Alaska State Fair

I had heard a lot about the Alaska State Fair and how it was definitely worth taking the time to go to.  So last weekend I jumped at the chance to drive up to Palmer and check it out during its last weekend.  At the fair, I met up with Katy and John, who are also from Colorado and living here for the summer.

Not a bad backdrop for a fair!

I got there a little earlier than the others, so I walked around a bit to see what the fair had to offer.  Though I haven't been to any state fairs before this, I would imagine it was pretty similar to others except with a few Alaskan twists.  I noticed at least 5 booths that sold hot tubs (and apparently pretty successfully too!) and of course plenty of places to buy everything you need for outdoors.  There were a number of clothing booths, including one that was called "Alaska:  Pissing off Texas since 1959."  One shirt said "Let's split Alaska in half and make Texas the 3rd largest state."  There was lots of excellent fair food as well.  One vendor was selling donut burgers (a regular burger, but using donuts instead of buns).  While just the thought of this makes me feel ill, later on we did see some people who seemed to be enjoying them.   

The 1700+ pound pumpkin

After joining up with Katy and John, we roamed around and found the 4H farm exhibits.  While 4H is still foreign to me, Katy grew up participating in 4H events, and she described the different breeds of rabbits (her speciality) to us.  One of the more spectacular parts of the farm exhibits was the produce.  Since there is so much sunlight in the north over the summer, you can end up with some above average sized vegetables.  Case in point: the 1700+ pound pumpkin.  This thing would make one amazing jack-o-latern!  There was also a cabbage plant that was over 120 pounds.

The winners of each category

After checking out the farm exhibits, we made our way to wood lot where the Beard Contest was about to begin.  John wasn't too interested in entering, but Katy convinced him to do.  And it's a good thing too, because he won his category - the urban beard!  This was definitely entertaining to watch.  I grabbed a beer before it started and took a seat to enjoy the whisker wars.  The urban category was up first - these are beards that are supposed to be groomed, the kind you'd be comfortable with in any urban setting.  Next up, the colonists - those with beards that are at least 50% gray.  Only two participated in this category, so everyone went home with a ribbon.  Soup Strainers (moustaches only) were next, and there were some pretty impressive styles.  The winner had a nice handlebar stache.  Last, but most popular, was the homesteader competition.  These were the full beards that hadn't been groomed at all.  There was a lot of competition, but the winner did have an impressively full beard for having only grown it for a year.  In the end, the 4 winners came back up for the Mr. Sourdough award, and the homesteader went home with the camo ribbon.

After the beard competition, we found some seats to watch the lumberjack show.  Right around this time the wind picked up and it started getting chilly, but it was still entertaining to sit and watch the lumberjacks compete in different events.  This was a show that was most definitely scripted, complete with usually corny (but mostly funny) jokes.  We enjoyed it, but we were ready to start moving around again since it was getting on the cold side.

The rest of the time at the fair was spent walking around, eating, and checking out some more 4H exhibits.  Some of the indoor stations had heaters going which felt great.  I can't help but wonder how many state fairs in the summer require heaters!

More pictures.