Out, About: Fun at the fair(s)

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The Tennessee State Fair opened last night in Lebanon, and I can practically smell the funnel cakes from my desk in Metrocenter.

When I was telling Mack how excited I was to write about fair season in Middle Tennessee, his immediate question was “Wait, when did the Wilson County fair become the official state fair?” The answer to that is 2021, but it’s a bit more complicated than just when.

As our interim news director Tony Gonzalez reported back when he was on the Metro beat, the state fair in Nashville had become kind of controversial. The organizers said that the fair was being squeezed out, as the city also accommodated a racetrack, flea markets, an eventual soccer stadium (hello, GEODIS), and a public park in the tight fairgrounds space.

In an August 2018 Metro Council meeting, the chairman of the Tennessee State Fair Association, John Rose, pointed to a deal struck 95 years before that required Nashville to serve as the host.

“Frankly, the city did not keep its word and has failed to provide that space to us as was promised,” Rose said. “And that doesn’t bode well for the future and the other promises that are being made.”

The thing is: According to Mack, and every other Nashville native I know, Wilson County’s local fair had always been superior. That’s probably, at least in some part, because a fair needs space to thrive. A consultant’s report in 2017 said the Nashville fairgrounds were less than a quarter the size of what is needed for a successful fair.

So why the change of location now?

The pandemic, simply put. It sped up the conversation that was already happening with the city and fair organizers, when the event was paused for only the second time in its history. (The last time was for World War II.)

Following the skipped 2020 year, the fair was back and better than ever in its new location. And Nashville is having its own, less-pressure fair now too, as of last year.

For my history nerds out there, last year’s This Is Nashville episode digging into the past, present and future of the state fair is a fun and informative listen.

The Tennessee State Fair runs through Aug. 26. But don’t fret! You can always go to the Nashville Fair from Sept. 8 to 17. Or heck, why not both?

I’m really just in it for the food…

In that case, maybe a wristband — and the hours spent walking through dust — aren’t worth the price of admission. I’m sorry for you since there’s not much better a view than from the top of a ferris wheel, but I can respect a single-minded dedication to fried foods.

My recommendation is checking out Beginner’s Luck in the Midtown Foods hall right off Dr DB Todd Jr Boulevard. They’re known for their incredible breakfast sandwiches. (They’re claiming they’re the best in town, but I’ll let you be the judge of that. I’m out of this debate now that Sweet 16th’s one to go is no longer. RIP.)

Really though, it’s Beginner’s Luck’s specials like this fair-adjacent option that make it such a standout breakfast place to me: the elephant ear french toast sticks served with not only maple syrup but peanut butter creme anglaise as well.

Rachel Iacovone WPLN News

They somehow taste even better than they look.

Shoutout to WPLN’s Alexis Marshall for introducing me to the pop-up before it had a consistent location.

I texted her about these sticks over the weekend, and she barged into my office Monday afternoon after lunch at Beginner’s Luck with our healthcare reporter Catherine Sweeney.

“Oh my god!” she cried on behalf of them both.