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Eleven-year-old Jamari Whitley tore through a plate of barbecue at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton Saturday at the fair’s Grab-N-Stay Fair Food Feast.
The Benicia resident gave a thumbs-up to the ribs from Big Bubba’s Bad BBQ, high praise indeed from a recent transplant from South Carolina, where barbecue is practically a religion.
The event, which continued Sunday, offers deep-fried Oreos, funnel cake and fried pickles, among other fair food. Parking was free at the ACE lot on Pleasanton Avenue just across the street. The event drew hundreds of people Saturday.
“We love fairs,” said Jamari’s mother Sheena, who moved to the Bay Area in June with her husband Marcus, daughter Noelani, 9, and Jamari. “My favorite food is lobster fries. I love seafood, so the combination of fries and lobster is heaven.”
Fairgoers sat at widely spaced tables under green awnings or picnicked on the lush green grass.
“After being locked up in the house for almost a year, I wanted to breathe freely and get out,” said Damarius Owens. This was Owens’ first fair, and he tried a pineapple bowl from Ricardo’s Hawaiian Feast that was “just as good as it looks,” the San Leandro resident said.
Like all the other fairgoers, Owens was masked, and his temperature was taken as he entered the fairgrounds. Customers at the food stands stood six feet apart, except for those who were with their immediate families.
Inflated unicorns, pink pigs and purple aliens, plus light-up balloons, drew families to the event’s lone novelty stand.
“Everyone’s being really nice – you can tell they are hungry to get out and do things again,” said Michael Garlough, proprietor of the stand. Fair work is in Garlough’s blood; his parents started a penny arcade in the 1960s, and he and his brother continued in the business.
Restrictions due to COVID-19 are easing in Bay Area counties, case rates are plummeting and access to vaccines is increasing. The developments have lent a note of hope that seemed evident in the fairgoers Saturday.
“It’s great to get fresh air, eat good food and hang with friends who are vaccinated,” said Cuong Nguyen of Sunnyvale, who showed up with friends as well as his wife Nicole Barrozo and 1-year-old son Caleb.
While the day was mostly sunny, clusters of clouds sporadically obscured the sun, turning the fairgrounds a bit cool.
Running in place to stay warm, a father told his tiny daughter, “See those clouds? One of them is going to open up and then it will be warm again.”
As the sky brightened, he added, “Here comes the sunshine! Open your arms for it.”
