Tag Archives: Beer

Cincinnati Celebrates Bock

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Predictions of rain or snow during this year’s Cincinnati Bockfest parade were on and off over the last few days, and with them, my own plans to attend. At the last hour, I decided to go, but at the last minute almost reversed course as a few drops of water appeared on my windshield on the way there. I ultimately put my trust in the weather reports and arrived at the parade launch point about forty-five minutes before launch time. The parade naturally took some hits during the COVID-19 pandemic, but I thought it had pretty much recovered when I was last here in 2022. In years past, this area has been filled an hour or more before the parade so maybe those rain predictions had succeeded in scaring off a number of attendees.

Even with what I thought was a slightly off crowd, Arnold’s was packed, and I didn’t even try to get inside. Instead, I joined this line at a booth where four local bock beers and pretzels from event sponsor Servatii were being served. The complete lack of sunlight and the slightly damp air made things feel quite a bit colder than the 46 degrees the thermometer registered.

Bock in hand, I roamed the staging area a bit and grabbed pictures of perennial favorites the Moerlein Goat and Arnold’s Pushable Bathtub. Sadly, Arnold’s Gas Powered Bathtub was nowhere in sight. The Clyffside float is new to me (I think).

I also got a shot of a self-propelled wheeled goat being interviewed and a group photo of the lovely but reserved ladies of the Monthly Parking Available dance team. This was one of three dance teams in the parade, but one of my longtime favorites, the Red Hot Dancing Queens, was not among them. Their Facebook page shows no activity since May 2023, so I fear they are no more. Bummer.

When the parade started, I missed seeing Jim Tarbell until he was directly in front of me and had to scurry up the street to get this shoddy shot of Cincinnati’s favorite politician, promoter, and parader. I’m not sure why I missed the 2023 parade. I missed — or at least mostly missed — the 2024 parade because of a concert scheduled for nearly the same time. The venue was right on the parade route so I did see a bit of it in passing. I even grabbed photos of Mr. Tarbell and the big goat.

I really didn’t do any better in capturing the 2025 parade than I did in 2024. I knew before I arrived I would not be following the parade to Bockfest Hall/Tent and sampling multiple beers as I’ve typically done. As it passed, I mostly watched and chatted with friends, with little effort put into recording it. Some of that was due to weather, but most of it was due to age. Though it seemed a little shorter this year than in years gone by, it is still one of Cincinnati’s coolest parades, and no doubt the four Official Bockfest Halls and eighteen Official Bockfest Venues were sites of great fun. I expect to be back next year, and maybe I’ll walk the parade route, but probably not. Bock on, young ‘uns. Bock on.

Beer and Bikes

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Descriptions of Cincinnati’s Rhinegeist Brewery often mention the size of the taproom. It is housed in the former Christian Moerlein packaging plant, and it is big. Knowing that whiffle-ball tournaments have been held there should give you some idea of just how big. Events I’ve attended here include the library’s Maker Fair and a birthday party that was one of about a half dozen that were happening simultaneously, but Saturday’s Garage Brewed motorcycle show was a first for me.

I had breakfast at nearby Dunlap Cafe, then dawdled until just a few minutes before the scheduled noon opening. A block-long line of attendees who hadn’t dawdled as long as I did greeted me when I arrived. The doors soon opened, and the line started moving, but there was a lot of sidewalk and three flights of stairs to cover, so the taproom was already hopping by the time I entered.

The FAQ on the show’s website said 55-60 bikes were expected, but I think the count was well above that. I won’t claim that I’m showing a representative sample, but it is a sample.

Putting two engines in a motorcycle involves some pretty impressive engineering in addition to some very impressive craftsmanship. There is a closer look at the Triumph from the other side here.

There were some bikes on an upper level I don’t believe I’d ever seen before. I snapped an “overhead” shot from the landing on the way there.

All those heavily modified motorcycles were pretty cool, but I liked the vintage stock entries — even those showing some patina — at least as much.  Of course, some of those vintage bikes looked even better than they did when brand new. 

