It All Started at the Fair

While families near and far have a plethora of fond memories and stories to share about their experiences at the San Diego County Fair, the nostalgia goes well beyond turkey legs and midway rides for one local family. According to Ken and Mandy Wall of Poway, the San Diego County Fair is where it all started — their family, that is.

“My husband and I met at the fair in June 2009,” says Mandy. “Ken’s best friend was my coworker. When the two of them played hooky from work to go to the fair, I decided to go as well!”

The following year Ken proposed to Mandy in a fair photo booth. He put the ring inside a deep-fried Oreo (a treat they enjoyed together when they met the previous year). “Ken somehow managed to keep the ring in one hand and stick it in the Oreo right before the second picture went off,” says Mandy.

Being together as a family and seeing their kids experience the tradition has been priceless. “Our kids would say the FFA and 4H tents are their favorite because they are animal lovers,” says Mandy.

Every year they’ve continued the photo booth tradition (see progression in strip photos at the top). “We grew into a family with one child, then two, and now have three, but since the fair has been canceled, our youngest will have to wait for her first photo booth appearance.”

While she admits she’ll really miss the fair cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting this year, the Wall family does plan to make a homemade photo booth. “We will use photoshop to make it look like the real thing,” says Mandy. “Who knows, maybe we will all wear masks in one of the pictures! And there will definitely be corn on the cob and deep-fried Oreos involved” [in their fair celebration].