The
last fair I was at was at I saw Boyz II Men during a reunion appearance at the
Texas state fair. In second grade, I remember thinking that I was the coolest kid in my front yard as I listened to their cassette tape on my
Walkman. That Walkman is long gone and that fair was years ago.
Years
later, the North Carolina State Fair had a different appeal. Enjoy it for what
it is, was my approach. Enjoy the food (without going into cardiac arrest).
Enjoy the midway games. Yes, I talked to “The World’s Smallest Woman”. What struck me though, was the livestock and agricultural aspects of the North
Carolina State Fair. Some were very familiar. Some were not.
Tobacco
holds a seemingly substantial part of North Carolina’s history. It was
interesting to see the plants being grown and also being dried. While I had
assumed that all state fairs were the same, it was interesting to see that
while the rides, midway games and carnies may remain similar there is a bit of
heritage that can shine through at a state fair.
