California State Fair

I had the chance to go to the California State Fair with my friend Janet from work and we worked for a few hours in the Tuolumne County Exhibit booth. The booth was very well done this year by volunteers from the county, and won some awards that you can see in one of the following pictures.
The booth was a favorite with families because there were some activities for kids. Janet and I tried to make sure we let people know about Columbia State Park - and that if they'd never been, they needed to come and see us!


This stagecoach was actually part of the Mono County exhibit right next to us, but it may as well have been part of ours, because it fit right in - we have a Wells Fargo building and even a stagecoach ride in Columbia:

We managed to have a little time after our stint in the booth to look at some of the exhibits at the fair - there was a nice Girl Scout/Brownie exhibit, which included these vintage uniforms:

There was a wonderful exhibit for Sunmaid Raisins, as well. I like Sunmaid - I even posted about them back in 2009.


I picked up a couple of their cards, including one with their recipe for Raisin Oatmeal Cookies:

I always enjoy the Fine Art exhibits, featuring so many fabulous works of art from around our Golden State.
The three dimensional piece below titled "Ice Cream Store" was done by Sandy Brown of Sonoma County. I was really drawn to it - it's just beautiful in person:


Cara Brown was the talented artist (click on her name to go to her website) who painted the beauty below - it is truly stunning in person:

This sculpture/fountain was simply fabulous, and my photo does not do it justice. The metal insects spurted water timed to music from their instruments. Sorry I don't have the name of the creator; I could have watched it all day:
Last, but not least today - this beautiful hooked rug by Daniella Brooks of Rocklin - Alice In Wonderland:

Nice stuff, huh?
We had a good time, but it ended up being a very, very long day. I had gotten up at 5, gone to work from 8-10, and did not lay my head on my pillow that "night" until 2:50 am. My body can't take that anymore.