Aside from the festival weeks, there are the state fairs. On numerous occasions, we were alerted to the just finished or about to begin state fair of this or that state. Advertising for the fairs was abundant, and often unavoidable.

Does California even have a state fair? Maybe I move in the wrong circles, but the last time I can recall anyone I've ever known who resides in California talking about a California State Fair was...uh, never.

I'm not one to broaden the gulf that seems to seperate California from the rest of the country--rest assured we are indeed the butt of many jokes, and sometimes the target of a brand of gentle ill will. Still, that state fairs elsewhere in this country seem to mean an awful lot to a lot of people, and that the idea of a state fair amongst coastal Californians seems less familiar than aliens in Area 51 says something about that divide. On several occasions we chatted with people who asked us with an unmistakable sense of pride whether or not we'd managed to visit their state fair. We had to answer no.

Perhaps in the future I'll be able to say yes. And maybe, one day, I'll figure out if California has one too.

You have to get up to the Central Valley more often--not only is California's state fair a huge event (see http://www.bigfun.org/html/default.aspx), but just about every county has a fair of its own--here's a pretty comprehensive list: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/fe/fairlist.asp.

Having lived in San Francisco for the past 13 years, I know that if you spend most of your time on the coast, it's easy to think of California as sort of a friendlier, sunnier version of the Northeast. But thanks to a good bit of time spent motorcycling around the interior, I've realized that most of California--geographically if not demographically--is agricultural and very traditional, more like the Deep South than anything else.

Thanks for the links Ed.

You're absolutely right. In actual fact, I've heard of the California state fair, but it is true that no one I can remember speaking with here or in SF (the two areas in CA I'm most likely to be in) has ever mentioned it.

In my years of driving between those two cities (college in SF), and elsewhere in the state for bike races, skiing, camping, or just driving, I've noticed the same condition of life, and yes, it doesn't bear much resemblance to LA or the bay area.

Re-reading what I wrote, I realize that it was only in the middle that I referred to the Californians I was thinking of as "Coastal Californians." Through my sloppy rhetorical flourishes, I think I was trying to gently poke fun at those of us who are rather insulated from life in the rest of California. Truly, I'd be surprised if most of the people I deal with would have any real clue about the state fair, even as I know there are many, many people in the central valley, Sierra foothills, the deserts, and elsewhere who would.

Thanks much Ed!