State fair!














Awesome.

KY has the 3d largest state fair in the country, according to some guy emceeing the “Cast Iron Chef” competition (featuring pork raised in – you guessed it – Kentucky). If this was the third largest fair, I’d really like to see the first and second largest fairs, because there was nothing that this fair didn’t have. There was an outdoor midway. (At Joiner’s insistence, I tried darts and won a stuffed penguin.) There was a competition for every conceivable noun – sheep, quilts, blueberry pies, christening gowns, largest pumpkin (815 pounds), pigs, wedding cakes, tobacco, goats, cows, ugly lamps (I kid you not), honey. There was the national horse championship. There was fair food of all artery-clogging types: corn dogs, cheese fries, polish sausages, pineapple soft serve (curious – wanted to try it, but was too full from aforementioned corn dog, cheese fries and polish sausage), funnel cake, Philly cheese steaks, caramel popcorn, turkey drumsticks. There were exhibitions by state agencies, manufacturers, food industry reps (soybeans are big here, surprisingly), NASA, NOAA, nonprofits like the Kentucky Historical Society.

The most delightful thing about the state fair, however, was the people. We saw farmers, complete with overalls and leading livestock on ropes. We saw cowboys, young, lean men in white t-shirts, cowboy hats, and cowboy boots with spurs. We saw redneck couples, tattooed, bleach-haired/mustached, and holding hands. We saw gaggles of teenagers and families. We saw groups of elderly men and women with carefully styled white hair and sensible shoes. Toward the end of the day, before the concert, we saw the well-heeled sector of society – young women in sleek strapless dresses, peep-toed high heels and French manicures; matrons in sequins, gauzy panels and big jewelry; men in dark slacks and crisp button-down shirts. The fair was the crossroads for all walks of society, from all over the state.

There was moment, though, when I was reminded that not ALL types of people are regulars at the fair. I saw three Asian faces besides mine today, the last one a teenaged boy who turned around when both he and I heard the words “Chinese… Japanese? Dude, I don’t know!” from someone a few feet away from us. A group of three white teens were giggling and walking in our direction. As they passed me, they turned around and looked at me while I was looking at them.

Joiner and I have loved the small towns we’ve seen in the northern states. But I could probably not live in them, because of those kinds of moments. The moments that remind me that no matter how long I live here, there will always be people who see me as “Chinese, or Japanese,” and never as an American. It’s depressing, always having to assert your identity. There’s just less chance of that happening in a major city.

Despite that moment (which was probably also a product of only 5 hours of sleep), I had an amazing time at the fair. It was AWESOME. Go now!

Pigs in love:














Dressed sheep (looking eerily like KKK members):














Prize pie:














Ugly lamps?














In fact, yes: