In 1966, the Verde Valley Fair was first held on the fairgrounds off of 12th street. Now 52 years later, the fair is still going strong.
From Wednesday, May 2, to Sunday, May 6, community members were able to indulge in a day of fun with rides, sideshows, games to win prizes, impressive animals and traditional fair food.
A long tradition in the area, the fair brought in many repeat customers.
On Friday, May 4 Mark Kipena, a fair attendee, was present with his grandchildren. The fair holds much childhood reverence to him.
“I’m being grandpa. It never gets old being grandpa,” he said. “I’ve been coming to this fair since I was 3 years old, 4 years old. I think I’ve missed two or three since then.”
Other community members expressed a similar sentiment in that the fair fosters a sense of community.
“It’s the community. You see the same people every year. People come back,” said Bob Dennis, who travels around the state to fairs, schools and fundraisers with his business, Arizona Kettle Corn. “This one and Yavapai [County Fair] are my favorite fairs.”
Dennis has been attending the Verde Valley Fair for over a decade. He said it is a fair that has always stood out to him.
Aside from Arizona Kettle Corn being one of the culinary attractions, freshly cut curly fries were also available, along with other deep fried delights from burritos to pickles. There was also a grill for pulled pork and other barbecued meats, and apples dipped in caramel and chocolate for those with a sweet tooth.
There were also plenty of rides, designed to make young kids scream with joy, fun houses with mirrors, swings that took riders to enormous heights and a Ferris wheel giving attendees a prime view of Cottonwood.
Branching away from fun to competition, there were some children at the fair that were there for work, not play. These children were representatives of 4-H, a nonprofit that gives children hands-on projects in areas like health, science, agriculture and more.
The children representing 4-H at the fair were leading around livestock twice their size and were competing to show off their best raised farm stock.
However, aside from the livestock, it may have been the fair’s special guests that stole the show — a pair of sea lions.
“Every year we try and change it up, do something new because we want everyone to have something,” said Coleen Gilboy, the fair director. “This year we have the sea lion show. It is sea lions that are no longer able to go into the wild due to being injured or abandoned, so they can’t let them loose. Once they’re rehabilitated, they come on the trip with them.”
The fair also had a hint of magic. Adam the Great, a magician out of Washington, traveled to the fair looking for people to impress with his tricks like transforming a stack of Nicaraguan Córdoba bills into United States dollars, card tricks and more.
“I think it’s crazy,” said 15-year-old Maria, one of Adam’s amazed audience members. “I want to know how he did it.”
Like many of the carnies at the fair, Adam the Great spoke highly of the people he met while working. “You can tell it’s a very close-knit community,” he said.
Jon Hecht can be reached at 282-7795 or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
