. "4"^^ . "2009-11-04T00:00:00"^^ . . "4"^^ . "2"^^ . "1"^^ . "The family and I headed out to the fair on a Tuesday night in November. This is not the home grown state fair you remember growing up. While they may try to make it seem that way, this one is a corporate venture for sure.\n\nThankfully, we went early enough that there really weren't alot of people and the kiddos could get their ride and games in before dark.\n\nParking at the Fair grounds cost us $10 - which we gladly paid to not have to walk down McDowell after dark. We had free tickets to get in, so that saved us $40+.\n\nTypical foods available - fried twinkies, mondo fries, Chinese food, pizza ... even scorpions. No - we didn't try them, but hear they taste just like chicken :)\n\nWe actually picked this particular night to go so we could see David Cook in concert. \n\nHere's the great part of the Fair ... general seating is FREE with fair admission. Sure - you can buy a reserved seat (for something like $15 - $20) to sit a little closer, but we chose the free seats.\n\nGREAT concert! The opening band, The Script, were from Dublin, Ireland and did a good job. This was their first opening for David Cook (and in America?) and their energy really showed their excitement.\n\nDavid Cook was awesome! The best part - he sounded pretty much just like he does on his CD. He was joking around with the audience and having a great time performing. Really enjoyed his singing and the overall performance. I hope he has a really long career ahead of him. \n\nIf you're planning a trip to the fair and would like to save some $$$, definitely read the other YELP reviews before going. There's at least one or two for cheapskates that don't want to spend alot. \n\nWill we go back to the Fair? probably.\nWill we go back for the concert series? Absolutely!\n\nSuggestions?\n1) Check out their website for discount days.\n2) Unless you want to, don't pay full price (see above)\n3) Set a budget and stick to it. \n4) Check out the concert series.\n5) Allow plenty of time to have fun.\n6) There is a free shuttle from somewhere to the fairgrounds ... it would be worth it to research this a little more & find out from where. I didn't have time or we probably would have done this too :)\n7) If you're on twitter - so are they. twitter.com/azstatefair\n8) Their website is www.azstatefair.com\n\nHave a good time!"^^ . .