Yesterday myself any the other interns were brought down to see the Wisconsin State Fair. A bit of a treat before all the work kicks in this weekend, and a way to see another side of American life through its distinctive state fairs.  I took a few pics as you can see below (Sorry for some rough pics, I was in mid run!). This fair is HUGE (As compared to a town fair back home). Here you can find just about ANYTHING you can think of. Lots of vendors selling every product conceivable, mostly in the Expo building – as well as interesting things you wouldn’t think existed available to buy.

The state fair – in comparison to the likes of the Irish Fest and Summerfest where the focus is on mostly on music – here the focus is very much on agriculture and the culture of Wisconsin. Lots of different animals on show such as huge swine pigs, jersey cows, llamas and giant show horses, very interesting to look at them all and get an idea of the states agriculture.

Best of all = The food. Any kind of food, in all kinds of combinations. To name a few, I saw bison tortillas, maple candy-floss, buffalo, MASSIVE cream puffs (Extra cream), HUGE chocolate brownies and most importantly, the infamous chocolate covered bacon …on a stick. Nearly every food at the fair served on a stick – Milwaukee-style cuisine!

As well as checking out all the animals, rides and food Wisconsin State Fair had to offer, we also got a chance to chat with some interesting people involved in the fairs organization - Kathleen O’Leary, who spoke with us about her role as the fairs marketing director - Bruce Sullivan, who spoke to us about his role as the fairs entertainment/ events director – and Katie Ward, who spoke to us about her role in merchandising. Fascinating to here about all the work that goes into a huge fair such as the Wisconsin State Fair, as well as all the stories from their time there both good and bad. Great chats!

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