Let’s face it: Life at the University can be tough. And after a week of classes, homework and exams, there’s only so much that a frat party can do for you. For students wanting to temporarily escape the University atmosphere, they’d be hard-pressed to find a better option now than the State Fair of Virginia, running until Oct. 5.
Located at the Richmond Raceway Complex, less than an 1.5-hour drive from Charlottesville, the fair provides an excellent opportunity for students to experience a bit of country living. At the heart of the fair lies agriculture — literally. The Big Red Barn in the center of the fairgrounds contains Young MacDonald’s Farm and is home to dozens of varieties of animals. Goats, pigs, cows, even “Easter egg” chickens — all are well-represented and available for petting. Don’t miss the duckling slide — it’s every bit as entertaining as it sounds.
Tommy Smith, who describes himself as “more or less” a volunteer for the fair, stressed that the farm serves an educational purpose as well.
“It’s good for younger people to see this,” he said. “Some people come out here not even knowing where a calf comes from.”
If watching the home movie of a horse giving birth awakens your maternal instinct, you can adopt a more traditional pet. If you buy a rabbit or guinea pig, you’ll also get a box, a week’s worth of feed and care instructions, Smith said. Richmond’s Animal Adoption and Rescue Foundation also had an adoption display in the barn, and the puppies frolicking within were a hit with kids.
Outside the barn, schedules vary by the day but remain country-oriented. On the weekend, you can catch a banjo contest or a tractor pull. For those not in the know, a tractor pull consists of contestants on custom tractors towing a weight that gets progressively heavier as far as is possible for the tractor to pull. It may not sound like much, but just wait until you’ve seen it to pass judgment. Before long, I was jumping up and cheering on drivers as they neared a “full pull.”
Be sure not to miss the Mutton Bustin’ events, either. Think of it as a rodeo for the 6-and-under crowd: children are set on sheep and hang on for dear life as the animals buck with all the vigor of angry steer. Most last a fraction of a second, but a few last a measurable time and are awarded with a prize.
Afterward, see if you can fit in the animal races; Bob Duck’s Great American Duck Race features mallards all the way from New Mexico, and in the pig races, Britney Spare Ribs — “doing better after therapy,” according to the announcer — finished first in her heat.
Cheering on a pig is hard work, and you’re likely to work up an appetite. If you haven’t already, this is when you might get some serious culture shock. Alongside carnival staples like cotton candy, pizza and fresh lemonade, you’ll find a wealth of more interesting options. As usual, it pays to be adventurous, but even the most eclectic of gourmets might have trouble working up the courage to order a “Pork Parfait.” Personally speaking, this pulled pork, barbecue sauce and mashed potato meal-in-a-cup is my new favorite dish.
Don’t be scared away if the only foods you can find are deep fried or on a stick. Instead, try to take it in with a sense of wonder. I’m still amazed that we can, apparently, fry root beer now. Trying to eat the dumpling-like treats is guaranteed to make you chuckle, dusting your whole face with powdered sugar. (Don’t try this at home — the method is still a trade secret.)
Give Steak on a Stick a shot, as well. It’s every bit as delicious as the traditional plate-bound variety but far more convenient. And if nothing else, it gives you a good reason to pick up a slice of cheesecake-on-a-stick for dessert, dipped in chocolate and coated with sprinkles.
Don’t forget that carnival food has a reputation for emptying out your wallet as quickly as it fills out your thighs. A slice of pizza — one of the cheaper options — will cost you upwards of $3. Most entrees at the fair are priced in the $5 to $8 range, but expect to eat a lot during your visit because of a potent combination of hunger and curiosity. Even a large cup of lemonade will cost you $6.
It’s not accurate, though, to paint a picture of the fair as an event focused entirely on fattening food and rural charm. It seems the folksy atmosphere of the fair has struck an uneasy alliance with the consumer world around it. The Technology Center hosts a couple of robotics demonstrations and other tech demos. In the Exhibition Hall, you can even have your teeth whitened in minutes with UV radiation, just across from a stand selling T-shirts featuring trucks, guns or kittens in heart-shaped Confederate flags.
The contrast is evident even outside these designated consumer zones: Near the Duck Race, for example, is a booth offering Segway rides for $5. Right across from the Livestock Show Ring, you can find the Toyota Tundra Power Challenge, where fair patrons can see for themselves whether the new Tundra outperforms the Ford F-150.
Some might bemoan the move away from the Fair’s agricultural roots in our consumer culture, but Smith, who has been working at the Fair for the past 55 years, clearly does not.
“I think it’s gotten better,” he said. “We strive to get better each year.”
Either way, once the sky starts to dim, the real stars of the show are the rides. With the sun down and the lights on, the fair becomes a dizzying experience. Tickets are $1 each, but with rides often costing five or six tickets, your best bet is a wristband — for $13, you get unlimited rides for the rest of the day.
In the Midway area, rides are everywhere. Here, you can really appeal to tradition. The Tilt-A-Whirl and Ferris wheel may be the classics, but lines for these are relatively short. They may be less popular, but that just makes it easier for you to hop on. If you’re not ready for the big time, head over to the Kidway across the fairgrounds. Here the rides are relatively low-key and non-threatening.
Tickets to the State Fair of Virginia are $8 after 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or $11 during the day; on weekends, the ticket price is $13 all day. This is your last year to see it in Richmond — next year, the Fair moves to Doswell, Va., just a bit farther away than Richmond from Charlottesville.
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