2023, Kids, Mysteries, State Fair

Notes From Opening Day

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Just a few observations from Opening Day at the Fair!

Cookies.  Sweet Martha’s has made a big change, well a big change in my book.  Instead of the smallest size coming to you in a paper cone, it now comes in a cup.  Of course, they still fill it up 50% higher than the lip of the cup, so I continue to need my collapsible cookie container!

Tantrums.  Normally you see more tantrums in the afternoon but this one little gal (I’m guessing four years old) was getting the day off to a rip-roaring start.  I’m not even sure what she was raging about but her poor father was sitting on the curb, holding onto the stroller (which she was trying to rip out of his hands), while he tried desperately to “reason” with her.  I didn’t want to pry, so I didn’t hang out long enough to see how long the meltdown lasted but as worked up as she was, it might have been awhile.

Community Building.  One of the bands in the parade was the Eden Prairie High School Band, which is a whooper.  As the muscians marched by, I noticed that the entire drum section was wearing pig ear headbands from the Oink Booth.  None of the rest of the band was sporting any headgear.

Creating a Stir.  There was a fairly large crowd at AFL-CIO Corner, but all but one of the little kiosks was quiet.  Turns out six St. Paul Firefighters were present to sign and sell the firefighters’ annual calendar.  Two of the six were wearing muscle shirts, the others no shirts at all.  They were doing a brisk business in calendars and photo ops.

Sad Shakespeare.  I have a pretty high tolerance for Shakespeare in any form and it’s a good thing.  There was a short performance in the West End towards the end of the day.  The little troop did the Pyramus and Thisbe play from the end of A Midsummer’s Night Dream.  It was a silly bit and only lasted 15 minutes but without the rest of the play to explain it, it didn’t make much sense.  The poor sound system didn’t help them much.  Pyramus’ death scene however was a hoot.

Have you ever worn a team hat?

39 thoughts on “Notes From Opening Day”

  1. No sports teams. I don’t think there was a hat involved in my brief stint with marching band in high school.
    I have a baseball-style cap from the Ampersand Club that I wear sometimes.

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  2. VS, I was awaiting your report.

    BTW, I have an extra—free!–State Fair ticket worth $16. My right heel has bursitis causing me to cancel my second shift Wednesday. Very painful. Any Baboon can claim it.

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  3. Sure, baseball hats from all the teams I played on from Little League through HS.

    Chris in Owatonna

    PS- A big shout out of thanks to Barb in Rivertown (formerly Robbinsdale) and Linda for stopping in at Fair Trade Books on Saturday to buy my new book, “Little Mountain, Big Trouble.” It means so much that you take the time to drive somewhere (sometimes a LONG distance) to meet me and buy a book.

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        3. Ben,

          Zoe DeVoe, co-owner with her husband, Rick, of Fair Trade Books, said she knows you (or at least knows of you) for doing some stage work (I think) in Rochester. I can’t recall exactly what her connection was, but maybe the last name rings a bell for you.

          Chris

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  5. Do t-shirts count? I’m just not a big hat person. I have a lot of Rock Bend and other event t-shirts. Some of my Rock Bend t-shirts say “Staff” on them. It’s as close as I can come.

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  6. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    I have had countless “Team T-shirts”, but I cannot think of a team hat, with the exception of our Marching Band hat. That was a large black and furry thing perched on our heads, in the style of Buckingham Palace Guards. It was heavy and HOT.

    Meanwhile, my day at the State Fair was really hot and humid. I did fine at the “Ask a Master Gardener”booth, though. Lots of questions about growing blueberries, about which I know nothing. Here are a few of my notes:

    1. Lots of pregnant women. A fertility boom.

    2. Fine Arts show: only several works really appealed to me and they were nature scenes or pictures of people and animals. Many of the pieces seemed to me to be artists trying way too hard to be sophisticated and I thought it just looked dumb. My favorite was a ceramic sculpture of clowns on a boat, blissfully rowing with wire wisks and getting nowhere behind a clueless leader. It seemed to speak to some political themes of the last, say, 7 years. It was wickedly funny.

    3. The chocolate malt served at the Dairy Building was delicious and it was the longest line ever.

    4. There were a lot of mobility carts there, which made me happy. To see barriers to participation relieved is what the fair is about.

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  9. Obviously not on their team, but I do have and wear a Lynx cap. The only team hat I wore was for high school marching band.

    Jacque – sorry I missed you at the Fair on Friday. We were in the building a bit too early and didn’t have the chance to return later. And sorry about your bursitis – that’s really miserable.

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  10. I do have a Moondogs cap. Otherwise I avoid clothing with writing. I had a student in homeroom for four years who never wore a shirt with a collar. All various sports jerseys. I teased him about it for three of those years. So his last day he wore collared shirt. He graduated in 77. So long ago. I had seven teacher’s kids in that group. Both of his parents were. Such a fun kid. The whole group of 23 students were so much fun.

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  12. Last year I attended a Columbus Clippers (The AAA New York Yankees affiliate) baseball game against the Saint Paul Saints (Twins affiliate) and wore a TC, Minnesota Twins hat. We ( a Yankee fan buddy and his 5 years old grandchild) sat in the first row right next to the Saints dugout. The guys gave the kid 6 of the balls the umpire threw out. He generously gave half away. I got my hat exchanged for a Saint Paul Saints hat. Saints won that night. The victory was all my hat’s doing.

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  13. I am now binging on the Avengers 1960’s TV series. The bowler hat Steed wears is very attractive. I have quite a few suits that fit and inherited from my suave father. I might go with Dad’s Team.

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  15. I have a hat for my dragon boat team. It doesn’t stay on very well, though. I’ll put it on for a team photo.

    One of my half brothers used to be a firefighter in St. Paul. Pretty sure they weren’t doing the calendars then, though.

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