Mo’ O’fest

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Last week I went to the largest Oktoberfest in the country. This week I went to the closest. And maybe the newest. Several Loveland, Ohio, businesses have been celebrating the occasion for several years, and last year the city itself decided to get involved. Somewhere a town or city might be holding their first ever Oktoberfest but the second ever Loveland Oktoberfest is still something pretty new and an indication that the first one was enough fun to make it an annual event.

As I did with Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, I targeted Friday shortly after opening. In this case, that was 4:00 when I was again able to avoid the larger evening crowds.

Not only did my timing allow me to enjoy a little open space, it allowed me to hear this new-to-me band. Alico does not deliver typical Oktoberfest fare. There isn’t an accordion or tuba anywhere on the stage. The young and talented duo perform rearranged covers mixed with originals that left me quite impressed. I thought the drummer looked kind of familiar and have since learned he is Joe Nasser who was once with Erin Coburn’s band. Spencer Anthony handles guitar and vocals.

City-sponsored parts of the event were concentrated in Nisbet Park and along the bike trail but several businesses had their own activities going on as well. I skipped the biergarten and grabbed a Lovetoberfest Marzen at the trailside Narrow Path Brewing Company.

Then I headed over to Cappy’s Wine and Spirits for their Stein Hoist competition. Several businesses held contests for both men and women with the winners moving on to a Saturday Night city-wide event. The opening photograph shows the final two women contestants toasting each other before one arm faltered to decide the winner.

I didn’t stay for the men’s competition but headed off to Hometown Cafe for dinner. This picture of the cafe was taken shortly after my arrival. It was significantly more crowded when I picked up my schnitzel and spaetzle and walked down the trail to eat it accompanied by dinner music from the Schnapps Band. 

Three in a Row

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Life seems to always get busier as autumn approaches. That’s no doubt partly pure perception as we try to pack as much as possible into the last days of summer but it’s also partially real. Maybe event schedulers once avoided some conflicts by delaying things but there is a limit to how late in the year outdoor activities can be moved without a high risk of cold weather. This week found me participating in blog-worthy outings on three consecutive days. On Thursday, it was the Open Doors: Camp Washington- The Home of Makers walking tour. On Friday, I made it to the first day of Oktoberfest Zinzinnati and on Saturday, a friend and I attended the WACO Fly-In where the photo at right was taken.

The first stop on the Camp Washington tour was at the Crosley factory. An effort is underway to convert the place where radios and appliances were once manufactured into apartments but it has a long way to go. Camp Washington was once filled with factories, meat processing plants, and some oil storage. The 1937 flood damaged many buildings and most of those on Spring Grove Avenue were destroyed by a fire fed by oil floating on the flood waters. The middle picture is of the tallest building in the area to survive. The third picture is of the surviving office building of one of the meatpacking firms.

The only building we entered on the tour was the former hotel and bank that most recently housed US (Uncle Steve’s) Chili. It is now owned by the Cincinnati Preservation Association and slated for renovation. I’ve eaten breakfast and 4-ways here but had never been beyond the first floor. The tile (Rookwood?) fronted fireplace is on the third floor and I also got a shot of a neighbor from that floor. One of the things I remember about US Chili was a large petition calling for removal of the disrespectful (to George) mural seen in that overhead shot and from ground level here.

The tour had started at the American Sign Museum and would technically end there but it more or less disbanded at Valley Park where a farmer’s market was wrapping up for the day. I have driven by the park quite often and have noted its WW I monument but this was the first time I’d actually approached it.

Besides being the host and an interesting Camp Washington building in its own right, the American Sign Museum pulled signs from a pair of former Camp Washington businesses from the attic and offered up some musical entertainment. As marked by a reproduction sign on a parking lot wall, the museum building was once home to Fashion Frocks. I was well aware of that but had never seen any of their products. Tonight the museum had a frock and some advertisements (“Value Priced $7.98”) on display.

My guess that things might not be too crowded on Friday afternoon proved more or less correct. I grabbed a sausage sampler at Mecklenburg’s, a smoked mettwurst at Mick Knoll’s Covington Haus, and a Festbier from the “World’s Oldest Brewery”.

