I have a confession to make. I am a little ashamed to say this, but
I went to the State Fair. I have to say I have watched Martha Stewart enough to say that I fantasize about going to the Fair. People gathered from all over the state to celebrate each others craft, livestock, produce, and even eccentricities. But, for some reason when I go to the fair all I see are the machine made stuffed animals. You too can win these commercial goodies if you spend upwards of $100 on a pop the balloon game. Then you get to the fried everything booths.....yuck! Finally, still looking for the City Arts Building I pass the vendors that sell the T-Shirts and car decals that I always wondered where one would buy such a thing. By now I feel like a total elitist and my interest in all things handmade and home grown is slipping away with the smell of the stale beer at 10:00 in the morning. Not to mention as sure as the sun comes up each morning when the Fair moves into Oklahoma, so does the rain and this day the weather did not disappoint.
Nevertheless, I finally found what I was looking for and stayed long enough to forget the adventure getting there. First I checked out the children and hobby artists exhibition in the City Arts Building. It was really wonderful. I was inspired not just by the wonderful art, but the teachers who inspired many of these young artists. I loved the variety of mediums and the simplicity of many of the pieces.
Next, I headed over to find the fiber goods. I was a little disappointed to find them behind glass, but there were some wonderful pieces. My favorite was this little girl set.
There were many pieces that reminded me of pieces my grandmother had around her house growing up. I loved it. Then I found some hand dyed yarn....also lovely. I never found any hand spun although I think some of the hand dyed was also hand spun.
Finally, I checked out the canned goods. I did not know you could can such a variety of food. All in all a pretty good day to the trip.
Unfortunately as I walked out among the "
eccentricities" I quickly forgot the beauty of the handmade. Luckily I took pictures.
Nevertheless, I finally found what I was looking for and stayed long enough to forget the adventure getting there. First I checked out the children and hobby artists exhibition in the City Arts Building. It was really wonderful. I was inspired not just by the wonderful art, but the teachers who inspired many of these young artists. I loved the variety of mediums and the simplicity of many of the pieces.
Next, I headed over to find the fiber goods. I was a little disappointed to find them behind glass, but there were some wonderful pieces. My favorite was this little girl set. 
There were many pieces that reminded me of pieces my grandmother had around her house growing up. I loved it. Then I found some hand dyed yarn....also lovely. I never found any hand spun although I think some of the hand dyed was also hand spun. 
Finally, I checked out the canned goods. I did not know you could can such a variety of food. All in all a pretty good day to the trip. 
Unfortunately as I walked out among the "eccentricities" I quickly forgot the beauty of the handmade. Luckily I took pictures.
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4 comments:
I'm proud of you for going to the Great State Fair of Oklahoma! :) I am actually quite jealous it was you and not me. I loved going as a kid, and my family was there on Saturday as well as my brother had a steer in the livestock show.
I think people take for granted the arts booths and the exhibits. That, after all, is the pioneer reason the state fair exists: to showcase juniors arts and exhibits.
Good for you for going and showing your kids the Great State Fair. I just know they will enter things in the years to come! Right?
Happy to hear you enjoyed the OKC fair. You might consider coming to the Tulsa fair, specifically for the Sugar Arts Show, which is amazing.
http://www.tulsastatefair.com/fair/creativearts/oklahomasugarartshow.asp
It kinda makes you want to enter something in the fair competitions doesn't it? That's my favorite part of the fair...all the down-to-earth heartiness of the canning and spun yarn, etc. It makes me realize I want to be that now in my "old" age. I look forward to seeing those very things on Sunday...hope we get to make it to the last day.
I was just talking about the State Fair with my brother a couple of weeks ago. He is in MN and I am here in FL. I just had to laugh, because "A Prairie Home Companion" was broadcasting from the Fair.
In MN, the State Fair is a HUGE deal. They call it "The Great Minnesota Get Together" and every local news show (including NPR) broadcasts every day from the Fair. It's like they just can't wait for it every year. All the news folks get to "dress casual" and just be among the commoners. It's funny. And yes, they have deep fried everything. My brother said (though he did not go) that deep fried pickles were something new to try this year and something else weird too, but I can't remember it at this moment. :(
Unlike the MN State Fair, the Florida one just doesn't seem to make such a big deal. No news casts from the fair - just a few ads on TV telling you when it is. Maybe it's because it's in Tampa and we're 45 min away in Bradenton. I'm not sure.
I'm like you, primarily enjoying the arts and crafts. Sometimes I'll enjoy seeing a show from like a local dance group or something, but that's about it. And honestly, right now, I'm pretty much talking about County Fairs, because the State Fair is just SO super expensive (for a lot of junk - to eat and to keep) that it doesn't hold much appeal for us.
We've entered things in the County Fairs for the past few years - once in MN and twice down here. We've won ribbons and last year my younger dd won $30 in prize money! She was totally surprised by that! To me, participating in the competitions is the real fun of going. Otherwise, the rides don't really appeal to me, and certainly the food does not either.
Glad you took pictures to share your day! :)
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