute favorite!! How can you not like their smiling sleeping faces?..he he They are so enormous and cute in a way. This year I noticed all the different skin colors and tail shapes...some even had ears clipped in a design. I am afraid I woke up a few with my flash but only a bit of a stir and back to sleep they went. The cows are enormous too!! And i love the loped ear rabbits!! In the last few years they added a giant pink "pig slide" outside the "Swine barn" and a commercial pickle seller gives free paper pickle shaped hats to all the takers. They also have a "pig racing area" complete with checkered flags where you can sit and watch for your favorite little piglet to win by running fastest around the track....they are so cute, but when it is hot i feel sorry for the little guys!! I will have to send my girls the animal photos, as they too love the animals at the fair as we continued the fair tradition into our family all the way through high school.The girls tell me how they miss going to the fair but now live many states away and just go with me in spirit!
And of course there is food glorious food. My girls must be laughing by now as they know i am not much of a foodie but fair food is a whole different category , as memories come back with each bite and of course they are all the "not good for you foods" for the most part!! Dave and i go for splitting a cream puff to start our afternoon( you know you simply twist off the top from the bottom and they split beautifully- years of practice...he he); then work our way through to the fresh squeezed lemonade for me , Dave has a Guinness at the Irish food vendor, we tried a Reuben on a stick( don't recommend this one) and they had great Bag Pipers playing music as well!); we head over for a butter dipped roasted corn on the cob from the Lions club( i remember doing this with Dave's brother Paul when Katie was just a toddler); Dave always has a baked potato( and bought a potato recipe book for $1 this year) and sometimes has an Italian sausage at Usingers, and i get some kind of bakery/dessert( usually cider donuts, apples and caramel, or a vanilla ice cream with fresh cherries ( this year it a giant peanut square) at the Wisconsin Products barn; I partake in my usual corn dog with mustard; and a few waters later we are finally done eating our way through the fair!! Stomach ache here we come!! Ahhhh but it is just once a year after all :)
Sometimes we take a stroll thought the commercial exhibits( now in a huge, air conditioned hall) to view the latest gadgets for sale. They sell everything from home improvements, patio furniture, cleaning products, fishing lure, Christmas ornaments( directed at Wis- sparkly cows, U of W Badgers,Green Bay Packer jerseys/footballs, plus all the usual other holiday shapes), crystal and magnetic jewelry, clothing, old remade metal signs and posters, Cd's of the oldies, animal products,wood burned signs for houses/cottages,purses, and of course this year's version of the greatest kitchen mop and dicer/slicer machine etc...This year the new things I noticed was a garden cart/backpack on wheels for $20( almost bought this but for other purposes), a crazy giant shower head, cloth photo finishing frames, and a special super duper hunting "Dickie"( face and neck wear). I was being good so no purchases this year but I rushed through in the last 15 minutes while Dave went back to the Dairy barn and bought his mom a piece of carrot cake to take to her after the fair!! I do take a quick sideways look at the sale booths as we walk through the food areas to look for clothes, music,purses or jewelry but only stopped once this year as an African purse caught my eye but luckily i waited to buy it on my way out but only if I didn't see anything else and because it was sold i saved myself $20..oh well probably( for sure) did not need it anyways. And Dave usually stops at the Milwaukee Journal newspaper booth to get his free miniature "Journal" in a small basket on or under the counter. Last year we sent our girls the pickle hats and newspapers( and some sparkly earrings i bought) as a fair remembrance since they live out of state now and cant go with us ...they loved them!!
This year we ended with a few carnival games. My favorite is the "Frog Bopper". You put a rubber frog folded in two on a launcher and hit the lever with a rubber hammer to try to get the frog completely into the lily pads/bowls floating in water on two levels.It only took me $10 and 18 frogs later to win my med size white and black zebra..ahhhhh!!!But alas i made the sacrifice and gave it away to the little girl walking in front of us with her mom and sister on our way out of the midway...such an unexpected cute smile she had on her face!! At my age its the fun of playing the game not the prize for me. Some lady was screaming and having such a great time each time she got a frog in ..it was contagious fun!! Dave prefers the coin game when you buy 8 tokens for $1 and send them down a slot to be pushed by a magnetic hand pushing all the coins forward toward the drop area. Tokens and funny little plastic figures,dice, coin purses, mini dollar bills in plastic, and blue coins push toward the drop zone with anticipation. I played too and we spent about $4 to get a mini dollar bill in plastic and that's all folks!!
Ahhhhhh another year at the fair and only $9 to get in for hours of family fun and memories.
I have only missed a few years when my girls and I danced in the Scandinavian Fest or I taught VBS on Washinton Island the same week as the fair. As long as I can still walk I will be back each year thats for sure!!Thanks Dad for starting this family tradition!
See you next year Wisconsin State Fair...I know the pigs will be there waiting for me !!
