Antelope Valley Fair Exhibitors Try to Hook Bass, Buyers

They cannot be considered typical fair exhibits, like livestock shows, face painting and pony rides, but Anthony Sullivan and Ron Gilliss were real crowd pleasers Sunday at the Antelope Valley Fair.

Sullivan, a young Englishman who is paying his way around the world by selling self-cleaning mops, and Gilliss, a professional bass fisherman who demonstrates his technique in a 38-foot-long fish tank, were among the slightly off-the-wall attractions that have helped draw about 246,000 people to the fair since it opened July 28.

Speaking with a thick accent, Sullivan, 23, of Devon, England, showed off the cloth Chami mops on a linoleum-covered area he affectionately called “my little kitchen.” Before a crowd of several dozen, he poured water, sand, dirt and ketchup on his floor, which was set up under a large tent of exhibitors.

As he mopped, he kept up a steady stream of jokes.

“It works so good that if you spill your drink you can mop it right up and then squeeze it back into the glass without losing a drop,” he said after mopping up a spilled soda and then draining it back into a cup.

“Ah! Tastes just the same,” he said, putting it to his lips but stopping just short of taking a drink.

The mops, imported from Holland, are made of cloth. The handles are built to allow the user to slide the mop upward and squeeze it out by stretching the fabric.

“It’s a revolution in mops,” Sullivan said. “They’re rather high-tech.”

The mops weren’t selling too fast Sunday afternoon, but he was sure drawing some crowds.

“You want one, honey?” an older man asked his wife during Sullivan’s demonstration.

“No,” she said, grinning back. “They’re cute, though.”

Sullivan said he had sold about 200 mops since the fair opened. The mops were selling for $19.99 Sunday--though Sullivan contends that his usual price is $29.99. He came to America this year after selling them in Europe. He hopes that proceeds from the sales will fund a trip around the globe.

“I’m on to Australia after I stay in Hawaii a bit,” Sullivan said. “After that, we’ll see. I plan to work my way around eventually. . . . It’s quite a way to travel.”

On the other end of the fairgrounds, Gilliss drew about 70 people for his bass fishing demonstration.

Standing on a platform above 20 hungry largemouth bass in a clear plastic water tank about 38 feet long, 3 feet wide and 6 feet deep, he cast his line into the water repeatedly while sharing tips with the crowd. For demonstration purposes, there was no hook on the end of the line.

“We call it subsurface twitching,” Gilliss said as he showed one technique for coaxing ambivalent bass. “See how the lure moves. It looks just like an injured, crippled minnow.”

Sure enough, one big fish took note.

“Look at that guy grab that,” he shouted to the rapt audience when one fish went for the lure. “He likes it. He’s saying: ‘Ooh! That wormy stuff is different than the goldfish I had for breakfast.’ ”

The fish were not trained, Gilliss said later.

“We get new ones for every show,” he said. Based in Anderson, Calif., Gilliss tows his 1,000-gallon aquarium, which is mounted on wheels, to about 30 state and county fairs a year.

This is his first appearance at the Antelope Valley Fair, and fair spokeswoman Sheila Burnette said he is already one of the more popular attractions.

“He’s great,” she said. “The only hard thing was helping him get bass. People don’t like to rent bass for two weeks.”