Before the California Mid-State Fair officially opened on Wednesday afternoon, organizers and vendors were busy putting on the finishing touches.
“We’ve got all this happening on 40 little acres, but it’s a lot of fun,” said California Mid-State Fair Vendor Manager Sabrina Sakaguchi. “It’s a passion project; it’s a passion life, and a little bit of us are kind of excited to see each other, because we haven’t seen each other in months.”
One of those passionate people is Jeff Parkhurst. Even with the heat Opening Day brought, he was happy to start serving the crowds of people that will come through.
“This is my heart,” he said. “I love doing this. My grandma created this; I feel like I’m carrying on her legacy.”
Parkhurst is the manager and CFO of Old West Cinnamon Rolls, which has three stands at the fair this year.
When we caught up with him, he was showing us how he puts together the delicious gourmet cinnamon rolls, including a new tiramisu one.
But before cooking up all those yummy treats, the real work takes place.
“Lots of fixing stuff, lots of orders, lots of final wraps, lots of training for our new guys and our guys that have been here for a few years,” Parkhurst said.
Just a few feet away, we caught up with another food vendor. Because, really, what would the fair be without food?
“Everybody would be very hungry and very thirsty if we didn’t have all of our food vendors,” Sakaguchi said.
At Hot Dog on a Stick, they didn’t just jump for joy on Opening Day — they hopped, popped and squeezed!
Crew members sprang into action, flipping dogs, squeezing lemons and sending ice rattling like a drumbeat, all crammed in a space that’s almost like the size of a shoebox.
“We have six people that come with us. We travel from different places, and then we have a lot of really cool local kids that come and help us take orders,” said Hot Dog on a Stick manager Melissa Alvarez. “We have a crew of about 15 people. We have two stands here, so we split them up, and you get to see different people at different stands.”
Throughout the fairgrounds, vendors all over could be seen doing final mic checks, prepping food, wiping windows, and adding those finishing touches all dialed to one thing: giving you food that’s as fun to get as it was to make for you.
“Meeting new people is one of my favorite things about this job,” Alvarez said.
All the fun will pick up again on Thursday at 4 p.m., continuing through July 26.
