Alameda County Fair

Alameda County Fair

July 8, 2010

Claire, Phillip, Mrs. Toste and I went to the fair last week. Please see the food blog for pictures of our over-indulgences. Other food tried were a semi-healthy turkey sandwich, corn dogs from the best place at the fair (though, could have been crunchier if they were a little fresher), frozen lemonades, and a ton of water.

The fairgrounds was the coolest I've ever experienced. It was in the low 80s and cooled as the night wore on. I shall attempt more evening visits in the future. Plus, with the weekday crowd, it was nice and empty. There was elbow room and no one breathing on you. I truly enjoyed my visit this year.

My only complaint was the Young California building. It's the huge airconditioned building in which you admire student artwork, craftsmanship (FURNITURE and quilts), and get to see the results of the baking competitions. Well, not any more. The student entries were limited to a building not even 1/2 the size, and Young California has become another, stupid vendor spot. hrumph. :>( I shall find a way to complain to the fair people cuz it was an awful, awful decision.

Onward.

Pictures you see above are:

This year, for the first time, I saw piglet racing and mutton busting. The piglets were sooo cute! They're faster than you'd think, and they do love to race to that food bowl at the end of the track! The mutton busting reminded me of the rodeo KT and I saw in Texas. It's a new event at the fair this year. Little kids, under 6 years and 60 lbs, ride a sheep. The child that hangs on the longest is the winner. (Phillip took video if you're interested.) After the best mutton buster received his medal, there was a race with three groups of children who had to chase down a sheep, place a t-shirt around it's neck, and get it to go with them back to the other side of the ring. As Claire said something to the effect of, "I'm sure PETA would have a field day with these events, but they sure are funny!" I can't but agree.

At the gate by the 4H stables was a small nursery tent. It has the newest baby was the calf, which was born the first weekend of the fair. So cute. As I continued waiting for Claire to get inside the fair, I was amused by a hog and her piglets in the same tent. The momma was sleeping, and the babies were sleeping in a pile nearby... all except one. This little pig was running around the pen like no tomorrow. It was trying to wake mom up by nudging her and squeeling at her. She'd just snort and bat the baby away, almost a, "Leave me alone, kid!!". Finally, the baby wasn't getting any response, so it woke up the rest of it's siblings. One by one, they all get up. They then attack mom for a snack. There was at least as many babies as there was nipples, so they were all jumping around, butting in, and hopping on top of each other all to get a snack. It was funny.

In the Gems and Minerals and Collections hall, I saw this beaded bag. This lady was nuts! I can't belive the amount of hours she spent making it.

Next picture was taken, courtesy of Mrs. Toste. I thought I'd taken more pictures while at the fair, but I guess not. And, to top it off, there were none of Phillip's mom. It's not like she abandoned the group or anything... Odd.

While waiting for Phillip and his mom to arrive, Claire and I did a once-over of the fair food available. Same booths, mostly... except for the Chaquita banana booth. What were they doing? Taking pictures of people dressed as a banana for an ad campaign. Claire dressed up, and we both got a yellow rubber bracelet, a pocket recipe guide, and a sample of a chocolate/banana smoothie. I think that Claire also scored a paper crown. Look for her famous face!