Katie & Todd Blake

For those of you who have never experienced the fair, I have to say that you are missing out. Flashing lights, sweet-smelling foods, animals of all shapes and sizes; it’s a cornucopia for the senses.

Our first visit to the fair was quite the event. We had already attended the Strawberry Days rodeo in my home town a couple of months earlier, so it seemed only natural to go to the STATE fair. Not only would there be all the food and events we could handle, but our cousin Maddie had a quilt on display that was getting rave reviews. The whole event was defiantly something there worth seeing.














The fair has so much going on that it is bound to appeal to everyone in some way. For me, it’s the food and the rodeo. For Katie, it’s the uber-furry animals. Honestly, when she discovered that there were plushy-soft animals on display, she was almost overcome with the cuteness of it all. Most the animals were kept in pens with big signs saying, “Don’t pet the animals. They may bite.” Though this was distressing to Katie, occasionally one would be laying next to the front of the cage and its’ fur would be pushed between the wires. This allowed Katie to touch and pet without getting in trouble. However, this also gave her the courage to stick her fingers inside the cages to pet the extra-furry critters that were close enough to reach. She really is quite the rebel when adorable little animals are involved.

A year later, we went back… this time as newly-weds and veteran fairgoers. Katie gussied herself up by curling her hair and donning some smokin’ hot jeans. I threw on a mother-of-pearl button shirt and a leather belt with a huge buckle. We were quite the couple; not so extreme that we stood out, but not so tame that we didn’t make a statement. We were perfect.

We indulged in everything we could find. Again we saw (and voted for) Mattie’s quilt, petted the plushy animals, and looked at the incredible horticultural wonders of the event. We even put Katie in a shark tank. More important than that, however, was the sampling of all the great food. Slow-churned ice cream, barbecued beef brisket, and roast corn-on-the-cob were just a handful of the culinary masterpieces available to us. It was awesome!

Now, I love the Wild West. The cowboys, horses, and getting off spectacular hip shots, it’s all magical to me. However, three broken arms have made me leery of anything too extreme, including the mechanical bull. I’ve always wanted to ride one, but never had the guts… until this year. With Katie operating the camera and eating slow churned ice cream at the same time, I gave the operator my money, climbed up on the beast, and told him to, “turn it loose!” I rode like a pro, even if only for a couple of seconds. The thrill was so great that I didn’t even notice falling off and burning my arm. I didn’t care, I was a cowboy. And I kind of think Katie was impressed by it too.

Honestly, there is just something about the state fair that is quite mesmerizing. Maybe it’s the abundant population of downy-soft animals that even though you are forbidden to pet, you deem it worth the risk to gently pet them. Perhaps it the way the sweet smell of cotton candy and funnel cakes swirl together with the hickory smoked BBQ, causing your mouth to water and your mind to drift away. Regardless of what it is, you can multiply that joy by 10 when you are there with someone you love. I don’t think there’s a cowboy or girl that would argue with that, especially not us.