The New York State Fair

Well, I didn’t get a blog post up yesterday. You’ll just have to forgive me for that one. It’s actually a good thing though – on the one hand, I’ve been very, very busy. Good busy. And on the other hand, I let myself off the hook, put my phone away for a good chunk of the evening, and just relaxed. I’d almost forgotten what it feels like.

So, no blog post yesterday. But you get one today! Here’s a short post on my time at the New York State Fair.

I went to the state fair a lot when I was younger, usually with my dad. The highlights were always the same three things: the Native American village, the butter sculpture, and the food. (Not necessarily in that order.)

As of late, however, it hasn’t held the same charm for me. I just don’t like crowds, especially in the heat, and the fair is smack dab in the middle of August. And with all those rides and stands? Yeah, you’re going to draw a crowd.

I didn’t go last year because there really was nothing there to draw me in. It probably would’ve been fun, for a little while, but it’s a two hour round trip and it’s just not worth it if you’re not going to be that into it.

But this year Karmin was going to be there. Yeah, yeah. I know. I talk about them a lot. I’ll save you the pain and offer up one SINGLE picture:

Unfortunately I was really, really far away this time because it was so hot out and we wanted to stay in the shade!

(By the way, they were great even the second time around. My mom said they were “better than excellent,” so you know it’s not just me being biased!)

So that’s what made me want to go, but I was surprised by how much kept me there. The stands were great this year. First we had this one:

This guy had just about every old-time movie or TV show you could think of. Mom was ogling the Jerry Lewis DVDs like they were made of gold (and you can’t find most of this stuff anywhere – in stores OR online – so they might as well be). I offered to split the cost with her as part of an early birthday present. She was THRILLED.

There were tons of jewelry stands as well. Usually I don’t pay them much attention, but I got two pendants made of glass that had flowers inside of them. They’re gorgeous. I have NO idea what I’m going to wear them with, but who actually thinks about such trivial things like that when they’re shopping??

And they had something that got the nerd inside of me jumping for joy. Posters and souvenirs for just about any movie or TV show you wanted. I picked up the poster below – it was the first one that I actually liked from The Hunger Games. The combination of the different stills and the matting really drew me in.

I saw some Doctor Who posters and almost passed out, but none of them were perfect so I didn’t settle! I also picked up an early Christmas present for my BFF, but just on the off chance she reads this (which is about slim to none, haha) I’m not saying what it is. 😉

Next up was the sand sculpture, which had an Olympic design. This thing was massive!

And then there was the cream of the crop – the REAL reason why I go to the state fair every year. (And no, that’s not sarcasm.) The butter sculpture!!!! *fanfare*

Isn’t that just about the coolest thing in the world? Every year they have a different one. This was actually one of the least exciting ones I’ve seen (but it was still awesome!). Sometimes they get really intricate and detailed.

After that I had to have some gelato. It was so good. It brought me straight back to when I first had it in Italy. Yum.

That’s wildberry on top of chocolate. Crazy!

Next, we went to this candy stand. They literally had a maze of boxes filled with old-time candy. You took a basket and mixed and matched them all. Mom and I ended up going a little overboard and spent way too much money. But it was so fun! I tried Zotz candies for the first time and I think I’m addicted now…

And what would the NYSF be without the animals? Mom got to see a cow up close and personal for the first time. (THE FIRST TIME, PEOPLE!!) We also saw ducks, chickens, geese, turkeys, a peacock, bunnies, and SO much more. Check them out below:

Not sure how I feel about this, but they were beautiful. Remember those chicks I took pictures of in Morocco? I guess this would be what they’d look like once they grew up a little bit.

These ones were weird! They’d puff their chest out so much you could barely see their heads. And then their tails fanned out like that all the time too.

Look at all that hair!

So, last week I talked about the Renaissance Festival and this week I brought you a state fair. What festivals do you attend each year? What’s your state fair like? Do you have anything there that can ONLY be found in your state?