Fun at Del Mar a fair bet By Andrew Bidwell Heavy traffic didn't deter 76,324 fairgoers from taking advantage of discounts at the San Diego County Fair June 16. A supermarket chain offered adult discount tickets for $2, the fair admitted children 12 and under for free and concessionaires offered tastes of the fair food samples for $2 each. Nine-year-old Grayson Pham came to the fair to do a hip-hop dance with his Creative Dance Theater class. His mom, Traci, received a discount admission to accompany her son. Traci and Grayson usually pack a lunch when coming to the fair. She used her savings from the fair admissions to buy barbeque turkey sandwiches instead of the smaller $2 samplers. But first, they wanted to see one of Grayson's favorite free events, the Turkey Stampede. Grayson said he liked to watch the turkeys chase a remote-controlled model monster truck, with a truck bed full of turkey feed. The discount tickets lured Jill Pronoble, 19, and three friends to the fair. Even without the discount, she and her three friends would have still come to the fair. "It's a San Diego tradition," said the Chula Vista High School graduate. Another deal available at the Del Mar Fairgrounds is the $22 season pass. That deal brings back San Diegan Jessica Santiago year after year. "I always bring someone new along to the fair and we never get to see every little thing," she said. The first day they browse and the second day they make purchases. This year, she brought friends Ashley Deloye and Dia Weaver, both of Santee, who bought season passes too. All shared a funnel cake sprinkled with powdered sugar, strawberries and smothered with whipped cream. The fair offers the typical fare such as hot dogs and cotton candy, but this year some new treats include oatmeal cookie chicken sandwiches and chocolate-covered bacon. "Where else can you get chocolate-covered bacon but Del Mar," said Tony Black. Black and a friend, Alina Kalkoff, live in the San Carlos neighborhood near Lake Murray. They paid $4.59 for a small Chinese-takeout carton of the snack. The rich chocolate coating left a sweet taste, then a slightly salty aftertaste from the crisp bacon inside, they agreed. Kalkoff and Black also tried the deep-fried Wisconsin cheese curds. The traffic meant the 25-mile trip took about 2 1/2 hours from home, but that didn't put a damper on their enthusiasm for their tasting adventure. • • • Vox is the newspaper of the 2009 CCNMA-San Diego Multicultural Journalism Workshop. Return to index | See also: Vox on Blogspot