Los Angeles County Fair

From the Cow to the Cone You can make ice cream right at home with just a few materials that you probably find around the house. It only takes minutes and is lots of fun! Here is what you need: 1 cup of milk (whole milk works best); 2 tablespoons of sugar; 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract; a gallon-and a quart-size resealable plastic bag; ice (about a cupful); 12 tablespoons of table salt. Step 1: Place the salt and the ice inside the gallon-size baggie.

The rows of experiments at the Los Angeles County Science Fair began with a simple question: Is a dog's mouth cleaner than a human's? Answer: It isn't. How about this: Is the closest living relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex a chicken? Not quite. It's the red junglefowl, a wild chicken. Or: Could a sixth-grader build a hovercraft? He could, capable of carrying both him and his mother. But he couldn't figure out how to propel his creation. "I read that some fire extinguishers would work," he wrote, "but my parents wouldn't let me try. " These results and many others were presented by more than 1,000 young scientists whose work for the 62nd annual science fair was on display at the Pasadena Convention Center on Saturday.

Chardonnay still reigns as California's most popular wine as evidenced by more than 250 entries at the 47th annual Los Angeles County Fair Wine Judging. The Chardonnay panel chairman Peter Sichel of New York and Blue Nun fame said, "We needed every bit of four full days starting at 7:30 a.m. to sift through a host of varying styles coming from every vineyard region in the state." "Apparently there is no style consistency evolved yet for California Chardonnays," he added.

Just as business conferences and travel have begun to rebound from the recession, the Fairplex in Pomona is branching out from carnival rides and pig races with the opening of an 85,000-square-foot conference center. The $28-million Fairplex Conference Center, built with federal and local government money, is projected to generate $30 million in economic impact annually, plus $1.4 million a year in local and federal tax revenue, and to support nearly 280 full-time jobs. The conference center already has about $3 million in reservations over the next three or four years, and the adjoining Sheraton Fairplex Hotel & Conference Center has picked up nearly 5,000 additional overnight bookings for 2012 as a result, according to hotel officials.

Immerse yourself in Expedition Earth. But as you descend into the depths of the largest attraction at the 78th annual Los Angeles County Fair, running today through Oct. 1, pay close attention to what lurks beside you. For instance, in the Mystic Sea, one of the six Expedition habitats, explore colorful seaweed and sunken treasure, giant whales suspended above coral reefs, slithering eels and some sort of prehistoric whale-lizard creature that has the choppers of an agitated alligator.

April Ford travels 10 months a year with the Great American Petting Zoo, slipping in and out of towns from Portland to San Antonio. One half of her extra-long trailer contains her bed, a shower and a propane stove; the back half sleeps a full house of deer, goats and wallabies. "It's a grind," she said of her itinerant lifestyle, "but you end up thriving on it. I actually love it. The road weeds out the flakes."

The 59th edition of the Los Angeles County Fair set the fourth-largest attendance record with 1,362,447 people visiting the 487-acre grounds in Pomona during the 18-day gathering, which ended Sunday, fair officials said. The fair's all-time attendance record of 1,435,962 was set last year.

Citing the need to maintain a family environment, the Los Angeles County Fair has announced it is stubbing out tobacco company sponsorship of the annual event. The Los Angeles County Fair Assn.'s decision comes after anti-smoking activists publicly criticized the promotion of tobacco company brands at the event, which is held at the Fairplex. Fair officials said the decision will end Philip Morris' sponsorship of headline music performers under the banner Marlboro Music.

The Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona will have an extended run next year--24 days instead of 18--running from Sept. 7-30, fair officials announced Thursday. In adding six days, including an additional weekend, the fair hopes to reduce weekend overcrowding, traffic congestion, parking problems and long lines, according to a release by the Fair Assn. Board of Directors.

Racing pigs, checker-playing chickens, stunt-performing horses, sheep in sunglasses performing on stage, three times a day, every day at the Los Angeles County Fair (Times, Sept. 11). How long must we continue to exploit, degrade and stress out our animals for our "entertainment?" It isn't funny. It isn't cute. It's inhumane and deplorable. BILL DYER Hollywood

Baby goats, deep-fried munchies and big-hair rock bands scored big this year for the Los Angeles County Fair, which reported an 8% increase in attendance over last year. The fair, which ended Sunday, was attended by 1,491,213 visitors — surpassing the 1,374,673 attendance mark last year — making it the second-most-attended fair in its 89-year history. "It was the perfect storm of great new experiences, popular returning exhibits, exciting grandstand shows and fantastic weather," said Dale Coleman, the fair's vice president of sales, marketing and creative programming.