I caught lots of good German music but I didn’t catch any of the performers’ names.

I didn’t catch this guy’s name either but if it’s not Cincinnato Batman I’m going to be really disappointed.

 
 

My completely unqualified impression is that the WACO Fly-In had fewer total planes than usual and that a higher percentage of them were non-WACO but that a higher percentage of the WACOs were the real thing rather than modern reproductions. I also had the more reliable impression that the weather was perfect for the event.

The fly-in is a wonderful place to get up close and fairly personal — no touching — with some beautiful aircraft.

We had semi-intentionally timed our visit to include the Parade of WACOs which meant we got to see quite a few airplanes take off and land and sometimes pause for directions.

And cruise by at fairly low levels, too.
 
 
The WACO story is definitely an interesting one.  An onsite marker tells an extremely brief version with a whole lot more available at the museum website. Or you could probably learn a bunch chatting with this fellow at his color-coordinated airfield campsite. 

Twelfth Night in the Park

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The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company has presented Shakespeare in the Park every summer since 2007. Benefiting from the relative safety of the open air, that even includes the pandemic-filled summers of 2020 and 2021. Despite considering it several times, I’d never attended a performance until last Friday. That’s when the combination of a convenient location, a clear schedule, and excellent weather came together to get me to a presentation of Twelfth Night in nearby Summit Park.

Summit Park occupies what was once the Blue Ash Airport. One of its most notable features is a 153-foot observation tower. An observation tower seems like something that might be leftover from the airport but this one is not. It was constructed in 2017 as part of the conversion to a park. The tower is temporarily closed for “enhancements and improvements” so I still have not done any observing from it.

The sad truth is that I have only been to the park once before. That was to try one of the restaurants there (Brown Dog) during Burger Week in 2020. I seriously considered returning but in the end decided to try one of the newer eateries. Although not all locations of Chick ‘n Cone do, the one in Summit Park air-fries its chicken. The name comes from the chain featuring chicken served in a cone for “Handheld Chicken & Waffles”. After dinner, I headed next door to Higher Gravity for a Scottish Ale (Sixth Sense Brewing) dessert.

The performance takes place in a covered area between a couple of the original restaurants. There is some permanent seating but most attendees brought their own lawn chairs. The play began with the cast members introducing themselves.

All the actors wore microphones and speakers at the corners of the stage made every line clear within the covered area and beyond.

I’d brought no chair and I tend to prefer roaming to sitting at outdoor events in any case. In this particular case, the area available for roaming included that beyond the play’s backstage. Of course, patrons of the restaurants and people going to and from other sections of the park were roaming in this area too.

I’m guilty of leaving before the play was over. That had nothing to do with the performance but was 100% my fault. I could blame it on the heat of the sun and the distractions of the park but it was my own roaming that made them a factor. The actors were well practiced and enthusiastic and the whole production was top-notch. If anything, I believe the performance might have been better than I expected. Maybe I’ve attended Theater in the Ground at the Renaissance Festival too many times. This was absolutely nothing like that at all. Now that I realize the quality of these outdoor CSC productions, I’ve a feeling I will be more enthused about going the second time than I was the first.  

An Almost Easter Parade

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From the beginning, this blog has had a weekly post appearing on Sunday which means that a post has been published on each of the ten Easter holidays that the blog has existed. There have also been posts reporting on most Reds Opening Day Parades during that time. The two events are close but are usually at least a week apart so that there is no interference between the posts. This year a Major League Baseball owner-player dispute delayed the start of the season so that the Reds’ first home game and the associated parade occurred on Tuesday just five days before Easter. Interference has come to pass.

The first Easter post, in 2012, was really just a couple of paragraphs acknowledging the holiday. The 2013 post wasn’t much longer but was more interesting, IMO, with its mention of Eostre beer brewed by Howard Town Brewery. At the time, Eostre was listed on Howard’s website although none was actually available. Each year since then, I’ve checked the website hoping for a resurrection of the beer but instead have seen the beer’s name disappear completely. This year I searched the full internet for any mention of Eostre beer and discovered that at least four other breweries have made an Eostre beer over the years and that one apparently brewed some recently. Kent Brewery, in Birling, England, does not list the beer on its website but there are several recent check-ins of the brew on Untappd from pubs in the area. The connection between beer and Easter may not be as strong as the connection between beer and baseball but it does exist, and that’s enough, again IMO, to legitimize an Easter Sunday post about beer and baseball.

