Bangor State Fair: Then And Now

Last night, my wife and I decided to have a bit of an impromptu date night, and headed down to the Bangor State Fair. We've been joking all summer that this would be the year we finally made it down. Before we moved back to Bangor, we always lamented that we needed to get back up here to visit during fair week, but it never happened. And the last few years since we moved back, something always got in the way that prevented us from going.

But this was the year. The planets aligned themselves for us to have some down time, and last night was the perfect night to go. We went around 6:00p.m. Sunday night, and it was my kind of atmosphere. Generally, I'm not super fond of big crowds. So last night was killer. there were plenty of people there, but not the way I imagine it was on Friday and Saturday night. Or the way it will be on wristband day.

We aren't much for rides, but I had many nostalgic moments checking them out. Good, bad, or indifferent, a lot of the rides that came to Bangor when I was a kid, are still the same now. Just with a fresh coat of paint, and different names. Some were even located in the exact same spots as when I was a kid. The funhouse, known as the Maze Craze, was literally in the same spot it was in back in 1984, when I skinned my knee on it.

Check out this video from our sister station Z107.3, riding the Fireball. It looked scary as all get out:

I certainly ate my fill of delicious fair treats while I was there. In fact, I might even make another trip back, just to eat all the things I didn't get to on this trip. I had this doughnut, which was pretty much the size of my head. Also, some wicked good hand cut french fries. Plus a grape Slush Puppie and some kettle corn. I wanted to get fried dough, but I opted for the giant doughnut that was the size of my head. I don't regret my decision, but I was sad that I didn't have enough room to stick some fried dough down the old grocery hole as well.

All in all, it was a fun trip back down Memory Lane. I think the last time I went to the Bangor State Fair was 1992. By the next summer, I'd moved to Portland, and was too broke to do fun things like that anymore. Hahaha.

But it was fun to re-live some memories, talk about old times and past fair experiences with my wife. We felt like teenagers, and then were no-so-gently reminded every five minutes, that we were far from teenagers anymore. But with enough therapy, maybe next year, I'll be brave enough to get on that blessed Ferris Wheel!