There may not have been rides or live music on the Dixon Fairgrounds as there would have been in past years, but there were plenty of familiar senses: the sounds of laughter, the aroma of sugar-coated, deep-fried and caramelized foods.
Even without many of the traditional elements of the Dixon May Fair, organizers still found a way for fairgoers to purchase their favorite treats, as Thursday was the first day of the Grab and Go Taste of the May Fair.
Many of the familiar vendors sold people’s favorite snacks, meals and desserts for people to bring home. Following a full-on cancellation of the fair last year due to early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event brought a sense of normalcy to longtime fairgoers in the form of edible delights.
Fair CEO Pat Conklin said food sales were one of the activities permitted on the Fairgrounds, albeit in a COVID-friendly format. Staff had to determine what that format would look like, ruling out a drive-thru model due to traffic concerns.
“We talked to the Health Department about doing a grab and go,” she said. “We tried to do a grab and stay, but that would be too limiting at the time that we proposed it.”
Patrons can simply park in the main lot, go through the main gate and purchase foods from the available vendors. The booths are all spaced 6 feet apart to comply with social distancing guidelines, and Conklin said only a certain number of people will be allowed in at a time.
“We’re counting at the gate to make sure we don’t get too many people on the grounds at one time,” she said.
Conklin said she reached out to past vendors, and several of them accepted, making for a wide variety of foods that can be purchased. California Ice Cream Company is selling its desserts, Dynamite Kettle Korn has two flavors of kettle corn, Good Ol’ Boys has its famous rolled tacos, J.L. Q Concessions has its shrimp cocktails and fish tacos, Lynn’s Hawaiian Shaved Ice has its sweet icy treats, Munch-A-Bunch has its Indian tacos and carne asada fries, Needham Concessions has its teriyaki bowls, PHD & Me has its various types of pretzels, Red & White Concessions has its hot dogs and cotton candy, Stroud Enterprises has its corn dogs and candy apples, West Coast Weenies offers deep-fried Oreos and Snickers in addition to different types of franks, and Willamette Valley Pie Company has its pies, turnovers and other treats.
And that’s not all. Other fair favorites at this booths include curly fries, snow cones, Totsilocos, sundaes…the list goes on.
Teddy Archer of Dynamite Kettle Korn has been selling at the May Fair since 2010, although he sold at the vendor of a high school friend’s family when he was 14. Last year, due to the cancellation of the May Fair and other summer festivals, Archer stayed afloat through doing drive-thru events in counties that permitted them.
“People came out and supported it, and it was good,” he said. “It wasn’t quite the same.”
In the first hour, Archer said business was doing decent and was happy to be selling his kettle corn to Dixon.
“I was kind of disappointed last year,” he said. “This year, it’s not what we want, but it’s something. It’s getting the ball rolling.”
Danielle Goodsell stood outside Good Ol’ Boys for some rolled tacos, while her son Brayden was also excited about getting ice cream and pies. She has been going to the May Fair for 10 years and missed the camaraderie last year.
“(I missed) being here in general: the community, kids selling their animals, the excitement of the town,” she said.
Ed Teitgen learned about the grab and go through friends and family, and was at the Fair to pick up rolled tacos, corn dogs and funnel cakes and possibly run into people he knew in the past. Having grown up in Dixon, he has come to the May Fair nearly every year and missed the sense of community last year.
“(I missed) coming here, seeing people I don’t see every day, just the memories that come with it,” he said.
Maribel Castro expressed similar feelings.
“I missed seeing all the people from Dixon here,” she said.
Additionally, there was a livestock exhibition with goats and sheep Thursday and one with pigs and steers Wednesday, although it was not open to spectators. An online auction will begin Friday and close at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and will be dedicated to Joe Gates, a longtime Vacaville auctioneer who died in February. The auction will take place at Bidcal.com.
Additionally, the competitive exhibits were held virtually in April, and the results, and the results are available at Dixonmayfair.com/enter-your-stuff/.
Conklin wanted to remind the community that the May Fair is still a part of the community.
“We’re just as disappointed that they are that we can’t have a fair, but we wanted to do what we can do and not focus on what we can’t do,” she said. “It really is a labor of love for all of us to put on the Fair, and we wanted to do something.”
Next year, Conklin hopes the Fair can return “full bore.”
Taste of the May Fair will continue 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday at the Dixon Fairgrounds, 655 South First St. Masks are required, and people who are feeling sick or have recently been exposed to someone who has been sick are advised not to attend. For more information, call 678-5529.
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