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| County fair goes nuts for dinosaurs |
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| Written by Marc Aceves | Patterson Irrigator | |
| Friday, 25 July 2008 | |
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At a glance WHAT: Stanislaus County Fair WHEN: Lasts through Aug. 3. Fair opens at 5 p.m. weeknights and at noon weekends. Buildings close at 11 p.m. nightly. Grounds close at midnight Monday through Thursday, at 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday and at 12:30 a.m. Sunday. WHERE: Fairgrounds, 900 N. Broadway, in Turlock TIX: $8 for adults, $3 for ages 6 to 12, free for 5 and younger INFO: 668-1333 or www.stancofair.com  Jane Conover (pointing), Stanislaus County Fair board of directors president, guides a family through the Jurassic Journey exhibit Thursday. Featuring 40 life-sized dinosaur figures, ice-age mammals and fossils, it’s part of the “Nuts are Dino-mite” theme for this years’ fair, which opened Friday. Photo by Elias Funez/Patterson Irrigator The fair opened Friday with a theme of “Nuts are Dino-mite.” As usual, fair time means carnival rides, sporting events, an assortment of tasty foods and nightly concerts. Highlights include Jurassic Journey, the most elaborate and expensive exhibit ever featured at the fair. Designed by Turlock residents Clayton and Elaine Everett, the display makes its California debut with 8,000 square feet of dinosaur and fossil replicas. “We saw this exhibit as a challenge that we were both willing to take head-on,” Elaine Everett said. “There was over 20,000 pounds of wood chips used to help put this thing together.” Among the 40 full-sized, museum-quality replicas are a mammoth-like Burning Tree mastodon that towers 12 feet overhead and a 4-foot-long Tyrannosaurus rex skull. “This is an adventurous and educational exhibit that the children are going to absolutely love,” Everett said. “There’s also a sandbox area where children can use their imaginations and dig for their own fossils.”  Jaw-dropping: Families pass under the gaping jaws of a life-sized replica of a Ceratosaurus on display inside the Stanislaus County Fair’s Jurassic Journey exhibit, which has 40 prehistoric replicas. Photo by Elias Funez/Patterson Irrigator Each day, 1,000 fairgoers will receive a “Nut of the Day” edible gift from one of the 10 Stanislaus County almond or walnut host companies. Free nut samples are available daily from the Almond Board of California. “We had a record crop on our trees this year,” said Shirley Horn, director of global marketing for the Almond Board of California. “The centerpiece of our exhibit is a special rainbow display made up of the healthiest specialty crop in the world — almonds.” Meanwhile, a collaborative of Stanislaus County 4-H Clubs and independent exhibitors will showcase nearly 3,000 farm animals at this year’s fair. The exhibit offers a chance for school-age kids — primarily members of 4-H and FFA — to competitively display and auction their prize livestock on the open market. “The livestock auction provides financial recognition and teaches life skills and sportsmanship during the competition,” said Pennie Rorex, fair communications director. “It’s a culmination of time and effort spent in breeding, raising, grooming and preparing their animals.” For fans of radio-friendly rock, Texas-based pop artists Bowling for Soup will perform at 8 p.m. tonight on the fair’s Budweiser Variety Stage. Following Bowling for Soup will be country musician Sawyer Brown on Sunday, Christian rock trio Building 429 and singer-songwriter Matthew West on Monday, Grammy-nominated country artists Little Big Town on Tuesday, 1970s-era rockers The Doobie Brothers on Wednesday, double-platinum-selling singer Raven-Symone on Thursday, chart toppers The Beach Boys on Friday, Motown recording artists The Temptations on Aug. 2 and the Mexican sensation Mariachi Vargas on Aug. 3. All shows at the Budweiser Variety Stage are free with paid admission to the fair. “Do not miss out on the opportunity to see The Beach Boys,” Rorex advised. “They’ve been around for 40 years now, and they’re still going strong.” Other paid attractions include the truck and tractor pulls at 6:30 p.m. tonight, the new Humpz and Hornz bull riding competition Sunday, the destruction derby Monday and Tuesday nights, the quad drags and motorcycle jumpers Wednesday, the California Cowboys Professional Rodeo Association rodeo Thursday, the QuadCross and peewee bikes Friday, motocross on Aug. 2 and the Mud Bog on Aug. 3. All those events are in the Food Maxx Arena. To reach Marc Aceves at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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