It's October Eve!
Time to hang up one of my favorite things in my Halloween collection - which I found at Christmas Tree Shops many moons ago, probably sometime in the mid to late 90s.
Fall Fair Memories: The Big E - Part 4 - The New England State Buildings
Here is my next installment in my series dedicated to The Big E, the greatest (in my opinion) state fair & harvest festival ever, which is held every autumn in the last couple weeks of September, but has been cancelled for this year. I've been writing about my favorite things about the fair, and you can read about parts 1 thru 3 below if you're just joining us:
This post is dedicated to the Big E's famous State buildings! Not only does The Big E have everything (and more) that most state fairs do - it features one entire street, called the Avenue of States, where six grand buildings, modeled after each state's original statehouse, dedicated to New England's individual states are located.
This area is one of the biggest hot spots of the fair and is almost always crowded both day and night. There's so much to see and experience in these buildings that you could spend a whole day just focusing on them.
Each building houses a wide variety of crafters, artisan food, local produce, musicians, authors, tourist & history information centers, and more that can be found in its respective state - and each has its own specialties.
Connecticut
My home state!
Shameless plug:
This is my brother's kettle corn business, and you can buy his products online here!
This is my brother's kettle corn business, and you can buy his products online here!
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Massachusetts
Photobombed by BFF
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Maine
The famous (or perhaps infamous) Maine baked potato experience
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New Hampshire
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Rhode Island
Vermont
Pure maple syrup can be found in the other buildings too, but Vermont is probably the state most often associated with maple production.
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In our next Big E installment: THE FOOD. Stay tuned!
The Craft 2020
I had almost forgotten that this was going to be a thing til a friend of mine sent me the link to the trailer today:
I'm not a die-hard fan of the original Craft movie, although I did enjoy it - so I don't share the full-on animosity some folks are showing toward this reboot? Sequel? Whatever it is. I'll definitely watch it at some point.
My impressions from the trailer:
- Ugh, that CGI glitter "magic" effect is corny as hell and needs to go. I'm not even opposed to glitter or glitter special FX, but this is just bad. I've seen more realistic Instagram filters.
- The original seems like it will be the darker of the two. I can't imagine this one having anywhere near the edge of the 1996 film.
I'm gonna hold off on any more opinions til I see it.
Now watching: Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Confession: I've never understood the allure of the Friday the 13th films or Jason as a character. I saw the original one and bits & pieces of others. But, I heard good things about part 4 (aka The Final Chapter) and decided to give it a chance. So if you're a big fan of these films, you might want to skip this post, because I don't have a lot of great things to say about this particular piece of cinema other than it made me laugh, a lot, especially in the last half hour of it or so.
(Spoilers ahead, so avoid if you are concerned about that sorta thing.)
I think my review can be summarized in a list of alternative title ideas for this film:
Friday the 13th: The One Where Crispin Glover Does That Weird Dance
Friday the 13th: Everybody's Falling In or Out of Windows
Literally even the dog
Makes me wanna do a supercut of these scenes accompanied by this song -
Friday the 13th: The One Where the Guy Who's Supposedly the Hero Dies the Most Embarrassing and Undignified Death
"OH GOD HE'S KILLING MEEEEE"
Verdict: 4 outta 10 Jackos
[ 🎃🎃🎃🎃 _ _ _ _ _ _ ]
Halloween shopping in Seattle
A few weeks ago I posted about a retro party store in Seattle that I enjoyed visiting in 2019, Party @ Display & Costume, and I paid another visit today!
It was a perfect moody fall day, at first rainy and windy, then sunny/overcast and breezy - the ideal day to do some Halloween shopping. Social distancing measures were in place, everyone wore masks and were more or less respectful about giving each other space.
Lots of fun stuff, as usual.
A flock of ghosts, clowns, witches, and grim reapers, many of them motion-activated.
Halloween cocktail party attire, perhaps?
Many Halloween lights to choose from.
They carry a lot of the vintage-look cutouts, which have become popular in recent years - for good reason. Gorgeous monochromatic illustrations.
Mood for the entirety of 2020
Great fun as always!
Fall Fair Memories: The Big E - Part 3 - Animals & Agriculture
Welcome to the next chapter in my love letter to The Big E, New England's annual (except for this year) multi-state autumn festival. You can read the intro here and part two here.
This entry is dedicated to the agricultural side of The Big E. What fall festival would be complete without giant pumpkins, sheep shearing, and baby chicks?
There are locations throughout the fair to see animals and agriculture, with a whole schedule of events going on during the fair. The Coliseum building hosts livestock competitions, like ox cart pulling and various horse shows.
If you're into butter sculptures and cows, the Mallary Complex is the place to be, where you can watch milking demonstrations and learn about dairy production.
My favorite place for agricultural stuff is the Farm-A-Rama building, also known as the Stroh building. This is a must-see spot for anyone visiting The Big E. In this building, you can see a variety of animals up close, from tiny baby chicks to giant Clydesdale horses.
Central to all of the produce displays are the year's largest pumpkins, based on weight. Some of them are truly massive!
From 2016, The Big E's 100th anniversary
Stay tuned for the next installment of The Big E: State buildings
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