The beer-baseball connection is very strong. In fact, there is substantial evidence that baseball, as we know it, would not even exist without beer (See America’s Pastime Saved by Beer). Both were represented by more than one parade entry with an example of each shown here. The Cincinnati Vintage Base Ball Club plays the game by 1869 rules. Wiedemann Brewery was begun in 1870 and resurrected a few years ago. The splash of red at the left edge of the team photo comes from the better half of a well-dressed pair of nineteenth-century Reds fans. The national beer industry was represented in the parade right behind the Wiedemann wagon.

The powerful team pulling the Wiedemann entry were hardly the only horses in the parade. None, however, were better controlled than this pair.

Of course, an Opening Day Parade in Cincinnati would not be complete without fan organizations, precision drill teams, high school bands, and other musical groups. These photos are merely representative samples except for the drill team. As far as I know, the Wapakoneta Optimist Lawnmower Precision Drill Team is the only one of its kind.

And celebrities. A parade has to have celebrities. Former Reds’ All-Star shortstop Barry Larkin was the parade’s Grand Marshall, Channel 12 news anchor John Lomax is retiring at month’s end although I’m sure he won’t be disappearing, and the World’s Funkiest Reds Fans, Bootsy & Patti Collins, were bobbing to Little Willie John’s Fever blasting from the King Records float just in front of them.

Thanks, Findlay Market for another great parade.

Check out previous Opening Day Parade posts (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019) and previous Easter posts (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021).

Pi at Phi

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The Golden Ratio is represented by the Greek letter Phi (Φ). The ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter is represented by the Greek letter Pi (Π). The Fibonacci Sequence, where the sum of each consecutive pair of numbers equals the following number, is closely related to Phi. Mount Healthy’s Fibonacci Brewing takes its name from this sequence. The first three digits of Pi are 3.14. Because this looks like March 14 when written American style, that date has become known as Pi Day. Because Pi and pie are homophones, it naturally became popular to eat pie on Pi Day. At Fibonacci Brewing, great honor is bestowed on the person consuming an entire pie the fastest without using their hands. Yes, everything about this, starting with Phi and Pi, is irrational. But it sure is fun.

Betty Bollas, who owns Fibonacci Brewing along with her husband Bob, says the idea for the event came to her in a dream. The brewery held its first Pi Day celebration in 2018. Mark from Brink Brewing, the guy in the opening photo, won. He won again in 2019. He didn’t get a chance in 2020 because the event was canceled with just days to go. Ohio’s official COVID triggered shutdown of bars and restaurants occurred on March 15 but it was already obvious that a big gathering at that time would not be a great idea. The event did not even reach the planning stage in 2021 but it’s back for 2022 with a nice white table cloth and a line of boxes filled with North College Hill Bakery cherry pies.

I apologize for not knowing who’s who but I do know that Urban Artifact, Humble Monk, Higher Gravity, Marty’s Hops N Vines, and Brink are all represented and that the guy in the center is a last-minute volunteer from the crowd recruited to tackle an unassigned pie. One of these pictures was taken at 7:05 and the other at 7:06.

Andrew Desenberg, a.k.a. The Gnarly Gnome, MCed while two unidentified fans cheered on the competitors. I have to wonder just how much standing while eating helped Zane from Humble Monk munch his way to victory. His name will now be added to the Fibonacci-Pi trophy just like Indy 500 winners are added to the Borg-Warner trophy. The Borg-Warner is currently valued at $3.5 million. Give it time.

I did my own pie eating before and after the competition. The before part was at Mom’s Restaurant where I got the next to last piece of apple pie. The after part was at the brewery with a pie from Big Dog’s Pizza truck. I sat down for both, used my hands, ate slowly, and enjoyed every bite.

