My favorite day at the fair has always been Wednesday. That is the day of the Senior Missouri Waltz dance contest PLUS Bluegrass Day! But, in keeping with the 'this year is weird' theme, things were just a bit off.
I headed over to the Matthewson Center about 1:00 pm to watch the dance contest. I always look for my favorite couple and sigh with relief when I see them. This year I couldn't spot them. Then I noticed the fella dancing in 'all dance' with the former emcee of the contest. After the dance they came and stood at the corner of the floor near the current emcee. That was when it hit me... sure enough, his 'lady' passed away this summer. :( They presented him with a plaque and he said a few words. Glad to see him/them honored in that way. So sorry to see this 'end of an era'.
Then Marvin and I went to Touchstone and caught the last bit of the only bluegrass band I heard this year. We spotted Jim and Lucy and sat with them. We stayed at Touchstone for the Hotel California Eagles Tribute band. I always enjoy them. We saw Mitch's friends - Jerry, Jim, and Larry - sitting behind us. Zack joined us and we waited forever for a tram then ended up just walking to Matthewson for the draft horse sled pull. Poor Jonathan was too sick to enter the fair at all. Jackson had left to take Brianna back home because she had some things she needed to do before college classes started. Adrian had gone to Jeff City to visit his sister. So poor Zack was stuck with me and Marvin!
We had 3 extra tickets to the John Anderson concert so we gave them to 3 girls who were sitting behind us at the sled pull. We decided to go eat supper at Jacksons. Great beef brisket sandwich and catfish dinner. Marvin ran the leftovers back to the camper for Jonathan then caught a ride back to the grandstand with Daddy. The concert was fantastic! I LOVED Jamey Johnson who opened for John Anderson. And John Anderson was also wonderful.
Mama wasn't feeling well on Thursday but was doing better by Friday morning, thankfully. Thursday evening was the Hawk Nelson/Newsboys concert at the grandstand. Jonathan still wasn't well enough to go so we gave his ticket to Lucy. Zack and Jackson were able to go backstage to meet both groups - that made them pretty happy. :)
Friday morning, cousin Liz came to the fair. We were so happy she came!! We got her in and settled then headed in to the fair to wander around. Jonathan was feeling better, thank goodness.
Below are many photos but you can see the entire album of photos from the fair by
clicking this link.
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| There's 'my fella' in the red and white stripes. :) |
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| bluegrass at the Touchstone Energy stage |
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| Hotel California tribute band |
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| Jim, Jerry, and Larry |
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| draft horse team at the sled pull (JW Harris in the cowboy hat) |
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| draft horse sled pull |
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| Zack eating supper with us at Jacksons |
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| Strolling entertainers - this guy transforms from a tractor to upright and walking |
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| Daddy, Larry, Mitch, Jim, Jerry, Lucy, and Jim |
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| Marvin, Zack, and Laura |
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| Jamey Johnson |
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| lots of musicians with Jamey Johnson |
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| great backup band! |
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| John Anderson |
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| beautiful full moon over the grandstand |
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| John Anderson |
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| from Mama's camper |
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| at the Hawk Nelson/Newsboys concert |
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| Zack and Jackson backstage with Hawk Nelson |
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| Zack and Jackson backstage with Newsboys |
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| a lovely walk back to the camper |
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| draft teams rolling in - always an exciting sight! |
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| canned goods display in the Ag building |
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| Love Professor Farquar |
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| in the fine arts building |
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| in the fine arts building |
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| Ag Building |
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| Fine Arts and Horticulture buildings |
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| 4H building |
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| state fair volunteer fire and rescue - staffed by volunteers from all around the state |
