100 Things to see at the fair part 2
I had a unique opportunity at the 2008 Tennessee State Fair in Nashville, TN. There's so much going on all the time that you can't see everything in just one day. I was able to go multiple days with a pass to get into all of the events. It was difficult to narrow everything down to just 100 pictures. I have divided the photos into groups of 20 so that one blog post isn't too long. Like usual, click on any picture to enlarge.
100 Things to see at the fair #21: Insect display
Inside the agriculture building was a wide-ranging display of an insect and bug collection. If you've ever wondered what a Swallowtail, an Imperial Moth, or an Assassin Bug look like, here's your chance. Unfortunately, they also had cave crickets.
100 Things to see at the fair #22: Grist Mill Demonstration
In the Volunteer Village, a demonstration is given showing how grain is ground into flour using a modern gristmill. The ground flour comes down the blue chute and fine flour falls into the red box, while the larger grain falls into the pile on the left.
The operator is sifting through the flour to make sure it is good, and then will scoop it into bags which he sells.
100 Things to see at the fair #23: High Diver
The pinnacle of the Sinbad Diving Pirate Show is when one of the pirates climbs to the top of the platform and dives into the pool below.
100 Things to see at the fair #24: Omega Force
Omega Force is a collection of people who do feats of extraordinary strength while promoting their love of Jesus. In this scene, the man on top weightlifts a several hundred pound log while the lower man supports him while on top of a bed of nails.
100 Things to see at the fair #25: Petting Zoo pig
In the petting zoo, there were two young black Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Pigs
100 Things to see at the fair #26: Tropical Illusions bird
Tropical Illusions is an animal themed magic show for the family. Before the show starts, this bird does a trick. (If you know what kind of Macaw or Parrot this is, please help me out!) This bird is perched on a stick. the host had an empty water bottle tied to the end of a rope hanging from the stick, and dropped a fruit loop into the water bottle. The bird uses his feet to slide the rope through his feet so that he could reach the water bottle with his beak. He leans backwards to let the fruit loop fall into his mouth. He then dunks the fruit loop into the water dish so that he could eat it.
100 Things to see at the fair #27: Leather Guitar
One of the contests in the Creative Arts building is Leathercraft. The Blue Ribbon winner was a guitar made out of leather. If you look closely, there are 4 midstate logos on the guitar. The first you'll notice is the Tennessee Flag. To its left is a Columbia Mule Day logo. Below that is a Tennessee Walking Horse. To the right of that one is the Grand Ole Opry.
100 Things to see at the fair #28: Wave Swinger at Night
100 Things to see at the fair #29: Audad
Yes, this was labeled in the Petting Zoo as an Audad, and no, I hadn't heard of it either. Googling it found that the more common spelling is Aoudad. Googling that took me to the Wikipedia page where I find the more common name is Barbary Sheep, and I suppose I may have heard of those before. Even though it is called sheep, it is more similar to a goat or an antelope, and they originally come from northern Africa. This fella was anxiously waiting for you to pet him.
100 Things to see at the fair #30: Bumper Boats
This girl and her younger brother were having fun on the bumper boats. He would steer while she sat back and relaxed as best one could in an impact prone hyrda-vehicle.
In case of fire, thank goodness there's an extinguisher nearby.
100 Things to see at the fair #31: Chef Landry
Chef Landry was a Comedy / Cooking show. Maybe a better description was he told funny stories while occasionally telling us what he was doing to the Jambalaya. As he was slicing raw chicken breasts, he reminded us that more people hurt themselves with dull knives than with sharp knives.
100 Things to see at the fair #32: Cavies
Cavies are better known to a lot of people as Guinea Pigs. There were two judges looking at the cavies without as much fanfare as some of the other animals.
100 Things to see at the fair #33: Goat shed
While not the petting zoo, some of the animals in the other stables will let you pet them.
100 Things to see at the fair #34: All the King's Horses
All the King's Horses is a traveling Horse show. Each of the horses is graceful in its own way and each one has a different talent. However, None of them could put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
100 Things to see at the fair #35: The Music Circle
This musical act played on the Purity Main Stage on a weekend night.
100 Things to see at the fair #36: Keith King
Keith King is the leader of a touring BMX bike stunt show. While the other performers do airborne tricks, King specializes in flatland tricks.
100 Things to see at the fair #37: Kids Talent Show
Contestant #208 was a show stealer at the Fairest of the Fair talent show. She's dressed as Dorothy while singing "Somewhere over the Rainbow." A judge told me later that she was the grand prize winner.
100 Things to see at the fair #38: Political Cake Design
Cake design is a contest held every year. This year, there were many cakes designed with a political theme. I'm not sure if it was a special subcategory for an election year, or if the topic was just fresh on everybody's mind. This is indeed the top of a cake!
Personally, I think it would be really cool if a 50 foot George Washington was there to stop both candidates from getting to the white house. :)
100 Things to see at the fair #39: "Badlands" Booker
Eric "Badlands" Booker was the fan favorite at the Krystal Square-off. Maybe it was because he gave out free copies of his competitive eating themed rap CD, or maybe it was because he looked like he was eating like the rest of us eat and not squishing 4 in his hand at time, flinging bits everywhere or dunking it into soggy red goo. This picture was taken during the three person overtime and his Krystals still look like Krystals.
I know you want to hear his music. Lucky for you, he has his own myspace music profile, and you're in for, ahem, a real treat. Check out "She's My Bunnette" or "Sweet Science of CE" which samples the Thomas Dolby song. The fun doesn't stop there, as he's got his own clothing line, Hungry & Focused Apparel.
If that doesn't satisfy your craving of Booker weblinks, check his Original website and his Facebook fan appreciation page for his "Krystal Square-Off Rap" and a song that samples ABBA's Mamma Mia, and finally his YouTube page.
