I Went to the New York State Fair!

Can you believe it? I’ve lived in New York all my life, even a few miles away from the fairgrounds, and have never been. Finally, now that I am {unintelligible} years old, I went! It was a very pleasant experience. Here are some the highlights.

Hands down, our favorite part of the fair was the Harlem Wizards. When I was a kid, I absolutely loved the Harlem Globetrotters. I always wanted to see them perform live, but I never got the chance. The Harlem Wizards, the brainchild of Howie Davis in 1962, were brought together to give the Globetrotters a little competition. And indeed they do! The boys and I loved their show. Swoop (Dwayne Simpson), Broadway (Eric Jones), RoadRunner James Tyndal) and G-Wiz (Gordon Malone) got the audience involved in a few games and really put on a great — but all too brief! — show. These guys rock!

I also enjoyed the horse show. We got to “visit” with a few of the horses in the “waiting room” of the arena. They are such beautiful animals.

There was also an Iroquois longhouse display and an entire area devoted to local Iroquois tribes cultures and art, with loads of gift shops.

Some of the displays were very nice. This is a handmade birch bark canoe, crafted from all natural materials.

A group of folks put on an educational show. We didn’t get to see much of it, but it drew a good-sized crowd.

My son loved the armored security vehicle. He is a military buff and was thrilled to explore the vehicle. We wanted to take the machine for a little spin, but (Private?) Mulholland forgot the keys. Nuts.

It was a full day and we saw so much more. In the next post, I’ll have photos of the butter sculpture and more animals and other exciting displays, including a little interview with a dulcimer craftsman!