300 Breweries

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It was almost exactly two years ago that I posted an entry bragging about having patronized 200 breweries. It is now time to brag some more on the same subject. On the 5th of July, I was ever so slightly surprised when Untappd informed me that I had just checked in my 300th brewery. I wasn’t completely blindsided, of course. I knew I was close but thought I had one or two more to go. I came up with an explanation at the time but I now think that explanation, while true, is only part of the story. I’ll say more on that later.

Checking in a beer at Millstone Pizza Co. & Brewery in Cody, WY, triggered the message at left. There had been a couple of recent check-ins of places I thought were breweries but which had shown up as something else when I entered them. One had appeared as a restaurant and the other a pub. I checked my Untappd list of breweries and discovered that both were on it. They carried multiple category classifications and had been counted as breweries even though it hadn’t looked that way at check-in. That, I decided, explained my surprise.

I was at the pizzeria/brewery doing research for a friend. He and his wife had eaten there a couple of years ago and thought it the best pizza they ever had. However, they feared their long day and well-honed appetites might have unduly influenced them and suggested I provide a second opinion. I was, of course, willing to oblige. There’s a good chance I would have found the place on my own because of the brewery but I might not have had a pizza there. If not, I’d have missed out on something really good. I’ll pass on naming it the best ever because that’s just too tough a call but it certainly was one of the best ever.

With my mental score now calibrated with my Untappd score, the next brewery I stopped at would get some extra notice from me because it would be the start of my next one hundred. Cowboy State Brewing, in Glenrock, WY, was hard enough to find that it almost missed out on being number 301. Google found it and Google Maps led me there but I could see nothing very brewery-like. The address pointed to this brick building that identified itself as many things but brewery was not one of them. I finally stepped inside and asked and received an affirmative answer and some pretty good beer. The CSB on the wall behind the bar was the only brewery-related signage I saw. 

Before I mention a few breweries from my third one hundred, I need to rewrite some history. Actually what I’m doing is acknowledging some rewriting of history that Untappd has done. Apparently, three entries have been added to the list of breweries visited prior to July 23, 2019. That’s the date I visited Bircus Brewing Company which I reported as my 200th in that 2019 post. Blue Stallion Brewing in Lexington, KY, now fills slot 200 on the Untappd list and TinCap Cider in Wilmington, OH, now fills slot 201. Sadly, I have no photos of my visits to either of these. The fact that TinCap is on the list may offer a clue as to what happened. TinCap is a cidery; they brew no beer although they serve beer from several local breweries. Untappd’s “Find the Source” badge is described as being based on a count of “venues categorized as a Brewery, Cidery, or Meadery”. I don’t believe that has always been the case. I believe it was originally only breweries. It’s even possible that the change was made around the beginning of July and contributed to my surprise at Millstone being a milestone. Curiously, places that have been classified as breweries after being logged by me (e.g., Pinups & Pints) have not been added to my list. Please note that much of what I’ve written in this paragraph is conjecture. I know for a fact that the list has grown by three pre-7/23/19 entries but I can’t identify those three and am only guessing at the reason. I am also only guessing that entries after that date have been added as well.

And now some breweries that I’ve visited for the first time in the last two years that stuck in my mind for various reasons.

The only pictures I have from my first visit to Fibonacci Brewing (#208 9/15/19) are of the ceiling lamps and the clock. I really liked the place, however, and have returned several times so that I’ve acquired other photos. It’s a very small family-friendly place operated by a friendly family with good beer, a nice yard, and a B & B (with goats) next door.

Big Thorn Farm (#215 10/20/19) near Georgetown, IL, just might be the coolest brewery I’ve ever experienced. It starts with a long gravel driveway. There is an enclosed bar for the winter but the open-air one is perfect for the summer. The place really is off-grid through the use of solar power and other techniques and the beer glasses are compostable.

Veterans United Craft Brewery (#249 11/11/20) in Jacksonville is a bit special in its own right, but my visit is memorable to me because of whom I was with and when I was there. The brewery was founded by veterans and almost all employees are veterans. I was there with a veteran (my cousin) on Veterans Day.

