swings at the big fresno fair

corin hoggard day

it's time for my annual proclamation...

corin hoggard day at the fair!



friend of this blog corin hoggard will be at the abc 30 booth of the big fresno fair on saturday, october 9, 2010 from 6-8 p.m. slanging pictures, shacking hands, kissing babies, and whatever else. if you're a c.h. groupie or follower, why not stop by and say hi to the man, the myth, the reporting legend corin hoggard.

then, go enjoy the rest of the fair.

fresno fair local performer contest

i know some local acts *cough rademacher cough* *cough fay wrays cough* that should get in this thing. because not only could they win, but they would rock the fair.


FRESNO, CALIFORNIA…May 26, 2010… The Big Fresno Fair is pleased to announce that it is holding its first-ever Local Performer Contest starting on June 1st. A total of six local performers will be selected to be part of the first annual local musical showcase at the 2010 Big Fresno Fair on Thursday, October 14th from 4 p.m. until 10 p.m. on the Pavilion Stage.

Interested local performers are encouraged to submit their music videos online at www.FresnoFair.com . Once approved, videos will then be posted on the Fair's website, with links posted from Facebook and Twitter, where the public can comment on who they would like to see as part of the musical showcase at the 2010 Big Fresno Fair. Submissions will be accepted starting June 1st until July 31st. All music videos must be family-friendly, as The Big Fresno Fair is a family-friendly environment.

Based upon the most positive public comments on each of the videos posted, as well as input from the local performer contest sub-committee, 20 local musical performers will be selected to advance to the voting portion of the competition. Then Big Fair Fan Club members will be able to vote online for the six bands they want to see at the Fair as part of this local musical showcase. If you are not a Big Fair Fan Club member you can sign up at www.FresnoFair.com . Voting will start on August 4th and last until August 31st. The final six musical performers selected to perform at the 2010 Big Fresno Fair's Local Performer Showcase will be announced mid-September.

"We are a community Fair and as such we are a reflection of those in our community. This is why we wanted to provide a platform to showcase all the local musical talent we have here in Fresno County," said John C. Alkire, CEO of The Big Fresno Fair. "The local performer contest provides a way for us to do this and create something fun and new for the community to get behind. The entire process from viewing the videos online, to voting for your top six and then coming out to see them at the Fair will be something fun and unique to be a part of. We hope to see this competition and musical showcase grow each year, sharing with a new audience the numerous local talented musical performers."

If you would like more information or would like to help spread the word about the contest and showcase, visit www.FresnoFair.com/localperformercontest to download a PDF of the promotional flyer.

Big Times Are Back at The Big Fresno Fair October 6th - 17th. To learn more about what's new and exciting at the 2010 Big Fresno Fair, visit www.FresnoFair.com .

espn takes notice of fresno

over at the beehive the do a re-occurring post called 'did they just say fresno?' it's a good little feature, and often highlights ways that fresno is being noticed by the world at large. well, they missed one, and i thought i'd post it.

i was watching espn's e60 on tuesday, november 3rd, and one of the stories near the end really caught my attention. here it is:



that's right, mutton bustin @ the big big big big big fresno fair. take notice fresno, we are on espn's radar.

*cross posted @ wideworldoffresnosports

corin hoggard day at the fair

ah, tuesday of the fair. it seems like it always rains on tuesday. maybe i'm wrong, but it does always rain one day of the fair, at least enough that many will stay away. i usually try and go that day.

but today, today was corin hoggard day. no one wants to sit at the channel 30 booth when it's raining out. well, almost no one. corin and shannon handy were there today despite the rain. and not only did corin get me in, he gave me this bad boy:



that's right, the new head shot. autographed just for me. okay, they do these for everyone, but this one was for me.. and while we were tehre, a kid named anakin was also getting an autograph. turns out he was also a mutton buster.

after chatting with corin, we moved along for a late lunch, consisting of far too much meat. i enjoyed a plate of ribs and part of a turkey leg. i think i could have eaten more of the turkey leg, but it was a little too salty.

during lunch the rain started to really pick up a bit, so we went finished eating and went into the buildings were they hock junk. there wasn't too much to see, but we looked none the less. the rain stopped and then it was off to the midway.

as to be expected, the midway was like a ghost town. the rain will do that. and, the rides of the midway weren't opening until 3. so, we bought some tickets, and waited for the rides.

you know how fun it is to ride the swings with only one other person on the ride? it's amazing. sure, the seats were a little wet, but the ride was a blast. after teh swings, there wasn't much else to do. i was full, i had enjoyed a ride, i had seen most of everything to see and we decided to go.

and then the sky broke open again and dumped rain on us the entire walk back to the car.

oh yeah, yes, corin, i do love you guys back.

corin hoggard day at the big fresno fair

so, i'm planning on multiple fair trips this year, and am thinking i may get my first visit on friday.

but, i'm also planning on an afternoon visit on tuesday because it'll be this guy's day over @ the channel 30 booth from 12-3:



maybe i can get a new head shot. and some fried food. hopefully it won't be pouring rain.

