THE BALLOON MAN

Enjoying county fair is child's play

By JULIE MURPHY, Staff writer

April 16, 2011

from the Daytona Beach News-Journal

BUNNELL, FL -- Half of the Flagler County Fairgrounds looks akin to the Las Vegas Strip, with the bright lights, colors and music of the carnival rides and games. A mechanical bull is the transitional ride that bridges the bright lights with all things quaint and country. Both sides have grown, said Mike Boyd, who has been on the fair's all-volunteer board since 1989. "A lot of the kids showing livestock are from Bunnell and Haw Creek, but we get a lot of support from Palm Coast," Boyd said Wednesday on opening night. Brayden Landi, 5, of Palm Coast plucks a chick up from its pen at the petting zoo and whips around to show his mother. "Look, mommy, look," he squeals in delight. He's coaxed into setting one down and picks up two others, drops them and moves on to the bunnies. "Can I hold that one? Can I hold that one?" he asked. The bunnies were a popular attraction -- even among children who live on farms. The Cody sisters, Mackayla, 5 and Mackenzie, 7, share a single folding chair and love on two of the bunnies that will be auctioned off at the end of the fair. "We have horses and cows and heifers," said Mackayla of the family's Haw Creek farm, "but these are cute. And we have baby chickies and big chickens." The blond, blue-eyed girls giggle and elbow each other. "I show chickens," said Mackenzie. "Her name is Tinkerbell. She's white and black." She'll show her chicken today. "I'm not nervous. She's not old enough to show," she said, pointing toward Mackayla. Mackenzie would rather ride one of the miniature horses at the petting zoo than take a spin atop a fake horse on the merry-go-round. "I love that one," she said, pointing at a little brown miniature named Rinky Dink. Lillian Duhl, 5, of Palm Coast is reluctant to pet the pony or share her opinions about the fair's best attributes. Her sister isn't quite so shy. "I'm 2. My name is Miriam," she said, bouncing on both feet.