Christina Garcia
Staff Writer
It was a warm afternoon at the Fairplex in Pomona last week as I enjoyed a day visiting the Los Angeles County Fair. I was delighted that I did not have to pay for entrance into the fair, as it was La Verne Community Day – University of La Verne students received free admission.
Upon entering, I grabbed a copy of the map and daily schedule of the various events and attractions. After some time with the schedule, my friend, senior English major Melissa Martinez, suggested that we just walk around and see what catches our attention.
We could smell all the fried foods: The strangest foods we came across were fried watermelon slices and fried frog legs.
The exhibit in the Flower and Garden Pavilion featured beautiful arrangements with an assortment of colors.
“I was enamored by the view,” Martinez said. “I recognize that we’re in a drought so it makes it harder, but I think they got pretty creative with what they had.”
After the exhibit, we saw the La Verne Community Day parade featuring various community schools, and police and fire departments. The Damien High School and Bonita High School marching bands and color guards performed, as did La Verne Gymnastics. Provost Jonathan Reed was on one of the parade cars waving and throwing beaded necklaces to fairgoers.
“The Fair is cool because everywhere you turn you can see something different – food, rides or small shops,” said Gabriela Ramos, sophomore creative writing major.
After the parade, my friends and I got Dole Whips to cool down after hours in the sun.
“My favorite part of the Fair was the watercolor flower exhibit,” Kimberly Gonzalez, sophomore philosophy major, said. “It was definitely worth going to because it was really pretty and attracted a diverse crowd.”
The time flew by and soon it was back to reality – and campus – for my night class.
The Los Angeles County Fair will run through Sept. 25.
Discounted tickets are available at the Campus Center front desk.
Christina Garcia can be reached at christina.garcia2@laverne.edu.
