Major League Eating sponsors competitive eating contests around the world. In the following interview we talk about them. They run about 80 contests a year. This is primarily an interview with Crazy Legs Conti a competitive eater and several time champion. Crazy Legs Conti uses Zen to prepare for contests. Zen is "a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition."
What does it take to be a competitive Hot Dog Contest Winner? You have to take the competition seriously.
Fireworks are part of the July 4th celebrations. They are synonymous to the nation’s birthday as backyard barbecues, parades down the main street, and apple pie. They are relatively safe if only people use their common sense. There are also some easy to follow rules that make handling fireworks in County fairgrounds safer. But even with the rules, it seems like people ignore the rules. Each year people are brought to the emergency room due to fireworks-related injuries around the July 4th celebrations. People should remember that fireworks are dangerous and can cause serious burns. If you are tasked to set up fireworks at the county fairgrounds, there are some things that you must do first. One of the first things you need to do is to make sure you have already appointed a firing team. It should be composed of no more than three people with one person serving as the leader of the group. Members of the firing team must have experience of lighting fireworks and have knowledge of safety regulations. Organizing the Fireworks Display You must ensure that the firing site can accommodate all the fireworks you intend to fire. There must be ample spacing in order to avoid accidental firing of fireworks. Don’t forget to read the instructions on all the fireworks. Each item behaves differently and might be required to be set up and installed in several ways. Make sure that the right side is facing the audience, especially the fan style cakes. There are some types that are required to be buried in soft earth or attached to wooden stakes buried in the ground. These are candles, fountains, and cakes. If they are attached to wooden stakes, they should be attached with strong cloth tape to ensure that the firework stays behind the stake and doesn’t fall over or face the crowd. The fireworks must be angled away from the crowd. If the weather is not too nice, you can use plastic bags to keep fireworks dry. Some fountains have a cone shape and make them hard to be attached to anything. You can place the fountain on a flat surface and avoid placing it on the grass that could make the firework unstable and tip over. Rockets should be launched from tubes. You can make a DIY project using plumbing pipe. Just make sure that the stick of the rocket can freely liftoff form the pipe. It must not get stuck in the pipe. If the rocket has a [...]
Okay I am sure a lot of your saw this post this morning on Yahoo Missouri Fair clown draws criticism for Obama mask. Well, if this clown was looking for attention he certainly got some. This mask and act had absolutely no business at one of our big state fairs. Yes, this was disrespectful. I am somewhat of a public person too and have been for years. Once a wise mayor said this to me as I was trying to run a large public event, "If you are going to be in the public eye, there are people that are going to love you, people that are going to hate you and people in between". Think about it, that is a very very wise statement. Being President is hard hard work. I would not want the job. The President has the responsibility of making everyone happy. Hey, folks that is not going to happen. Nor is the world going to be a perfect place in the next five seconds either. So, if you "think" you could do a better job you should run for President.
Join the fun July 11-14 during the 151st King County Fair. Experience amazing live concerts, relish thrilling rides, including Mutton Bustin’, view livestock exhibits, and enjoy much more. The King County Fair is held in Enumclaw WA. For more information visit thekingcountyfair.com. The 4-H kids throughout King County will have prepared photography, food and clothing displays, various public presentations/performances, Lego robots, etc. and trained their dogs, cats, horses, goats, etc. in hopes of qualifying to show at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup. Hands-on projects, like dogs, robotics, etc. keep kids interested as they learn and practice leadership, citizenship, and life skills, such as public speaking. To learn more about 4-H and the many different projects, including robotics, performance arts, animal and plant science, cooking, sewing, etc., that are offered attend the King County Fair or visit 4h.wsu.edu.
Big Tex was destroyed by fire last year. The 52-ft iconic host was destroyed in an electrical fire on the final Friday of the 2012 State Fair of Texas. Fair officials confirm that Big Tex will be unveiled on opening day of the 2013 season. Fairgoers want Big Tex back and a fund was established to rebuild him. Big Tex has been around since right after the 2nd world war. The merchants were looking for a big draw for the Christmas season and decided a big cowboy was in order. After all what could be better then Santa in Texas the worlds biggest cowboy? So the Kerens Chamber of Commerce, built a 49 foot one - it was suppose to attract shoppers to spent money during the Christmas season. In 1951, State Fair president R. L. Thornton purchased Santa's components for $750 and hired Dallas artist Jack Bridges to create a giant cowboy out of the material. More about the history of Big Tex can be found in the book - The Great State Fair of Texas - An Illustrated History, by Nancy Wiley. Here is an article talking about the new 'Big Tex' coming to the Texas State Fair September 27th, 2013
A few years ago Michigan lost its state fair and it broke my heart to report that. The first Michigan state fair was held in 1849. This state fair was claimed by Michigan to be the oldest state fair in the USA. The Michigan State Fair Agricultural Society bought the land for it on April 18th, 1905 for one dollar. The land eventually had a coliseum with seating for 5,600 and held two NASCAR races. Funding for the State Fair was cut off by the governor in Oct. 2009. There was no fair in 2010 or 2011. In 2011 Great Lakes Agricultural Fair, a 501 C (3) organization, was created to provide a resurgence and rising of an agricultural event The Great Lakes State Fair took place August 31 through September 3, 2012 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in the Detroit suburb of Novi. There is a interview on this page with Mike Watts is the Fair’s executive director. The 2013 fair won’t be held at the State Fairgrounds in Detroit. Its new home will be the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. Take a look at this article Michigan State Fair Returns For Labor Day Weekend 2013, posted March 26th, 2013. The fair also has a new website so you can see what is going on.
Well, as some of you may know I had a peanut brittle booth at the 4th Avenue Street Fair this year. I want to report to the food vendors about food vending at this event in Tucson, Arizona. As you know the 4th Avenue Street Fair is huge. It occurs twice a year one in December and then in the spring, usually in March. Competition to get into this event is very very high and there is a intense jury process that starts at Zapp For years I have hesitated in trying to get into this event as I believed the process to be too difficult - after all peanut brittle is a food product. My product is however pre-packaged and currently I have a wholesale food license from the state of Colorado. This license gives me a right to sell anywhere in the USA, including the 4th Avenue Street Fair in Tucson. Now, the 4th Avenue Merchants Association takes good care of its potential food vendors - and acts as a buffer between the Pima Health Department and the 4th Avenue event. My experience with the Pima Health Department in this regard was nothing short of dismal. Don't call them if you want into this street fair. Please just fill out the Zapp Application and once accepted into the show follow the instructions of the Merchants Association. Calling the Pima Health Department is a waste of time. They sincerely appear to not know what they are doing. I tried a few times. It appears that some of the people answering the phone there do not even know about this street fair. This is dismal. This fair is huge and very near the downtown area. Then there is a question of what regulations to follow at the street fair regarding screening in your booth. The Pima County Health Department told me one thing and the street fair another. Since the street fair is successful and its their venue - do what they tell you. So if you are a new food vendor hesitating because of the regulations concerning food vending in Arizona, and you want to do this event, just contact the Merchants Association and leave the Pima Health Department out of the loop. This is a great event for a new food vendor to do especially if you have a great new product that has not been at the street fair before.
