Every year, I feel sad when the North Dakota State Fair (NDSF) ends. It means August is approaching and summertime will soon be over. Not to mention, another birthday, and for me, this birthday is my last one in my 50’s. I always love going to the NDSF with my grandchildren every year. This year, we took 6-year-old Aurora, who lives out of state. Seeing the fair through a child’s eyes makes me feel young again. The options at the NDSF are practically limitless when it comes to food, rides, and experiences, perfect for the inner kid in all of us.
Are you not into motion-intense rides like the Death Drop, Ring of Fire, or Down Draft either? Maybe you enjoy the Merry-Go-Round (Carousel), fun houses, Big Surf slide, or the Fun Slide. There are also games like the game where a player shoots the pop cans with a cork “bullet” to knock them over and win a stuffed animal. NDSF offers all kinds of shows to watch too. Circus show artists and bands perform free shows on the west side of the 4H Hall, such as the Moto Circus. Moto Circus combines both action sports and circus thrill acts. With riders performing high flying jumps and dangerous stunts on dirt bikes and BMX bikes.
Are you a foodie who can’t get enough of that fried food? You have almost unlimited options. There’s fry bread, chicken fingers, French fries, corn dogs, hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, noodles, Italian sausage, Chinese food, Thai food, cheese curds, funnel cakes, poutine, iced coffee, shaved ice, ice cream, lemonade, and many other choices. A visitor can come to the NDSF every day and eat different foods.
This year, I had my face fully painted for the first time. (Last year, I asked for only a mustache, but that doesn’t count.) As I sat in the chair and the artist painted my face, some children, including my granddaughter, gathered around and watched. I loved the smiles on their faces. It must have been funny watching a lady with gray hair getting her face painted. I felt such joy for giving them some happiness. Aurora held the mirror for me when the artist finished my face so I could look at his nice work.
Earlier in that week, on Tuesday, we walked to the 4H Hall to see the results of the writing contest held by Minot State University. I felt pleasantly surprised and happy that I placed second in the Division C (Adult: 21 or older) category. I’ve placed in past writing contests, but this time, I asked for the size of a NDSF sweatshirt, the prize given to everyone for a contest placement, that Aurora could wear in cooler weather back in Pennsylvania. Athena has won a few of her own too from her artwork. Hopefully when Aurora wears her sweatshirt, she will think of her time with her grandparents at the NDSF.
I didn’t want to leave the fair without a picture of my second-place ribbon. So, on Saturday, the last day of the fair, and when I had my face painted, I asked a lady to take my picture in front of the writing contest board with my ribbon. The lady smiled when she looked at my face. I felt more joy. I made an adult, besides my husband, smile too. After she took my picture, she said that she admired writers.
“Thank you,” I said. “I enjoy it a lot.”
“Then don’t stop,” she said and returned to her work dismantling a display.
I walked out of the 4H Hall with a pep in my step. Then I knew. I’m not too old for such things. Memories, like the memories made with my grandchildren at the NDSF, are precious. I’m not too old to compete either. Well, I take that statement back. When the competition involves a pen, I can compete, but don’t ask me to complete a physical fitness test. I’ll leave that to our brave men and women in the armed services. As a grandmother, now I can feel like a kid.
Every year since 1976, people living in North Dakota have had an opportunity to enter their writings in the ND State Fair Writing Contest. If I can find the confidence to enter, you can too. Details about how to enter the writing contest and others can be found in the NDSF exhibitor handbook found online at https://ndstatefair.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-OC-book.pdf. See you again next year, NDSF!