And cookies, and collages, and wands, and hats – everything you can create for the America’s Kids’ contests and competitions. Entries are open for all categories, so start planning on winning a blue ribbon. America’s Kids’ theme for 2012 is “A Living Library of Fun.” It’s all about books and favorite stories. So whether you love to read or are just learning to read, America’s Kids is the place you’ll want to visit again and again at this year’s L.A. County Fair.
All contests and competitions are based on children’s books, authors, characters and themes in books. Categories are open to ages 3-18. There are so many fun and creative categories to enter, how will you choose? Maybe you’ll have to enter into them all.
These are just a few of the great categories:
- Mystical, Magical Wizard Wands or Wizard Hats
Inspired by Harry Potter and other fantasy stories, make your own wizard wand or hat…or both!
- Build a Tree House
Design and build your own miniature tree house and you can start imagining your own adventures just like Jack and Annie from the Magic Tree House book series.
- Creative Cake
Decorate a cake using any literature-inspired theme. Some ideas: books, book characters, famous fictional settings, etc….you decide!
- Recycled Robots
This was popular last year. Families build robots from recyclable material.
- “Sew” Exciting: A Living Library of Fun
Sew something creative like sock book worms, magical capes and cloaks, or Ms.Frizzle-inspired fashions
- Funny Vampire Vagabonds
In the Twilight books, the main vampires live in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. In other books, vampires live in castles, caves, etc. Since they aren’t real, our little vampire can live or travel anywhere you want him to. Print out our vampire and create an environment just for him.
Like I said, this is a brief list of the many contests and competitions (btw, did you know that contests take place during the Fair and are judged on site and competitions include entries that are judged pre-Fair and awarded ribbons so you can see what you won when you visit the Fair? Got that? Confused? Me, too). There is also a special contest celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts. Deadline to send in your entry form is June 28.
So, visit the America’s Kids homepage to find a complete list of categories. Can’t wait to see all of your great, creative work!
Hey, happy new year! I know it’s almost March but better late than never. And what a great year this is going to be! In case you haven’t heard, the L.A. County Fair is celebrating its 90th anniversary AND we are opening on Aug. 31 – the earliest date ever for the Fair. We have big plans for our opening birthday weekend celebration, but more on that as we get closer.
Right now, we want to hear from you. Kristy, our intrepid social media guru, is 
compiling Fair memories, and she needs your help. You’ve probably already noticed the historical Fair photos she has been posting on Facebook. Aren’t they great? It’s fun to see what the fairgrounds used to look like 40 and 50 years ago. And the clothes people wore – men in suits and ties and women in dresses, stockings and heels! So formal. I love it. Can you imagine riding Techno Jump in a suit?
Put your eyes to Kristy’s appeal for Fair memories:
One of my favorite things about working here at the Fair is the stories of “yesterday” I get to hear. From a random Fair guest telling me of her first kiss on the Ferris wheel in the 1940s with her future husband to a fellow employee talking of the days before we had a website (unfathomable to my young mind). But now I want to hear your stories, the amazing memories you’re willing to share with me and with the world! I know we all remember our first Hot Dog on a Stick. Or how about our first Fair where we could partake in the adult beverages? Every Fair we create memories and I want to hear them.
I’ll go first. Growing up, the Fair was a family tradition for me. I have never missed a year of the Fair (even before I worked here). There’s a photo of me at all of 11 months old buried deep in one of our photo albums from 1989, me in dad’s arms with a Clydesdale standing majestically behind us. The look on my face is pretty awesome too, it’s sort of a cross between horror and awe. I can imagine myself thinking, “What in the world are they feeding this guy?”
I’ll be posting stories similar to this from myself, other team members and Fair guests on Facebook. Do you want to be a part of this fun anniversary celebration? Send me your stories! It can be as short or long as you would like it to be. Just email them over to Dahlstrom@fairplex.com and you may be featured anywhere from Facebook to our e-blasts. I’m looking forward to hearing all your amazing memories!
