If you want free parking, I suggest parking at the Del Mar Horsepark where you can ride a shuttle to the fair, or even a double decker bus if you're lucky...
I was excited because the theme was 'The Fab Fair' and celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles first coming to America as well as 60's culture in general...
This post will be just the sights with a separate one for the food...
The entrance at the front had the Fair's Theme as well as The Yellow Submarine. The statue of Don Diego had him decked out as a hippie with a headband and peace sign necklace. I remember the year he was dressed as Elvis!
We got in through the will call booth a little after 10 am, a full hour before the regular gates opened. Yay, special tickets. Below, what you see as you leave the fair.
I loved the use of the famed Dezo Hoffman "jump" silhouettes of the Beatles. It was seen all over the fair in the logos, in the garden section and on banners throughout.
We would see this exhibit later that day...
Again, the silhouettes...which incidentally are also used in the Beatles "Love" album and Circque du Soleil show.
Workers were getting booths ready for the crowd. Although it was still quiet, there was still a sense of purpose and urgency to get things ready...
Some of the food booths were open but most were still setting up. We walked around with the kids (I mean, teens) to see the rides ahead of time. They both had that wristband for unlimited rides ($35 online). We'd never bought it before but this time, we did since she had a friend she would be able to do rides with.
Bert and I thought this ride had crappy artwork. The one on the far right as a rather deformed looking Nicholas Cage, ha ha. The guy with the band-aid on his left cheek is SUPPOSED to be the rapper Nelly. Like whatever happened to him? Any hits lately Nelly? I think NOT.
The paintings on the ride should be updated, haha.
I always like seeing giant food replicas...
TC went on the Ferris Wheel later that day and got some really nice video at the top...
I liked the prizes at this booth. A few years ago, giant stuffed dollar bills were a prize which to me was quite ugly, crass and materialistic. Donuts are much better!
Somewhere in the back were crates and containers filled with boxes upon boxes of stuffed prize animals for the game booths.
This "fun house" had paintings of superheroes. Bert did not like that they mixed DC with Marvel.
We always like going to this section...
I love looking at the Collections (I skipped the quilts, sweaters, scarves and jewelry though)...
The collections always fascinate me. There is something different every year with interesting stories. This collection was a lady's husband's Zippo collection from 1954 to 2014. Every year, he gets a new lighter for his birthday and for Christmas.
This one was funny - Shredded dog toys! A few years ago, a mom saved all the crap she found in her son's pockets while another person had a collection of lint from the dryer.
Another person collected miniature books; some were given as prizes in old Cracker Jack boxes.
Vintage handkerchiefs...
I loved seeing the older ones from the 20's to the 40's. Some had vivid patterns, scalloped or corded edges and just really pretty delicate hand embroidered designs.
I don't know who still uses handkerchiefs nowadays. I remember my aunts in the Philippines had these and when we went to the market, she bought me several as souvenirs which I never used because they were "too pretty".
This collection had toys from Happy Meals...
while another collected bookmarks from places where they traveled...
I thought that was a neat idea, bookmarks.
Presidential stickers...
This wasn't a collection but I thought this knitted version of the Avengers was pretty cool.
Another Beatles themed quilt:
This area had various place settings with different themes and menus. They had an Asian, Beach, holiday and even a Hello Kitty theme.
I couldn't find the menu for the Hello Kitty table. Bert and I joked that it would just be candy and cakes and even more candy.
We also looked at the judged cookies, pies, cakes and other treats. One of them had little gnats flying around it. Tasty.
Zombie themed collection...
and of course, Beatles...
This grouping of blackface characters was part of a vintage salt and pepper collection.
Another Beatles record collection....their first album (the American version) was only $3.98!
Of all the cakes we saw that day, Bert and I thought this was one of the best; it was so very detailed.
We made a quick visit to the garden show. It's always neat seeing different landscaping ideas.
Beatles scarecrows anyone?
OMG, these giant Beatle heads (later Beatles judging from the length of their hair and presence of facial hair on Ringo and George) were freaky!
Bert thinks they might have been used for Mardi Gras or something. They look pretty heavy to wear.
Not sure what kind of flower this was, but it was pretty...