By the way, the dude in the background is an ESPN video camera operator.
100 Things to see at the fair #40: Pony ride
100 Things to see at the fair #21: Insect display
Inside the agriculture building was a wide-ranging display of an insect and bug collection. If you've ever wondered what a Swallowtail, an Imperial Moth, or an Assassin Bug look like, here's your chance. Unfortunately, they also had cave crickets.
100 Things to see at the fair #22: Grist Mill Demonstration
In the Volunteer Village, a demonstration is given showing how grain is ground into flour using a modern gristmill. The ground flour comes down the blue chute and fine flour falls into the red box, while the larger grain falls into the pile on the left.
The operator is sifting through the flour to make sure it is good, and then will scoop it into bags which he sells.
100 Things to see at the fair #23: High Diver
The pinnacle of the Sinbad Diving Pirate Show is when one of the pirates climbs to the top of the platform and dives into the pool below.
100 Things to see at the fair #24: Omega Force
Omega Force is a collection of people who do feats of extraordinary strength while promoting their love of Jesus. In this scene, the man on top weightlifts a several hundred pound log while the lower man supports him while on top of a bed of nails.
100 Things to see at the fair #25: Petting Zoo pig
In the petting zoo, there were two young black Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Pigs
100 Things to see at the fair #26: Tropical Illusions bird
Tropical Illusions is an animal themed magic show for the family. Before the show starts, this bird does a trick. (If you know what kind of Macaw or Parrot this is, please help me out!) This bird is perched on a stick. the host had an empty water bottle tied to the end of a rope hanging from the stick, and dropped a fruit loop into the water bottle. The bird uses his feet to slide the rope through his feet so that he could reach the water bottle with his beak. He leans backwards to let the fruit loop fall into his mouth. He then dunks the fruit loop into the water dish so that he could eat it.
100 Things to see at the fair #27: Leather Guitar
One of the contests in the Creative Arts building is Leathercraft. The Blue Ribbon winner was a guitar made out of leather. If you look closely, there are 4 midstate logos on the guitar. The first you'll notice is the Tennessee Flag. To its left is a Columbia Mule Day logo. Below that is a Tennessee Walking Horse. To the right of that one is the Grand Ole Opry.
100 Things to see at the fair #28: Wave Swinger at Night
100 Things to see at the fair #29: Audad
Yes, this was labeled in the Petting Zoo as an Audad, and no, I hadn't heard of it either. Googling it found that the more common spelling is Aoudad. Googling that took me to the Wikipedia page where I find the more common name is Barbary Sheep, and I suppose I may have heard of those before. Even though it is called sheep, it is more similar to a goat or an antelope, and they originally come from northern Africa. This fella was anxiously waiting for you to pet him.
100 Things to see at the fair #30: Bumper Boats
This girl and her younger brother were having fun on the bumper boats. He would steer while she sat back and relaxed as best one could in an impact prone hyrda-vehicle.
In case of fire, thank goodness there's an extinguisher nearby.
100 Things to see at the fair #31: Chef Landry
Chef Landry was a Comedy / Cooking show. Maybe a better description was he told funny stories while occasionally telling us what he was doing to the Jambalaya. As he was slicing raw chicken breasts, he reminded us that more people hurt themselves with dull knives than with sharp knives.
100 Things to see at the fair #32: Cavies
Cavies are better known to a lot of people as Guinea Pigs. There were two judges looking at the cavies without as much fanfare as some of the other animals.
100 Things to see at the fair #33: Goat shed
While not the petting zoo, some of the animals in the other stables will let you pet them.
100 Things to see at the fair #34: All the King's Horses
All the King's Horses is a traveling Horse show. Each of the horses is graceful in its own way and each one has a different talent. However, None of them could put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
100 Things to see at the fair #35: The Music Circle
This musical act played on the Purity Main Stage on a weekend night.
100 Things to see at the fair #36: Keith King
Keith King is the leader of a touring BMX bike stunt show. While the other performers do airborne tricks, King specializes in flatland tricks.
100 Things to see at the fair #37: Kids Talent Show
Contestant #208 was a show stealer at the Fairest of the Fair talent show. She's dressed as Dorothy while singing "Somewhere over the Rainbow." A judge told me later that she was the grand prize winner.
100 Things to see at the fair #38: Political Cake Design
Cake design is a contest held every year. This year, there were many cakes designed with a political theme. I'm not sure if it was a special subcategory for an election year, or if the topic was just fresh on everybody's mind. This is indeed the top of a cake!
Personally, I think it would be really cool if a 50 foot George Washington was there to stop both candidates from getting to the white house. :)
100 Things to see at the fair #39: "Badlands" Booker
Eric "Badlands" Booker was the fan favorite at the Krystal Square-off. Maybe it was because he gave out free copies of his competitive eating themed rap CD, or maybe it was because he looked like he was eating like the rest of us eat and not squishing 4 in his hand at time, flinging bits everywhere or dunking it into soggy red goo. This picture was taken during the three person overtime and his Krystals still look like Krystals.
I know you want to hear his music. Lucky for you, he has his own myspace music profile, and you're in for, ahem, a real treat. Check out "She's My Bunnette" or "Sweet Science of CE" which samples the Thomas Dolby song. The fun doesn't stop there, as he's got his own clothing line, Hungry & Focused Apparel.
If that doesn't satisfy your craving of Booker weblinks, check his Original website and his Facebook fan appreciation page for his "Krystal Square-Off Rap" and a song that samples ABBA's Mamma Mia, and finally his YouTube page.
By the way, the dude in the background is an ESPN video camera operator.
100 Things to see at the fair #40: Pony ride
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posted by BrentKMoore | 2:44 PM
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