Opening day of fair filled with food, fun
Gracie Ates, front left, Kaitlin Sanders, front right, Gabby Ard, back left, and Lauren Terry get a thrill from the Himalaya ride Thursday on opening day of the Pensacola Interstate Fair.Written by Richard McVay
Oct. 20, 2011
Smells of frying batter, grilled meat and livestock welcomed early birds to the first day of the Pensacola Interstate Fair on Thursday.
Kaitlin Sanders, 16, and her sister, Gracie Ates, 10, waited in line for an hour to make it inside the fair when gates opened at 4 p.m."So we were like first in line (for the rides)," Kaitlin said as they got off the oscillating carts on the Himalaya ride early in the afternoon. Kaitlin's favorite ride is the Avalanche; her sister's is the bumper cars.
Kaitlin Sanders, 16, and her sister, Gracie Ates, 10, waited in line for an hour to make it inside the fair when gates opened at 4 p.m."So we were like first in line (for the rides)," Kaitlin said as they got off the oscillating carts on the Himalaya ride early in the afternoon. Kaitlin's favorite ride is the Avalanche; her sister's is the bumper cars.
Crowds fill the midway to enjoy rides, games and food Thursday on opening day of the Pensacola Interstate Fair
Dozens of attractions with names like the Tango and the Power Surge promised to jostle, jiggle, spin or twirl riders at stomach-wrenching speeds.But the rides aren't even the sisters' favorite part of the fair. Gracie comes for the snow cones; Kaitlin for the funnel cakes.Hungry patrons eyed carts selling deep-fried Oreos and candy bars, grilled turkey legs, roasted corn cobs and even maple bacon sundaes.
Ben Twingley/btwingley@pnj.com
Fair worker Josh Engle holds an albino Burmese python while printing a photo for a customer Thursday on opening day of the Pensacola Interstate Fair. Fair goers can have their photo taken with the snake outside of the "Worlds Greatest Show" on the midway.
In front of a sideshow promising glimpses of a three-legged man, a five-legged dog and a gigantic woman, Amy Pipes and Dorothy Reed of Milton took turns having their photo taken with an albino python around their necks. It was Reed's first time holding a snake, she said. But Pipes said she used to play in a baby pool with a python her uncle owned.At the northeast end of the fairgrounds, a frontier show wowed crowds with cowboy antics, a petting zoo and a wolf show.Michael Sandlofer, dressed in a boots and a cowboy hat, said his family's been running the show for 35 years. Sandlofer, a disabled Vietnam veteran, said the show is aimed at educating children and parents about being good stewards of the land."They can share with their parents how their grandparents lived," Sandlofer said. "It helps them appreciate the environment."On the fair's midway, thousands of plush toys and barkers lured the curious to try their luck throwing footballs through tires, tossing rings on bottles or just hiding their age or weight.
The sights, sounds and smells were familiar to Cathy O'Brien. The 51-year-old Pensacola resident began traveling with a fair when she was 16. It was her first time back to a fair since 1976."I started as the gorilla girl," O'Brien said. "I did that and the dart throw."O'Brien wasn't far into the midway before she noticed one difference. Individual booths used their own public-announcement systems to attract customers."There used to be one emcee who'd walk around the games with a microphone on a really long cord," she said.Through one of those amplified microphones, Ann Duckworth guaranteed a prize to anyone who would toss Ping-Pong balls at small fish tanks for $5. Duckworth said she's been working booths for about six years.Pensacola is the next-to-last stop on Reithoffer Shows' tour of local fairs. After the rides pack up in Pensacola on Oct. 30, the fun will move to the Peanut Festival in Dothan, Ala.Duckworth said her booth had been slow during the first few hours of the event, but she wasn't worried."It'll pick up during the weekend," she said.
Ben Twingley/btwingley@pnj.comFair worker Josh Engle holds an albino Burmese python while printing a photo for a customer Thursday on opening day of the Pensacola Interstate Fair. Fair goers can have their photo taken with the snake outside of the "Worlds Greatest Show" on the midway.
In front of a sideshow promising glimpses of a three-legged man, a five-legged dog and a gigantic woman, Amy Pipes and Dorothy Reed of Milton took turns having their photo taken with an albino python around their necks. It was Reed's first time holding a snake, she said. But Pipes said she used to play in a baby pool with a python her uncle owned.At the northeast end of the fairgrounds, a frontier show wowed crowds with cowboy antics, a petting zoo and a wolf show.Michael Sandlofer, dressed in a boots and a cowboy hat, said his family's been running the show for 35 years. Sandlofer, a disabled Vietnam veteran, said the show is aimed at educating children and parents about being good stewards of the land."They can share with their parents how their grandparents lived," Sandlofer said. "It helps them appreciate the environment."On the fair's midway, thousands of plush toys and barkers lured the curious to try their luck throwing footballs through tires, tossing rings on bottles or just hiding their age or weight.
The sights, sounds and smells were familiar to Cathy O'Brien. The 51-year-old Pensacola resident began traveling with a fair when she was 16. It was her first time back to a fair since 1976."I started as the gorilla girl," O'Brien said. "I did that and the dart throw."O'Brien wasn't far into the midway before she noticed one difference. Individual booths used their own public-announcement systems to attract customers."There used to be one emcee who'd walk around the games with a microphone on a really long cord," she said.Through one of those amplified microphones, Ann Duckworth guaranteed a prize to anyone who would toss Ping-Pong balls at small fish tanks for $5. Duckworth said she's been working booths for about six years.Pensacola is the next-to-last stop on Reithoffer Shows' tour of local fairs. After the rides pack up in Pensacola on Oct. 30, the fun will move to the Peanut Festival in Dothan, Ala.Duckworth said her booth had been slow during the first few hours of the event, but she wasn't worried."It'll pick up during the weekend," she said.
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