Deep-fried dream

09/21/2009 at 11:57 pm | Posted in About town, Deep-Fried Ambassador, Family, Local goods | 13 Comments
Tags: About town, adventures, Deep-Fried State Fair Ambassador, Family, North Carolina State Fair, traditions

Y’all, I’ve stumbled upon an Internet miracle. A glorious find that makes me want to shout YES I’m a blogger and thank goodness for that.

By writing this post, I could become the very first Deep-Fried State Fair Ambassador.

An emissary of awesomeness.

I’m not exaggerating.

Where else besides the North Carolina State Fair can you cheer for pigs racing around a track, marvel at an 800-pound pumpkin, watch 10-year-olds showing livestock they’ve raised, milk a cow and get hurled through the air on top of a giant rainbow?

All while covered in powdered sugar from the heaping tangle of fried dough you just scarfed.

Like I said. Awesomeness.

And this doesn’t even begin to cover it. When I was pregnant a couple of years ago, I watched my first demolition derby at the State Fair. Boy did that baby kick. Er, I guess that could have been from the Italian sausage smothered with peppers and onions I’d just eaten, but still, the derby rocked.

At the fair I always visit the prize cows. And watch the gigantic sow nursing her squealing piglets, a sight that, especially now that I’m a mother, never ceases to amaze.

I’ve walked through the sideshows, paid 50 cents to take a peek at the world’s smallest horse  (I’m not telling. You’ll have to see for yourself.), clutched the side of my cart on the huge ferris wheel as it crept toward the sky. Played game after game after game.

And, oh, the food.

My favorites? Fresh roasted corn dripping with butter, hand-cut fries, a hotdog (or two), a bag of miniature donuts, and if I have any room left, a ham biscuit. And an elephant ear. Ooh, or a fried candy bar. This is why you have to make it a day. Three meals = more options.

Most of all, I love the fair because of my dad. I can’t remember an autumn in my childhood that he didn’t take my sister and me to the fair. We used to have to count backwards from 100 to pass the time in the car. Once we spotted the top of the ferris wheel on the horizon, all bets were off.

My father would drop dollar after dollar until we each won a prize. He’d hold us close on the rides. Let us eat whatever we wanted. Carry all of our loot, including, one year, a cumbersome Michael Jackson poster. And as we morphed into pre-teens, he’d wait patiently while we did it all with our friends, too cool to hang with him.

I’ll always be grateful for those memories. And, this year, I can’t wait to continue the tradition by taking Small Fry to her first State Fair. With my father, of course.

Wouldn’t it be great to do that as the Deep-Fried State Fair Ambassador?

I’d blog from the pre-fair media lunch with the scoop on this year’s festivities, including breaking news on the fair’s newest fried delicacy. At the fair, I’d pound the pavement with my trusty camera and notebook, documenting our experience. The animals, the rides, the exhibits, the food. I can hardly wait to witness Small Fry’s delight.

Interview a carnie?  I’ll do it. Sample every variety of meat on a stick? You bet. Drop 20 bucks to win my kid a plastic trinket? Yep.

All in the name of Ambassadorship. And, of course, in the spirit of my love for the North Carolina State Fair.

Dad would be so proud.