OK, you heard Kristy. Start remembering, reminiscing and writing!
Winner Robert De Camp's new car!
Three lucky Fair guests walked out of our closing day with a set of keys, $1000 in gas, and an Alaskan cruise for two. Hundreds gathered as the winners of the L.A. County Fair and Pomona Rotary 7th annual raffle were announced Oct. 2. Four-year-old Jonathan was picked from the crowd to draw the names.
Taking home the grand prize of a 1968 classic Corvette Convertable was Robert De Camp of Apple Valley. Renee Webb will be cruising around Alaska in the near future and First World will not have to fill up the gas tank for quite a while.
Fair guest 4-year-old Jonathan picks the winners
Proceeds from the ticket sales benefit The Learning Centers at Fairplex, Rotary International and dozens of other community organizations.
Congratulations to our winners and thanks to everyone who supported great local non-profits through your ticket purchases!
The Wonders of Nature is a tribute to our national parks in beautiful floral displays. Hours of time and effort were spent making these intricate flowery scenes for our 23-day extravaganza. And we tear all this hard work down tomorrow! Luckily, you can keep your fond memories of the 2011 L.A. County Fair alive. Literally, alive. We are selling all of these beautiful flowers and plants! The End of the Fair Plant Sale begins at 8am, Oct. 3 in the Flower & Garden Pavilion. You’ll want to get here early as the plants sell out real quick! It’s cash only, so make a visit to the ATM before you get here.
Did you know that the Wine & Spirits Marketplace has much more than wine and spirits? Of course you can get award-winning beers and wine there, but there’s also so much more. Not only do we host the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition, but we also host the Los Angeles International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition. So, it’s only fitting that you can also sample the “fruits” of this competition in the Marketplace, as well.
And what goes great with wine and olive oil? Some Italian food, of course. Eddie’s Cucina is our Cellar Café, serving up fantastic gourmet pizza, pasta and paninis. And if you remember our Wine Wednesday post a while back, it is also where you can some of the best meatballs around.
For dessert you can turnaround from Eddie’s and you will see the Dr. Bob’s Ice Cream stand in the Marketplace. We’ve already mentioned that this is one of the Fair’s must-do desserts… so, now’s as good of a time as any!
You will need to wash that food down with something. May we suggest coffee or tea from the Groundwork Coffee Tea Community? It’s organic, fair trade and kosher… oh, and also delicious!
If you are wondering what to do on the last day of the Fair, make sure to check out all the Marketplace has to offer. It will all also be here next year, just in case you miss it.
We’ve highlighted some of the great culinary competitions that have taken place here at the Fair. But did you know that before the Fair even begins, there are dozens of competitions that are judged and then displayed during the Fair? Many of these are in our Tapestry and Culinary Styles buildings (also known as the Village on Broadway).
Taking a walk through the Village and you’ll see that your fellow Fair goers are very talented. In Culinary Styles there are not just foods like preserves and cakes, but also elaborate tablescapes.
In Tapestry you can get ideas for home decorating form people who do it best. Christmas, fall, themed parties and everyday set-ups for your home are exhibited. There’s also handmade costumes, wedding dresses, jewelry, quilts and baby clothes!
It’s our last day to display these great feats of skill, but we do hope you will be inspired to try your hand at crafting or cooking for one of our competitions for next year. Make sure to check back on our website and blog for more details!
Posted
on October 2, 2011, 8:00 am,
by A Fair to Remember,
under
Fun at the Fair.
Today is it! If you’ve been on the fence about getting your final fill of corn dogs, funnel cake, great shopping, fun for the kiddies and more, well this is your last chance!
We are open 10am-10pm today and have plenty of ways to save and lots of things to do. So come down and don’t miss out on our last hours of fun!