fresno fair finale

today was the last day of the fair, and i was headed over once again, this time with some friends. sadly, not as much of crew could come as had initially wanted, but mike, adam and i had a decent enough time.

the first place we went was the junior's exhibits. as i wandered through the student art, which once again was better overall than the adult exhibit, i saw a drawing of a familiar face. ken wilkinson, grinning away at my. ken and i were seat buddies on the track bus when he was on the team, and i was in his wedding. adam lived in the same dorm for a year with ken, and mike knows him through all our friendships. funny stuff. and, you can't really tell, but the drawing is made up of all these little symbols, which is a cool touch.



adam and i were hungry, so we parambulated around in search of grub (not grubs). adam went witht the old fair corn dog, but i'd had one on my first trip to the fair so i didn't feel the need. instead, i went with a bbq beef sandwich. it was pretty good, but i actually had to eat a good portion of the meat out of the bun before i could actually eat it as a sandwich.



we saw dan taylor & warren armstrong from channel 30. yes, it's a terrible picture.



mike was super excited to see barack obama. obama seemed like a jovial enough guy, but he was a tad stiff.



after obama, mike ran into john mc cain. mc cain seemed a little sad, maybe because he's trailing in the polls as well in most of the pivotal states. from where i saw him, he also seemed a little wooden.



mike actually managed a tri-fecta by getting a pic with sarah palin. she's a little taller than i thought, but i only saw the picture. while mike was getting all political, i was talking to the guy from tuff sheds.



while i learned about sheds, adam ate a cinnamon roll. to keep up, i needed to find something to eat. i decided to go the healthy route, and ordered up some fried zuchinni. i only managed to get down 2 1/4 of the 4 that i had, and was a little ticked because i burnt the roof of my mouth.



after that, i decided to endanger the crowd with chance of a vomitous eruption on the swings. i love the swings. it seems every year the seats are smaller. or maybe i'm bigger. i don't know. perhaps i need less fair food in my life.



swings, check. at this point, i could pretty much go home. we wondered through one of the exhibit halls and i almost got sucked into buy the shamwow. pretty cool demonstration, seems like a good deal, but when would i use it. instead, i spent some money on a funnel cake. in fact, adam and i both had funnel cakes, which is a bit surprising since he'd already saturated his sweet tooth, whereas i was just rolling on grease.



damn it all if adam didn't come within two small bites of finishing his, where i quit with about a 1/4 left.

another fair, come and gone.

big fresno fair monday

tomorrow is the last day of the fair, and we're headed to it. you're welcome to join us after work for some viewing of animals, plants, etc. we'll also be eating some fair grub, and hopefully riding the swings.

sadly, we won't be visiting corin hoggard @ the channel 30 booth, his shift has been moved up to 12-3 or something like that.

fresno fair trip

quick question for fresno folks:
would you rather go to the fair on friday evening, or next monday evening?

friday - well, it's the weekend, so you don't gots nothing to do the next day. but, it's the weekend, so it'll be jam packed.

monday - well, it's monday so you have to probably go to work the next day. but, the crowds might be smaller, and it's corin hoggard day over @ the channel 30 booth so we can bother him w/signs demanding 'corin dogs' or whatever else.

thoughts?

earth, wind and fire at the big fresno fair

so, tonight we went to the big fresno fair to enjoy some sites, sounds and grub. and, we were able to get into the fair and the show for free, complements of the beehive.com.

we got there early-ish and checked out the animals. baby pigs = cute, pig crap = terrible smelling. move away quickly. after wandering around in the barn yard, it was time to head out for some food.

now, i'm almost always going to get a corn dog @ the fair. but, i was also planning on going to the fair more than once this year due to the free entrance tonight. so, the dilemma, do i eat a corn dog tonight, next time, or both? well, i decided to split the indian fry bread w/beans & cheese & some sweet potato fries. sadly, neither of these were that good. so, i didn't finish what i was splitting and went after the old standby corn dog. it was decent. i'm recommending the corn dog stand to the west of chicken charlie's.

to the show. when we sauntered into the paul paul theater an opening act was on stage. they were named strong mecca and were pretty cool. they had a bit of a p-funk feel, and were pretty nice. here's them on stage:



after strong mecca, there was a short break before the big show, earth, wind & fire. here's the stage getting set up:



and the band during the show:



you know, when a band has been around longer than you've been alive, it's probably going to be an older crowd. but who cares, i wasn't there to see them, i was there for earth, wind & fire. but, before i move onto the show, i do want to mention there was a high percentage of cougars and wannabe cougars in the crowd.

so, earth, wind & fire was fantastic. there one of those bands that you don't really realize how many of their songs you know. i admit, i don't own any of their albums, and yet i still knew a ton of the songs and had a blast. musically, these guys are very tight. well practiced, energetic, and you can tell they're having a blast as well. vocally, i can't believe how good and strong their voices are. really, these guys are better now than akon, t-pain or whoever the crap is out there now. and, they do it live and without any sort electronic aids.

when it was all said and done, they had played everything i wanted to hear, and we had a great time. thanks beehive.com.

one last thing, a picture of a funny cactus: