St Louis County Fair

The St Louis County Fair was held over the Labor Day weekend (1-4 September) at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, Missouri.

I had been warned by some people at work that this weekend was usually really hot & that there was absolutely no shade whatsoever at the airport. Even the event web-site mentioned that there would be misting tents (where you're sprayed with water mist, which Beth loved) & cooling busses (Metrolink busses with parked with their air-con on) to ensure that people didn't overheat. Although it had been really warm & sunny during the week, it was a bit cloudy over the weekend which helped to keep the temperatures down to almost bearable levels.
The fair looked to be similar to the Kent County Show back in the UK (which is expensive to get into, but the attractions are mostly free). It was really cheap to get in, but you had to pay for everthing with tickets. Coolers & bags weren't allowed in & everthing was really expensive with soft drinks starting at about $3 each.

There were quite a few things to look at & do, including Anheuser-Busch’s world-famous Clydesdales (horses), the Purina Farms exhibit, the Animal Ambassadors from SeaWorld & Busch Gardens, the high-jumping BMX show, Craz-E-Crew sponsored by Dierbergs (which is a local, top-end, supermarket chain - think a cross between Sainsburys & Marks & Spencer), Turner Classic Movies’ DC-3, “Rose”, the Great Lakes Timber Show, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, & the Johnsonville Big Taste Grill. The latter was supposedly the worlds largest grill (read barbeque) which was the entire trailer of a semi-truck. Johnsonville brats were cooking the whole day & if you bought a hot dog you were able to pose with the grill & have your photo taken.

The exhibits were quite spaced out which made it feel like there wasn't really that much there. The lines were also quite long, & we spent about 20 minutes queing for Beth to make some rope. It was worth it though, as she did a really good job!