You Know You Want a Blue Ribbon

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Fair-ey Blogster

Sure, the Fair is still six months away but it’s not too early to be thinking of entering your best cookie or salsa recipe or your best photograph into one of our fun & exciting contests and competitions. Entries are open for all categories in Culinary Styles, Tapestry and America’s Kids. You look great in blue (ribbon, that is), so what are you waiting for?

Culinary Styles features preserved foods, baked goods and several specialty categories like cheesecake recipe, all-American pie, BBQ, cupcakes and gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. Every year the judges have a blast tasting all the goodies, and Fairguests love seeing who runs away with a first place. Deadlines for entry are:

Preserved foods – June 25
Baked goods and other featured contests - Aug. 2
Tablescaping – July 19 (hurry, this one fills up fast!)

Tapestry, which includes jewelry, arts & crafts, needle art and photography, has a June 25 deadline.

America’s Kids is themed A Living Library of Fun (part 2) – a continuation of last year’s fun adventure where books came to life. Competitions include magic shoes (turn an ordinary pair of shoes into something spectacular), build a model hot air balloon, creative cakes, build a scarecrow, crafts, writing and so much more. Deadline for America’s Kids competitions is June 27.

Details, including rules & regulations and entry forms, for all the contests and competitions can be found at lacountyfair.com.

Ok, ready, set – cook and create!

We miss you!

Posted on November 28, 2012 by A Fair to Remember

It’s hard to believe it’s already been TWO months since the Fair ended. We miss the animals, the food, the rides, the loud music but most of all we miss you! Our fans, guests, blog readers/commentators. You are, after all, the reason we pull out all the stops and make the Fair happen every year

While 2013 is awhile away, our gates are still open. It might not be the carnival-tastic extravaganza the Fair was but we have some pretty cool events anyway (you know, Color Runs, NHRA finals, Oktoberfest… those kind of things). If you miss us as much as we miss you, check out the Fairplex official blog! We love to write there too

Until 2013 everyone!

-A Fair To Remember

Food Competitions Come to a Close

Posted on September 30, 2012 by A Fair to Remember

From the first weekend of the Fair we have had non-stop food competitions, from the Ghirardelli chocolate creations to cupcake mixtures, from grilled cheese recipes to BBQ cook-offs, the list goes on and on. Sadly, the fun had to end this afternoon but we had some fun with pizza and salad!

Peggy Linberg from Upland took first in the pizza category with her four-cheese arugula and pine nuts recipe while Montebello resident Joanne Magno took second prize with her sausage and pepper mixture. Lauren Jarvis placed third with his smoked salmon, dill and goat cheese pizza.

The salad competition was a unique blend of flavors from every entry. The three categories were pasta, vegetarian and meat salads. Peggy placed first in the vegetarian category with her Mediterranean quinoa salad, served in a lettuce bowl. First place in the pasta category went to Lauren Jarvis for his beautiful oriental pasta salad and George Rametta placed first in the meat category for his rasberry asada steak salad, mixed with avocado and feta cheese.

All in all, the final food competition was the perfect end to the Fair, mixing the sinfully cheesy pizzas with the refreshing flavors of salad. Personally, my favorite competition to watch was the Ghirardelli one. You just can’t beat the sweet scent of chocolate! Each event featured an incredibly large pool of talent and creativity, however. I wonder what next year will bring…

WINNER!! FINAL Daily Giveaway!

Posted on September 29, 2012 by A Fair to Remember

We have our final winner for this season’s daily giveaway! Congratulations to… Michelle Orosco! Our last prize pack of two Fair tickets, two ride passes, food bucks and blog tees will be given to you to enjoy these last two days of Fair.

Thank you again to EVERYONE who participated. We wish we had enough giveaway prizes for all of you. It has been a blast hearing from you and we do love all of your comments Keep checking the blog for the flurry of activity we have going on this weekend!

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There are only TWO days of Fair left after this! This is our final daily giveaway of the season and we want to make sure you have a blast when you get here. As usual, this prize pack includes two Fair admission tickets, two ride passes, food bucks ($10 in value), a parking pass and two blog tees.

All you need to do is tell us (and this is a question we have asked here before…)

What is the official name of our blog?

We will announce the winner by tomorrow morning so if you want to enjoy the last weekend of Fair, this is the perfect time to do it Go, go, go!

Battle of the Bands 2012

Posted on September 28, 2012 by A Fair to Remember

Last night the Coca-Cola Stage came alive with local talent. The first annual Battle of the Bands was a huge, deafening success. Out of 32 bands, eight were selected to compete at the L.A. County Fair’s Battle of the Bands.

The prize?

Only a $1,200 cash prize and a spot at the 2013 Vans Warped Tour!

The chance to perform for the judges panel alone was an envied one. Founder of Warped Tour Kevin Lyman and Skip Page from Goldenvoice (the founders and promoters of famous music festival Coachella) selected these finalists from a handful of others and talent agent Darryl Eaton from Creative Artists Agency was a guest judge. Eaton has fostered talent such as Kelly Clarkson, Blink 182 and Enrique Iglesias.

