Fairly Speaking
By Anthony C. Leo
It is amazing to see how much this place changes overnight. Our 72 acre fairgrounds seemingly go from a beautiful park-like setting one day, to the full-out county fair with shade structures, five stages and 40 carnival rides the next. Our concessionaires are beginning to move in their stands so they can serve up lip-smackin’ good fair food like eggrolls on a stick and fresh popped kettle corn. Let the eating extravaganza begin!
Our 44,604 square foot FoodMaxx Arena and 100 horse stalls are already full of action, with our completely free pre-fair horse events in full swing. Trot down to check out some of the great horse shows and demos. You can find the schedule at our website, www.stancofair.com on the stages and arena events tab.
Many of our 8,700 exhibitors are wrapping up their impressive 30,000 exhibit entries. We will begin receiving some of them this week, including the fine arts and crafts, wine and beer and photography entries. It is so exciting to see the thousands of treasured works of art and examples of true talents on display, in hopes of the blue ribbon prize.
Our first aid station has just had its extreme makeover, thanks to a sponsorship from Emanuel Physician Center. In addition to all new furniture from Emanuel, it now has an artistic concrete floor created by Concrete by Hallick. Feel free to stop by and see the new room—we’d much rather have you as a visitor than a patient.
And our pièce de résistance – our new 6,000 square foot Rainforest Adventure exhibit – is nearing completion. Rain forest critters are emerging out of foam, ready to welcome the arrival of the real rain forest animals, like the Capuchin monkey, toucans and snapping turtles. And to really set the scene it now ‘rains’ in the rainforest and LED fireflies are hiding in the foliage. We are so grateful for Sky Trek Aviation, the major sponsor of this exhibit. Without the support of Sky Trek, and the talents of Clayton and Elaine Everett, this caliber of exhibit would not be possible.
If you are like my family, then you are watching your budget and keeping an eye open for bargains. So, I encourage you to take advantage of the discount fair admission and unlimited ride wristbands that are on sale only through 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 30. You can purchase discount tickets at Valley First Credit Union (Modesto, Turlock and Oakdale), at the Fair Office in Turlock or online at www.stancofair.com.
We are on a countdown to opening day, Friday, July 31. Join me for 10 days of “Renewable Fun” at your 98th Stanislaus County Fair.
Tony Leo is chief executive officer of the Stanislaus County Fair. He has worked in the fair industry for over 25 years. This is his 12th Stanislaus County Fair.