A couple of weekends ago we went, with J & J, to the New York State Fair. A fun time was had by all, as we ate fair food, looked at the (farm) animals on exhibit, strolled the pavilion of hucksters peddling “as seen on TV” goods, and visited the midway.
I love these rides. They make me remember the glorious Newcastle Show, an event I perhaps looked forward to more than Christmas or my birthday as a young child. Now, twenty or more years later, it’s strangely reassuring to see the same rides in use half a planet and half a life away. I was particularly struck by The Zipper (the scariest thing I’ve ever ridden), although none of the photos I took were good enough for here.
The ride above left was absolutely beautiful, doubly so for the fact it is portable. The rabbit above right was beautiful in his/her own way 🙂
Anyway, I was very much intrigued by the creepy sideshow ‘exhibits’, some of which can be seen here:
So much mystery and wonder! So many fantastic (some may say unbelievable) claims. Whatever could be inside? For the reasonable price of a single dollar anyone can find out. And in the case of the ‘spider girl’ (lower left photo), I did.
I handed over my $1, and stepped the five or six steps inside the tent until I could see around the obstacle. It was then I beheld…well, I beheld an extremely convincing and impressive example of what I know know is an ancient sideshow illusion called ‘Spidora’. It was a girl’s head on a spider’s body, suspended on a web above a staircase. The girl (who, I may add, was extremely ugly) taunted the audience and simultaneously implored us to free her, claiming she was a slave in a freakshow. The illusion was (obviously) done with mirrors, but as I said it was very good and the girl was skilled at making us feel uncomfortable and therefore prompting people to leave before excess examination ruined the illusion. It was $1 well spent, in my opinion (and in retrospect I wish I’d gone into every sideshow exhibit).
I was quite taken by the art on most exhibits and rides, and one name – Takeshi Yamada – was seen on many of these masterpieces. It turns out he’s quite famous in the industry, and in a strange twist you can read about him and his work on the very Spider Girl I went into on this site.
I’ll end with a cute shot of a yawning bird…
< “Nap time!”
…and a (priceless) shot of a sheep wearing a cloth helm!
< “Who you looking at?”
