Fun, Fauna and Food at the L.A. County Fair

It was the hottest day of the year (so far…) when I decided to go to the L.A. County Fair. Doesn’t faze me, though. I’m a midweek kind of lady; I don’t fancy weekend crowds if I can help it, and luckily enough for me, I could help it as my mother, my fair companion, had the week off. Waiting until the afternoon started to wane, mom and I hit the fair at the ideal time.

Our first stop? Fresh squeezed lemonade and our first round of signature L.A. County Fair Food: hot roasted corn on the cob for me, chicken kebob for mom. Dousing my corn in chili powder, garlic salt and a touch of pepper – oh, heaven wrapped in foil, there is just something that needs to be said about fire roasted corn at the fair. Then, it was time for dessert: cinnamon and sugar fry bread. Wow. It’s like an airy, sweet, thin donut. Mom and I started growling at each other as we ripped ours apart and gobbled it right up.

Now that we had food in our bellies, it was time to make our way to my favorite area of the fair: The Big Red Barn! From newborn goat kids to piglets, fluffy little chicks and sweet, doe-eyed cows, this is hands down exactly what the L.A. County Fair is all about for me. After cooing at every single animal and hand feeding several goats, sheep, llamas (and one gorgeous buttermilk colored cow) it was time to wash our hands and purchase a Fun Pass.

The Fun Pass was the easiest and most effective way to keep track of our tickets. Several ticket booths are positioned all over the fair, ready to exchange cash for their value in tickets that can be used on rides and games. There was no need for us to purchase separate passes – we were able to share the amount as the game and ride operators just scanned the barcode on the back twice.

Taking the lead to double back, I led us to a haunted house ride I’d spotted earlier. Two-headed dragons, vampires, werewolves, and ghosts adorned the façade, and even though this ride isn’t exactly the Nightmare maze (that’s for October at the Fairplex!), I still couldn’t help but close my eyes and shriek at every turn.

Now, here is the moment where I have to publically apologize to my mother. When we first made our way around the fair we spotted a swing ride – not very high, but lots of promise for fun. After we were armed with a Fun Pass, I spotted another swing ride and suggested it. Mom was surprisingly agreeable, seeing the seats were molded for two. So we buckled in and started going up. And up. And up. And up. Oh, wow was that a high ride! Apologizing profusely as my mom tensed and closed her height-fearing eyes, I still couldn’t help marvel at the glittering fair down below, a kingdom of blinking neon and merriment.

Determined to make up the rest of the evening to my mom, I scored us some tickets to the Monster Truck show, already in progress. Hurriedly, we raced up to our seats to catch the latter part of the show. Gargantuan beasts on wheels taller than me roared, rumbled and showed their stuff as they popped impressive wheelies, raced off dirt mounds, and bounced off the ground as if they were made of air. Having fond, misty water-colored memories of monster truck rallies in my youth, this was the ideal way to end the evening – complete with a fireworks spectacular.

Hurry and go to the L.A. County Fair before it’s over! It’s located at Fairplex at 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona. The Fair runs through October 2. For more information, call 909-623-3111 or log on to lacountyfair.com.