Whew! 4 blog posts to get through the entire fair! If you are beginning with this post, I would suggest you look at the side bar for August 2014 and read from the bottom up, in chronological order.
What a wonderful fair this year! For the most part, the weather was perfect, attendance was up, the exhibitors were plentiful, and the concerts were entertaining. Of course, I enjoy spending time with all the special folks who join us at the fair most of all.
The final weekend of the Missouri State Fair means that it is time for the draft horse hitch competitions. I have to tell you that if you can only get to the fair for one day, come on the last Saturday of the fair so that you can attend the Show Me Classic Draft Horse Hitch competition on Saturday night. That is worth the drive all by itself!
But first, let me show you a bit from the beginning of that weekend...
Friday was the day that Zack, Jackson, and Brianna had to head home. Brianna had move-in day for her dorm early on Saturday morning so Jackson went back with her, and Zack hitched a ride home with them. :)
Zack, Jonathan, Marvin, Jackson, Brianna
Before they left, however, we were able to enjoy a few more hours in the fair. We walked through the machinery area and I was struck by the realization that this was the first year EVER where we hadn't taken photos with the big tractors on opening day! I guess that is the final proof that the 'boys' are growing up. They didn't even think about it!
Jackson, Brianna, Jonathan, and Zack
Jackson, Marvin, and Jonathan
We met up with Jim, Mama, and Daddy for lunch at Jacksons. Yes, Jacksons. :) They have yummy smoked brisket, BBQ pork, and fried catfish. Good eating! :)
Jonathan, Zack, Brianna, Jackson, and Jim
Jonathan, Zack, Mama, Daddy, Marvin, and Jim
Back at the camper, I got a photo of the caricature drawing that Brianna and Jackson had made for them at the fair.
Brianna and Jackson
Then it was time for good-byes. I think Jackson still can't quite get used to having his 'little' brother be able to pick him up! :)
:)
Brianna, Jackson, Zack, and Jonathan
After getting them on the road the rest of us went back to the fair to watch the draft horse hitch competition. There is one on Friday night, the biggie on Saturday night, and another on Sunday afternoon. This is truly a highlight of the fair! Here are a couple of links with some good information about draft horse showing. Here and here.
Michaela riding her draft horses
We have watched this girl grow up over the years at the fair. She is now 16 and is cool and confident with her draft horses. She is a lot of fun to watch! This year she rode her two draft horses bareback while standing up. Video below. :)
last look at the lights of the carnival
walking home to the camper - lights on the Swine Barn
Saturday morning Mama and I attended the bald eagle/great horned owl talk at the Conservation Pavilion. I never tire of seeing this magnificent and regal bird!
Phoenix, a 25 year old bald eagle who was rescued
great horned owl
Then it was over to the Mathewson Center for the Pony Pull. Remember the draft horse pull from Wednesday evening? This is the same idea, only with ponies and they only pull weight for 6 feet. However, I have been told that they actually pull more weight for their size than the big draft horses! They sure are raring to go!
The evening of the Show Me Classic you can hardly find a seat free in the Mathewson Center. Yet, in the midst of that crowd I had a happy coincidence. Last year a lady randomly sat by me and we had a great time visiting and watching the show. It turned out she is from a town nearby and we have several friends in common. Lo and behold, in that huge arena packed full, she walks in this year and again finds a seat by me! We got so tickled and agreed that next year we will count on meeting there. Although, now that we are going to try to meet up, we probably won't be able to find each other! :)
Tandem Cart
4-horse hitch
Unicorn hitch
Michaela in "ride a draft" class
The final class of the competition is so exciting and yet scary. It is the 6-horse hitch competition. That means that a large wagon is pulled by a team of 6 large draft horses (Percheron, Belgian, Clydesdale or Shire). It requires great skill on the part of the driver, who is holding reins attached to 6 ton of horses! It also requires that the horses be highly trained and responsive to the driver. It is a beautiful thing to see; awesome, powerful, and just a teensy bit frightening! :) This year there were a total of thirteen entries in the 6-horse hitch competition. You can really only have 3, maybe 4, 6-horse hitch teams compete in the arena at once because of the amount of space it takes to drive them around. They brought teams in in small groups to be judged, but then at the end they brought all thirteen teams in and lined them up in the arena! Incredible to watch and wonder how on earth they could safely manage that! But, they did!
Including this video of the 6-horse hitch competition from Friday night because it showcases the 6-horse hitch well.
6-horse hitch teams completing a reverse
Thirteen 6-horse hitch teams lined up in the arena!
Thirteen 6-horse hitch teams lined up in the arena!
The final day of the fair we bought t-shirts and fudge, watched some more draft horses, and had ice cream. :) Then it was time to pack up and head for home. That is always melancholy for me. I do love coming home, but, it seems I am never quite ready to leave the fair! Until next year...
My favorite competitors - The Mark Messenger Memorial Hitch,
driven by Kurt Messenger.
Marvin, Laura, Daddy, and Mama
Jonathan, Daddy, Mama, and Marvin
Until next year...
You can see an entire album FULL of photos and even videos by clicking here.
I got to spend some time just wandering around the fairgrounds on Tuesday. There are so many different buildings to enjoy and so many different exhibitors & vendors to explore. There is truly something for everyone.
