Oregon State Fair 2009

To read about this years Oregon State Fair, click here!
Update 9/6/09 by Salem Man
It's the last day of the fair and the Portland weather report has a picture of a cloud covering up the sun but no drops of rain. That's a relief to anyone who bought tickets to see Reba at the LB Day Comcast Amphitheater. Somehow, I have successfully avoided the fair, so far. I've been to lots of fairs, more then I care to think about. For the last few years, the thought of going to the fair made me cringe, but I have done so for my children and wife who all love it. The fair is noisy, crowded and exhausting. Going on the rides makes me dizzy and the smell of the animals can ruin an appetite. Usually there is a band that I wouldn't mind seeing but I have yet to purchase a ticket to a show. It might be that there is too much stuff to do and see and not enough time to truly enjoy any of it. I wish I wasn't so grumpy about it all, it would certainly make my life a lot easier. And don't feel sorry for my kids, my wife took them during the day last week while I was at work.



Here's a video from Statesman Journal reporter K. Williams Brown.

http://www.oregonstatefair.org/webcams#

Watch the Fair Online!
Check out this camera set up at the fair. If you'd like to see more live action from the fair, click on the Oregon State Fair website.

8/28/09 Update


I don't know if the planets were all lined up or what, but I was more impressed by what N and I saw during our brief time at the fair (we went an hour and a half before the wonderful Pink Martini show) than I have been in years.  There are some great free little shows going on all over the place, Familyville, there's a zillion food booths, good music (we listened to Salem's Andrew Kendoll in the Artisan Village) and a lot of people having a good time.  I don't doubt we'll go back a second time--the free parking doesn't hurt either.



8/18/09
Plumped Poultry. That's the weird topic of an email sent to me by a PR person representing Foster Farms. The email reads:

Foster Farms is in the midst of a full-scale education campaign aimed at informing West Coast consumers about “plumping” – that is, the injecting of saltwater into fresh, raw chicken at a significant economic and health cost to consumers. Foster Farms does not inject its fresh chicken with saltwater.

It seems that some lesser quality chicken brands inject the chicken parts with salt water to make for a heavier bird. They're saying we could be paying around $1.50 on salt water per package of chicken. If you add it all up for everyone in the US, the total we are spending on salt water might be as high as $2 billion a year.

So what the heck does all of this have to do with the Oregon State Fair? Free stuff of course. Foster Farms is going to be handing out coupons, tote bags and t-shirts at the fairgrounds to anyone who'll listen to their anti-plumped poultry pitch. There's no better way to convince someone of a cause than by handing out free tote bags. I hope they bring a lot of loot because if I know Salem there will be a line of people looking to expand their wardrobes. Time to put the ole Spuds McKenzie t-shirts into the Goodwill pile folks.

While thinking about this issue, I decided to look up the Oregon State Fair website to see what other attractions to expect this year. The big acts include local favorites Pink Martini and Everclear, classic rock legends the Doobie Brothers and country singer turned sitcom star Reba McEntire.

The state fair runs from Aug 28th to Sept. 7th at the fairgrounds in Salem Oregon. Stay tuned to eatsalem.com and salemites.com for more information from the locals about the big state fair.