Alice Cooper and Petting Zoos

I like to try new things, even if they haven't been given the best past reviews - you just never know, you might be surprised. For me, that meant finally heading over to the Arizona State Fairgrounds for the State Fair, which has confused me for a while now. I always hear that it's lame and trashy, but then I wonder what would draw the big musical acts to play there. Must be the money.

The State Fair has elements of a small town fair - a cooking contest, a petting zoo, and the usual nauseating carnival rides. At the same time, it does host some big musical events - we found out we were just a day shy of catching Rihanna, and apparently Alice Cooper performs at Halloween. I imagine that it would be odd to hear Alice Cooper playing while you're feeding llamas in the petting zoo.

Most of the attractions require tickets which cost extra, on top of admission, and the free things are probably free for a reason. Still, it seemed like plenty of people were willing to pay for the privilege of paying for rides - the fairgrounds were packed. There were lots of families with little kids, bored looking teenagers, and a surprising amount of couple.

Overall, although I feel bad to say it, it was pretty trashy. It was generally dirty, the rides had a look of disrepair, and it was very, very loud. Crappy carnival music, the smell of frying Oreos, and flashing lights does equal a migraine - not to mention the headache of forking over extra cash for a ride that looks like it can barely handle another go.

— Megan Hunt