After all eight bands finished rocking out for their adoring family, friends and fans, the winner was announced as Cogito from Claremont! The band received the cash prize as well as MULTIPLE tour dates. Second place went to Service Interruption and third place winners were Psycho Punx.

In fact, it was a happy ending for everyone. The judges were so wowed by all the bands, they decided all eight should be featured at the Vans Warped Tour dates at Fairplex!

Now that is a crazy ending for the first annual battle.

WINNER! Daily Giveaway #9: Would you rather (Round 2)

Posted on September 27, 2012 by A Fair to Remember

We have a winner. Congratulations to Becky! Becky is the Thursday giveaway recipient for a full day of fun at the Fair! And for the record, she would rather be responsible for Mojo Congratulations Becky!

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It’s time for another would you rather for our daily giveaway! As usual, this giveaway includes two Fair admission tickets, two ride passes, food bucks ($10 in value), a parking pass and two blog tees. Basically, we are giving you a full day at the Fair! To enter this contest all you have to do is answer the “would you rather” question in the comment box below. You never know, you just might win! So without further ado…

WOULD YOU RATHER…

Walk through the Fair with one of our boa constrictors draped on your shoulders for the day OR be responsible for Mojo the monkey while she’s let loose on the grounds?

We will be choosing the winner at random. We will announce the winner tomorrow afternoon so be sure and check back often! Good luck. Now go, go, go!

Daily Giveaway #8: Chicken Charlie Fun Fact

Posted on September 27, 2012 by A Fair to Remember

We have a winner! Congratulations Shelley to for being Wednesday’s Daily Giveaway recipient! Chicken Charlie’s newest creation is deep-fried cereal, along with his deep-fried cookie dough We already can’t wait to see what he comes up with next year!

Friday is our LAST giveaway for these prize packs but check back later today for a chance to win. Thank you for participating!

We are on Day One of the last week of Fair! If you’re still feeling the need for some carnival speed or just haven’t gotten around to visiting us yet, the giveaway is a fun way to take a chance and see if you can score two free tickets, two ride passes, food bucks, blog tees and even free parking today!

There are plenty of things left to enjoy at the Fair and it’s no secret that Chicken Charlie is a well-known staple. For our eighth giveaway we are going to ask a little trivia question about the man and his inventions:

Chicken Charlie introduced two new deep-fried treats to us this year. One was deep-fried cookie dough. What was the second novelty?

Leave your answer in the comment box below. A winner will be selected at the end of the day and will be announced tomorrow morning.

Go, go, go!

WINNERS! Daily Giveaway Special #2 : Tell Us Your Thoughts

Posted on September 26, 2012 by A Fair to Remember

Congratulations to Yvette, Amy and Marcus for being selected as winners for the Giveaway Special!

Yvette’s top three include the Ferris wheel, deep-fried food and the zebras. Amy enjoys America’s Kids, Stingray Island and the Big Red Barn while Marcus loves the Hot Dog On A Stick fare, Dr. Bob’s Handcrafted Ice Cream and seeing all the animals!

Thank you again to all who participated. It’s the LAST week of the Fair and we want to give as many prize packs away as possible! Check back here today, Thursday and Friday for our final giveaways.
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Only FIVE more days of the Fair! As before, this giveaway will extend from today (Sunday) through Wednesday when we choose a winner. This is our last special triple giveaway so we thought we would keep it super simple:

What are your TOP 3 must-dos at the L.A. County Fair?

Tell us in the comment box below! We will select three winners at random and will announce who won on Wednesday. We only have a few more giveaways after that so make sure to participate

Have fun and good luck!

The most delicious food competition yet

Posted on September 23, 2012 by A Fair to Remember

Today’s food competition was all about the chocolate: Chocolate chip cookies and brownies, that is. Walking into Culinary Styles is like a waft of heaven with the warm, inviting scents of freshly baked cookies and rich, chocolaty brownies drifting towards your nose. I have to say, I envy the judges of their job yesterday!

Frank n Chips

In first place for chocolate chip cookies was David Miller, Los Angeles with his Gramercy recipe, a gooey sweet treat that made the judges coo in delight. Second place went to Jessica Kubel, Monrovia for her unique chocolate bacon toffee cookies. In third was Maya Howard, Montclair for her fun Frank n Chips cookies, getting into the spirit of Fall with a classic Halloween character.

The brownies were equally fun to look at. Danielle Buckland from Ontario snagged first with her Blondies brownies creation. Jessica Kubel took second again with her white chocolate mixture!

Meanwhile in America’s Kids

Posted on September 22, 2012 by A Fair to Remember

Thor came to visit A Living Library of Fun and took a pose with some of the other “Avengers.” My personal favorite superhero is Iron Man, but Thor comes in a close second.

Thor

America’s Kids celebrates the innovation and imaginations of kids in many ways. One of the best parts of the exhibit is the way children’s talents are showcased. Photography, science projects, paintings, homemade quilts and clothing, Lego creations and many more are featured throughout the duration of the Fair. Check out the photos below of some of our award-winning kids.