I saw tabling, felting, and Blondie at the LA County Fair for five cans of food

I saw tabling, felting, and Blondie at the LA County Fair for five cans of food

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On Fridays before 5:00, five cans of food will get you into the LA County Fair. On top of that, free tickets for their concert series are made available  after 2:00. So how could we not try to drive out right after school got out to catch Blondie? We crawled through traffic and made it to the Fairplex in Pomona just in time for the food drive and concert tickets were still available when we reached the counter at 5:30.

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First, food. The fair is famous for having deep-fried everything: cheeseburgers, bacon-wrapped pickles, frog legs, watermelon on a stick, cookie dough. After all that, you might want to try the deep-fried Slim Fast Bar on your next visit. Our dinner included the relatively humble elote in a cup and garlic fries before chasing it with Dole Pineapple Whip. Remember when you could only find the latter at the Dole Plantation in Hawaii or the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland?

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Of course there are lively crowds surrounding the rides and livestock, but we spent the bulk of our free time at the arts, crafts, and DIY pavilions. Blue-ribbon baked goods of all kinds were on display–some looking a little sad after a week of sitting at room temperature with only flies to sample the uneaten portions. The jarred goods, both preserved and jerked, were better preserved if a little clinical. I swear there was a shrine dedicated to Martha Stewart in one corner.

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I liked the artistic section a lot, especially the felted work (where the cat hair craft books take inspiration?) and macrame stuffed animals (Mike Kelley’s dream come true). I had never seen the art of “tabling,” which entails making party settings with themes such as dinosaurs, construction sites, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The entire room came across like a thrift shop or estate sale on roids .

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After all that we got to see Blondie, introduced  as “the biggest band on the planet” by Rodney on the ROQ himself. The CBGB legends played all their hits (“One Way or Another,” “Call Me,” “Heart of Glass”…), some new songs (you’ll hear them in the spring), and choice covers (including Prince, Beastie Boys, and the Misfits) for us older fans as well as our kids who are new  fans. My eight-year-old daughter will never get to see the Ramones or Talking Heads, but she as well her cousins got to sing and dance to Blondie for five cans of food at the L.A. County Fair.

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Visit the L.A. County Fair (perhaps when Los Lobos plays on a Friday night) and follow Imprint on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, too.