Straight-legged goats? Monkeys riding dogs? It must be the State Fair
With BC-CNS-State Fair-Box
Photos and captions below
By KELLY McGRATH
Cronkite News Service
PHOENIX (Friday, Oct. 10) _ The Arizona State Fair hadn’t been open for an hour Friday when Dixie Saunders spilled a red drink on her white shirt. But that didn’t ruin her day, and it didn’t keep her from looking at exhibits of orange and red paper mache bowls children made in hopes of winning a blue ribbon.
“We come every year,” Saunders said before heading toward the photography exhibits.
Not far away, Shannon Thomas watched her two teen-age daughters rocking back and forth atop an elephant.
“It’s neat because you don’t get to see these things every day,” she said.
The fair, which runs through Nov. 2 at the Arizona State Fairgrounds just west of downtown Phoenix, features its usual mix of modern rides, A-list entertainment, games, deep-fried food and sugary treats, as well as home-spun contests that have kept people coming to the fair for generations.
Rosemary English has been traveling here from Aztec, N.M., for four years now to show her boer goats. She didn’t know how things would turn out when judges got around to assessing whether her goats have the straight legs, long groins and height of champions.
“You never know. One day you show first, the next day you get second,” she said.
People interested in less traditional animal exhibits visited the Paws & Claws zone, featuring attractions such as Welde’s Big Bear Show, which gives its audience an up-close look at grizzly bears and information about the animals.
Not as educational, but perhaps a little more fun, is the Banana Derby, in which Phillip Hendricks and his wife, Aneliya, saddle monkeys on dogs and let fairgoers watch them race.
Phillip Hendricks said he can’t take credit for the idea. It was all his pet monkey Bobo’s.
“We were having breakfast one morning and I looked out the window and saw Bobo riding around on one of the dogs,” Hendricks said.
^___=
Web Link:
_ Arizona State Fair: www.azstatefair.com
^___=
PHOTOS:
Click thumbnails to see full-resolution images and download; caption information is in the file under File>File Info.
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-STATE FAIR: Phillip Hendricks and Bobo take a break from the Banana Derby, an attraction featuring monkeys riding dogs, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2008, the first day of the Arizona State Fair. Hendricks takes to fairs around the country. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Kelly McGrath)
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-STATE FAIR: The midway at the Arizona State Fair begins to fill on Friday, Oct. 10, 2008, in Phoenix. The fair, which began Friday and lasts until Nov. 2, mixes traditions such as baking contests and farm animal judging with modern rides and A-list concerts. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Kelly McGrath)
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-STATE FAIR: The midway at the Arizona State Fair begins to fill on Friday, Oct. 10, 2008, in Phoenix. The fair, which began Friday and lasts until Nov. 2, mixes traditions such as baking contests and farm animal judging with modern rides and A-list concerts. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Kelly McGrath)
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-STATE FAIR: Two visitors on the first day of the Arizona State Fair on Friday, Oct. 10, 2008, ride an elephant. The fair, held in Phoenix and running through Nov. 2, mixes traditions such as baking contests and farm animal judging with modern rides and A-list concerts. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Kelly McGrath)