When you go to a county fair, the last thing you want to be reminded of is what all that fried and sugar-laden food is doing to your body, not to mention the beer. But there's a cautionary tale waiting at this year's Los Angeles County Fair (Sept. 3 to Oct. 2), at the "Our Body: Live Healthy" show. Featured are actual human bodies that have been preserved via plastination and reveal muscles, bones and internal organs. An attraction at the fair last year, this time there is a special section dedicated to showing what a whole lot of bad living will do. Included will be lungs, kidneys, brains and livers of people who have squandered their life on too many cigarettes, too much booze and too many chili dogs.

Get festive at the Los Angeles County Irish Fair & Celtic Music Festival. The annual pre-St. Patrick's Day celebration features more than 2,000 performers, including traditional and contemporary Celtic bands and dance groups. The event also includes sheepherding, an Irish marketplace and a fine dining pavilion. Pomona Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sat. and Sun. $18. (909) 623-3111; http://www.fairplex.com.

There are those for whom the Los Angeles County Fair signals the sizzle of a deep fat fryer incinerating delicacies such as Twinkies (yawn) or artichoke hearts (yum) or, new this year, a chocolate-dipped, bacon-wrapped Oreo (eek). That is fine, really, historically in keeping with this end-of-summer extravaganza, which has been celebrating the cult and culture of the county since 1922. Ditto for the rides and the horse races, the livestock displays and agriculture exhibits. But for thousands of visitors to the Fairplex in Pomona, the true heart of the county fair is where the home arts are. Follow the trajectory of the aerial tram and you'll come to it, the Tapestry Arts Building, a cavernous space with homely block walls and miles of concrete-floor aisles.

This may be the 88th year that Angelenos have enjoyed the Los Angeles County Fair, but it may be the first year one can eat a ton of deep-fried novelties, work it off dancing to live music and finally see how that whole process happens in a display of real human cadavers. Adding a lot of science and a little bit of sideshow freakiness to the festival atmosphere, the exhibit "Our Bodies: The Universe Within" is making its first, non-museum debut at the fair this year. Opening Saturday and running until Oct. 3, the L.A. event is the biggest county fair in the nation, with an average attendance of 1.3 million people for each of the last five years.

What's a fair without rickety roller coasters and pie-baking competitions? How about wind power technology, Segway test rides and the nation's fastest vegetable oil-powered car. That's what attendees found at last weekend's Green Solutions Expo at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, the latest in a string of fairs focused more on the environment and eco-friendly innovation than on hog races, arts and crafts shows and deep-fried nostalgia....

This may be the 88th year that Angelenos have enjoyed the Los Angeles County Fair, but it may be the first year one can eat a ton of deep-fried novelties, work it off dancing to live music and finally see how that whole process happens in a display of real human cadavers. Adding a lot of science and a little bit of sideshow freakiness to the festival atmosphere, the exhibit "Our Bodies: The Universe Within" is making its first, non-museum debut at the fair this year. Opening Saturday and running until Oct. 3, the L.A. event is the biggest county fair in the nation, with an average attendance of 1.3 million people for each of the last five years.

When you go to a county fair, the last thing you want to be reminded of is what all that fried and sugar-laden food is doing to your body, not to mention the beer. But there's a cautionary tale waiting at this year's Los Angeles County Fair (Sept. 3 to Oct. 2), at the "Our Body: Live Healthy" show. Featured are actual human bodies that have been preserved via plastination and reveal muscles, bones and internal organs. An attraction at the fair last year, this time there is a special section dedicated to showing what a whole lot of bad living will do. Included will be lungs, kidneys, brains and livers of people who have squandered their life on too many cigarettes, too much booze and too many chili dogs.

I've grown my own vegetables and made my daughters take horseback riding lessons. I've pulled off the freeway in search of the carnival attached to distant Ferris wheel lights. My favorite childhood memories are of helping slop the hogs and collect eggs from the henhouse on my grandparents' farm. But until this weekend, my 30 years in Southern California had never included a visit to the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona. It was too far from my home in the San Fernando Valley; too hot, too crowded, too country, I thought.