Cuyahoga County Fair 2013 – foto Smith
Saw my first Cuyahoga County Fair yesterday, actually my first fair ever.
It was an interesting experience, educational in many ways, but I’m somewhat taken aback; expected more, although now I think about it, it was a rich adventure for all I noticed.
The artifact displays were mostly unintelligible, just a lot of things laid on boards behind chicken wire with no explanation of why they were showing old sheet music and dolls and doilies, no sense of layout or design or labels.
The amateur arts and crafts displays made me realize how very talented my artistic friends are.
This was the final day of the fair, so the desiccated vegetable displays looked like something out of a zombie flick since they’d all dried out, while the pastries had fallen apart and occasionally been nibbled on.
The animal pens just made me sad, a bunch of unhappy farm animals in too small cages with no water or food, constantly harassed by folk and child. My year in prison makes me extra sensitive to this. Fortunately we couldn’t spend too much time with them due to Lady’s allergies (especially birds).
The food is basically inedible for a vegetarian going vegan, and unhealthy for any human by any standard. Fried dough anyone? Deep fried oriole cookies (at least I assume the orioles were cookies and not birds), deep fried cheese, deep fried pickles, deep fried mushrooms, deep fried sugar-animals-roadkill-undecipherables.
The people-watching was great, especially the children in their joy and fear, and there was a lot of small child fear of rides and just general crying and screaming due to being tired and over stimulated, with frustrated parents getting angry. Also a lot of tattoo ink in odd places on all ages, sizes and sexes; one massively inked man had “Tesla” written across the side of his neck, which intrigues me. Plus a lot of cleavage, mostly on females.
Tried listening to the Tabloid Travelers sing and play country music but the sound system was cranked to max to compete with the rides and crowd sound so was unintelligible.
Was also surprised at all the vendor booths selling hot tubs, cheap trinkets, rubber floor tiles, cars . . . although we did buy some much needed raw honey. We were there two hours, didn’t do much, yet somehow spent $57. Parking at least was free.
But it was quite the learning experience. The traffic controllers were brilliant and efficient, and the fair folk do know how to run things, keep it all flowing. And it was fairly inexpensive to get in — $7 for Lady, $6 for me.
And for those not raised on a farm as I was in the Norman Rockwellian 1950s, I spose the animals are quite educational. I did learn llamas are very oddly proportioned, being too long and short for their graceful high-necked heads.
I got a few fotos, and a Ferris Wheel ride. In 1976 in Phoenix Arizona my brother Cat and I and Jones took down a carnival Ferris Wheel for a few dollars an hour while on massive amounts of white cross speed, and we beat their previous take-down record by an hour. Afterward the carneys offered us a job, but they were going back the way we’d just come so we declined. I’ve always regretted that because of being a writer and all the stories I would have gotten, but I watched the carneys’ faces yesterday and they are an unhappy lot, one sad worried prematurely aged face after another, so I doubt I would have lasted long had I joined, although I suspect the true magic lies in the camaraderie of a band of rejects after the fair closes. The guy offering us the job explained that when they hit a new town, for safety they had just one guy go in town to buy what drugs were needed. Always liked that. Can’t remember why he would have told me such a thing unless it was obvious I was high on speed. And just like in the movies, we had gone to a pool hall to find our speed. Sometimes life imitates art, or art is education for life.
Overall worth it, especially being out in an excited crowd on a sunny summer day. Believe I’d like to try a state fair someday just to see if there’s any more there there.
We’re going back to the fair grounds soon for the weekend flea markets. If you do collage or assemblage art, flea markets are your art supply store (as are the streets).
Cuyahoga County Fair 2013 – foto Smith
The artist who got the gig to make up the vinyl sign/banners did a fantastic job ~ if they were framed and hung in a gallery/museum, people would stop and discuss the deeper meanings. Would love to hang out for a couple days with Fish Girl, Miss Electra, Iron Tongue Girl, and Serpentina ~ I bet they have an interesting perspective on life, and the absurdity of it all.
Read a book one time by Dean Koontz called Twilight Eyes ’bout a carnie that travels around killing goblins, half human half creature. Only people with ‘twilight eyes’ can see ’em. Somethin’ like that anyway. If yer not familiar with Dean Koontz, he writes kinda like Stephen King. I guess the carnival was a good place for the goblins to hide out. Good place for a lot of things to hide out…
Interesting… always love your description and take on things… the top fair photo would make a good book cover..
We have a State Fair that runs every fall around Labor Day… and it is about a 1 1/2 miles from our home and I’ve lived in Detroit my whole life and never been to it. So in that way not so different.
I think you are often pretty objective and very observant.. not so much negative. I find that refreshing though..
But I also understand Ladies take on seeing the more positive aspects of thing… I think she sees the same things but sometimes the positive aspects are often overlooked and need to be drawn out… I think between the two perspectives there comes a clearer perception of reality maybe..
I often see in my mind that I do both….