Wisconsin State Fair

The statewide celebration of summer is underway.

From now through the 16th, the best, brightest, newest, and (in some cases) strangest gather in West Allis, Wisconsin for the Wisconsin State Fair.

The first one was held in 1851 in Janesville - just three years after Wisconsin became a state.  You may recall Janesville is my home town - that fair, like all hat followed was great fun.  Some of the current traditions hadn't taken hold yet.

The State Fair tradition now is the Creme Puff.

350,000 to 400,000 are made and consumed during the fair's ten-day run each year.  The Wisconsin Baker's bake the flaky, tasty conveyance for the sweet cream.  The puff is sliced then moved to the next room - a very cold room - where the cream is dolloped on the lower puff.

In the 40 or so State Fairs I've attended, I've enjoyed my fair share of cream puffs.

My record though was set this year.  There is a deal if 6 are purchased.
Our group was five.  One of our group had the will-power to stop with half a puff.

Just couldn't leave a half cream puff sitting forlorn on a paper plate. I messily ate it after finishing mine.

Leaving one perfect, delicious cream puff didn't seem right.  We asked neighboring tables if they wanted to adopt our remaining puff.  We didn't find a taker.

You maybe could, but I couldn't throw away the cream puff.  I carried it after we cleared away from the stand-up table.

That's when the puff started speaking to me.  "You look hungry. Calories don't count at the fair."

A rookie eater of cream puffs can be spotted quickly at State Fair. They might lick at the cream spilling out between the puffs. Worse, they might attack it like a sandwich.  Bad idea, the cream squeezes out the back!

The veteran move is to gently hold the puff at a slight angle and twist so you achieve two open-faced cream topped puff slices.

Don't get over-confident, however,

The cream finds a way to cling to your fingers, your face, and nose while you enjoy it's dairy deliciousness.

Grab plenty of napkins!

This was the first Fair without either mom or dad to join us.

We followed much of the Fair route we learned from them.  First stop in the Horticulture building (where a build your own floral necklace was offered to all); then a walk around the Department of Natural Resources park; and into the Cream Puff Pavilion.

The other traditions: a baked potato from the Wisconsin Potato Producers; a performance of the Kids From Wisconsin; and shopping in the Expo building were part of our day.

As always it was Fair weather and among the best we've enjoyed.
Mostly cloudy and temperatures in the mid 70s - perfect.

There was a new tradition, one begun in 2010 but took on some added meaning in 2015.

2010 we saw mom and dad's brick for the first time.  A Christmas gift for the parents who have everything, it seemed like a most appropriate way to acknowledge and honor them.

The pair started attending the Wisconsin State Fair in 1962 and never missed.

In 2010, we took family pictures by the hexagon brick, "Bill and Edith Mossner - WSF'rs since 1962."  We enjoyed one more Mossner family traditional fair visit together.

Now, we think about them while eating Cream Puffs or watching the Kids perform there is another place.

A spot, a touchstone, if you will, on the fairgrounds where the Mossners and Wisconsin State Fair will connect for many years to come.