Monday, August 31, 2009

MN State Fair Sonnet - Day 6

Food Art

Some people think way the Sweet Martha’s cookies are stacked in the paper cone, or the Jengaesque, pixie stix stack of French fries are works of art but that’s minor league.

Two of my favorite exhibits are things made with food. The crop art is the best. I have to make my self see the whole Hort Ag building before I allow myself the crop art. I will miss the queen herself, Lillian Colton, the grand champion of all crop art who died in 2007. She’d sit a folding table paitently glueing tiny seeds.
Shown are some 2008 political themed crop art entries.

Crop art Norm, MN State Fair

Crop art elephant, MN State Fair

Next on my list, are the butter heads at the Dairy Building. Princess Kay of the Milky Way; Minnesota's state dairy princess, gets her likeness carved in an 90 lb hunk of butter. The picture shown is of the sculptress and the Princess in the cooler. Linda Christensen has been carving the same heads (they all look the same to me minus the hair) for 38 years. The other booths in the dairy building pale in comparison but what they hey, I’ll add another Fleet Farm key ring to my collection.

Sculpting butter head at MN State Fair

The most bogus of all food exhibits is in the Bee Exhibit. I was reading the rules here; making a gift basket with assorted items made with honey.

Honey basket blue ribbon

Or a collection of honey pots or collectibles:

Honey pots

Or should we call it shit I bought at the store or a garage sale. I call no way. Only a few of the entries are actual items people craft instead of buying.

No matter what the skill or bogus level, I love them all.

MN State Fair Sonnet - Day 5

Bee ride at MN State Fair

MN State fair rides

I get seasick really easily, so I don’t go on many rides. I am a big fan of the Ferris wheel and the new freak show and uh um not much else. But I do love them. I love the neon and the loud music and the crowd. I walk the whole length of the midway admiring all the craziness. One year, I wanted to shoot all the neon in the midway, so went home, waiting until dark and brought my camera. I was apprehensive being alone at the fair with a big expensive camera. Somehow being behind the lens of my camera protected me, and I wasn’t really there, I was documenting but not really there – I’ve heard other photographers talk about that same feeling of not really being there if you have a camera.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

MN State Fair Sonnet - Day 4

Mandoline Slicer demo at MN State Fair
Hucksters...
...Or anyone selling anything. Nearly every radio station and TV station has a booth at the fair. I am such a sucker for the newscasts at the fair because they’ll feature a new booth or new food. I may just have to get a Dole Whip this year just because Don and Amelia (of WCCO) love them. I miss the KLBB booth next to the roasted corn stand. We would get corn and listen to corny old music. My favorite KLBB moment was when a young hip intern, Brad Savage, was on the air some quiet weekend. All he said was, “I got two turntables and a microphone.” I was probably the only person listening who got the reference. We would tell our stories (like me taping the Super Saver show to send to a friend) to the lackeys running the KLBB booth and purchase all the souvenir crap they had.

I have dragged countless friends and relatives to the Chef Harvey booth for the same spiel. It’s the same guy, same spiel – although I can tell the regular guy sits out much more these days. The Ginzu knife guy, Sushi, Vitamix and anyone in the Grandstand is B list for me. But I still love them.

I've bought and really use a: broom, Micro fiber mop, sprinkler, matt cutter Swiss Peeler, German towel and much more. I love buying the newest gadget at the fair, because for the rest of the year (the unfair – like an unbirthday) I get to savior and play with the item until it because fair time again.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

MN State Fair Sonnet - Day 3

State Fair fantasy

This year’s crop (ha!) of new foods doesn’t look all that great. It’s all things done with potatoes – a Pot Roast Sundae; a scoop of mashed potatoes, roast beef, gravy, corn, and cherry tomato. Fry Dogs; a French fry covered, deep fried hot dog on-a-stick and a Tornado Potato; a spiral cut potato on-a-stick. Bogus!

Last year, it was a bacon fest, maple bacon, chocolate dipped bacon. Oh good, I loved them both so much, I ordered them multiple times. I can remember the year Pork chop on a stick débuted and the deep fried candy bar (which you have to get fresh and hot or forget it) and then the deep fried twinkie. Since you can go online and read about the new foods, I make up my own list of what and where and bring it with me. Like a shopping list.

Friday, August 28, 2009

MN State Fair Sonnet - Day 2

Sweet Martha's Cookies
The food. You walk in the fair and you are immediately enveloped in a cloud of grease, chocolate and who knows what. There are some old school foods that scream state fair – cheese curds, foot long hot dogs, Pronto pups and cotton candy. Here’s what I don’t understand. There are people that go nuts over the fries at the fair. Plain old French fries. You can get French fries anywhere. And while I am a fan of Sweet Martha’s cookies, they are warm chocolate chip cookies but you can even buy them frozen and make them in your own oven. But hey, to each their own. My rule is, if I can’t make it home or get it at a restaurant, I’ll get it at the fair – mini donuts, corn dogs or what ever is new. New foods – tomorrow.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

MN State Fair Sonnet - Day 1


State Fair Shadow Box
Originally uploaded by Debora Drower
I love the MN State fair because it’s like going to another world. A world of never ending happiness, you can always see the sun day day day or night night… oh wait. It does seem like you leave your world behind when you enter the state fair. The very first time I went, I was with a cynical friend who wanted me to hate it along with him. And I tried, but I couldn’t. I loved and love the State fair. All of it. Now I attend the fair with like minded friends who love it along with me. I’m going to write sonnet to fair every day to prove my love. And I'm going to dig up more photos of the fair. This is a shadow box I show at art fairs of all my fave things at the fair.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Happy Birthday, Amy Louise


Amy modeling
Originally uploaded by Debora Drower
Fuck you, you fucking fucker. And I mean that with all the love in my heart. (We said that to each other all the time - not mean but in jest.)

You know, we should be in Lake Nebagamon (the bag man - what?) You staying at the city campground and me at the B&B. I could sneak you and Todd muffins and coffee - Then in a canoe on the Brule and me eating big hunks of cheese. I'd bring the Cub Foods white birthday cake that we'd eat the picnic table by your tent. We could go to the Iron River Blueberry festival and get blueberry sausage and cheap blue sunglasses.

I miss you and I'll have a Captain and coke in your honor.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Running away

Dear everyone, I am running away.

I am going to a small town with really great neon signs - like the one in the movie, "Cars." I am never coming home. Unless I get hungry for the Edy's Slow Churned ice cream I have in the freezer.

love,
Debora

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Powderhorn Art Fair this weekend!

Come this guy and much much more at the Powderhorn Art Fair in Minneapolis, MN
on August 8th 10am - 6pm
and August 9th 10am - 5 pm.