STATE FAIR

We asked for your best State Fair photos, and you delivered ... more than 450 of them! Editors have picked these 20 images as the most representative. Pulitzer Prize-winning photographers at The Dallas Morning News will select one as the top reader-submitted State Fair photo, and it will appear in neighborsgo on Nov. 3.
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Do you know what it’s like to work at the Texas State Fair for 50 years? (Yes—I said 5-0!) Orville Cowgill of Mesquite does. Jenice Johnson caught up with the busy Cowgill as he maneuvered his way around the fair in a golf cart. She also asked him the burning question—“what keeps bringing you back?” Find out the answer and more by watching this video.

I hope you all got a chance to visit the Grand Champion Steer in his enclosure while the State Fair was here. In my experience, these animals are generally of inconsistent temperament. They generally tolerate human attention but can live without it. Not so this guy, whose Pilot Point owner earned a cool $94,000 for him. This steer is anything but shy. He repeatedly forced his head through the bars in his enclosure and demanded attention from the public. And the public returned the favor in spades, scratching his chin and neck and showering him with affection. Once the attention died down, he snorted again, stuck his head out and demanded more.
And we gave it to him.

Katie Menzer, who just finished 24 grueling days of State Fair coverage, isn't always appreciated for her investigative abilities:

I’ve experienced some backlash from my story where I explained how the Midway Barker illusion at the State Fair might work.

The Midway Barker, if you don’t know, appears to be the head and partial torso of a man resting atop a pole. As fairgoers walk by him in his tent on the midway, he gently taunts. And there’s always a crowd around him with folks trying to puzzle out the illusion.

I was given the assignment to expose the trick. It took more than a dozen calls and a trip to the library, but I think I found the solution.

Well, it seems some people didn’t appreciate my work. One angry, anonymous emailer wrote:

Why don't you do a series of articles in the comic section:

There is NO Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy.

Take the magic away for children of all ages.

He’s got an idea there. I think it’s time somebody figured out how those reindeer fly without feathers. I’m on the case.

I know, I know, the State Fair is over, but just in case you missed this Sunday:

You saw him build it up, now watch record-setting cardstacker Bryan Berg tear it down.

Our Great State Fair really was great this year.
From the heavenly Texas SkyWay to the much more corporeal Texas Fried Cookie Dough, there were lots of new things to do and eat. And our old favorite corny dogs and butter sculptures were as fabulous as ever.
I'm sad it's over, but I'm looking forward to a few weeks of straight vegetables. I'm also going to need to buy some new sneakers. Mine are shot.
'Til next year...

The State Fair is just about done, but still have a chance to enter the neighborsgo.com State Fair photo contest. What are you waiting for?
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You might know Bill Bragg as the voice of Big Tex.
But, today, you should know him as the guy with a terrible cold.
Mr. Bragg tried to make it through today -- the last day of the fair -- but he sounded so awful over the Big Tex loud speaker that fair officials decided to send him home earlier this morning. Big Tex will now be silent for the rest of the fair.
"He just looked awful," said fair spokesperson Sue Gooding. "It's okay to do 23 days of the fair."
So, good wishes the Mr. Bragg. We miss him out here, but we hope he gets well soon.

It's the final day of the 2008 State Fair, and it's crazy out here.
Everyone's getting their final fair corny dog fix. You won't be able to taste them again at Fair Park until 2008!
Oh, the humanity.

Over at the Wine Garden, two coupons ($1) will get you a 1-oz. shot of a Texas wine.
I don't have to tell you that the Wine Garden's been a popular place this year.
I plan to spend some time there later tonight.

Right behind the Owens' sausage stand is Boris the giant boar's pen.
A disturbing coincidence, don't you think?
(Rest assured that after the fair, Boris is going home to Iowa via his giant trailer.)

Terri Raith of Dallas sent in this shot. Where's yours?
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It's mostly kids in line for the free Jeep Rock Climb Challenge, but as long as you weigh more than 40 pounds and less than 250, you can do it too.
And by "you" I mean you. I'm not even going to try it. I've been eating many, many fried things, and I can barely hold up my bodyweight on the ground. I'm not climbing any faux-rocks.
It's open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Automotive Building.

What: Cheddar cheese mixed with salsa, chilled, scooped, breaded in zesty batter and fried.
Taste: Mine was cold and the breading was chewy, soggy and oily. The cheese -- though spicy -- tasted strongly of Velveeta.
Portability: Easy bites.
Size: It's much more than you'd want, and that's not a compliment.
Where: Thrillway area of the midway
How much: $5
Comments: I think my food had been sitting around for some time before it was served to me. There was no crunch, only mush. Try this stand's fried quacamole instead. People are raving about it.

The next time your kids complain about having to wear their raincoats, remind them that children back in 1981 had to sport trash bags to protect themselves from the elements.
Still, these soggy young'uns seemed to be having a blast on the midway.

Victory!

I wrote last week that the guy at the State Fair who tries to guess your weight was within 2 pounds of mine, which meant I walked away a loser. Today, I went back. This time I challenged him to guess my age.

He was 7 years off! Of course, one of my colleagues wisecracked, under or over? For the record, he was 7 years under.

I walked away with a small Dalmation stuffed toy, which proudly sits on my desk.

I just returned from the State Fair with three of my DMN colleagues, Kerry Gunnels, Clay Zeigler and Boss Lady Leona. We showed great will power.

The four of us, together, consumed five corny dogs, two cinnamon rolls, six tamales, one chili pie, two cheese-cake strudels, four sodas and one coffee.

Really, that's not bad if you divide it by four. Now if we can only find four cots.

Chef Sergio the Italian Juggler is fabulous. He juggles rubber chickens, spatulas and soccer balls in various numbers and styles.
But the best thing about Chef Sergio the Italian Juggler is that he's not a chef and he's not Italian. He's Russian and a fourth-generation circus performer. His name is Sergey Ignatov, and you can read more about him at his Web site.
You can see him at the Lagoon (over by The Swans paddle boats) at 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Remember Garland-resident Jutta Leinert Cunningham, whose father was a famous human cannonball in Germany decades ago?
Well, Ms. Cunningham went to the fair and saw our human cannonball, David "The Bullet" Smith Jr., perform. Here's her review:

It was impressive, exciting and brought back a lot of emotions. I had the opportunity to visit with both David and he's wife and we had a wonderful time, we exchanged information and promised to stay in touch.