Food, jokes mark Senior Day at the Kern County Fair

Sep. 23—Ilene Burks didn't get to the age of 95 without a healthy serving of common sense. When she got to Senior Day at the Kern County Fair on Friday morning, she knew just what to do: Get some food.

"That's why you come to the fair," she said.

It wasn't quite as simple as that, as her 76-year-old daughter Shari Lee explained. The two of them had been sent there by Lee's kids, who she said had placed a request (nay, an order) for two to three corn dogs each — "and there's four of them."

Senior Day traditions vary in Kern. For some it is an opportunity to sport brightly colored hair dye, and one gentleman in a Superman shirt was rocking Barbie pink. For others, it's an opportunity to load up on swag.

Or, if you're a politician or a fair official, Senior Day is for serving up one-liners.

Mayor Karen Goh brought her brand of humor to a 10 a.m. welcome event near the fair's main entrance, noting it was a national day for snacks on a stick, "so you've come to the perfect place!"

Next up at the mic, Kern County District 4 Supervisor David Couch kept his comments short, but not without joking that the always-energetic Goh needed to "come out of her shell a little bit." After noting he had nothing bad to say about seniors because "I am one now," and has been for four years, Couch asked the audience a question he probably knew the answer to.

"Who came here today to listen to a politician speak?" he asked before handing off the mic.

The presentations continued for just a little longer, with fair CEO Michael Olcott dryly asserting the organization had planned Friday's perfect weather, and Chairwoman Blodgie Rodriguez putting in that she had served in that position for four years and, "My term is up, thank you Jesus."

From there, the inescapable smell of barbecue smoke and grilled onions in the air ushered attendees to roam through the crowd in search of lunch or a refreshment.

Evalyn Burns, at 83 enjoying a cool pineapple agua fresca, said she was already having "lots of fun" at the fair not 90 minutes after the main gates were thrown open.

"I think it's fantastic," she said.

Robert Smith, 64, there with his daughter, 25-year-old Kristyn Smith, picked up some food before finding a shady spot to eat and taking care of a little work by laptop.

"We love the fair," he said. "Love watching the animals and stuff."

Back near the front entrance, Dignity Health credentialing specialist Kellie Salmon was still staffing the hospital company's informational booth long after all the mugs, tumblers and water bottles had been given away.

It had been a busy morning, she said, with seniors filing through and some stopping for the health screenings and flu shots Dignity Health was making available at no charge.

"They love it," she said. "They love getting all their swag."