Sunday, August 17, 2014

A Fair Bird D'pot

First the Bird D'pot portion of this post. It has been raining, so I didn't get out for my weekend ramble. Thus, no new birds. 
I did have this chipping sparrow left over from a few weeks ago. He was having a run through the grass.

Linking to the Bird D'pot



Onward to the Fair portion of my post.


The first Illinois State Fair was celebrated in 1853 in Springfield. In the first year, the admission fee was 25 cents. Last Thursday it cost $14 to get in.

There was a time when the fair was postponed. There was no state fair during the years 1942-1945 because the fairgrounds were used as a U.S. Army Air Force supply depot. Not D'pot, depot. According to one historian, in the fall of 1943 more than 1,000 Chinese military personnel were trained on the grounds.


Interesting facts:
The Illinois State Fair played a key role in the popularization of the corn dog, starting in 1946.

The fair has long been noted for its annual butter cow.  What is a butter cow you ask? Well, it is a life-size cow formed from pure butter applied to an armature by a sculptor wielding an oversized palette knife. Sorry there are no pictures as we didn't find the butter cow. Well, to be honest, we didn't actually look for it. 

After a mighty long walk from our parking spot, we discovered we had to walk into the light. Which we did with more than a little trepidition. And no, there were no trumpets or angels waiting to escort us onto the fair grounds.


But there were beautiful horses running in front of sulky carts.


Inside the arena there were horses showing off their many talents. This one got honerable mention. The blue ribbon winner's pic turned out too blurry to post.

After much walking around, viewing the art exhibits, western jewelry and touring the livestock barns, it was time for some refreshment and a rest. We passed on the gator-on-a-stick, opting for a more traditional rib eye steak sandwich and lemon-orange shakeups. We enjoyed our fair food while sitting on this old bench in the shade of the horse barns. Good thing we didn't find horse barn fragrance offensive. 
Of course later on we had dessert in the form of an ice cream cone. We passed on the fried candy bars, but we were approached by an older lady looking for the fried butter stand. Fried butter? It sounds totally disgusting, but it must be an interesting project to actually get it fried. We didn't go looking for any fried butter! I'm assuming it was somewhere near that butter cow.
The Illinois state fair isn't nearly as big as the Texas state fair, but it was okay as fairs go.
This week's Rubbish Tuesday post will have more pics from the fair. Can't wait can you? 

Happy Sunday!

14 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

yeah, texas state fair had that fried butter, too. no, i didn't try it. :)

Stephanie said...

Interesting on the butter cow. I like your eye on that brick building of opened windows, really like this shot. Love seeing the horses. It is amazing how prices increase over the years for admission fees. Enjoyed this post.

Anni said...

I loved state fairs....it's been eons since I've attended one tho.

And your sparrow...that is super. I don't think I've ever seen one other than in my bird guides. Lucky you.

Thanks for linking up this week.

eileeninmd said...

Cute Chipping Sparrow! The state fair sounds like fun..Not too sure about fried butter, my stomach would be churning, lol..I love the horses. The Maryland State fair is the last week of August. Great photo, enjoy your Sunday and the new week ahead!

Carol said...

I love the Illinois State Fair. I lived in Springfield from 1983 till 1999 and went every year... some years even working there at the grandstand...checking ID's and listening to great concerts :) The butter cow is cool in a weird kind of way :) Lots of neat old buildings on that fairgrounds.

Ginny Hartzler said...

Well, really I CAN'T wait! I love state fairs and we just went to two!! The last one was a county fair and was this weekend. So I will have my picture Too! Fried butter sounds awful.Butter is used for frying, but they took it literally! Love the horse pictures! How large was the fair...lots and lots of walking? Ours had carts for rent, but we didn't notice it till we were leaving! Your dinner sounds really yummy!

Brian King said...

Nice little chipper!

The Kentucky State Fair is going on right now, too, but I've never been.

Rose said...

I bet there was a LOT of walking that day...I get tired just thinking about it.

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

That's so neat. Lots of interesting sights to see.

Jenn Jilks said...

This is the time of year for them, isn't it? Lots of fun!

A Colorful World said...

No butter cow...no fried butter....come on, Roan! :-) Just teasing! This fair looks awesome! Love that there are sulkie horse races. A lot of walking (glad you didn't go into the LIGHT just the light) but it looks like a fun day.

Anonymous said...

I live in Illinois, but have not been to the state fair since I was about 5 years old. Thank you for this!

Gail Dixon said...

I go the the fair once every 25 years. The crowds and fried food do not agree with me. But your photos are so wonderful and I prefer observing thru others this way. Cute little chipping sparrow you found. :)

June said...

Nice photos. Interesting facts about the fair, too. Thanks for sharing.