I loved the deep purple color of this gladiolus spear...
In one of the exhibit halls, there was a festively decorated room. The theme was "Birthday" (as in the Beatles song) which came complete with framed sheet music...
We took a look at the Beatles Exhibit which commemorated their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964.
The exhibit also had some cool displays about the different mediums used to listen to music - reel to reel, cassettes and LP's. They also had a vintage Walkman which was so thick and blocky and it's successor, the portable CD player which played only one CD at a time. How antiquated that is for kids nowadays who can put thousands of songs on an iPod.
One of the many displays of Beatles memorabilia, all belonging to one person!
Another exhibit within the same space was during John Lennon and Yoko Ono's quest for "peace" through a "bed in". These events occurred the year I was born, 1969, as the Vietnam War was going on.
The bed in's were staged over a two week period in two cities, Amsterdam and Montreal (the latter city's hotel was the famed Chateau Frontenac)...
The bed above is fake by the way. It's hard and made of painted wood. There was a huge display of the Sgt. Pepper Album where fair workers could take your photo in front of it. Another display was a replica of the Abbey Road Album cover along with the crosswalk, which was another cool photo opp for fairgoers.
Meanwhile, the kids were off on their own going on rides and seeing hokey stuff like this:
TC said a lot of the booth vendors kept calling them "Hey Romeo and Juliet", and "Win a prize for your girlfriend". They were both embarrassed because they are like brother and sister with each other. They have literally known each other since they were toddlers and are goofballs with one another. One game booth guy said, "You're on a date right?...win a prize for her" and her friend said, "Uh, we're not on a date. We're cousins..." (they're really not but he didn't want people to bug them). For $%#@'s sake, leave those kids alone!
We found out later from TC that they also went in here to check out the petting zoo...
and to see the cute fluffy rabbits!
Goats hanging out...
We noticed that the green bridge that led to the kiddy area was no longer! The infield was now called Family Funville. At one point, I looked up and saw the kids in the sky ride above (not seen in the photos though). It was so different walking across the temporary tiles over the dirt and grass!
Seeing the track at this level was cool...
There was a mini farm area with activities for younger kids. This was new; they didn't have these before. Bert and I thought this display was a subversive way to make kids think that cleaning poo was "fun".
"See how fun it can be to clean this pen!"
Yeah....sign me up.
There were real animals in the pen too! They give the kids cleaning implements to pick up the fecal matter! Fun!!!!
It was kind of lonely being here without TC but we knew that she was having fun because she would text us from time to time to let us know how they were doing.
Antique steam engine/farm equipment:
Vegetable and fruit beds - I wish I had this growing in our backyard!
There was a neat exhibit on bee keeping...
The one with the green dot is the Queen who was being attended to by her drones...
The hive had a tube which led outside. Bees were free to come and go...
I was just hoping I wouldn't get stung! The young man at this exhibit was so knowledgeable; we learned a lot from him that day.
At the World of Horses...
We caught an animal show - this was a Barn Owl...
followed by a King Snake...
and a tortoise. The attendance brought out the animals for all to see but the tortoise was the only animal that could be touched (on its shell).
This was also the first time we saw the Turkey Stampede.
The turkeys chase this remote controlled red monster trick truck. It was funny to see the race, but some turkeys were a bit confused! The bed of the toy truck held turkey treats and once it stopped, the turkeys swarmed the the truck bed and started pecking at it!
We had a great time at the Fair...
enjoying the sights and sounds...
The weather was beautiful and not too hot. Bert and I had a leisurely time strolling around the different sections and enjoyed a new food item of the fair (the post is forthcoming) along with a few fried items of course.
Who else went to the Fair?
Cathy gives us a first look at this year's fair - "The 2014 SD County Fair Part One - Before It Opens"
while Kirbie also had an early crack at it, sampling some of their newest fried creations - "San Diego County Fair 2014"
Up next - the Food!
2 comments:
I really like this- it's the 'real' County Fair...and there was still more you didn't see (or show). I can't wait to go again and maybe catch other displays, talks and daily contests. It's a tradition and a Day of fun!
Thank you Cathy (it's CC again but using Bert's account - too lazy to switch it)....Have fun with your other fair visits!!!
Post a Comment