Tulsa State Fair

I'm really behind in blogging, but we've had a lot going on lately, and I've made myself promise to start blogging more regularly. I wanted to make sure and blog about our trip to the Tulsa State Fair a couple of weekends ago with our friends Matt and Erica. This is the third year Matt and I have attended the Tulsa State Fair and one of the only reasons we go every year is that the first weekend of the fair, they host the Oklahoma State Sugar Arts Show where cake decorators from all over the world compete in a huge wedding cake competition. The cakes are just incredible and amazing and so fun to look at, and they keep us coming back every year. This year the theme was mansions and monasteries, and each cake (in the master level competition) had to be inspired by an actual house. There were some really cool ones this year and the best part was the timing that we made it to the fair. The wedding cake competition is one of the most popular attractions and the lines for browsing the cakes are terrible. Everyone is stopped taking pictures, talking about the cakes and walking in different directions, and there are usually so many times, when we are just stuck standing still in line. This year, we got to the fair about 30 minutes before it actually opened, and whether we were supposed to or not, we managed to get into the QT center about 15 minutes before the fair started. We were able to walk through at our own pace and take our time looking at the cakes (some of which were still being set up). We'll definitely remember this trick next year and make sure to get there early.
I'm a pretty huge Food Network fan, and one of my goals at the fair is to try and spot as many Food Network celebrities as I can. They host weekly cake competitions, and this year I spotted three of the competitors I've seen compete in the challenges. I excitedly point them out to Matt, and he usually doesn't recognize them. This year, he remembered two of the three though.

Matt took lots of pictures of the cakes. Here are some of our favorites.

These first three weren't part of the wedding cake competition but there was a separate category for chocolate and lower levels of cakes


The detail work on the cakes is amazing. We were impressed by the hand painting on this one.



All the elements on the cake must be edible. Sometimes the flowers look so realistic, I swear they are real.


This was my favorite cake this year:
Besides the cake competition, the other reason we go to the fair every year is for the famous fair food. After looking around at some of the other exhibits, we stopped for lunch. Matt got an Indian Taco, and I had a corn dog and we all shared some fries. I enjoyed everything I ate, but regretted it later that night. Good thing the State Fair is just once a year
After lunch we walked around outside and looked at some of the other buildings, and then ended the day with another favorite, ice cream. Last year at the fair, we stumbled across a booth selling ice cream from this place and immediately fell in love. All four of us had been craving and waiting for that ice cream for a whole year. There aren't any stores in Oklahoma, so we have to depend on the state fair each year to fulfill our ice cream needs. Their ice cream is the smoothest, creamiest ice cream I've ever eaten, and we savored each cool, creamy bite. After our ice cream we headed back home for the day to relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend. Going to the fair each year is one of my favorite Fall traditions.