My first visit to Marietta Brewing was way back in 2008. That’s two years before Untappd was founded and six years before I started using it. I finally made it back this year and was able to log it (#263 4/6/21). I really appreciate them waiting around for me. Not all breweries I visited before 2014 did. 

At the time of this post, my count of breweries stands at 305, and my count of beers at 1520. That’s an increase of 308 since that 2019 post. I have gained a little on Sara but only because of her “special occasion only” logging. Brian remains about 400 ahead of me and Nick has increased his lead to more than 2000. On top of that, my Untappd friends now include Jack with a beer count over 4700. Good thing I’m talking breweries, eh?

Brewing Heritage Trail

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I wasn’t around when the first phase of Cincinnati’s Brewing Heritage Trail opened in April and checking it out has been on my to-do list ever since. Some nice weather finally lined up with some idle time this week, so off I went. There really isn’t an official beginning or end and the designated Hop On points are essentially just suggestions. Even so, I wasn’t feeling particularly rebellious and following the suggestion seemed easier than not so I did. This is the Hop On point at Findlay Market.

My first stop was physically on the trail but not part of it. I had thought of grabbing something to eat at the market but decided to skip ahead on the trail just a bit and have breakfast at Tucker’s, a Cincinnati institution since 1946. I’ve eaten here in the past but not since a 2015 fire that threatened to permanently close the place. And I’d never met Joe Tucker. Today I sat at the counter while Joe worked the grill and chatted easily with me and everyone else who walked in the door. A great way to start the day.

From Tucker’s, I backtracked just a little to begin following the trail in earnest at Vine and Elder. The current trail is a loop plus the beginnings of an extension on McMicken Avenue and the Elder Street connection to Findlay Market. Signs like this one identify segments of the trail as well as the turns. A map is part of the signage at the Hop On points. It is also available online and I referenced it a couple of times from my phone. Apparently an actual smartphone app was available at one time but it has been withdrawn while “we tweak a few items”.

The former Hudepohl Bottling Plant sits on McMicken at the end of Elder Street. Opposite the building is a display featuring a smiling Louis Hudepohl and lots of information about the company. Hudepohl was one of the few Cincinnati breweries to survive prohibition and was once one of the largest in the state. The main Hudepohl brewery was abandoned in the late 1980s but its 170-foot smokestack bearing the company name remained a Cincinnati landmark until its demolition in June of this year.

Just yards beyond the Hudepohl kiosk, I found something unrelated to the trail but too cool to ignore. It was the mural that first caught my eye but I soon realized that I was standing by a large — and slightly out of place — garden. When a voice invited me in, I stepped through the gate to meet Christina, the Flower Lady of OTR and a volunteer gardener. Started in 1980, the Over the Rhine People’s Garden was the first community garden in Cincinnati. It is filled with flowers, vegetables, and fruit and there there is a weekly free distribution. Food not taken is donated to a local food bank. I even found a small connection to the trail I was following. At least one volunteer does some home brewing and is growing hops for that purpose.

The trail is also marked with medallions pressed into the sidewalks. I’m sure I walked right past some of the smaller ones where they appear all by themselves without even noticing. Just past the green space and playground of Grant Park, this cluster at the corner of McMicken and Moore is pretty hard to miss.

The second Hop On point is just around the corner on Moore Street. It is next to one of the largest murals on the trail and includes multiple information displays. Among the many pieces of information presented is one regarding local per capita beer consumption. That statistic has been cited as one of the reasons that Cincinnati, despite having around forty breweries, was not known as a national distributor. There just wasn’t much left to distribute.

I slipped down the unfinished McMicken Street segment and even backtracked a bit to capture some of the numerous murals along the trail. The Crown Brewery is just one of several buildings in the Brewery District being spruced up to reflect their former lives.

This was once home to Kaufmann Brewery and is now home to Christian Moerlein. In between, it was the Husman Potato Chip factory. Besides containing a brewery and taproom, the building houses the Brewing Heritage Trail Tour Center. A wide variety of tours — both above and below ground — is available. Check them out here. I’d kind of been thinking about a cold brew in the taproom but hadn’t really considered the time. “It’s not yet noon and the taproom is hours away from opening,” I observed to myself dryly.

