I MISS THE FAIR

I just went through all the old @kystatefair pictures on my phone and now I will share some in this thread that I’ll call Faces of the Fair.

This is Opal. She goes to the fair multiple times each year & she likes the senior activities. Right before we talked, she won some fig newtons in a bingo game. She told me she’s diabetic but would take her Metformin later & eat the cookies while playing spades on the computer.

(Please notice that Opal’s lunch was taco salad and coffee)

This is legendary badass Tino Wallenda, patriarch of the Flying Wallndas, signing autographs. He said they don’t work with a net because it makes you less careful. His performance was heart stopping. Bleachers of people in COMPLETE silence, covering their mouths & hearts.

This is a dairy farmer named Corey Huie. He taught me how to wash a cow, then later got into a horrifically nasty argument in the comments of my Facebook post about it (someone called his cows underweight).

This is Jonese Franklin and Eleanor Klibanoff in the karaoke tent. Notable because they’re awesome fair companions, and because this was the only year the fair had a dedicated karaoke tent. I guess after us, there was nowhere else to go with it.

This is Tim and Chris, working in the Emergency Operations Center. There was severe weather coming & they were monitoring it in case they had to shut down the tents or midway (they did, temporarily). They also have the best sunglass tan lines, obvs.

This is Bobby, a bingocise instructor. Behind him is bingocise caller Jon. Jon calls three numbers, then Bobby leads three exercise movements. (As previously alluded to, you can win fig newtons.)

This is the Sloan family, who decided to watch the 2017 solar eclipse from the fair “because it’s the best place to be!” I agree, and this was an epic event at the fair, so here’s more from eclipse day.

Here’s Wayne Hettinger with an inflatable planetarium (you may know Wayne as the producer of a little show called Thunder Over Louisville).

These are historic interpreters Alan and Tim (as KY founders James Harrod and Daniel Boone). The cardboard eclipse glasses made them look like time travelers.

I wish I knew this sugar glider handler’s name, but he lives in my heart and mind for inspiring a great “awww” that I caught on tape.

This is Todd and Tom. Brothers-in-law whose roosters always enter the rooster crowing contest (and often win). The prize is $5 and a bag of chicken feed. I didn’t plan to share audio in this thread but I CAN’T HELP THIS. https://soundcloud.com/wfplnews/the-fastest-15-minutes-at-the-kentucky-state-fair

Here’s farmer Alan Miller with one of his beloved border collies. They herd a bunch of ducks through obstacles (and sometimes disobey Farmer Miller, which the audience LOVES). This would have been the 50th year Miller’s Border Collies appeared at the fair!

In conclusion, I miss the @kystatefair so much. But maybe waiting 2 years instead of 1 will make the bourbon ball milkshakes, roasted corn, and mule kisses seem that much sweeter in 2021.