Went to the DuQuoin State Fair

I went to the DuQuoin State Fair,it was the first time I've ever been to a fair.
I checked out the vegetable winners and I my big carrot and other SFG vegetables could have taken first place easy (not bragging much)

There was one thing that impressed me and that was a giant huge watermelon,it was the biggest watermelon I've ever seen!

I rode on the rides,and saw some of the shows.
Here is a video of a man being shot out of a cannon.

Fun, Josh!!! I thought about trying for the fairs this year with my produce, but the timing just wasn't right. Maybe next year, though!

So tell us the good stuff, Josh. Did you get your license and drive your car? Did you take your girl friend? Were you there in the evening? (fairgrounds and rides can be romantic when it's dark) Did you win her a big ol' stuffed teddy bear throwing baseballs at milk bottles? Did you share a scone? Did you silently make a resolution to do well in school so you won't ever have to be human canon ball?

All your SFG aunts and uncles wanna know!

Boffer here's the scoop,I only got my drivers permit so I didn't get to drive to the fair,but look out next year!

I did get to take my girlfriend with me,her mom and dad and brother and my mom and dad all went together.

We got there just before dark so everything was all lit up,lots of music,and we shared some kind of fruity drink thing.

She wanted to get on some wild ride,I was a little chicken,but I couldn't let her know that so I got on it anyway,the ride took you up real high and then just dropped you down in 2 seconds or less you were back on the ground

That human cannon ball guy was pretty cool...I could do that...after falling from the sky back to the ground in 2 seconds or less on that wild ride.

My mom gave me a tip on a game to win a stuffed animal,she said go for the water gun,you shoot a water gun and make the monkey go up the pole and the first monkey that gets to the top wins a stuffed animal,sure enough I got one for her!

Had corn dogs,shake ups,funnel cake

Hope you had the funnel cakes after the 2 second drop. Gotta pace your rides and eating so the eating doesn't stay on the ride. When you have your own garden it really is fun to see what others come up with. Next year get the entry forms and it will be even more fun.

Your girlfriend sounds fearless. Haha.

There was one thing that impressed me and that was a giant huge watermelon,it was the biggest watermelon I've ever seen!

the answer to your question can be found at
giant watermelons

Do they still have the harness races at DuQuoin, Josh? That was a big deal when I was young.

Glad you had a good time. Have you thought about joining a 4-H club? With your horticulture ability you could enter a lot of your veggies in the fair. I don't know about IL, but here in MO 4-H, FFA, and FHA members earn prize money for their fair entries.

You would make a wonderful junior leader, too. (In addition to the experience you gain, it also looks good on college transcripts.)

You beat me to it, Ander...I was going to suggest the same thing.

ribsyhuggins thanks for the link to the huge watermelons, I e-mailed Lloyd Bright and asked about getting seeds for next year and he said the last weighoff was Oct. 2nd,then they will get the seeds. So I'm going to try the big watermelons next year, along with the big carrots!

I just joined the FFA this year, so I'll ask my teacher about how to compete next year.

Josh, I'd love to have had a son like you.
I'm glad you joined the FFA and will try to compete next year.
You surely could win with something. You are a great gardener for one so durn young. I wish I'd started at your age.

I'm glad you had a great time with your girl. I love the fairs and always have thru my lifetime.

Our nearest one starts Sept 26th and I'm going on the 28th. I love to see the poultry and also the young cows and sheep and goats. I can do without going thru the pig barn but usually the grkids don't want to miss anything.

I hope you get some of those seeds so you can try for a watermelon prize.