Fair and Expo

April 22, 2004 - Take Ed out to the Fair

This weekend there is more than off-track betting at the Earl Warren Show Grounds. There are rides, exhibits, food, entertainment, and live cookware demonstrations. It is the Santa Barbara Fair and Expo!

Check out our Fair Picture Slideshow

Last night, the dedicated staff of edhat.com took ourselves out to the fair. We didn’t see any peanuts and crackerjacks, but we did see Fries – Regular, Cheddar, Bacon, Garlic, and Curly. And we saw Hot Dogs, Chili Dogs, Kraut Dogs, and Bagel Dogs. We saw food on a stick –Cheese, Shrimp, Beef, Chicken, Cod, Smoke(?), and Hot Dogs. Rounding out the menu, we also saw Sausages, Finger Steaks, Fried Zucchini, Onion Rings, Chicken Strips, Tacos, Burritos, Nachos, Enchiladas, Egg Rolls, Rice Bowl, Corn On The Cob, Pizza, Pizza Bread, Mini Donuts, Pop Corn, Cotton Candy, Candy Apples, Kettle Corn, Funnel Cakes, and Churros.

We tried to persuade Louie to join us at the Fair for a special Fair Food with Louie article, but he said that he couldn’t spare any extra Prilosec. The it-all-ends-up-in-the-same-place-anyway argument didn’t win him over either. We couldn’t even talk him into just walking around and watching the dedicated staff eat. Louie is one tough Funnel Cake.

So, we went alone. We ate some corn-on-the-cob and some fried stuff and finished it off with a Churro. To paraphrase our buddy William again, “The Fair is sweet sauce.” It just tastes better there.

After our fine meal, we explored the grounds. We saw livestock, a photo exhibit, a petting zoo (zebra), and a way-too-phony hypnotist. We also did a few rides and tried to win a stuffed animal. Kids in their early teens seemed to having the time of their life. And while younger kids basked in the frenzy of sensory overload, their parents were counting the minutes until bedtime.

At 7:00 PM we wandered over to the Kid’s Jumpin’ Jungle for the Tarzan Yelling Contest. The dedicated staff likes contests. It seems like, with all the madness going on in the world these days, all people would like an opportunity for a good yell, however only kids entered the contest. There were 10 contestants in all. A clown with big pink hair lined them up quickly. A couple seconds of “ah-ah-ah …” accompanied by some chest pounding earned each Tarzan a Tootsie Pop. Some hasty judging determined a winner, and the clown was gone.

Leaving the clown behind us, we grabbed some mini donuts and headed for the exit. The theme this year is “It’s a Jungle Out There!” And it certainly was.

Contestants in the edhat “Number of Tarzans” contest guessed from 6 to 132, with an average of 18. Only Sparkle guessed 10. Sparkle wins 4 tickets to the Fair, which goes on through the weekend. The Tarzan Yelling Contest will be held every day. Maybe Sparkle will enter.

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