I won all the blue ribbons for canning at the state fair.
I did have a big following in the upper New York area. I was at the New York State Fair a few times over the years. I have areas that I say are my areas.
Volunteering is as Iowan as pork chop on a stick at the State Fair.
I love the State Fair. It's an event that really brings the urban and the rural Minnesotans together. Rural people get a chance to mix with the urban folk and see what the cities have to offer, and urban people get to remember where their food comes from and who produces it for them.
You need to make a trip to Des Moines in August, because the Iowa State Fair really is a sight to see. The Iowa Fairgrounds are usually packed for those 11 days, and you get a real sense of what a classic Midwest fair is all about.
Phoenix is great. I love Phoenix, .. I love Scottsdale. I love the James Hotel. I have a Kathy Griffin suite. I love -what's that place called? AZ 88. I had never had a cheese crisp, so I went to - oh, can't remember. We went to the State Fair, where I was all about the deep-fried Twinkie. I ate every deep-fried thing - oh, it was heavenly. I ate until I got sick.
The thing is that Chuck Schumer, for all his power and influence, is a pretty pathetic figure. You go around New York State, and people make jokes about him and talk about how he shows up at the New York State Fair and has a staffer carrying a big sign saying 'Come meet Chuck Schumer.'
If you ever start feeling like you have the goofiest, craziest, most dysfunctional family in the world, all you have to do is go to a state fair. Because five minutes at the fair, you'll be going, 'you know, we're alright. We are dang near royalty.'
I'm a big State Fair person, and my main goal is to eat as much food as possible, but I tend not to do the foods on a stick. But I like Big Fat Bacon.
