City Folk Flock to Valley Fair for a Taste of Agricultural Past

Doris Vick finally gave in to her granddaughters and had her face painted the white, black and orange stripes of a sly feline--right down to the whiskers.

“Meow! That’s all I can say,” said Vick, 74. “The paint takes away the wrinkles.”

Reveling in the spirit of the 1998 Valley Fair and Rodeo, Vick and her husband, Bill, of Burbank, brought their grandchildren, Lizzie Schob, 6, and Rebecca Schob, 9, to the first day of the four-day event, held at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, for an afternoon of fun and rides.

“When you’re 81 years old, every day is a great day,” Bill Vick said. “This is a great way to spend time with the grandkids and teach them to appreciate nature.”

Established in 1946, the fair is dedicated to preserving the agricultural heritage of the San Fernando Valley. So in addition to carnival essentials such as colorful clowns, country music, cotton candy and dizzying, neon-lit rides, this year’s fair includes a goat-petting zoo and pig races, as well as animal and gardening exhibits, fresh produce and the bronco-bucking members of the Flying U Rodeo.

*

Kathy Mattson drove her daughter Jaclyn, 12, from their Simi Valley home especially to see and pet the animals. Although Jaclyn breeds rabbits and owns two guinea pigs, a frog, fish and dog, her mother said Jaclyn also wants a goat.

“Being in the city, she doesn’t get to see many farm animals,” said Kathy Mattson as she watched her daughter stroke a baby goat at the petting zoo. “But if she had her way, she would live on a farm in a second.”

Whatever the motivation for joining in the festivities, Matthew Love--more than 7 feet tall in his cop-on-stilts costume--said the fair is just a good place to enjoy the outdoors, eat some good food and listen to some good music.

As kids reached to shake his hand and ducked to run between his legs, Love smiled and said, “But the best part of the fair is definitely seeing the kids smile.”