Fun Fair = A Loose Interpretation Of Both Fun And Fair

I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a fair or not. Here in the Midwest, fairs are kind of a big deal. It’s all the farmers and corn and cows and stuff.

Thus, I have very specific expectations in mind when a “fair” is involved. There needs to be a hint of funnel cakes mixed with farm animals in the air. Questionable Carnies lurking in the shadows. A poorly assembled, rusted out Ferris Wheel. So you can imagine my disappointment when I helped my friend Jo out with a local fun fair for her workplace.

When you add “fun” in front of “fair” it apparently takes all of the awesome things out of a fair and substitutes it with cute, sticky, and greedy children who are attempting to eat their body weight in snowcones – which we were supplying along with cotton candy.

Anyway, we rose early on Saturday morning and loaded up the box truck to head out to the fun fair.

P.S. Nothing makes you feel quite more like a pedophile than driving around in a big box truck with a snowcone and cotton candy machine in the back.


I don’t know when she’s gonna finally realize that I’ll never stop taking pictures of her.

As we were circling for about and hour trying to find the place, I may or may not have noticed a Big Kmart with a Little Caesars blow up man out front. This information came in handy when we reached our destination and realized we had an hour to kill. Don’t even think we didn’t polish off a large hot n’ ready at 10:30am, while sitting next to the men’s underwear section.

Not to say that we couldn’t finish the rest, but we did start feeling like pigs a little bit. The confused looks from the cashier weren’t helping.

Back at the Fun Fair, we became cotton candy and snowcone making afficianados.

We may or may not have eaten all of our mistakes.

Seriously, she just needs to stop trying to hide.

That is an expert at work, my friends.

I don’t know if you’ve ever made cotton candy. I don’ t know why you would have, unless you ARE a Carnie (in which case I apologize for previous statements) but it’s probably the grossest, stickiest, cobwebbyest job ever.

Then someone came by with free ice cream sandwiches. I was taught never to turn down free treats from strangers.  The universe just didn’t want us to win that day.

By the end of the day, my cotton candy was so fluffy and perfect that the kids didn’t even want to go near any other forms of air-blown sugar.

Wondering where I went? I have returned to blogging over at my whole foods blog Celery and the City, where we live so clean it’s like your insides took a bath.

54 thoughts on “Fun Fair = A Loose Interpretation Of Both Fun And Fair

  1. Wait, since when did you start warming up to kids? I’m not ready for this stage of Britteny: the engaged, kid loving, responsible one. It’s like I don’t even know who you are anymore.

    Jo should just realize that she’s not going to escape being exposed in your blog. She of all people should know you better than that.

    I imagine the two of you went and worked out for hours after consuming all of that healthy food. Or at least made a few dozen comments about how you should work out, which counts almost the same as actually doing it.

    • the latter.

      and as for Jo, she’s a lost cause.

      and eh, i don’t know if i’m completely warm to them. I’ve always loved other people’s kids. haha! just not quite sure about my own yet, but if they were that cute then i might have to reconsider.

  2. I laughed at the “cotton candy machine in the truck” liner. Almost as creepy as one of my friends who wanted to buy an old ice cream truck. But what was crazy about it was….it didn’t have that tinkling music from a music box. This thing was tricked out……had a gong. I kid you not….a gong….the kind that I guess you go to asian neighborhoods and smack that sucker….all the bachans and their kids come out and eat corn ice cream….oh theres my rant on creepiness…..lol!

  3. corn ice cream …. BAHAHAHAHH!!!!

    man, seriously though. Does anyone trust an ice cream man these days? It just screams pedophile.

    pretty much any type of van or truck is just ruined now.

  4. Those children are adorable! You are quite the portrait photographer. I do feel a little creepy even commenting on children’s photos these days because of all the sickos out there. But your photos are too good not to say so!

