Get ready, get set and POP on over to the Fair this year! This year's theme for 2019 at the LA County Fair in Pomona, CA is ”Pop” which references Pop culture, Popular things to do in Los Angeles, and our favorite… Pop Art! #fairgoespop

Well, it's opening weekend and Crystal and Mike Olguin were there on the Scene to get the latest scoop for you! So many opportunities for great pictures, tasty food, fun rides and an overall fantastic fair experience if you pop on over between August 30- September 22 (Wednesday - Sunday's and Labor Day).

We took the Sky Ride which is essentially a ski lift to move fair goers from the entrance to the middle of the fairgrounds near the midway. From there, we headed on up ”The Hill” where they have exhibited Los Angeles Pop Architecture from Angels Flight to Randy’s Donuts, the Queen Mary to the Santa Monica Pier and Griffith Park to the San Gabriel Mission. (All great photo spots!)

Next we hit the Railgiants Historical Train yard where about half a dozen old trains are stationed, many with working headlights and loud whistles! Mike is a sucker for trains so we climbed stairs to experience each and every one from the inside out.

At this point it was noon and we sought out some air conditioning so we found cool shelter in some of the many exhibit halls, art museums and the Atrium Flower & Garden Pavilion appropriately themed/named ”Pops of Color”. Everything was a delight to the eyes, nose and colorful imagination!

Believe it or not, with all that walking around on this 96° day I got entirely too hot and hungry, so now it was time to find some lunch!

Here Crystal is pretending to pass out mid-chess game. “I am only but a pawn in this game of Life…”

Surrounded by the smells of smokey BBQ, colorful advertisements for some crazy food options like deep-fried Oreos and bacon-wrapped shrimp, and spirited vendors marketing their delectable delights loudly, we settled on smoked turkey legs tacos and barbeque ribs. Yum!!!

This plate of food is just too good NOT to photograph, complimented by the shape of the ferris wheel in the foreground. Excellent choice if I do say so myself and reasonably priced at $6.50 for two tacos, waffle fries and a medium fountain drink!

And these four St. Louis style pork ribs plus two sides just melted in Mike’s mouth! (We have a video of his messy, chewing face, but you can check the video above for that delightful scene.) The point is - he absolutely LOVED them!

Now, over to Expo Hall 8 where Popnolgy 2.0 and Toytopia were the featured exhibits. Pop culture is so wonderfully expressed in toys and movies and some of our favorites were in this building. Inventors like Nikola Tesla, and innovators like Steve Jobs, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Walt Disney were highlighted as some of the great minds behind both amazing creations and imaginative works. They brought to this world some impressive new creations that would change the way we all play, dream and wonder.

Robots really took center stage at this exhibition! Independent ones that greet you as you walk in, a Star Wars robot that beeps and boops and roams freely throughout the building and then there's a mini Mars rover that you get to control, a Jurassic Park style dino egg flipper and a three fingered claw to pick up a ball and hit one of five targets. All so fun and interactive for guests of all ages!

Toy inventions from decades ago like Mr. Potato Head, Furbies, Nintendo and Lite Brite to modern day futuristic 3D printed cars, cool technological robots and real life superheroes. Kids were having fun in a huge ball pit, playing tunes on a giant walking piano (like the one in 1988’s movie ”Big”), putting together millions of legos and checking out a Back to the Future Delorean, complete with someone dressed as Doc Brown.

Don't trip out, it's just Mike against a super eye bending black and white art installation. Whoa!

If you're a fan of Halloween like we are, then the Halloween Supershow building is the place for you! Vendors are selling a variety of incredible Haunted Mansion, Beetlejuice and Buffy the Vampire Slayer themed fan art printed on posters, stickers, t-shirts and swag. Scary masks, costumes, fog machines, lighting, and decorations are available for purchase. There's Zombie mazes, virtual scary video games and costumed scarers that run around like it's Knotts Scary Farm and your favorite horror movie villain is set up complete with the appropriate Halloween background including Frankenstein, Freddy Krueger, Nosferatu and Jason - ooo, spooky!!!

We quickly checked out the farm animals at ”The Big Red Barn” which included goats, cows, pigs, sheep, and mini ponies but they were all so hot, even in their shaded building that we felt bad for them and didn't stop for any footage or pictures.

Next door at the Plaza de las Americas (like a mini Olvera Street) Folklorico dancers were preparing for a 5:00 showtime so we got an ice cream and sat down to enjoy the show. My soft serve melted in the heat in a heartbeat and we attacked it as fast as we could before it covered my hands and lap completely in a sticky, drippy mess. Oh, so good though!

Overall, we had a phenomenal day at the LA County Fair with all the sights and sounds, rides, shows and food. A different experience to be had each and every time for people of all ages and definitely a photographers dream come true when it comes to bright and colorful backgrounds and subjects everywhere you turn. There are featured concerts and shows each evening too (check the website out for more details) but since we arrived at opening, by 6pm we were pretty much done and ready for a shower and a nap (oldies…) lol

I hope you enjoyed watching and reading about our LA Fair experience and hopefully you can make your own memories out here this season. Pop on over to www.lacountyfair.com for more info!

Until next time!

-Crystal & Mike Olguin

August 31, 2019