It’s been a busy week for me at the NYS Fair. Busy eating too much, walking too much and eating too much. This year I bought pre-sale tickets and parking passes in order to save some bucks… you know, so I could spend it on Fair essentials like food. I had the brilliant idea of buying the advance sale parking passes so that I could park closer to the main gate. Why I was thinking this I do not know. All I do know is that when I parked at the Fair using my parking pass, I ended up being directed to the absolutely farthest away parking spot available. I think I must have walked almost a mile to get to the end of the midway, than another 1/2 mile to get to my final destination, the Dinosaur BBQ tent. But I did finally make it and immediately had a Hot Sausage with peppers and onions. Yum!
After eating that way too quickly, it quickly became apparent that I was right across from where one of my favorite street performers was scheduled to begin his show. I’m referring of course to Hilby, the Skinny,German, Juggle Boy. This guy is hilarious and has a routine that appeals to all ages. His humor is very clever and although some of his jokes will skim right over the heads of kids, adults will end up howling with laughter. If you ever get a chance to see Hilby perform, don’t miss the opportunity. Here are a couple shots of Hilby taken at the State Fair on Thursday, August 31, 2006.
After seeing Hilby, we walked a short distance to the Wine Court. It was nearing happy hour, so we decided we’d better taste a few wines and eat some cheese and crackers. After happy hour, it was a quick jaunt across the street to Chevrolet Court to see the Four Tops perform. They were just awesome. Click here to see a short movie of the Four Tops.
The show was about 40 minutes long. Every song was performed with great enthusiasm and they looked and sounded great!
When the Four Tops had finished their show and since the fair is primarily about eating (from my point of view anyway), it was off to the International Food Pavilion for some Buffalo Chicken Gyros and a large piece of Baklavah. Belive it or not, that was topped off with an Apple Dumpling a la mode. Did I share any of this with my wife? Well, a little bit and rather reluctantly. Afterwards, we slowly made our way through food alley and past the Dairy Building. Wait a minute, did I say past the Dairy Building? I actually meant we walked into the Dairy Building so I could get my 2 glasses of cold, fresh chocolate milk while my wife got a chocotale covered banana. After that (with no room left in my belly for any more food), it was time to call it a day and begin the long trek back to the car and look forward to next years NYS Fair.
OK, and in the Dairy Building, did you NOT see The Butter sculpture?! I was lucky to see Mr. Redneck himself, Toby Keith in concert, with NO rain, along with Joe Nichols and two other guys who started the show, sang a song I’ve heard on the radio, but don’t remember their names. They were OK, Joe was great, and Toby, well Toby was bigger, brighter, louder, but not necessarily better. I saw Toby when he opened a couple years ago at the Fair for Brooks and Dunn, making a low key entrance on a roll-away stage. For all the bells and whistles of Brooks and Dunn, we almost liked Toby better. So, it was interesting to compare him to today as the main act. Somehow, I found the artist was lost in the BIG over the top show and at times I could not understand the words, though I knew every song. Joe, on the other hand, had a very basic presentation, much like Toby’s years ago, and his personal performance came through loud and clear. Nothing lost in the production. So, bigger is not always better. By the way, no trip to the Fair is worthwhile without a stop at Dinosaur BarBQ. And, Hilby is by far one of the best and funniest street performers. Did you get this year’s fridge magnet for your collection?
Carol, Well now that you mention it, I did see the Butter Sculpture. It kind of left me curdled. It wasn’t one of the better ones I’ve seen. But it is still interesting to view no matter what. I forgot to mention that I also had an elephant ear, a half-moon cookie and way too much chocolate milk. But hey, calcium is good for you right? And yes, I did get my first Hilby magnet this year. Quite nice. I’m sure Hilby would be impressed to know that it is the -only- refrigerator magnet on my regrigerator.
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