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Total sensory bombardment
Don’t miss the lights, music, fried foods and thrill-inducing rides of the S.C. State Fair.
Photo by Forrest Clonts
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Meet me at the Rocket
The Rocket, a decommissioned intermediate-range ballistic missile that stands all over the Rosewood Drive fairgrounds entrance, has served as a meeting place for families and friends for half a century.
Photo by Forrest Clonts
Suppose you had a serious sweet tooth, and suddenly landed a job as a taster at a chocolate factory. Now you know how I felt when I was asked to write this piece about one of my favorite subjects—the South Carolina State Fair.
The bottom line to my excitement at the approach of this year’s—and any year’s—state fair is the anticipation of total sensory bombardment. When October rolls around each year, I can’t wait to engage all five senses.
Sight. What crisp, or even warm, fall evening would not be maximized by the sparkling lights of the rides whirling through the darkness, pulsing with energy that would turn anyone with a soul into a moth, drawn to the mother of all lights? Add the sight of people wending their ways through the crowds with giant stuffed teddy bears, snakes and cartoon characters wound about their bodies, distorted figures in fun house mirrors, and pigs racing around a track with an audience cheering like it’s the Kentucky Derby. And what dedicated fairgoer would visit the exhibit buildings without availing himself of the plentiful art that represents talent from schoolchildren to professionals across the state?
Sound. Wow, where do I start? The barkers chanting through their distorted microphones, “step right up, win a (whatever), just put the ball through the hoop” or “ring the drink bottles,” or “fill the clown’s mouth with water.” They make it sound easy, but is it? Noooo. But it sure is fun to try.
And of course, the screams. The screams are constant on the midway, as riders swoop by with every turn of the rides, giving voice to thrills and maybe some fears as well.
Did somebody say music? It abounds at the fair, and in a variety of forms. It pounds from speakers surrounding every ride.
Smell. What fair isn’t loaded with smells, from fried mushrooms to teriyaki chicken to the sweet fragrance of roses in the flower competition exhibits. And then there are smells that are equally memorable, but not quite as kind to the olfactory nerve. But hey, what’s a visit to the fair without the animal barns?
Taste. Now you’re talking! How could any sane person inhale that hot grease aroma without craving an elephant ear, french fries or a footlong corn dog? These culinary delights comprise the top of my fair food pyramid every year, but I try to be democratic about my intake, sharing my stomach with ice cream, Polish and Italian sausage sandwiches, gyros, doughnut burgers ... sorry, I’ve got to stop now, I’m about to eat my computer. Suffice it to say that when it comes to fair food, I live by the immortal words of Oscar Wilde, who admitted, “I can resist anything but temptation.”
Before I leave the subject of food, a word of advice to enhance your enjoyment of fair goodies. I make frequent lunchtime visits during the week to load up on fair fare, and you can, too. The great thing is there’s no admission fee to come have lunch between noon and 2 p.m. True, they hit you up for 15 bucks when you enter, but with the voucher they give you, you get the money back if you’re out by 2 p.m., which is plenty of time to down those corn dogs, Fiske Fries or whatever tickles your taste buds. It’s only once a year, so what better rationalization for pigging out with no guilt?
Feel. Now we come to another reason so many people look forward all year to the fair: the rides. The Round Up, the Big Wheel, the Zipper, the Spider and the Tilt-A-Whirl are but a few of the dizzying mechanical marvels whose inventors should be knighted. Many are known by multiple names, or labels just made up by the riders as a simple way to describe them—the swings, the kites. There’s simply nothing like feeling the wind blow through your hair as a metal catapult whips you up and down, around and around and sideways, and that’s just for starters. A word of caution: I shouldn’t have to mention this, but as any experienced rider and common sense will tell you, you should always ride before you eat, not after. Not. Ever. After. ‘Nuff said.
Finally, let’s not forget the unique icon of the South Carolina State Fair: the Rocket.
Standing tall near the Rosewood Drive fairgrounds entrance, the rocket (actually a decommissioned intermediate-range ballistic missile) can be seen from the street and over much of the fair and has served as a meeting place for families and friends for half a century. As we all know, meeting at the Rocket is as big a fair tradition as the rides, food, exhibits and music. And while cell phones have largely replaced the need for those loudspeaker announcements for kids to “meet your mother at the rocket,” the memory of them still brings a big smile to this fair lover’s face.
It also inspired a new book, Meet Me at the Rocket, by respected historian Rodger Stroup. It’s the story of the fair from its beginnings on Columbia’s Elmwood Avenue to the event and fairgrounds we know and love today.
Other sights have become traditions, too. For the last couple of decades, artists have turned a huge pile of sand—as much as 75 tons—into a whimsical sculpture, often with nursery rhyme themes. The artistry of the sculptors is breathtaking, made more so by the fact that they do it on the fly, largely making it up as they go.
Though I could go on, I’ll leave it to you to comment below on your favorite fair memories, food and fun.
Fall weather, football season and the South Carolina State Fair. Could there be a more perfect confluence of life-affirming events? Not in my book, folks. So meet me at the Rocket this Oct.13–24. I’ll be the one wearing elephant ear sugar and a happy grin.
Tut Underwood is a public affairs producer and reporter for South Carolina Public Radio.
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