Most of this mini-gallery looks as if it should be set to the tune of Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel”.
Lest you thought we forgot about the fair, if you were following along before Dragon Con erupted and overtook our free time and hearts…
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
It’s that time again! The Indiana State Fair is an annual celebration of Hoosier pride, farming, food, and 4-H, with amusement park rides, cooking demos, concerts by musicians either nearly or formerly popular, and farm animals competing for cash prizes without their knowledge. My wife Anne and I attend each year as a date-day to seek new forms of creativity and imagination within a local context…
We don’t often go out of our way to see animals at the fair, but lots of Hoosier families love to see ’em. Last year we encountered more critters than we’d expected when we learned Expo Hall had been turned into a small-animal pavilion. We thought that was a one-time accommodation while one of the barns underwent major renovation, but no. The former hot spot for rural hard-sells and party-dip mixes was lined with cages again — not packed with them, mind you, given all the dead space we saw, but the place housed more than a few. Once again all the home-improvement contractors, specialty businesses, and sub-Ronco invention hucksters were relocated to the Ag/Hort Building, which accepted this influx of tenants with a new sign rebranding it as The Mercantile, which sounds like an homage to the Olesons’ store on Little House on the Prairie.
Anyway: token fairground menagerie time!
Other buildings had larger, more impressive animals — possibly some you could ride, maybe even did tricks. We saw the animals we saw.
Some animals were not in the mood to entertain us.
For just the price of a cup of coffee a day, you could feed this chicken a cup of coffee a day. watch what happens, and feel awful for the cruel thing you’ve been doing every day.
I Know Why the Caged Bunny Sings.
Some people need practical advice.
Untitled Goose Jail.
We also attended one (1) animal-centered performance, a traveling show called the Otter Adventure. At face value it seems simple: they bring out otters and let them do cute things. Behind the scenes, it’s a bit more challenging; during the pandemic they acquired otters from a lot of other folks who wanted out of the otter business. So now they have otters a-plenty and could probably cut you a sweet deal on all your otter needs. Otter accessories might be sold separately, though.
The otter stage, where Our Heroes receive their paychecks at the start of every performance.
The entire stage was encased in protective glass that was dirty from top to bottom with their paw prints.
Cool thing about otters: they do their own stunts.
HE DID THE THING! THE OTTER SWAM CUTELY! So we got our money’s worth from this free attraction.
…
…okay, so maybe next year we can look at a gargantuan pig or a Clydesdale with a broadsword in its mouth or something.
To be continued! Other chapters in this special MCC miniseries:
Part 1: Our Year in Food
Part 2: The Year in Food Art
Part 3: The Year of Basketball
Part 4: The Year in Lego
Part 5: The Year in Art, 3-D Division
Part 6: The Year in Art, 2-D Division
Part 8: The Year in Antiques
Part 9: The Year in Miscellany
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Midlife Crisis Crossover! 