The Ohio State Fair is a huge deal here in Central Ohio, and after complimentary tickets fell into my lap my roommate Lauren and I thought it was worth a visit.
Click on "More" for photos and narrative.
Upon entry, the first thing that caught my eye was a tent filled with amateur boxing matches. There were children boxing, with a huge crowd surrounding them:
Next, Lauren and I decided that no trip to the state fair was complete without visiting an animal barn. Since she's recently returned from six weeks in northern England, we decided to help her reconnect with the sheep population:
As we strolled through the sheep barn, we realized that a show was going on as well:
We then realized that the free evening concert had begun, featuring country singer Terri Clark. Neither Lauren nor I knew anything about Terri Clark, other than her name, but we thought we'd check it out. We were given free assigned seat tickets at the box office, and found an usher, who led us into the theater and then, closer and closer to the stage. Our seats were in the seventh row, dead center. We were surrounded by Terri Clark fan club members. It was a little overwhelming. I snapped this picture of Ms. Clark:
We stayed for 45 minutes or so, and enjoyed the show. We tried our best to blend in, clapping along when appropriate, and trying to blend in with all the diehard fans singing along with everything.
All of the masquerading was energy-sapping, so we had to have a snack after that. Lauren chose the caramel apple, while I abandoned any sense of good eating and had the myocardial infarction on a plate that is a funnel cake:
Once I was covered in powedered sugar, we decided to pack it in and head home, leaving the fair and all of its glory behind:
Hi Nora-
No butter sculptures?
I visited the Ohio State Fair in Columbus once- and the highlights were the giant butter sculpture of a Furby, the cake decoration contest (particularly the repulsive cake section- featuring a sheet cake made-up to look like a used litter box) and the unfulfilled promise of a Spam cook-off competition.
Good choice w/ the funnel cake.
Hope that your cooking endeavors are going well.
Sadly, no sculptures that I saw, but there was much of the fair that we did not conquer. Although, I may have to check the schedule again, because the things you describe would necessitate a repeat visit, for sure.
Posted by: waking slow on August 7, 2003 11:04 AMHello, I came all the way from NYC to box in the Ohio State Fair this year and lost the Bantamweight Novice Final by decision. Perhaps you saw me. Anyway, I had a lot of fun in Ohio and I hope to continue to improve and come back next year for a win. This was my second time there as I went in 2001 as well but did not get a bout so I became the unopposed champ. Ohio's a very nice place to visit and the people are great.
Posted by: Joe on August 11, 2003 06:11 PM