The Santa Cruz County Fair took place Sept. 16-20, welcoming visitors to a vibrant world of “Apple Pies and Starry Skies.”
A crowd of more than 100 watched the ribbon-cutting ceremony after hearing welcoming words and gratitude for those who made it happen. Visitors and participants in the fair included students from Santa Clara and San Benito counties who ventured over the hill to show their livestock at the Watsonville fairgrounds.
John Kegebein has been enjoying this fair and the grounds it sits on since 1963.
“I think it is a real asset to our community to have something up here where people can participate on a year-round basis on these fairgrounds,” Kegebein said. “They do all kinds of things out here.”
His fair journey began when he took a maintenance job at age 27 that he held for about 20 years. After that, Kegebein volunteered as co-chair and eventually worked as fair manager. Since his retirement in 1998, he has been heavily involved in the Agriculture History Project, a permanent part of the fairgrounds that keeps Pajaro Valley’s agricultural history alive.
From funnel cakes to turkey legs, keeping the fair fed is a whole other beast.
Abigail Madaus at Country Fair Cinnamon Rolls is all too familiar with that challenge.
“I was born into it,” Madaus said. “It’s literally in my blood.”
Seeing as how her mother went into labor at the stand, she means it, too.
Country Fair Cinnamon Rolls is a family-owned and operated fair stand that’s been running for almost 50 years across three generations. Beginning with Madaus’s grandparents in 1978, the business is now run by Madaus’s dad and his siblings, each of whom runs a stand with their partner.
Between 23-year-old Madaus, her siblings and her cousins, there are 10 grandchildren able to take on the business, but Madaus says there’s no pressure.
“There’s a big legacy to uphold,” Madaus said. “If none of us do it, then what happens to the business? But all of our parents are really supportive of whatever we do.”
Syd Fluker is a California Local News Fellow. For more information visit fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.
