Tuesday, August 18, 2009 11:55 AM CDT
There's more at the fair than corn dogs ... but they're pretty good, too
By Rob Stroud, Staff Writer
To paraphrase a regionally famous advertising slogan, there are more than corn dogs at the Illinois State Fair.
I was reminded of this on Friday when my family visited the fairgrounds in Springfield for the first full day of the fair, which is scheduled to run through Aug. 23.
More than six years had passed since my last visit to the fair. I had always used the private parking lots that line the perimeter of the grounds during these previous trips, but this year we tried the public parking within.
We entered via Gate 6 on the north side of the grounds and drove under the one-mile race track to a grassy lot in the middle. This put us in easy walking distance of a pedestrian path that went under the track’s south end and came out next to a Sky Glider station.
I can be kind of squeamish about heights, but I really enjoyed riding on the ski lift-like Sky Glider. The glider gave us a relaxing ride and a great view of the southeast corner of the grounds, which helped us get oriented for the rest of our visit.
The Sky Glider dropped us off in time for lunch at one of my favorite State Fair destinations — the Ethnic Village. Vendors offering food from a dozen different countries ring the outside of this area and live music is played on a bandstand in the center.
We ate Venezuelan pasta and sweet plantains, Filipino noodles, German bratwurst with potato salad and red cabbage, Polish pierogies and cabbage rolls, and more during our lunch and supper at the Ethnic Village.
My 3-year-old daughter, Hannah, liked dancing to the Caribbean sounds of Steely Pan & Sons at the Ethnic Village’s bandstand and climbing all over a nearby playground. This area is a great place to take a break amidst the rush of activities at the fair.
From there, we walked next door to Adventure Village. We had our adventures by zooming down a giant slide, and by bouncing up and down while strapped into a sling shot-like attraction.
After working up a sweat at Adventure Village, we cooled off across the street in the Illinois Building. We watched performances by Jan’s Dance Studio in the auditorium, ate honey ice cream from the Illinois State Beekeepers Association, and had our eye health screened by the Illinois Optometric Association.
The fairgrounds are filled with several air-conditioned buildings like this, where visitors can escape the summer heat while seeing a wide variety of activities. Many of these activities are free, which is a great relief after paying for carnival rides.
Our afternoon alternated between outside activities, like pony rides and the Carnival Midway, and indoor activities, like a puppet show at Kids Korner and merchant booths in the beautiful Exposition Building.
No visit to the fair would be complete without seeing the legendary Butter Cow sculpture in the Dairy Building. The 2009 life-size sculpture features a cow alongside the seated figure of a young Abraham Lincoln. Viewers who look closely will also see a butter cat and butter butterflies in the sculpture.
We were pretty impressed by the 500 pounds of sculpted butter, but we were bowled over by the rich éclairs and cream puffs that were on sale in the Dairy Building.
Speaking of food, we also tried a barbecue and mashed potato parfait, Cajun-friend shrimp on a stick, and tropical drinks held by a coconut carved into the shape of a monkey during our visit.
Between our meals in the Ethnic Village and our snacks elsewhere, we felt we had sampled a good selection of the food the fair has to offer. When it comes to fair food though, Hannah liked the basics. Ask Hannah what her favorite was and she will eagerly tell you — “Corn dogs!”
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Mama says wrote on Aug 18, 2009 7:22 AM:
All of that would made me hurl especially eating and riding.
But it sounded good. "