When the smell of corn dogs and fresh animal waste hits your nose, you know it’s time for the State Fair.
I’ve lived in Germany for the past three years, during which time I haven’t been to a single state fair.
I felt like a kid again last week when I went to the New Mexico State Fair for the first time. I was simply having fun, something we often forget to do in the daily hustle of school and work.
There was so much to see and do and not enough time to enjoy it all.
I didn’t want to miss a single moment of the excitement.
The 71st New Mexico State Fair features children’s rides, art galleries, horse racing, animal shows, agriculture and much more.
The fair started in 1938 as a territorial festival for the Old Town area, but Michael Henningsen, fair media director, said that this year the fair got a big technological update.
“The Interactive Game Experience is the premier national touring multiplatform, multiscreen video-game environment in the USA,” Henningsen said. “It’s a single tent filled with the latest gaming technology, such as the Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation 3 and Microsoft X-box 360. There will be at least 16 game stations for the public to play.”
He said the fair has new events each year and one of his favorites involves canine companions.
“The Dock Dog show is a sporting event in which dog owners can bring and enter their dogs to compete in a six-and-a-half-feet-deep pool to see how far the dog can jump after it runs down the dock, dives to catch an object and splashes into the pool,” he said.
The fair also offers delicious foods, such as grilled corn, cotton candy, turkey legs and stuffed baked potatoes. At least 70 percent of the over 100 different food vendors have New Mexican food, Henningsen said, and there are traditional Hispanic and American Indian foods.
The fair also has cook-offs, Henningsen said.
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I knew nothing about the fair, but was drawn to the art galleries. Like a curious child, I wandered into the Hispanic gallery, and there I found art forms the likes of which I’d never seen or heard of before. I wish I could have that experience twice.
Sundi Tyler, galleries art director, said the art displayed at the fair comes from diverse cultures around the state of New Mexico.
“When I moved here five years ago, I heard about the fair from a friend and wasn’t very interested,” Tyler said. “I thought of it as any typical fair, but when I started working here, I was impressed by the art galleries the fair had to show.”
Kevin Burgess, an employee at the Hispanic Art Gallery, said the art galleries collect submitted artworks from all over New Mexico.
“I wanted to help represent New Mexico artists, since they don’t receive recognition as internationally known artists,” Burgess said. “The art includes Hispanic, African, Native American and fine art.”
Another popular attraction at the fair is the “Marcan Tiger Preserve, Tigers of India” exhibit. It’s a show by Josip Marcan’s preservation program. At the exhibit, Bengal tigers are brought in to entertain guests and to create an appreciation for the endangered animals, Tyler said.
Tyler said the fair also attracts tourists who are curious about New Mexico culture and history.
“The newly remodeled Indian Village and Villa Hispana are two attractions that offer unique and distinct cultures,” she said.
The Indian Village showcases the cultural aspects of New Mexico’s American Indians, such as dances, art, songs, crafts and cooking demonstrations, Tyler said.
“The Villa Hispana features the cultural aspects of New Mexico’s Hispanics, such as santos, retablos, food and tinwork,” she said.
Student Victoria Corvino said with the fair just down the street from UNM, students can’t help but wander over and see what’s cooking.
“I’ve lived in New Mexico my whole life and have been to the fair countless times,” she said. “I have always enjoyed myself, but my favorite part has always been the food and the art galleries.”
BOX:
State Fair
Through Sept. 27th
300 San Pedro Blvd. NE
$7 entry fee
