Vegan's Chronicles

The Orange County Fair, 2009

Even though my vacation is over, I'm still blogging about it~

While I was in Cali, my sister and I hit up the OC Fair. It was my first time, and I had no idea it was such a huge festival! There were a ton of fun games, rides, food, and activities, but also some things that made me sad, like pig racing competitions, livestock shows, barbecued animal flesh and smoke at every corner, and petting zoos. Since one of the petting zoos was free, I decided to walk through it just to see the animals. However, it really made me frustrated to see the way it reinforced the impression that all farm animals live as comfortably as these animals seemingly live, with hay to lie on and open fresh air to breath. It was all such a facade. And it was also sad that children and adults were 'ooh'ing and 'ahhh'ing over these creatures, only to walk out of the petting zoo and go munch on the flesh of a cow or chicken. Emotional compartmentalism is indeed a powerful thing... .

Another big part of the fair was all the food stands selling plates of greasy fried goodness that is typical of these kinds of events. Although there were a ton of food stalls, I really wasn't sure what was vegan and what wasn't. Was funnel cake vegan? Caramel popcorn? Cotton candy?? I should've done more research before I went. In the end, I snacked on a freshly grilled corn cob, which was sweet and yummy. It was so much better to keep it simple and plain, instead of covering it with butter, salt, spices, and parmesan cheese, like I saw so many other people doing.

Overall, the OC Fair was a lot of fun, but I wouldn't say that it's a very vegan or animal friendly event. If you're vegan, I would say go for the rides, the crafter's fair, and vegetable & flower gardens, but don't expect to find many vegan food options... and unless you want to feel depressed, steer clear of the animal exploitation shows.