Thursday, September 8, 2011

A Fair to Remember

I admit, it's a strange quest, but every year I attempt to finish out the summer with a trek to upstate New York. Yes, I have family there, and I adore seeing my sister and brother-in-law, eating wings and wandering aimlessly around Wegman's (the Mega Weg) but the real draw is to go to The Fair.

The New York State Fair seems to be a surprise to all downstaters. Whenever I mention the glory of heading there I get a lot of blank looks.

"There's a fair? A New York State Fair??"

Yes indeedy and what a fabulous array of glorious gluttonous treats, tables filled with free takeaways on everything from bunions to bass fishing and vendors galore. There's also the farm animal judging, pie judging, art displays and of course my favorite, THE BUTTER SCULPTURE.

This is art in all it's buttery glory. 800 pounds of unsalted butter (courtesy of Wegman's) creates this amazing refrigerated spectacle and I have to say, each year it's standing room only around the refrigerated showcase.

There are the Breezer-bys, the ones that don't need to look but are in the Dairy building simply to get a cup of ice cold chocolate milk at the insane price of $0.25. They look and if they see the sculpture terrific but it's no big deal if they miss it. Next come the Quick-peekers, they stand in line for a fast look but then they're outta there.

And lastly, there are the Mecca-Trekkers people like myself who press against the cold glass memorizing each detail and wondering as always, "How do they DO that??" I always stand there in awe.

Now if butter isn't your medium (and for many of the calorie counters, I can understand the desire to skip this), you can check out the Sand Sculpture.

This year, the sculpture was dedicated to the victims and families of 9/11. It was an incredible display of artistic ability, plain and simple. The artist captured the grief in a hunched figure of a fireman and the emotion of a city in pain. To see this tremendous display, in sand of all things, struck me speechless and hit me emotionally. You see, I watched the towers fall. From the window of our office building, like so many other New Yorkers and Long Islanders, I watched as the world changed forever.


I could say more about 9/11 but what is there that our hearts haven't said already in a dozen different ways over the past ten years.

 And what more fitting a tribute to how fleeting life is and how timeless love is than a sculpture made of sand.