Wine & Dine

Let me take a minute to reveal the fact that I am a total geek! When I was a little girl I LOVED the Roger’s and Hammerstein musicals, and in all honesty I am still a huge fan. My favorite movie is Oklahoma! But in the summer months when I find myself at a fair I am always reminded of State Fair.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSKa29E4T7o

State Fair is a musical full of fun, love, pie, pigs, and of course music! Everything you imagine a state fair to be!

You are probably wondering where all this musical talk is coming from. Well, this past weekend The Boyfriend and I ventured out to the Arapahoe County Fair and as we walked from the car to the entrance gates I couldn’t help but hum the State Fair opening song “Our State Fair”. In doing this I brought on another thought…How does the state fairs of yesteryears compare to the ones we attend today?

Let’s take a look at the fairs of the past:

Fried Chicken ON A STICK

According to Wikipedea, “Originally a state fair was just a competitive exhibition of livestock in various competitions, the display of farm products which were not necessarily for sale, and the competition among various fair goers and participants in such categories as handicrafts, baked goods, jams and jellies, etc., but has since been expanded to include carnival amusement rides and games, music, races, tests of strength and skill, etc. Large fairs can see more than a million visitors over the course of a week or two. The first official U.S. state fair was in Detroit, Michigan in 1849.[1]”

Entertainment ranged from livestock competitions, eating contest, cooking contest to tractor pulls and games. Some of the classic foods you would have found back in the day include, homemade pie, corn dogs, funnel cakes, bratwurst, BBQ, and cotton candy. Many of these foods we see today but things have changed my friends…

Today’s State and County Fairs:

Eating a deep fried Oreo

The foods at today’s fairs are EXTREMELY bad for you but so so so good! If it comes on a stick or it is deep fried you can find it at the fair! Some of the foods I found at the county fair included the traditional corn dog, steak on a stick, fried chicken on a stick, chocolate covered bananas on a stick, cobbler on a stick and yes there are things that are not on a stick but rather deep fried. It seems fair food stands have discovered what southern cooks have known forever, EVERYTHING taste good fried! Delicious food finds like deep fried twinkies, deep fried Snickers bars and of course my new favorite the deep fried Oreo. By the way Deep fried Oreos come in at over 400 calories for 4. Good thing I split my Oreos with The Boyfriend!

Another yummy treat I enjoyed at the county fair was an Indian Taco. Made from Indian flat bread this dish is what would happen if pizza and tostadas got together and had a love child. YUMMY. The perfect balance of fried, fat, and

Indian Taco

flavor! My Indian Taco was Indian flat bread topped with chili, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and sour cream and man was it tasty! The boyfriend and I enjoyed our Indian Tacos watching the new kind (new by fair standards) of fair entertainment…The demolition derby!

Fair Entertainment of Today:
I have never been to a demolition derby until this past weekend and if you are like me and have spent your life void of a derby…YOU MUST GO SEE ONE! I had so much fun watching these cars and trucks slam into each other. Fantastic summer entertainment!

Demolition derbys have been a fair entertainment staple since the 1950’s. The basic rules are the drivers will bang into each other avoiding driver side and head ons (you can back into someone though) until there is only one car standing.

I loved watching the demolition derby so much I made this little video for all of you to have a little taste of the awesomeness that is the demolition derby! Watch out for the car that sprays dirt all over us in the stands, putting my Bud Light at risk!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZz7cll3mSw

I think everyone knows that when you go to the fair you are in for some serious calorie overload and heart burn. But why even go if you can’t enjoy the good stuff! In all seriousness I probably took in over 1800 calories from the food and beer but thanks to Jillian Michaels on demand I was able to work some of it off this morning…and those Oreos were SO worth it!

What is your favorite fair food?

Here are more foods at the Arapahoe County Fair:

Deep Fried Oreos

Cobbler and Bananas ON A STICK

Steak ON A STICK!

Corn dogs (served ON A STICK!)

3 Responses to “The County Fair”