Thanks to free entry tickets from friends, Eddie and I had a date at the Maui Fair on Friday night. The county fair always comes around this time of year, and it’s nice to go every once in a while. I’m not much for spending a lot of money on rides or games, but I do like to see the student artwork and eat something dangerous. We picked Friday night when one of our favorite musicians, Willie K, was playing.
Arriving at the fairgrounds around 6pm, we navigated through the parking situation and walked a little ways to the entrance. First was the livestock and poultry exhibit. It was interesting to see the critters up close…a giant bull and multi-colored pheasants, among others. I did wish they had more space to roam rather than being confined to little cages. We took a brisk stroll through and hit the exit, finding ourselves right in front of the funnel cake cart.
There we found the junk food of my dreams, deep fried Oreos. They were hot and spectacular, lightly dusted with powdered sugar. I’ve only ever seen these at the fair, so I couldn’t pass them up. We split a basket and enjoyed every bite.
Hopped up on sweets, we moved on to the arts and crafts exhibit. The student artwork was impressive…it’s always fun to see what creative ideas kids come up with. From grade schoolers to teens, the artists show so much talent and whimsy. We checked out the crafts tables and the variety of produce on display, then walked along the lovely “orchidland” to the photo salon. Lots of interesting images lined the wall, and a beautiful display of live bonsai trees sat on the table across.
We headed over to the products and services tent and browsed through the goods, then decided it was time to get some dinner. I thought about having more deep fry, but figured I’d better play it safe with a Greek salad. Eddie went for it and got the BBQ pulled pork plate along with a bright blue frosty lemonade drink. Living on the edge, he also grabbed a pronto pup (deep fried hot dog on a stick).
We washed it all down with a bottled water and agreed to go check out the ferris wheel. The line was long, so I held our place while he went to get scrips. It felt like the ride didn’t last more than a couple of minutes, but we had a good time and took some great pictures. Walking off the platform, we could already hear Willie K jamming in the entertainment tent. We made our way over and caught most of his set, finishing off the evening grooving to the music together.
All in all, it was a pretty sweet date. We did spend a bit of money, but at least we saved $14 on the entry fee ($7 x 2). Here’s a breakdown: $5 parking, $4 deep fried Oreos, $5 frosty lemonade, $7 Greek salad, $7 BBQ pulled pork plate, $4 pronto pup, $2 bottled water, $12 ferris wheel ($6 x 2). Somehow we lost another $2 along the way…maybe we got the wrong change…$48 total spent. I imagine that a family bringing kids could drop a lot of dough over the weekend. Probably most kids wait for Saturday’s discounted ride pass Wristband Day.
To find out more about the annual fair, check out their website at http://www.mauifair.com