I always walk through the 4H building to see the projects kids from around the state have worked on.
The buildings at the Missouri State Fair are a draw in and of themselves!
This is the 4H building.
I met up with Jonathan, Zack and Marvin for, you guessed it, an ice cream stop at the Gerken Dairy Center! Then enjoyed a ride on the tram with the boys.
Yummy ice cream at the Gerken Dairy Center!
Jonathan and Zack on the tram that goes throughout the fairgrounds.
I wanted to check out the parade of antique tractors at the Mathewson Center. This was the first time this event was held in this particular arena. While it was wonderful to be in the large arena with air conditioning, there was a drawback that I think caught folks off guard. About 45 minutes in the state fair fire department (made up of fire fighters from across the state) came in and evacuated the building. It seems that the exhaust from all those tractors had caused a dangerous level of carbon monoxide in the building! Not good! So, that was our excitement for the day!
We decided to head to the Touchstone Energy Stage to check out the Elvis show. We met up with Jackson and Brianna who had been shopping for gifts for Brianna's family. I wasn't allowed to post this photo on Facebook while at the fair since it showed a couple gifts! :)
Zack, Jonathan, Brianna, and Jackson
Tuesday evening we enjoyed the Beatlemania concert. They were truly entertaining and we all enjoyed the songs, although I wish they had spent more time in the early Beatles phase. They stayed 'in character' throughout the evening, which was kind of fun. We got to sit with Robert & Dorothy at the concert; and even Mama & Daddy were able to join us for the last half.
Robert and Dorothy
Zack, Jonathan, Robert, Dorothy, Marvin, Brianna, Jackson, and Jim
Beatlemania!
Mama, Daddy, Robert, and Dorothy
Wednesday is perhaps my favorite day of the fair. It is packed with many of my favorite events and I usually head out from the camper early and stay busy all day long. First, it is Bluegrass Day at the fair and there are bluegrass groups performing on stages throughout the fairgrounds.
The Baker Family - one of the many bluegrass groups performing on Wednesday.
It is also the first day of the Team Sorting competition (one of Marvin's favorite events). That takes place in the Coliseum, perhaps my favorite building. (yes, I am really overusing the word 'favorite' in this post, but this day just warrants it!) The object of the Team Sorting competition is to sort the cattle into the pen in consecutive order. A number between 0-9 is called out just as the competitors ride in to the arena and they must begin with that cow. It is quite a job to separate each cow from the herd and get them into the pen one by one in the correct order. Watching a good sorting horse is definitely one of Marvin's favorite pastimes.
I love the historic Coliseum!
Brianna, Jackson, Marvin, Jonathan, and Zack at Team Sorting
Team Sorting Competition
Then, at 1:00 pm, I head to the Mathewson Center for the Senior Missouri Waltz Dance Contest. I LOVE THIS EVENT! :) I have been attending this every year for many years and have had several favorite couples. Sadly, only one of those couples is still competing; but they were there again this year and took first place for their Jitterbug. You simply MUST watch their video below! :)
'My' couple in the red and white!!
I also enjoy seeing this sweet little 95 year old man who attends each year. (I know his age because they introduce him often!) He doesn't compete but every time they open up the floor for 'all dance' he finds a partner and cuts a rug! Goodness, he is adorable! :) You will see him wearing all black in the video below.
After the dance contest, the stage is quickly torn down and the arena is readied for the Draft Horse Pulling Contest that begins at 5:00 pm. My great uncle Harold was a champion horse puller for many, many years so this is an event near and dear to our hearts. The draft teams each pull the same amount of weight over their combined weight. The concrete blocks are placed on a sled and the team pulls the sled 20 feet. To give you an idea of exactly how much weight we are talking about, the winning team pulled over 12,000 pounds!
Marvin, Jim, Zack, Mama, Daddy, Jonathan
at the Draft Horse Pulling Contest
The kids then went to the Florida Georgia Line concert while us 'old folks' wandered around the fairgrounds a bit longer then went back to the camper fully satisfied after a long day.
Thursday was the day to try to get everything done that I hadn't done so far. :) I visited a few more buildings, watched the Team Sorting competition a bit, caught some of the Gypsy breed horse show, and checked out the largest pumpkin and watermelon display. :)
a different view of the Swine Barn
The Coliseum
the dairy barns
Champion Gypsy breed horse
Jackson, Jonathan, Brianna, and Zack at the 'cousins' bench in front of the youth building.
The kids had a special surprise of backstage passes to meet the members of the band Mercy Me. How fun! One interesting side note... two of the band members are from Missouri and one of them has family that live not too far from us. As it happens, they pulled in to the campground for a couple of nights (so that they could attend their nephew's concert) and ended up camping right next to Jim. Of course, Jim became fast friends with them! :) Small world.
Brianna, Jackson, Jonathan, and Zack with Mercy Me.
We so enjoyed the Mercy Me concert Thursday evening. Their music was incredible and their message was powerful. Truly one of the best concerts I have attended.
This fellas' aunt and uncle were camped next to Jim.
Mercy Me
I have several more video clips from the evening with Mercy Me posted at this link, along with TONS of photos from the fair. They are in chronological order, so you can look for Thursday evening, near the end of the fair to find the videos.
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