A day at the fair Monday, August 27, 2007

People of all ages line up to enter the Oregon State Fair Aug. 26 in Salem. The 142nd annual fair celebrates the "Wonders of Oregon."

Sunday I visited the Oregon State Fair in Salem. I've never been to a state fair before, but it was pretty much what I expected—the standard midway, a big barn full of prize-winning (and -losing) pork chops farm animals, a large selection of carnival "food" and, of course, a talent contest. I didn't see the state's largest zucchini, Auntie May's blue ribbon peach pie, or Sue-Ann's championship penmanship sample, but I think they were there somewhere.

The 2007 fair runs through Sept. 3 at the State Fairgrounds in Salem.

Contestants in the Adult Statewide Talent Contest perform "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" as the Andrews Sisters.












Mary Swearingen, 2007 Marion County Dairy Princess/Ambassador, tells fair goers about the milking process. The Holsteins, she says, produce about 100 glasses of milk in each of their two to three daily milkings. Each cow drinks about 50 gallons of water a day.







Several of the sheep in the barn appeared to be ready for a KKK rally.













In reality, they were vying for trophies like these (left). The clothes keep the sheep clean as they await their turn in the ring (below).












The stock barn can be a noisy place (below), but that didn't seem to bother some (below right).















(left) Overcooked mystery vegetables, undercooked rice, greasy chicken ... just right. A $13 fair meal.

OK, so crappy food is part of the fair experience—hot dogs, over-fried fries, cotton candy, caramel corn. But Subway? That's not fair fare!

(left) The "fairlift" carries passengers right across the fairgrounds from the midway to the picnic grove: $4 for a one-way ticket, $5 round trip. (below) The midway includes all of the standard rides from the tilt-a-whirl to the zipper and, of course, a Ferris wheel. The best part, at least last Sunday—no lineups.