Bang or Bust?: My Time at the Tri-County Fair
Bang or Bust?: My Time at the Tri-County Fair
There seems to be a lot of chatter online about whether this year’s fair royally sucked or whether it was completely amazing. Some are saying that it used to be cool. It used to have this or that and it was a lot cheaper than it is today. Others are pumped on the new rides, the great food selection, and the quality of the exhibits.
Well, I went, and I’m here to tell you how my experience was.
First things first… we were like twelve deep. There were a lot of us. I went with my two kids and their friends, and my best friend (can you still have a best friend at my age?), her kids and all of their friends. This is the way to do it, imho. It was fun having that many people, and great seeing the kids having a blast on The Fireball, Gravitron (it had another name but I’ll always call it that), the Ferris Wheel, and all the others.
Okay, the $37 wrist bands stung a little. I think they were $30 last year. I guess we can chalk that up to inflation? Not sure, but it does seem high. Some of the carnies were a little grouchy, but I guess I would be too if I spent three and a half days trying to convince passerby kids and teens to play “Balloon Pop” at five bucks a shot.
Back in my day ***puts down cane, puts on cardigan, reclines in La-Z-Boy chair*** those same games cost a dollar and even that seemed kind of expensive. I remember spending $18 to win a six-inch TMNT Raphael stuffy when I was nine on the ring toss. I also remember winning a fish who died the next day.
The exhibits were fun. There were some new ones this year and I enjoyed talking with people who had come from all over to be there. My family are animal lovers, and seeing a kangaroo, snakes, a turtle, a parrot and more was unexpected and pretty cool.
My daughter, Charlotte, won third place in the cookie baking competition for her age group. She made shortbread cookies in the shape of cows, bunnies, and fish. After a hard week at school, she needed a win and it was good to see her have one.
The food was great. Every time I go, I tell myself that I’m going to try something new, and then just end up eating two Indian Tacos back to back. Pastor Harold, Retha, and Paul from Big Pine were at the booth this year, and as always the food was incredible. Because I like to eat, I also stole… I mean shared some of the food that the kids ended up getting. Cheese fries, pretzel bites, corn dogs, and a truly amazing deep-fried Twinkie. The $10 slushees were pricey. But hey, you get to keep the sixty cent cup that comes with it.
Overall, I had one of the best days I can remember at this year’s fair. I’ve been to a lot of county fairs in various places I’ve lived and visited, and I have to say that we have one of the best. I really do think it’s about the people, and the Eastern Sierra has some incredible people.
My kids had a blast, which I think is really what it’s all about, and we hope you had as much fun as we did.
