NPR Road Trips: Fairs and Festivals

Step right up as the gates swing open at fairgrounds across the USA. This delightful collection explores the unique joys of the public gatherings that take place in cities and small towns, when people of all stripes and sizes meet to gawk at cows, ponder seed art, get hypnotized, compete in husband-calling contests, and eat virtually anything on a stick. Farming, food, politics, parades, shilling, glad-handing, people-watching, and silliness are celebrated here. If you’ve been to a fair or festival, you’ll love this collection. If you haven’t, here’s what you’ve been missing. Featuring: Garrison Keillor at the Minnesota State Fair Swine Bring ‘Olympig’ Racing to County Fairs ‘Lovey’ Replaces ‘Sooey!’ in Husband-Calling Contest The Funnel Cake King Texas Fair Takes Flyer on Food (Fried, Mostly) The Phelps of Food Canning The Minnesota State Fair on a Stick Iowa’s ‘Butter Cow Lady’ a Born Artist Voices from the National Cornbread Festival Wood-Chopping in West Virginia and much more.