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| - My review will focus on the Arizona State Fair, as I attended many events at this large fairgrounds: Maricopa County Fair, dog shows/adoptions, concerts @ coliseum, book sale, DeafNation, so forth (all with positive experiences). I have attended the State Fair over the years with free admission and will be reviewing mainly this year's attendance...
I went to the State Fair last Thursday on the 22nd and took advantage of their free admission between 12-1, which saved me $10 (not counting discounts offered on other days), as well as avoiding weekend crowds. I walked around and looked at various exhibits, mingled with livestock, purchased a couple fair souvenirs (postcards, pennants, photo taken w/ fair logo over the years), and ate a typical fair snack (funnel cake). I don't go on rides so I won't be reviewing it. I love photography so I took quality photos all over the grounds, just a little of most of day, evening, and night ones. There's lots to see, but I didn't expect much knowing it's Arizona. Just do a price comparison because it's not your typical fair prices so make sure to watch your spending. Downstairs inside the coliseum used to have various vendors either to educate or sell something; nowadays, it's just one big themed exhibition that they change annually. This year featured Vintage Sweets sponsored by Sears, showcasing various famous candies, gums, etc.: Wrigley's, how caramel's made, as well as selling various sweets (Jelly Belly, lollies,...). Exhibit halls featured displays & the winning ribbons: food, craft, sewing, cake decorating, photography, even collecting rocks/minerals. Live food shows with free samples given out, as well as various like hypnotist were done periodically throughout the day. There is one other exhibit I usually avoid: junk selling junk and especially that would be more convenient to purchase elsewhere like a mattress(!) My favorite being an animal lover is the livestock arena where you pet / walk with zoo (baby) animals, look at small show roosters, goats, as well as sit & watch 4-H live shows. They even added sinks for you to wash all the germs off ;) Sheryl Crow was this year's concert lineup for that evening, so I watched her in the evening before heading home.
I appreciate that fair officials have kept in the tradition of keeping the fair going on the same grounds annually since the founding. The fairgrounds used to be a horse racetrack until they eventually built the Veteran's Coliseum and added the fairs (state & county) and then over time included other non-related events. That's how the fairgrounds is kept successfully in business. The rugged southwestern 'charm' is also what keeps the price down a bit and keeps the fair looking like, well a typical fair with the livestock & food scents wafting in the air. Relocating would kill the vintage-y history and drive prices up even more at a new location. I never drive & park there and use only the city bus where the stops are right in front of the entrance; parking is a bit expensive and my bus fare is free so I didn't have to deal with the high price and worry about what happened to my car in some sketchy neighborhood. The fairgrounds and some restrooms were pretty much kept clean and litter-free and when litter/spills did happened, it got cleaned up ASAP. Remember, the grounds is a large property with so many colorful fairgoers that the hired staff could only keep up with. I prefer using the coliseum restroom. The air conditioning inside the coliseum was bit on the chilly side, which is not good for the body when entering from the warm outdoors. Bringing a light sweater for this could be an inconvenient to carry around, and also an umbrella due to limit shading all over. I usually hang around inside buildings until the sun finally set for me to mill around outside afterwards. As for the fairgoers in general, they pretty much keep to themselves so they didn't cost trouble and being that this is typical of Arizona, alot of them looked, umm, alarmingly unkempt. Casual dressing for fair-walking comfort doesn't mean looking like you just got out of bed under an overpass and zoomed over to the fair without eating something or brushing your hair first. Sorry, but ick. I know the fair doesn't have a dress code (sans nudity / barefoot) and that it's not their fault for attracting these type of people. It's...Arizona. I didn't choose to move to Arizona (Mom's) so it's obvious. However, for Sheryl Crow's show, some of the people who showed up at the fair exclusively to see her and not attend the fair did look nice. Whew, there IS hope!
Despite the fair's positive and negative history over the decades, I still think it's a nice place to attend with the special people in your lives and just GO and have a good time with positive vibes and IGNORE the bad. There's security patroling all over. Just have FUN and don't quibble over the little petty eews- just GO and have fun and bring home memories!
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