In the words of the Ten Commandments, “thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s deep-fried Snickers bar.” The aforementioned bar is but one of the foods sold almost exclusively at state fairs like the annual one that takes place in Raleigh. These outrageous foods, in addition to the fair itself, are products of a quintessentially American phenomenon: taking gluttony to its logical extreme.
Walking through the North Carolina State Fair, the quality of foods becomes immediately obvious. The fairgrounds are lined with stands each selling another sort of fried product more outlandish than the last. This is where someone would come for a spectacle, not good food.
Some of the things are sold (and, even worse, eaten) include the Snickers bar mentioned earlier, along with deep-fried Twinkies, deep-fried bacon, deep-fried doughnuts and, of course, the deep-fried bacon doughnut burger (How could one forget?).
What would drive someone to eat this diabetes on a bun? Do doughnuts and bacon even taste good together? I opted not to find out, seeing as how I intended to continue living for a number of years after my visit to the fair.
Speaking with a few vendors, I discovered that these foods all sell enough each year to warrant a stand at the fair, although in retrospect, I probably could have figured that one out on my own. Around a million people attend the fair each year, according to the NC State Fair website. Last year, around five percent of North Carolinians reported having a heart disease, which comes to around 500,000 people, so it seems some, at least, are spared.
However, fried foods for the sake of spectacle are not the only problem with the fair. The safety standards for its rides are subpar, to say the least. Ten people have been injured, and one has even died due to ride malfunctions and incomplete safety regulations since 2002.
These problems could be brushed off as endemic to rides that must routinely be dismantled, folded up and packed in trucks, but this raises the question: should such rides even be allowed? I suppose they’re a part of the “state fair culture,” but consistent injuries at an event run by the NC Department of Consumer Services should undoubtedly be seen as, well, a disservice to the consumers.
I can see how someone might enjoy the NC State Fair on the surface, but upon looking into it a bit deeper, it begins to fall apart, like, a ride at the NC State Fair. It’s interesting how beloved such a mediocre and potentially dangerous institution can be. But that’s just my two cents.
