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The Sedalia Democrat, Sedalia, Mo., Travis McMullen column: McMullen: On a quest for free fair stuffAug 13, 2010 (The Sedalia Democrat - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- As you probably gathered from the columns I wrote about the Missouri State Fair last year, I love all the available free stuff. Call it loot, call it swag, call it complimentary or call them promotional items: the veritable buffet of free stuff is, at least in my humble opinion, one of the top reasons to go to the Missouri State Fair. So this year I decided that the first day of the fair, "Two Buck Bonanza" day, would be the day that I would dedicate to the gathering of free stuff. Most, if not all of the stops, are pulled out on the annual discount days because everyone knows that attendance is usually higher on that day than on any other. Any swag that would be available would probably be available on this day, even if just for a little while. I was determined to search high and low and find the best available giveaways. In years past the first stop on any worthwhile loot tour of the Missouri State Fair would be the Womans Building, the fair home of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. It used to be quite the destination for free stuff -- not essentially in quantity but in quality. Cups, bags and washcloths proudly proclaiming to be made out of recycled materials used to be available but now there are none to be found. I guess that might mean that I'm just missing my chance when they pull out that kind of stuff. If you want good stuff from the Department of Natural resources exhibit you'll have to putt for it: a successful outing on the short green will still net you some things worth having. Just next door, however, the Mo-Ag Theater is becoming the best first stop on a successful campaign for comps. The booth for the College of Human Environmental Sciences had two worthwhile freebies: a long Mizzou notepad that's nearly perfect for taking column notes and a basket full of rubber brain pencil toppers in a variety of colors including orange, yellow, red and green among others. Now I haven't used a pencil for anything in a great long while but I guess it can be a "pens that don't click" topper. My quest for swag wasn't going nearly as fast as I might have hoped: the heat was overwhelming and I spent way too much time just sitting around in various buildings on the fairgrounds to combat it. Eventually I reached the house on the hill, the point of salvation from the heat, the best freebie destination on the entire fairgrounds: The Mathewson Exhibition Center. There is, of course, all of the pens, magnets, notepads and handheld cardboard fans that you could ever want -- and I imagine they went through a whole lot of those fans on that day but there's also more exotic handouts occasionally. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers booth had a white ring Frisbee that encourages one to "Wear A Life Jacket When Around Water" and a Missouri State Fair clip pin that insists that we should "Come and Explore Beautiful Wappanello Lake." It features a deer walking out of some sort of body of water and there are two things to note about it: it says "Missouri State Fair 2010" on it so I have no doubt it will play well. There are a whole lot of people who think that anything that has an event name on it is instantly collectible. There are even more who think that anything that has a date on it, no matter how complete or how precise that date is, is going to be worth a whole lot of money some day. This pin has both of those things -- people will go nuts for it. And Wappanello Lake is 274 miles away from the city that hosts the Missouri State Fair if you take the fastest possible route. You would think that they would advertise a destination that was a little bit closer if they were really hoping to get anyone from the fair to go there. Maybe I misunderstand the intent of the button. And if there were some sort of award for heaviest promotional item the Robin Carnahan, Secretary of State booth would easily take it. It's usually a good freebie destination. Usually they just have one major thing that leaves most with the impression that they really got something worth having. And it's always something royal blue: clearly someone thinks of it as a distinctly Robin Carnahan: Secretary of State color. This year's complimentary blue item was the Missouri Blue Book. No, it's not a listing of car values specifically for the state of Missouri and it doesn't have anything to do with UFOs, but it is, according to the binding, the "Official Manual of the State of Missouri 2009 -- 2010." And it is gigantic -- you shouldn't worry about them running out too fast if you really want one because I doubt there were that many that were willing to lug the tome around on such a blisteringly hot day. I, however, lack foresight and decided to load up my bag with a heavy bit of regret. It's a great resource and I'm now happy to have it now that it is safely home but up until that point it brought me nothing but regret. Over at the MoDOT building they had something I had never seen in my life: finger-sized versions of those rubber wristbands that can be found sitting in piles on tables all over the country. And out in front as you entered the Highway Gardens they had a bridge model where you could show your appreciation for the all the bridge work that takes place. On that day everyone got a green mini Sharpie to use and then they told us that we could keep it. You never know when you might need a Sharpie. Missouri State Fair Best Swag Award, 2010 -- "Missouri Blue Book" -- Robin Carnahan, Secretary of State. Missouri State Fair Most Immediately Useful Swag Award, 2010 -- "Green Sharpie Mini" -- MoDOT, KTU Constructors and the Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program. I'm already making my plans to pick up next year's haul. To see more of The Sedalia Democrat or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sedaliademocrat.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Sedalia Democrat, Sedalia, Mo. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544). |