Hot Fun at the California State Fair
I love the Ca State Fair! It’s soooo cheesy and hot and fun. Each year it intrigues me in a different way. One thing I like about it is that it attracts a diverse group of attendees, seems to me like a good representation of California and its diversity.
And you can’t attend the fair without being reminded, this IS a very agricultural state. Outside of the coast and the mountains, California is a top producer of almonds (pronounced amonds in the valley!), grapes, lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes and walnuts. Many of the exhibits highlight farming.
I usually spend a good deal of time in the vendor building. All kinds of hawkers work you as you walk the aisles. I had an interesting incident this year. A booth was selling a product that was guaranteed to fix your eye bags. I made the mistake of heading into the booth…
Of course the dude has to put it on for me. My hair “was in the way” so he moved my hair (I’m already a little “ewe” at this point) and he has to get close to put it on. Now here we go….the original price was $140 but for me (what, because I’m so young and pretty:-/) it was $80. BUT if I buy the moisturizer (because they work together you know), the package is only $120. But that is only for me-shhhhh.
It did look promising but I wasn’t going to buy on the spot. That’s when it got ugly. He got insistent, subtly blocked my path and kept saying there was no reason to walk away. He asked again and again why I was leaving. I had to move him out of my way to leave.
He began yelling, “Why are you leaving?”. I raised my voice, “I answered but you don’t like the answer” and left. He said something under his breath as I left. I was stupid to have even engaged. Silly me.
The rest of the fair was fabulous as usual. I have lots of photos below. Please note that signage is very difficult to read, so I do not have the names of many of the artists. Also, many of the quilts showing I had already seen at previous venues so I don’t post them again.
One of my very favorite sections is the children’s art work. Is this not adorable?
These monsters are particularly cute!
You just know Daddy melted when he saw this.
This exquisitely constructed prom dress was made by Alexandra Roberts, a teen I believe.
Now the quilts. A word about the display: the display of the quilts is problematic. Many are behind glass, poorly lit, crowded with others. The signage is unreadable and there is no description of the quilts. I did my best:
Subterranean by Cathy Brorby.
My Vision, Sherry Werum.
Harmonious, Tonja McCarthy.
Detail, Harmonious. Isn’t this exquisite?
Beautiful and diaphanous froth! Could not read the card.
Stone Lakes, Jan Soules.
Desert Flowers, Marilyn Siefker. Unique and striking design.
Free Styling & Spiraling, Mel Beach. It was behind glass, hence the glare.
My Life, Isabel Avina.
Grounded, Jan Soules.
Self Portrait, Gudrun Thompson.
Could not make out the title, exquisite Hawaiian hand quilted applique by Ester Latino-it’s huge.
Could not read title, Connie Horne.
Now on to the Fine Arts Building:
Fountain of Youth, John Thomas.
Untitled, Madison Near.
Spiral Staircase, Christine Larsen.
Time Passages, Randell Honerlah.
Peony, Shu Fen Chen. This was a huge oil painting, striking and gorgeous.
Colored Bob, Ed Chaney.
Betty, Austin Kramer.
Streamline, Stanley Peterson.
PicGuitarstract, Joe Strickland.
Each County puts on a booth at the fair that highlights their area and there is strong competition for prizes. Each booth tells the story of that county and I particularly enjoy this section also.
Loved that artwork to the left in the Yolo County booth.
My county, Placer.
And then there is the fair food. Oh my!
I looked it up, Weight Watchers does not tally points for the Krispy Kreme Donut Burger nor the Fried Mac n Cheese. Well who’d a thunk?
And it wouldn’t be a fair without the bacon-on-everything booth!
But I was a Good Girl and opted for the Ceviche with water, snort.
It was a great day: great art, cheesy vendors, fair food and of course it was hot-all the necessary ingredients for a day at the California State Fair!
I’ll link up with Off the Wall Friday here!
Wow! So much beautiful art to enjoy. I especially enjoyed the children’s art!
Angela, isn’t the children’s art adorable?
Ah, the Fair! So much fun and quirkiness. One of my favorite places at our state fair is the Grange exhibits. Such creativity in arranging fruits, vegetables, and other state products. Of course, seeing the quilts ALWAYS have to come first!
Fairs are just quirky fun!
Wow, I would never have expected to find so much fabulous artwork on display at a state fair! State fairs make me think of corn dogs, cotton candy, livestock like Wilbur the Pig and Charlotte the Spider’s amazing webs, ferris wheels, and hotdog eating contests. And I envision that all of the men and boys at the fair are wearing overalls or dungarees of some sort, all of the little girls are wearing pinafores and pigtails, and the women are wearing Laura Ingalls dresses with sensible farm boots. So the scary incident with the eye cream fiend definitely does NOT fit into this idyllic scenario — unless he’s the modern day iteration of the quack selling cure-all tonic!! Sorry that happened to you. At least your eyelids didn’t swell up with an awful rash from whatever he smeared on you.
That sounds more like a county fair Rebecca Grace! State Fairs are more sophisticated but still quirky. The Ca always has some excellent fine art. I was stupid to fall for the eye cream. Funny thing is if you go to the internet they are selling that cream for $1200-I kid you not!