The New York State Fair is always a place for all ages, even when they open the gates for free for those over 60 on one of their senior days.
That was the case Monday when my dear wife Karen and I took our one trip this summer of 2016. That’s when we were free after our work hours on that 10-day stretch through Labor Day. The weekend is packed. No, we’re not at that age. Coincidence.
Seal the relationship.
The seals were feeling playful with a couple of handlers preparing for a show as we walked the expanded grounds. A crowd was gathering. Apparently a young girl asked her dad if she could get closer.
With a kiss, of course.
The seal became a ham, much to the child’s delight. And everybody else’s, too.
Watching the hose and horse.
The horse building had a few caretakers hosing down their beautiful animals outside. We did not go in. I surmised that the heat must have been pretty high in there. In any case, this little one liked the guy with. The water cooling off his animal.
The young band at a small stage.
It came on a smaller stage, where the crowd was manageable and the musicians were many decades younger than the headlines a mile over at Chevy Court. Everybody was having fun with the music of Vivid Recall.
Brian Wilson and the former Beach Boys.
We had it in our minds to catch a bit of Brian Wilson’s magic no matter the size of the crowd at the court. The genius behind the music of the Beach Boys had his former band mates Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin on stage to help him out lots. He himself didn’t do much but sit behind his keyboard and take the role of elder statesman. It didn’t matter to the masses.
Here’s my friend Katrina Tulloch’s review for the big daily.
Hover over a gallery photo for a description. Click on an image for an enlarged slide show.
Here’s how I caught Wilson, Jardine and the rest of the gang playing “I Get Around” with my iPhone 6.
I’ll have some more photos from our state fair trip tomorrow. Think goats, rabbits and sand sculpture.
If you clicked on the clip, how do you think Brian Wilson and the former Beach Boys sound? Would you put your kid up close to a seal? Which is your favorite photo and why?
Mark Bialczak 
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i would love to see this concert live, with him there, even if he’s got a lot of backup, it’s his genius that put it all together in the first place )
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Yeah, he was the driving force all those decade ago, for sure, Beth.
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Too hot for fairs until Sept/Oct here. Looks like fun for end of the summer. (Seals? Seals at a fair? Never seen that. Swimming or racing pigs, yes, but seals?) Seeing any animals for real is always a treat for kids.
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The kids and me, Mouse. See my post tomorrow for goats and rabbits and colorful bantams. 😉
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I heard the beach boys all weekend long once when we were camping at Sherkston in Canada – did not really love their music then – but the concert was right beside us and through the trees. made for a memorable time.
also – I grew up going to the Sate Fair in NY and remember the italian sausage and green pepper lunches – mmmmm
but never recalls seeing any seals! that photo is so cute.
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I bet we could have sat next to each other eating sausage sandwiches and not know it, Y. Imagine!
Thanks for your kind words about the photo. It means so much!
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🙂 – and I will be emailing you this weekend p- just to check in on last year’s project – xoxo
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That is good news, Y. I was thinking about you and your project. ❤
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oh cool – (cues spooky music)
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Saw the Beach Boys in 1986. Never would have imagined they’d be on stage 30 years later.
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I agree, Scott. The lasting power amazes me.
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They sound good – blast from the past, Seals – hmmm – I don’t get too close to any wild animals – they all have teeth. Great to watch and fine for handlers who they see daily and who can read their mood – not so for a stranger.
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Better safe than missing a body part, Paul. You are right about that one. 😮
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