Denver County Fair: Trick pigs, kids in bubbles and piles of pancakes

The Denver County Fair went down this weekend, and despite the fact that the schedule was kind of hard to read and the ten pavilions were daunting to navigate at times, we found some pretty cool stuff to look at anyway. Beyond the sights and sounds of a traditional county...

By Bree Davies

August 1, 2011

Audio By Carbonatix

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The Denver County Fair went down this weekend, and despite the fact that the schedule was kind of hard to read and the ten pavilions were daunting to navigate at times, we found some pretty cool stuff to look at anyway. Beyond the sights and sounds of a traditional county fair, the modern take included a freak show, speed sewing competitions, psychic and holistic healing demonstrations and a human chicken impersonation contest.

Carnival rides were an enticing part of the event too, but the blistering heat kept most patrons inside and away from the pastel painted hot plastic and metal. We still found plenty of entertainment though (can you say kids in Flaming Lips-style plastic bubbles, rolling around in a giant baby pool?) and enough fair food to back up our intestines for a week. Here are just some of the highlights of this four-day extravaganza, delivered completely without irony.

Our Saturday morning jaunt began with Andrew Novick's X-Treme Pancake Breakfast, a buffet-style pig out of massive proportions. Griddle stations and tables of cereal, syrup, tempeh bacon and everything else you would never think to put on a pancake were at the crowd's disposal, ready and waiting for the breakfast enthusiasts' disgustingly awesome combinations. Novick was there, of course, talking to every single person in line and we're sure that (much like any of Novick's unique events) at least two-thirds of the pancakers knew the host personally. Immediately following the X-Treme Pancake Breakfast was the Blinky's Fun Club reunion. The ninety-plus year-old clown was in great spirits, signing autographs for his now very adult fans for the better part of two hours. What's more fun than watching other people's kids get exhausted while trying to make progress climbing around a plastic ball that's sitting in water? Nothing really. It is just a good thing these balls were no where near a set of stairs. We wouldn't want to see anyone fall to the fate so many hamsters have encountered in those things. These dolls were part of the freak show. Yeah, we don't get it either. You have no idea how badly we wanted to get disco fever. But it was more like disco third-degree burns, so we opted out of the fun-looking fair ride. The Top Hogs trick pig shows wasn't full of much hog trickery -- but the piggies we so cute! Who doesn't like cute animals?

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Bree Davies is a multimedia journalist, artist advocate and community organizer born and raised in Denver. Rooted in the world of Do-It-Yourself arts and music, Davies co-founded Titwrench experimental music festival, is host of the local music and comedy show Sounds on 29th on CPT12 Colorado Public Television and is creator and host of the civic and social issue-focused podcast, Hello? Denver? Are You Still There? Her work is centered on a passionate advocacy for all ages, accessible, inclusive, non-commercial and autonomous DIY art spaces and music venues in Denver.

Contact: Bree Davies

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Twitter: @cocodavies