indianapolis state fair 2012 - day two

This was to be a quick visit to the Fair. I worked at Second Helpings until almost 3:00 and had to be at the Red Key at 5:00 for my waitressing shift.

My goal was no only to visit the Fair, but to get a new chef’s hat to Second Helpings Chef Sam Brown. He’d given a cooking demonstration earlier and it was so hot that his hat wasn’t looking so fresh. He was being interviewed for book, Food for Thought: An Indiana Harvest, and wanted to look crisp.

 It started raining just as I pulled into the Fairgrounds. And trust me, no one was complaining about it - woo hoo glorious rain! I stuck the toque (chefs hat) in a cooler in an attempt to keep it dry. The rain turned into a thunderstorm as I was walking and an announcement was made for us all to seek shelter in a permanent structure building.  

Look at all of those interesting things tucked away. 

I was lucky enough to get hustled into a space that isn’t usually open to the public – the workshop for Pioneer Village AND the State Fair Queen and her court were there. Jackpot!

I'm soaked and showing the Queen my dairy cow ring. 

We waited about 20 minutes or so for the ‘All Clear’ announcement. By the time I made my way around the Fair, I burst into the end of Sam’s interview. I had just enough time to make my way back to the car and head to work.

It was a short but very sweet visit to the Fair.