My biggest problem with the state fair is that it has become little more than an overgrown version of those traveling carnivals that spring up from time to time in abandoned mall parking lots all across the southeast. I want more uniquely Tennessee, down howm, country-ish events; More prized pig competitions, mule races, and strawberry rhubarb bake-offs. Less side-of-the-interstate flea marketry and mirrored license plate airbrush booths, please.

All that being said, I'm still trying to make it out there tonight. Why'd they have to put it on NBN weekend? Argh.

No one here is under the impression that a state fair should have anything BUT cow milkin', corn shuckin' and tractor pullin'. That makes a state fair, and every state fair has these events, even in the hippest parts of the country. No one expects the state fair to come complete with an art gallery and a trendy coffeeshop, or to showcase the newest in modern architecture. We're not transplants from somewhere “more impressive,” there's plenty of farming where we're from in Virginia too. Heck, I had an organic egg business when I was 8 and spent most of my younger years in 4H hatching chickens and raising ducklings in the back yard. And I may or may not have entered some veggies and some paper mache sculptures and some crocheting in the state fair while I was at it.

However, it's no secret that the TN State Fair is in trouble. Attendance is down every year and the grounds are run down. There's been endless talk about what to do with the state fair over the past few years, and next year we're likely to see big location changes. Our state fair is notorious for crime and poor security, although the alcohol ban this year is supposed to help, along with beefed up security. Many of the county fairs around Tennessee are a more exciting and pleasant/safe place to be, and that's reflected in their growing attendance numbers. Where's the flavor of Memphis and other unique Tennessee cities at our state fair? We're in the Music City, where's our A-list country showcase at the state fair? Our state fair needs some serious CPR.

My biggest problem with the state fair is that it has become little more than an overgrown version of those traveling carnivals that spring up from time to time in abandoned mall parking lots all across the southeast. I want more uniquely Tennessee, down howm, country-ish events; More prized pig competitions, mule races, and strawberry rhubarb bake-offs. Less side-of-the-interstate flea marketry and mirrored license plate airbrush booths, please.

All that being said, I'm still trying to make it out there tonight. Why'd they have to put it on NBN weekend? Argh.

No one here is under the impression that a state fair should have anything BUT cow milkin', corn shuckin' and tractor pullin'. That makes a state fair, and every state fair has these events, even in the hippest parts of the country. No one expects the state fair to come complete with an art gallery and a trendy coffeeshop, or to showcase the newest in modern architecture. We're not transplants from somewhere “more impressive,” there's plenty of farming where we're from in Virginia too. Heck, I had an organic egg business when I was 8 and spent most of my younger years in 4H hatching chickens and raising ducklings in the back yard. And I may or may not have entered some veggies and some paper mache sculptures and some crocheting in the state fair while I was at it.

However, it's no secret that the TN State Fair is in trouble. Attendance is down every year and the grounds are run down. There's been endless talk about what to do with the state fair over the past few years, and next year we're likely to see big location changes. Our state fair is notorious for crime and poor security, although the alcohol ban this year is supposed to help, along with beefed up security. Many of the county fairs around Tennessee are a more exciting and pleasant/safe place to be, and that's reflected in their growing attendance numbers. Where's the flavor of Memphis and other unique Tennessee cities at our state fair? We're in the Music City, where's our A-list country showcase at the state fair? Our state fair needs some serious CPR.