Funnel cakes, deep-fried Twinkies, fudge, roller coasters, butter sculptures, livestock and Weird Al Yankovic. Tongues will tickle, stomachs will ache, eyes will devour and noses will inhale a curious mixture of baked goods, animal droppings and body odor unique to Utah’s State Fair.
Event planners expect 300,000 spectators to visit the Utah State Fair in Salt Lake City now through Sept. 18. With 65 acres of coverage, the fairgrounds will feature exciting attractions, concerts, a rodeo, cooking contests and livestock displays.
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Dan Talbert, a senior civil engineering student from Cincinnati visits the state fair each year with a mission in mind.
“I go to the fair for the free entertainment,” Talbert said. “My buddies and I scavenge the park grounds in search of the most bizarre individual. Extra points are awarded for creative tattoos, trucker hats and toddlers on leashes.”
If you want to make sure you don’t miss out on the people-watching parade. Throughout the fair the fairgrounds will be the concert venue for nine artists including Big and Rich, Fictionist, The Midtown Men and KC and The Sunshine Band.
Olivia Cook, a senior from Westminster, Md. studying wildlife and wildlands conservation, enjoyed one of her fondest memories at one of last year’s performances in the Utah State Fair — the Boyz II Men concert.
“My friends and I had to shove our way past two 50-year-old women decked out in Boyz II Men apparel to make it to the front of the stage,” Cook said. “I made some enemies on my way to the front, but when the boys reached out to me and touched my hand as they sang ‘Till the End of the Road,’ I nearly lost every deep fried Twinkie I ate that day.”
Apart from the concerts and “Fair Food,” Utahns visit the State Fair to interact with the livestock.
“People still want to see where their food comes from and still want to hold those baby pigs, goats and lambs,” Caras said. “Most people in Utah have grandparents or parents who had some experience on a farm or ranch, and many people want to relive a ‘fair memory’ of those times when things were more driven by the seasons and the harvest.”
Families raise up their prized livestock in a quest to receive the highly esteemed blue ribbon at the state fair. Brigham Young himself received two blue ribbons in Utah territory’s first fair for his white stallion and his crisp celery, according to Caras.
Caras grew up on a small farm in Spanish Fork and as a child anxiously anticipated the state fair like Christmas morning. His family would stay at the fairgrounds for almost two weeks and explore everything that was wonderful and new. Caras earned many ribbons at the state fair for his livestock that he eventually sold to local businesses. The earnings he acquired as a young man through the state fair helped Caras pay for his tuition at Brigham Young University.
“Whether it’s the newest and best in salsa makers, digital apps for phones and computers, or just the best fudge in the world, those vendors represent what a state fair is all about,” said Caras in an email. “Everyone will be able to find something to their liking.”