There were plenty more informative things to read and decorative things to admire. I even have evidence that I didn’t miss ALL of the solo medallions. Reading about history while standing where it actually occurred is always cool.

I finished the loop then the short extension back to the Hop On point at Findlay Market. I’m impressed. An incredible amount of Cincinnati’s brewing history can be learned in an hour’s time walking the trail. As much as I enjoyed the walking and reading, I must admit that two of the day’s highlights were not listed trail features. I really enjoyed talking with Joe and Christina. Both were familiar with and supportive of the trail even without an official connection. I also enjoyed speaking with John Donaldson who owns buildings near the Moore Street Hop On point and who paused to chat as I looked over the nearby signs. If only I could have chatted with a bartender over a cool pint inside the Moerlein taproom.

Butter and Beer, Buckeye Style

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I’ve trimmed the time between visits to the Ohio State Fair to four years. That’s much less than the multiple decades that separated my 2015 visit from the one that preceded it. A conversation with a friend who goes every year planted the seed then reading about one particular exhibit got me to seriously thinking about it. Some altered plans and great looking weather turned those thoughts into action.

As I did four years ago, I took advantage of free parking for members at the Ohio History Connection and entered the fair through the nearby gate 3. That brought me right to the north end of the midway. The Sky Glider travels directly over the Food Highway where fried anything, including bubble gum, can be found.

This is the exhibit involved in my decision to head to this year’s fair. In recognition of the fiftieth anniversary of the first moon landing, a butter sculpture of the Apollo 11 crew joins the cow and calf that are fair regulars. The calf is just out of frame in that first picture but both buttery bovines are there. Ohio’s contribution to the crew, Neil Armstrong, makes a second appearance along with what I suspect is a rather slippery ladder.

The moon landing also gets some attention in the chalk drawings outside the Fine Arts Center as does another event celebrating a fifty year anniversary. The Woodstock Music Festival took place less than a month after Apollo 11 flight. The third photograph presents its subject with better perspective because 1) it was drawn with that in mind and 2) I had instructions.  

I caught the All-Ohio State Fair Band in a performance in an open space called Central Park. While the band delivered some high energy tunes, the fellow in the second picture kept up some very impressive twirling, tossing, catching, and, as you can see, acrobatics.

I don’t believe I’ve ever seen any actual turkey judging but I watched just a bit today. I really had no idea what was going on but I have been around turkeys before and the folks attempting to control them certainly had my sympathy. I also watched a little calf judging and passed by three adult dairy cows. The cows were displayed by the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association and each had a sign with their name (this one is Louise) and the phrase “I’m pregnant and due any day now.”

The Ohio Beer and Wine Pavilion is new this year. I was about to leave after my planned one beer stop when it was announced that North High Brewing’s brewmaster, Jason McKibben, was in the building and about to give a presentation. I decided to stick around and, after he started talking about the brewery’s collaboration with the Ohio Farm Bureau, have one more beer. Here‘s something you don’t see on a beer can every day.

I emptied my can of Cover Crop and was once again ready to leave when I was once again enticed to stay. This time it was the start of the Human Cannonball show across the way that pulled me in. I failed to get any photos of the Cannonball’s daughter doing some impressive aerial acrobatics but I did catch his buddy on the tightwire. The announcement leading to the cannon firing included the claim that only about 700 human cannonballs have ever existed since the occupation was created by 14-year-old Zazel in 1877. I haven’t found any independent support of that but it does seem reasonable and it made me wonder if I had ever actually seen one before. I’ve seen a few circuses and a human cannonball seems like something I should have seen but I don’t have any specific memories. In any case, I’ve never seen one this close and I’ve never taken a picture of one exiting the cannon barrel.

With the Human Cannonball’s successful landing, I was again ready to depart and this time I made it. The midway was significantly more active as I passed through it on the way out than it had been on my arrival but nothing tempted me. I’ve now pretty much outgrown the desire to be tossed around or turned upside down, and some of those rides looked quite capable of separating me from my recently consumed Farm Bureau approved beverage.