Jennifer Plesko

I’ve always been a sucker for fairs, be it county or state. I must’ve shared this with hubby early on because one of our first dates was to the county fair. I don’t know what exactly draws me to a good fair. Maybe it’s the nostalgia or the memories or the romance – more than likely, it’s the food.

Ever since we moved to Dallas, going to the State Fair of Texas was at the top of my “to do” list. I mean, we now live half an hour from the largest state fair in the U.S.! There’s even a Rodgers and Hammerstein movie about it, people!

I was hoping my Dallas friends would be onboard, but they’ve lived here too long and now they’re all jaded. “It’s so crowded.” “It’s in the ghetto.” “We’re all gonna die.” Whatever, pansies.

True, Fair Park is not in the most savory part of town, but that adds to the adventure. One time, hubby and I went to a football game in the Cotton Bowl (which is in Fair Park) and had to wait for our hotel shuttle in a parking lot down the street. While we waited, a crackhead provided the entertainment by performing magic tricks for us. Where else can you find such industrious crackheads?

Since the fair ends this weekend, I had all but given up hope of going this year. So, imagine my excitement when my company announced on Wednesday that our teambuilding exercise was going to be a trip to the fair! It was dreary and raining with no signs of letting up, but – score! – free trip to the fair on a weekday!

Lovely day for the fair!

We were broken up into groups and given a list for a scavenger hunt (that was the “teambuilding” aspect, I suppose). I was glad to see that there were food-related items on the list because I am all about trying the latest fried fair concoctions. For fried fair desserts, the rule of thumb seems to be to just cover it in powdered sugar. That makes things like “fried coke” look legit. Our team tried fried s’mores (delicious) and fried cookie dough (heaven in my mouth). And we most definitely sought out the highly-publicized chicken-fried bacon. Yeah. What 700-lb shut-in came up with that concept? It wasn’t bad – especially with the ranch dipping sauce – but I was glad I split an order three ways because had I tried to eat a full order, my heart would have screamed, leapt out of my mouth, and run away. I didn’t get to try the fried grilled cheese, which I hear is amazing. But I suspect my heart would’ve reacted the same way.

mmmm Fried S’mores

Prior to this, I had only been to the State Fair four times that I can recall. But as we ran all over Fair Park hunting for things, memories just kept flooding back. There’s the pirate ship ride where my mom and I almost lost our lunch in 1988. There’s the funhouse where I got lost and couldn’t find my way out in 1996. There’s the pitching game at Midway where, in 2001, hubby (then boyfriend) spent a fortune on tickets and practically threw his arm out trying to prove that the radar gun was 10 mph off. And, of course, I remember the first time I saw Big Tex in 1985 and how in awe I was; I wanted to just stay there and wait for him to make an announcement so I could see him talk.

In front of the “new” Texas Star ferris wheel in 1985

There are a lot of practical reasons you think of as you get older not to go any fair. Overpriced food, cheesy prizes, crowds, long lines, etc. But life is short. Suck it up, find some fun people, and just go for it. The memories - and the food - are worth it.