OF ALL THE POTENT MEMORIES... in the world, at least 70% involve some sort of carnival or fair we attended as kids, and at least 70% of those recollections deal with us trying to pull melty cotton candy off our chin as we queue up for the Ferris wheel. Hmm. Is 70% too low? Maybe a bit higher? Well, it's true, we're guessing here, but there's no conjecture involved when it comes to talking about the powerful pull old-timey summer fairs have on our hearts. If we went even once, at age 8, we remember the smells, sights, and sweets like we were just there this morning. If you want that chin-sticky cotton candy feeling again, for a day, you can give the files of your deep memory a rest and giddy up for San Rafael, which is about to celebrate the opening of the Marin County Fair. But it isn't just any opening, no sirree; it's...
THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY... of the midway-blinky, pig-snarfly, fireworks-twinkly party. All the nostalgic touches you expect will fill the Marin County Fairgrounds, from 12,000+ exhibits (think quilts, paintings, woodworking, and such) to the forever-and-always popular petting zoo. There are concerts, too, like sets from Kool & the Gang, Foreigner, and Plain White T's. And an exhibit looking back at 75 years of the San Rafael ring-a-ding will lend the lark a historic dimension, while acrobatic feats from the Chinese Circus of Beijing will keep fair goers riveted. As for those classic carnival rides? Look for 28 of 'em, and they're all free with your fair admission, from the solar carousel to the Giant Ferris Wheel. Can you see the racing pigs or the Rawhide Express Train from the top of the wheel? That is yet another fair-fun to-do — spy things on the ground from wayyyy up above. If you're hoping to revisit some of these long-go memories, whether they involve a sticky cotton candy chin or not, clear June 30 through July 4 for your fair idyll.
