Exotic food + snacks + entertainment + exhibits

More Exclusive Nebraska State Fair Whimsy

• Clarification #1:  Yesterday's entry (FRI 9/2) was based on my visit to the NE State Fair in Grand Island on THU 9/1. 
• Clarification #2:  Today's entry (SAT 9/3) covers my 2nd day at the State Fair on FRI 9/2.
• FYI #1:  Technically, my presence at the State Fair was the result of volunteering to spend time at the Lutheran Laymen's League/Lutheran Hour Ministry booth.
• FYI #2:  Technically, I was not specifically assigned to serve as the Norfolk (NE) Daily News Official State Fair Blogger, although I'm confident that Kent Warneke would feel comfortable w/my self-appointed designation. [Whether he'll let me turn in all my receipts for reimbursement is questionable.]
• I arrived at Fonner Park bright & unnecessarily early around 9:00a, just in time to hear the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner. From my vantage in the [free] parking lot, I could see the American flag, waving proudly in the strong, southerly gale. Besides the beautiful rendition, what was especially memorable was seeing other fair-goers in the parking lot stop in their tracks, remove their hats, & stand at attention w/their hands placed over their hearts. Yes, their is truly no place like Nebraska.
• Did I mention that I arrived unnecessarily early? That's because I had gotten it into my sleep-deprived head * that I was supposed to work the 9:00-12:00 shift. That was soon clarified for me when I arrived to find other volunteers in place. We found a schedule &, lo & behold, I wasn't scheduled until 12:00-3:00. Thus, my FRI 9/2 Nebraska State Fair Odyssey had begun.
• Aside #1:  At 11:15 a.m., a commanding, eponymous voice announced via loudspeaker that not only were we welcome to the State Fair, we were "welcome to Nebraska's largest outdoor entertainment event."
• Aside #2:  On THU 9/1, I recorded 13,059 steps on my fitbit. This was a Nebraska State Fair PB for me. Then on FRI 9/2, I set a new PB when I recorded 13,875 steps! 
• Aside #3:  After my first shift at the LLL/Lutheran Hour Ministries booth ended at 3:00, I walked back to my car in the [free] parking lot & took a nap. I didn't even let the deep friend candy bar vending stand distract or deter me from my mission.
• Aside #4:  On my walk back to the 4H/FFA bldg for my 6:00-9:00p shift, I detoured to take a look at the Nebraska Law Enforcement Memorial, located just outside the main entrance to the State Fair . . . Very impressive . . . Very sobering . . . Worth another lingering look at a future time!
• I left the bldg at 8:50p after an announcement was made that the bldg would close at 9:00. It was 66 degrees when I left the building . . . about 9:10 by the time I got back to the car & settled in for the "scenic" drive back to the St. Paul Inn, located in St. Paul, NE . . . I arrived back at my hotel room at 9:45 p.m.

* I never sleep well when I stay in a motel.

Food & Snacks

Breakfast . . . My early start enabled me to acquire a pecan caramel roll from the . . .  

Christopher Stephen's Gourmet Cinnamon Rolls booth--definitely a 5-STAR acquisition, especially after the super-friendly vendor adorned the roll w/extra caramel & pecan topping. We chatted briefly--she was enamored with my authentic * Aloha shirt, one of several favorites that I brought back from our family's sojourn in the Islands--before I found a picnic table located next to the Swine Barn. 
      Why this exotic but aesthetically questionable locale? It was in the sun . . . the barn partially blocked the strong southerly & chilly [It was 64 degrees!] . . . & the table was clean & spacious, allowing me to spread out & enjoy my coffee, roll, & Grand Island Independent FRI 9/2 newspaper. **
* Well, probably Made-in-China
** Not even in the same league w/the Norfolk Daily News

Scouting Lunch & Supper Options:  Hot beef sundae [mashed potatoes, beef . . . 

gravy, cheese] . . . Thanksgiving in a bowl [turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, cranberries--a deal-breaker for me] . . . Fried spam on a stick [I experienced a brief moment of nostalgia for The Islands] . . . Fried egg on a stick . . . Sweet corn on a stick . . . Bratwurst corn dogs . . . A plethora of funnel cake options . . . JW's "famous" cheese steak [I never heard of it?!]. 

Lunch:  I purchased a bratwurst corn dog & bottled water from a Hadenbrook . . . 

vendor's stand ["Since 1913, although the stand didn't look that old.] Cost = $9, reasonable by State Fair standards. 4 STARS . . .  The corn-meal breading did not overwhelm the brat.
      Before settling down to eat once again in Food Pod Shade Tent #2 (Nicotine-Free Zone), I also picked up sweet-corn-on-a-stick from "Manny's Sweet Corn on a Stick." It was $4, which I thought was slightly over-priced. I was a little disappointed--not much taste & not exceptionally sweet, but then those of us who live in Northeast Nebraska are spoiled by the sweet corn we pick-up from road-side vendors. KUDO's, however, for purchasing their corn "locally" from Gibbon, NE. 3 STARS.

• Shave ice:  I mentioned yesterday that I didn't notice any tropical flavors. Today I noticed pina colada as a flavor, but if you are living in Hawaii, pina colada doesn't count.
• Margarita Island:  I didn't notice this tent yesterday. For the record, I didn't patronize this or either of the beer tents I observed. [No free samples either.]
• Chocolate nut sundae on a stick:  It looked like an ice-cream bar but cost $3 . . . actually not bad for a state fair price, but I didn't indulge.
• 12:35 snack:  2 scoops of ice cream from the UNL Dairy Store concession in the 4H/FAA Bldg . . . 1 scoop of caramel cashew [outstanding] & 1 scoop of chocolate [very good] . . . I think it was $5 . . . not bad for state fair pricing. 4 STARS.
• Supper:  I bought a Hyland Roberts Frosted Chocolate Frozen Dairy Dessert for $1 from a vendor inside the 4H/FFA building, then returned to my post at the LLL/Lutheran Hour Ministries booth. Let's just say that the price was what seduced me . . . & you get what you pay for. KUDO's, however, for convenience. 1, MAYBE 2 STARS.

Entertainment

Once again, I skipped an opportunity to ride the Sky Tram, which cost $3 for a one-way trip overlooking the exterior of the exhibition barns to the west & a plethora of concession stands, vendors' booths, shade tents, & distant views of the carnival rides--possibly--to the east & northeast . . . also lots of concrete & asphalt in all directions. I used my fitbit app to record the # of steps [recording the mileage probably would have been more helpful], which turned out to be 546.[I also should have timed the length of the journey, but I stopped mid-way to enjoy a marching band's serenade.]

• "Matt's Family":  2 guitars + a kid on a trap set--rockin' it! They were being pulled along the avenue next to the exhibition barns by a tractor. 3.5 STARS
• Stapleton Jr/Sr H.S. Marching Band & Drumline [Rating bands seemed unfair when taking into account enrollments & distances traveled in dilapidated school transportation devices.]
• Raymond Central H.S. Marching Band & Drumline [Did I mention that I love drumlines?]
• Hastings H.S. Marching Tigers + Drumline . . . the best I observed!
• "Lucas Kellinson Quartet":  I listened to one song while I was walking from the 4H/FFA bldg between my LLL-Lutheran Hour Ministries shifts. They had 2 guitars, a trombone, & a trap set. One of the guitarists was on vocals. They had a jazzy feel to their music--I liked it & would have listened to more, but I had an agenda. [SEE opening remarks.]
• "Valley Harmonizers," a barber-shop sextet, singing at the NE Barbershop Quartet Association(?) booth, located just on the backside of our LLL/Lutheran Hour Ministries both in the 4H/FFA bldg. I got to listen to a variety of barbershop "quartets" & "Sweet Adeline" groups perform off & on throughout the day . . . my favorite entertainment . . . possibly betraying my advancing age?

Exhibits & Vendors

Pinnacle Bank Expo Center:  LONELIEST EXHIBITOR = Nebraska Weed Control . . . 

Association . . . BEST FREE SAMPLES = Gourmet dips [I sampled vegetable, spinach supreme & dill but didn't buy.] + Nitro ice cream [ditto--part of my pre-established state fair ethics.]

4H/FAA Bldge exhibits:  I limited myself to exhibits of organic products consumable by man and/or beast . . . seed corn, brome & native grasses, alfalfa sheets [not to be confused w/alfalfa, one slab of bales], onions, a plethora of tomatoes, egg plants, potatoes, a plethora of green beans [including some still on the stalks--are stalks including in competition criteria?], watermelons, potatoes, green & red peppers, sweet corn, cantaloups, pumpkins, zucchini [seriously?], carrots, apples [several varieties], jalapeños, cucumbers [If I was a judge, all cucumbers would be disqualified & left outside for opossums to eat overnight.], Indian corn [not sure it's edible . . . & wouldn't the PC term be "Native American corn?"], soybeans, grain sorghum heads, rhubarb stalks, honey.