Many people claim that Los Angeles has no seasons, so I suppose the L.A. County Fair is helpful in marking the end of summer. We cherish our annual traditions of riding the biggest Ferris Wheel (even though it’s sort of terrifying)…

…cooing at the cute baby farm animals…

…and eating ridiculous fried food. This year we tried the deep-fried Reese’s Peanut Butter Big Cup (pictured) and Chicken Charlie’s deep-fried cookie dough. Both were definitely winners in my book.

We scoped out the tablescaping contest in the arts and crafts building, too. Alas, there was no tiki-themed entry like last year, but I did enjoy this one for “It Happened One Night” that was set up as if the stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert had just stepped out for a moment.

New for this year were shows by Mermaid Melissa, a legit underwater performer who can hold her breath for five minutes. We were pretty underwhelmed by the size of the traveling tank — but how could we not be after seeing Marina the Fire-Eating Mermaid at the Wreck Bar earlier this summer? The kids (and one kinda creepy dude) seemed to enjoy it, though.

The highlight of this year’s fair was the giant exhibition Pencils 2 Pixels: The Art of Animation. There were displays for the biggies like Disney, Dreamworks and Sony Pictures Animation, but there was also representation of stop-motion animation (“Pirates! Band of Misfits”), Japanese anime and video game animation.

We’re pretty fond of cartoons around our house, if you hadn’t noticed by the frequent “Tiki on TV” posts I write. I’m pretty sure I squealed with delight when I spotted this animation cell from “Jem and The Holograms.”

Part of the exhibit was dedicated to a gift shop where I found this Disney art giclee of James Mulligan’s “Tiki Trouble” ($595), featuring Stitch and the tiki poles from inside The Enchanted Tiki Room.

There were cut-outs and set pieces where you could take a picture in the living room of “The Simpsons” and the Mystery Machine from “Scooby Doo.” Of course I had to pose with the Moai-inspired home of Squidward Tentacles from “Spongebob Squarepants.”

We wandered through a few of the other expo buildings with their in-person infomercials and among the vendors was a booth with all kinds of piñatas, including this tiki-ish one. That’s one way to take out your aggression for those Party City-style tikis! Though buying them would just encourage them to make more, so never mind.

Related Posts:
Tiki Sno Cones & Tablescaping at the LA County Fair
LA County Fair: Tiki Cake
Tons of Tikis at the LA County Fair