More Fair

Ok, so how do you make a killing at the fair? On a rainy day, you sell these buggers for $2 when the radio stations are hawking their logo-fied ones for $5:


So, where were we? Oh yeah, we split up for a bit, and the Things went on their rides while mama the pack mule dumped a load back at the car and picked up their stuff for the show. We saw some more sights, and did some more fair things.


All vendors at the fair are private contractors. This particular carousel sits in front of the grandstand in what is called "Carousel Park," oddly enough. It's been there for years and has nothing to do with the rest of the midway. There's one on the Kidway, too. There used to be a really old one in a permanent building, which you can read about here. It was very cool, and almost got the 86 due to the almighty dollar. Now it is fun to go visit at Como Park, another Saint Paul landmark.
We finaly got to our pre-show meeting. The first thing the stage manager told us was that the weather policy was to go on, rain or shine, unless there was lightning or severe weather, in which case we would break, wait it out, and come back after 15 minutes of all-clear. Almost as soon as he got this said, we were moved to the Eco Challenge building to wait out an incoming storm. It was just then that I realized I had forgotten Thing 1's CD. I knew I could walk to the car and get it if I had enough time, but the graciously sent me a golf cart to speed things up a bit, so Albert took control of the Things and off we went. Unfortunately, that's exactly when the weather hit the fan. We were forced to seek shelter in the main entertainment offices for about 20 minutes. I fretted about the Things, but they were busy checking out all the interactive exhibits in the Eco Challenge building and didn't even miss me. The sun broke back through, we got a rainbow for good measure, and on our golf-cart journey I got a mini-tour and some behind the scenes stories of the aforementioned storm of Skynrd legend. Nate, my golf-cart knight, treated me more like a minor dignitary than the PITA stage mom I felt like. Everyone at the entertainment office and Baldwin stage was pleasant and helpful, despite fielding phone calls and watching weather reports and dealing with all the different stages at the fair. They all get really big kudos from me.

We got back in plenty of time to watch the crew dry off the stage. We waited for the official all clear, and started up about 40 minutes late. Thing 3 performed in the middle of her division and was cute as a bug, but there was some really stiff competition. She had a blast on the big stage. Thing 1 was the very last act of the evening. There were two girls who sang and played piano, two boys who sanga nd played guitar, and an excellent dancer, who took second. Thig 1 waited for them to announce 2nd place and said, "I'm ready to go now." The look on her face was priceless when they announced her name. I wish I'd left the camera on, but I was shivering so hard the video is shaky as heck the way it is. Now to get it compressed and posted...