Of the Moon and Marmalades

On the left was the last century. On the right was the next one.

Opening-day visitors scarcely knew which way to turn Thursday as they stood in the center of a huge Pomona exhibit hall and discovered that after 76 years the Los Angeles County Fair has finally introduced jams and jellies to the Jetsons.

One side of the aisle was comfortably corny--with row after row of traditional homemade breads and marmalades, handmade quilts, arrangements of elegant table settings and displays of exquisitely executed cross-stitch.

The other side was eerily extraterrestrial--with robots and space aliens moving about, anti-gravity simulators spinning madly and nearly 20,000 square feet of lunar landers, Martian mini-rovers and blinking computer panels.

Rebecca and Ralph Calicher of Wrightwood turned left. Pulling a wagon loaded with their 2-year-old son Dalton and 8-month-old twins Darla and Dean, they headed straight for a display case filled with platters of blue-ribbon-winning chocolate chip cookies.

“This is the real fair,” said Ralph Calicher, a Los Angeles County firefighter. Added his wife: “This is where you find people’s ideals and work ethics.”

Sharon and Dave Salyers of Fullerton turned right. They wheeled a stroller carrying 5 1/2-month-old daughter Amara through the Space Expo 2000 exhibit and into the glittery “Star Trek: Earth Tour.” There, they examined authentic-looking phasers and tricorders and Capt. Kirk’s chair from the TV series and movies.

“A county fair should reflect what’s going on in the county--things like the aerospace and entertainment industries,” said Sharon Salyers. Her husband, a social worker, pronounced himself “a Trekkie” and proudly proclaimed Amara one as well. “We talked to the Klingon for a long time and she wasn’t scared at all,” Dave Salyers said.

Bridging the past and the future with the 40-foot-wide aisle is exactly what fair officials hope to do during the 18-day Pomona exposition, according to fair President James E. Henwood. Farm animals and space aliens can easily co-exist, he said.

“We’ll never give up cows and goats--the things that are our history,” Henwood said as first-day visitors streamed onto the 487-acre Fairplex fairgrounds. “But we’re also expressing the industry of our area. I think we’ll always be focusing on science and technology here.”

Thursday’s fair-goers suggested that exhibit hall time travel is smoother than one might think.

Back on the right side of the aisle, Louise Ritter of Pomona stood patiently as her four wide-eyed grandchildren watched a pair of Star Trek aliens, a Borg and a Kazon, stroll about.

With the children in tow, she and daughter-in-law Tena Ritter had breezed through the sewing and cooking displays. “They like food, but I think they probably like Klingons better,” Tena Ritter, of Irvine, said of her children.

“I’ve been coming to this fair for 45 years and it’s not like it used to be,” added Louise Ritter with a shrug.

In the Space Expo 2000 exhibit, Carol Fuller of Pasadena waited while her 10- and 11-year-olds studied models of Apollo and Mercury command modules and watched as Joel Kuchenski, 8, of Alhambra, took a spin in a device called the “Orbitron.”

She was ready to cross the aisle, Fuller said. “But I don’t know if I’ll be able to get them over there.”

Over on the aisle’s left side, members of the Los Angeles County Quilters Guild giving a blanket-stitching demonstration were talking about UFOs.

“All of us have them,” said Maida Boswell of Long Beach.

“They’re our Unfinished Objects,” said Kay Nance of Cerritos.

“We hide them under beds and in closets. I have one on my couch that is 8 years old and still not finished,” said Hester Schooler of Downey.

A few steps away, Gloria Lewis of Fountain Valley was admiring the children’s christening gowns and other hand-sewn items.

Her husband, retired engineering manager Clarke Lewis, was looking across the aisle toward the astronaut-training equipment on display.

“We’re heading there next,” he whispered.

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(Valley Edition, B10) County Fair Highlights The 76th annual Los Angeles County Fair and horse racing will run through the weekend of Sept. 27 at the Fairplex, two blocks north of the San Bernardino Freeway in Pomona. Horse races are run daily, with a first post time of 12:30 p.m. A sampling of weekend events:

Concerts--Grandstand Stage

* Steve Curtis Chapman--Saturday * REO Speedwagon--Sunday

All grandstand concerts are free with fair admission. Box and stage-level seats are $10 and $12, grandstand reserved seats are $6. All concerts begin at 8 p.m.

Celebration Stage--Plaza of the States

* Elvis Presley impersonator Raymond Michaels, today-Sunday, 7 and 9 p.m.

* Father-Son Look-Alike contest, Saturday, 8 p.m.

Contests, Special Events

* Today--Maxwell Coffee Day (free admission with an unopened can of Maxwell House coffee); Pomona Day (Community Hero Ceremonies at Celebration Stage, 6 p.m.; Suzy Haner (hypnotist) at the Celebration Stage, 5, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.; Asian Festival, Redwood Street, all day, special performances at 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30 & 9 p.m. and Goodtime Gordie, Heritage Farm, 6-10 p.m.

* Saturday--Classic Car Show Extravaganza, Fairplex Park Infield, all day; If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Breakfast, America’s Kids, 9 a.m.; Asian Festival, Redwood Street, all day, special performances at 11:30 a.m., 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30 and 9 p.m.; Quick Bread contest, Creative Living, 1 p.m.

* Sunday--El Mercado, Pepper Street, all day; Grandparents Day, America’s Kids, all day; 20th Annual Wood Carvers Contest, Court of the Redwoods, noon; Spam Recipe Contest, Creative Living, 1 p.m. and Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles and Fiesta del Castillo, Fairplex Park grandstand, 8 p.m.

Fireworks--weekends, 10 p.m.

Fair Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday.

Admission: Today only, admission and carnival 10-tab wristbands are $1.99 (not all rides will be in operation), with a coupon from participating McDonald’s restaurants.

General adult, $9; 6-12 years, $5 (on weekends), free for children 12 and under (weekdays) when accompanied by a paying adult (up to 3 children) and free for children 5 and under every day; over 60, $7, except on Tuesdays, $3.50; carnival wristband (10 rides) Monday-Friday, $16.

Parking: General, $5; preferred, $7; premium preferred (hotel lot only) $10; valet, $10.

For information on other events, call (909) 623-3111.

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Fair Facts

The 1998 Los Angeles County Fair continues daily through Sept. 27 at Fairplex Pomona, 1101 W. McKinley Ave.

It is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $9 general, $7 for seniors 60 and older ($3.50 on Tuesday), free Monday through Friday for children 6 to 12 years(up to three children with one paying adult) and $5 weekends, free every day to children 5 and younger. Information: (909) 623-3111.