State Fair Memories

Exhibit in Grand Champion Hall. 8/5/23 dwm

Two days before we planned to attend the Wisconsin State Fair, we changed our mind and moved the visit up one day to Saturday.

 

It's the first time in years we've gone on the weekend.  Saturdays are frequently draw more people than the rest of the week, so moving around the Expo Center or needing to use the rest room can be an exercise in patience and will power.

 

Post-Covid, the fair opens an hour later, so the plan was to meet the rest of the group in front of the Flower building a little before 10.  That's another change, the flower/horticulture building is renamed Grand Champion Hall.

 

1 of 2 Mossner 'bricks' at the fair. dwm

 It still shows flowers, quilts, photos, and a variety of vegetables and baked goods that recently received their ribbons (photo above right).  We go there first because when my parents started attending, it was the first building open.  

 

 After checking out those exhibits, we usually pause at guest services then head to the Central Park mall where we placed a hexagon honoring my parents several years ago.  This was a bigger change than the name of the flower building.

 

 The bricks used to surround a fountain but that fountain was gone, replaced by a modern display.  Near the new fountain we found the bricks and after hunting for five minutes we found ours.

  Before moving to what we still call the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) area, now Exploratory Park, we took a picture of that day's crew which includes a service dog our son and daughter-in-law are training.

A restful spot in the fair's park.

The park has a cabin fronting the fairground's Main Street where DNR staff have information about the parks, trails, and how we all can be better stewards of our precious resources.

 

Near the back of the park is Smoky's schoolhouse which has stood there as long as I've gone to the fair.  I was younger than 10 the first time I sat behind one of the school desks to listen to Smoky share how we could prevent forest fires (known now as wildfires). 

 

As we walked past, I chatted with the DNR people greeting little kids and their parents, telling them I was in their place more than 50 years ago.  

 

The fair is a family tradition and walk down memory lane - good and bad - when we sit in what is now the Bank Five Nine amphitheater, my wife and I are taken back to the visit when the flexing aluminum benches severely pinched the end of one of her fingers.

Finishing our walk around Exploratory Park gets everyone excited because the next stop is probably the most delicious tradition... eating a cream puff!   Come on back for more Thursday, August 10.

All photos, last picture of the 2023 Fair poster, by David Mossner, 8/5/2023