  5. dude – you forgot to mention the smell of “fair vomit” that clings in the air. I’m disappointed in you, girl. there is ALWAYS some kind of vomit in a fair trash barrel. :p

  6. oh my goodness they are cute! i LOVE other people’s children. it’s fabulous whether they’re crying or smiling, there is just something compellingly real about them and your photos capture EXACTLY what i’m talking about. well done 🙂 no sheep or chickens in sight though 🙁 that’s sad. I’m not sure they should be able to use the word “fair” in the event name if there are no farm animals. kind of a purist when it comes to stuff like that – very much aligned with your definition. xo Diane

  7. OK. That last kid is absolutely adorable, and that’s coming from someone who at almost age 30 does not hear her biological clock ticking, but rather hears her BB gun loading to shut up the neighborhood brats.

    As for fairs, they are the Olympics of people watching. They make me feel normal and pretty…

  8. “P.S. Nothing makes you feel quite more like a pedophile than driving around in a big box truck with a snowcone and cotton candy machine in the back.”

    Bwhahahahahahahahahaha! OMG…I LOVE YOU! That cracked me up!!!

    And I gotta tell ya…I don’t think I’ve EVER seen cotton candy made so perfectly as yours. You GO, girl!

    And that free ice cream sandwich looked heavenly. That’s one of favorite ways to have ice cream.

    And the photos of these children? Absolutely freakin’ AWESOME! I adore being around children, so I would have been snappin’ photos with you.

    So talented you are!

    X

    • thanks so much ron!!! yea i couldn’t help myself. I was there to take pictures as well, so i didn’t feel like a total Creeper.

      Dude, i could pound down a box of ice cream sandwiches any day. and yes, be very jealous of my cotton candy making skills. they impressed even myself

  9. There’s something about cotton candy that kinda’ scares me. Just a bit.
    I think I somehow associate it with Oompa Loompas. Who scare me. Just a bit.

    Awesome shots, though (as always), B.D… I really like that retro feel. Even enough to make me feel like I’ve gotten over the whole Oompa Loompa thing.
    🙂

  10. Can I just say that I am SO in awe of anyone who can operate a cotton candy machine? It’s one of my life-long dreams. . . I’m sure it isn’t actually as neat as it looks, but that stuff is so damn MAGICAL! C’mon! Sugarclouds? Yes, please. Count me IN!

    P.S. I think you already know that I adore pictures of cute kids 😉

  11. Cotton candy tends to give me the heebies, but I guess I’d try it if YOU made it.

    Also – those kids make me want to *almost* reconsider my “no children” rule…

  12. Those are some great photos! I like how you make them look very soft, but still sharp. Does that make sense? I hope so!

    Damn now I want cotton candy…

  13. Did you ever face the fact that you were dealing in feeding obesity to this generation? Better to have been pedophiles than Willie Wonka’s in today’s society. I can’t bear to look at the cuteness any longer myself. Phenomenal photography!

  14. Great pictures! This looks like so much fun. And, thanks to you and the Pizza Hut commercial that aired as I was reading this post, I now need pizza so bad I might die. 🙂
    Just found your blog via Domestiphobia – enjoying reading so far!

  15. Omg! You live in the mid-south! Where do you live? You don’t have tell if you want… Just wanted to know cause I live in the mid-south, too.

  16. I too would have gone for the pizza at 10:30 in the morning. Love the photos. Sent you an email. Thinking Sunday may be a bit early for the horse show for you. 7:30 and 9 am ride times. Ugh! Oh well, maybe the next one.

  17. LOL….
    The children are adorable.
    But….lol…. I’m glad you posted that picture of the pizza….lol….
    I seriously had no idea what you had meant by big hot one (or whatever it was)
    so funny….
    Thanks for the laughs

  18. Hello; My family has been operating traveling carnivals for three generations. All of us kids were where you were that day. we made mistakes and had fun and if we are lucky our parents have photos or video of it. just imagine the cute embarrassing photos there would be out there if smart phones were around when i was a kid. but your post made me laugh. I hope to read more. thanks and keep smiling and laughing, max

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