For Hollister couple Armando and Mary Marron, going to the San
Benito County Fair has been a 32-year tradition filled with fried
food and friendly faces. And after three decades, many of the faces
have changed but the feeling is still the same.
Hollister – For Hollister couple Armando and Mary Marron, going to the San Benito County Fair has been a 32-year tradition filled with fried food and friendly faces. And after three decades, many of the faces have changed but the feeling is still the same.
“We look forward to it every year,” Mary Marron said. “(Armando) used to rope in the competitions, but his horse is too old and he’s too old. Now we bring our nieces and nephews.”
Watching the children’s exuberant faces while scurrying from ride to ride, viewing 4-H and FFA members’ prized animals and perusing the thousands of items entered by local participants keeps the fair interesting and exciting every year, Marron said.
And all of those things combined will keep them coming back for more, she said.
“I don’t want to come in a wheelchair, but I’ll come as long as I can,” she said.
Organizers had to hustle to tie up all the loose ends on Wednesday and during opening day Thursday at Bolado Park, said fair director Kelley Ferreira.
But after the initial melee subsided, Ferreira said everything has been running smoothly and attendance opening night was only down 13 cars from last year’s 198.
Ferreira expects attendance to increase this year because of new events, such as a motorcycle race at the grandstands, a new kids’ area where youngsters can get up close and personal with animals and other hands-on attractions, not to mention great entertainment, he said.
“It’s a short-run fair, but we sure put a lot of different activities in that three-and-a-half-day period,” he said.
Ferreira said the fair garnered more interest this year locally, as 120 more people entered items for competition.
“Every year we keep growing,” he said.
Hollister resident Denise O’Laughlin has come to the fair with her 11- and 14-year-old children for the past four years to ride the rides, see the animals and take in the hometown ambiance, she said.
“It’s small and family-oriented, safe and clean,” she said. “The kids get to look at the exhibits and see what their friends entered, and my daughter loves to come for the tractor pull on Sunday night.”
This year 96 exhibition vendors and 13 food booths occupied spots inside the Pavilion and outside along the gravel paths and grassy grounds, Ferreira said.
Next year Ferreira hopes to bring in more vendors to put outside the Saddle Horse Museum in the front portion of the fairgrounds.
“The biggest challenge is that there’s not enough electricity for the food booths and vendors,” he said. “I’m going to try to secure funds to increase electricity for the vendors.”
Kari Galtman, owner of Hollister Motorsports, was a first-time vendor at the fair to promote her new business.
Although attendance Thursday night was on the slow side, Galtman expected she would be busy over the weekend.
“Hollister is such a tight-knit community and this is a great event,” she said. “Almost everyone I’ve met is local and I think that’s a neat thing – that so many people come out to their fair.”
For 10-year-old Santa Ana 4-H member Molly Mirassou, the fair symbolizes the culmination of months of hard work raising and grooming her dairy cow, Sugar.
And this year was a good year for Sugar, named grand champion of her division, Mirassou said.
“I’m proud and kind of surprised,” she said. “I didn’t think I was going to do that good.”
Along with the fun activities offered at the fair, being able to spend time with other 4-H members and meeting new friends over the four-day period makes the fair that much more special, Mirassou said.
“There’s always something fun to do,” she said.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
em*******@fr***********.com
