A Day at the Fair

What a time I had at the Tennessee Valley Fair! It’s such a visceral experience. In this age of “virtual reality” (ironically meaning just the opposite), it’s nice to participate up close and in person, using all your five senses. Some highlights I couldn’t have enjoyed near as much if I’d had to rely on YouTube:
* The serious and determined look of a small child trying to pick out which merry-go-round horse he was going to ride. This was a big decision!

* Livestock exhibitions. For a city gal like me, it’s a thrill to see live animals besides cats or dogs. You can even get close enough to touch some of them. The odors just remind me of the real, backbreaking work involved in caring for these creatures! From the complacent cattle to the achingly adorable bunnies, it’s a labor of love. And oh, I never knew roosters had such a varied and interesting repertoire of crows!

* It was a feast for the eyes as I drank in exhibits by skilled artists and crafters young and old: photography, book-making, quilting, carving, watercolors and so much more.
* The sound of music. With a nice variety of different kinds of live music entertainment, there’s always something going on so you can rest a spell, have a listen, tap your toes, get up and dance or sing along!
* The mouth-watering smell of a dizzying array of food choices: hot dogs, corn dogs, hamburgers, barbecue, Philly cheese steaks, chicken kebabs, tacos, egg rolls, gyros, fries, onion rings. What you need to do is come to the fair hungry, that’s for sure.
* I finally settled on the good ol’ reliable funnel cake. It tasted as comfortingly good as the first one I ever had.
Maybe that’s the real and enduring draw of the fair. It’s a window to our past, a time to stop and say howdy to neighbors and to appreciate the way things used to be. Many East Tennesseans remember the Tennessee Valley Fair from decades ago, and there’s a lot that hasn’t changed since then. It’s still makes a great family outing. And there’s nothing like it for down-home fun. I had a blast!
Playlist:
1. A Most Unusual Day — June Christy
2. State Fair — Los Straitjackets
3. Got To Be There — Michael Jackson
4. Little Red Rooster — Howlin’ Wolf
5. Moving Pictures — The Kinks
6. Sideshow — Blue Magic
7. Let’s Take an Old-Fashioned Walk — Frank Sinatra
8. Deep Fried Twinkies — Terry Hanck
9. Old Folks — Lou Rawls
10. The Good Life — Tony Bennett