Missouri' State Fair features food, music, science and a singing toucan

American storyteller Garrison Keillor recently opined that, "the joys of a state fair are pleasures that Google and Facebook and a computer in a cubicle cannot provide, and that's why something deep in us still wants and needs a state fair."

Missouri's festival of the senses, the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, www.MoStateFair.com, begins Aug. 13 and continues for 10 days, combining traditions with a number of new and exciting features intended for visitors of all interests and ages.

New this year are cooking demonstrations featuring some of Missouri's most talented chefs using locally grown foods and products sold at the state's many farmers' markets Found at www.MoStateFair.com/masterchef.html. Daily cooking events take place between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. in the Agriculture Building. A State Fair farmers' market allows the opportunity to purchase fresh produce on the spot. Master gardeners also will be available to answer home gardening questions.

The cooking demonstrations are a part of the Rural Lifestyles Showcase in the Home Economics Building. The showcase includes classes covering sensible living tips, ultimate couponing, living a frugal lifestyle and online shopping. Additional topics cover pottery, photography and sculpture. The classes are free with a general admission ticket to the fair.

Another new attraction comes to Missouri from the depths of a tropical rainforest.

The "Rainforest Live Experience" show includes a singing toucan, an 18-foot long albino Burmese python, and other animals not often found in the Show-Me State. The interactive shows include magic, puppetry and education about conservation efforts to protect the world's rainforests.

The environment is also the focus of an improved recycling program for the mountains of plastic, aluminum and cardboard waste generated by the more than 300,000 visitors expected at the fair. Guests are encouraged to use the easily identifiable green bins donated by a number of Missouri companies. Last year's pilot recycling program collected about 1,000 pounds of waste, of which 90 percent was recycled.

Three days of the fair, from Friday, Aug. 21 to Sunday, Aug. 23, will be devoted to special programs and events promoting science education and fun activities involving science. An effort to break a world record of fizzing soda fountains, a combination of Pepsi-Cola and Mentos, is scheduled for 2 p.m. Aug. 22. More than 2,000 young scientists are needed to help break the record.

The Fiddling Championship on Aug. 23 features the official state instrument. Winners of the junior, senior and open divisions will compete in a play-off for the all-fair champion title.

Competitors are required to play a hoedown, waltz and other danceable selections to get the audience involved.

The Grandstand will be buzzing with performances by classic rock bands Kansas and Heart, an all-star performance of numerous country music stars and the big event -- Brooks and Dunn on Saturday, Aug. 22. A complete lineup of musical performances in the Pepsi Grandstand can be found at www.MoStateFair.com/grandstand.html.