Even if you’ve already visited the Fair, some things you might not have checked out include:
- The Wally Parks NHRA Museum
- Pan for Gold in Heritage Square
- Catch a Ballet Folklorico show in Plaza de las Americas
- Become a prince or knight in the Land of Frogs, Princesses and Knights
- Discover what’s more than skin deep in the Our Body exhibit
- Rock out with the Hit the Road Stage
- Say hello and mug for photos with our mascot Thummer in FairView Farms
- Live life on a dude ranch in Western Days and Rodeo Nights
- Plus much more!
The L.A. County Fair is hosting a food fight. No actual food will be thrown at anyone, but the fierce competition is all about who can be both delicious and healthy. The Aetna Healthy Food Fight is showcasing cooking demonstrations, sweepstakes giveaways and a recipe cook-off before VIP judges right by Yellow Gate.
The cook-off is among three semi-finalists for the region: Edna Davis of Lancaster, Michael Rosenthal of Woodland Hills and Mary Edwards of Long Beach. Edna is making a Sweet and Spicy Italian Sausage Soup, Michael a Orange-Pomegranate Glazed Salmon with Nutty Wheatberry Salad, and Mary a Salmon Pazole. They made it this far through online voting and also had to have a healthy nutrition score of C+ or higher by Aetna in order to qualify. The winner will receive an all-expense-paid trip to New York City to compete in the final cook-off judged by Bobby Flay. The winner of the final cook-off will receive a grand prize of $10,000 worth of groceries donated by Recipe.com.
The contest runs today and tomorrow (our last day!). Check out the other recipes from this region on the Healthy Food Fight.
The 2011 L.A. County Fair presented prizes to finalists in It’s the Great Pumpkin Recipe Contest Saturday, Oct. 1. Awards were handed out in the Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Bread and Pumpkin Other divisions.
Selma Courll of Lakewood won first place in the Pumpkin Pie division for her three-layer pie that had a layer of pecans, cream cheese and pumpkin pie. She was awarded $25 and a rosette for her win. She faced stiff competition from Bobbi Jo Chi of Rancho Cucamonga and April Burton of Rowland Heights. Bobbi Jo mad a very inventive ancho chile pumpkin pie and April made a pumpkin pie that the judges described as “tasty.”
Selma also took third place in the Pumpkin Bread division. She made a pumpkin muffin with chocolate chips and cream cheese. First place in Pumpkin Bread was Jeanelle Coffey, resident of Sherman Oaks. Jeanelle made a dark brown sugar pumpkin bread that had the “perfect blend” of holiday spices, according to the judges. She was awarded $25 and a rosette for her win. Coffey apparently has the magic touch in the kitchen and has already won at the Fair this year for her key lime and chipotle pepper custard pie. This is her first time entering into the Fair’s culinary competitions and she said she did so “on a whim.” Taking second was seasoned Fair competitor Gayle Bauer of La Verne. Her recipe used a cream cheese frosting that the judges described as “delicious.” Gayle has previously won for making English toffee, fudge, salsa and pies.
Taking home first place in the Pumpkin Other division is La Verne resident Steve Joines who made pumpkin lasagna. Pumpkin seems to be a winning ingredient for Joines, who also won in the enchilada competition for his pumpkin enchiladas. He was awarded $25 and a rosette for his win. Arlene Taylor made a pumpkin cheesecake and place second in the division. Monique Zerbe’s pumpkin bars scored third place.
Congrats to our winners and finalists! We hope that we see you all back next year. We can’t wait to try your delicious creations.
-
-
Steve Joines and his first-place pumpkin lasagna.
-
-
Gayle Bauer and her second-place bread.
-
-
April Burton and her third-place pie.
-
-
Jeanelle Coffee and her first-place bread.
-
-
Selma Courll and her two award-winning pumpkin dishes.
And cookies, and collages, and wands, and hats – everything you can create for the America’s Kids’ contests and competitions. Entries are open for all categories, so start planning on winning a blue ribbon. America’s Kids’ theme for 2012 is “A Living Library of Fun.” It’s all about books and favorite stories. So whether you love to read or are just learning to read, America’s Kids is the place you’ll want to visit again and again at this year’s L.A. County Fair.
