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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us July 20, 2005 Fair, with a chance of prizes By Robert Plain Ashland Daily Tidings The judges hand out ribbons during the pig showing on opening day of the Jackson County Fair in Central Point. Photos by Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings CENTRAL POINT — Big pigs, excited kids, woozy parents, funnel cakes and fry bread — it must be fair time. This is the week of summer that another city springs up in Southern Oregon. The Jackson County Fair, located just off Interstate 5 at the Central Point exit, is open through Sunday. The fair is part 4-H-style livestock show and part carnival as local children show off how much they know about animal husbandry, and rides, games and fast food from all over the West are available for everyone’s amusement. As with many county fairs, one of the biggest attractions is the farm animal showings. On Tuesday, Will Bowers, a 14-year-old Ashland High School freshman, won a purple ribbon for his prized pig named Spot, a 235-pound black and white beauty. Spot, Bowers explained, was competing in the market class. This competition pits pig body types against one another. He said the swines are judged on their body mass relative to their overall size. "Lashes" the clown paints the face of 3-year-old Julia Simmond of Medford during the fair Tuesday. The idea, Bowers said, is to get the biggest pig possible in the smallest body. After all, he said, the pigs are being raised to be not only shown but also eaten. Along with the pigs, local kids also enter their horses and cows to be judged in a similar fashion. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. 4-H’ers also enter pickles, jams, jellies, vegetables, flowers, quilts, cookies and cakes. Nadine Purcel, of Ashland, won a blue ribbon for the doily she made and Diane Lee won a second place ribbon for her dried basil and oregano. Lindsey Almarode received an honorable mention for her Araucana chicken eggs, which are both petite and blue. While the animals are popular, the rides and the games tend to be the big draw. Tuesday was the opening day and already two people had reportedly lost their lunch on the Zipper, a carnival ride that both does Ferris-wheel type circles but also flips and tumbles over while doing so. Two 15-year-olds from Eagle point said they enjoyed the ride but were never close to vomiting. “Maybe if we just ate, but we’re smarter than that,” said one. The other described the Zipper as one of the best rides at the fair. D.J. Moore washes his pig before it gets auctioned off to head for market at the Jackson County Fair. Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings “It’s got some G- forces behind it,” he said. “It’s like any spinning ride combined with a roller coaster.” Ann, a self-described “carney” from the panhandle of Texas, said she loves the lifestyle of traveling from town to town with the fair. Many employees have just come from the fair in Fortuna, California and will next travel to northern Oregon and then up to Washington. She said the employees live in bunk houses for the week behind the fair grounds proper. “Carney life is really hard,” she said, noting the she will work 12- to 13-hour days all week. “You have to want to do it. We’re like one big family here, we really get attached to one another.” Other traveling fair employees say they love the scenery associated with the Jackson County Fair but were quick to point out that it is one of the hottest stops on the county fair circuit. Ann said cotton candy and sno-cones are some of the most popular items she sells. Of course, she added, the corn dogs are always one of the biggest sellers. Down the food alley, another stand was selling quite a large amount of corn dogs. However, out of the three employees working at the stand not one could describe exactly what a corn dog is coated with. “I’m not sure but they sure are good,” said one. The games, such as the ring toss, balloon break and basketball shoot are also a popular stop. One girl from Medford, who showed up the day before the fair started to find some work, said she is paid one quarter of whatever she can bring in. As of Tuesday afternoon, she had earned $2. Many games are easy to win a prize and the hook is one has to play many rounds in order to deserve a large stuffed animal. For example, it is somewhat easy to win at the basketball toss, but you have to buy 30 $2 chances in order to take home the large stuffed animal. Which isn’t always all it is cracked up to be. One 13-year old was trying to sell the stuffed animal he won for less than he spent to win it because he had grown tired of carrying it around. Staff writer Robert Plain can be reached at 482-3456 x 3040 or [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Online Pharmacy Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams