Drive-thru festival serves up fair food favorites
IMPERIAL — Chili cheese fries, funnel cakes, turkey legs and more were returned to the menu Friday at the Imperial Valley Fairgrounds.
Although the 2021 California Mid- Winter Fair and Fiesta is still some months away, the Drive- Thru Fair Food Festival gave locals a convenient taste of their fair favorites as well as help vendors make up some revenue from all the canceled bookings they’ve had during the pandemic.
This food festival will take place this weekend and as well as next weekend.
Its opening day on Friday began at 4 p.m. and ran until 8 p.m.
The festival will be open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. today and from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
The festival will resume from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 6, from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 7 and from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 8.
Four vendors — Grand Beverage (GB) BBQ, GB Corn Dogs, Funnel Cakes West and Fried Fantasy — were on site providing fair food, treats and drinks.
Per the fair’s policy, no one is allowed to exit their vehicle during the event, and face masks are required to be worn by all drivers.
Vehicles enter through the IV Fairgrounds’ main gate on East Second Street and receive a menu with what each vendor is serving.
Vehicles then drive south down a straight path — the four vendors are set up in a line along the east side of the path — and make their purchases.
After completing the path, vehicles exit through the fairground’s south exit.
The highest priced item was a turkey leg wrapped in bacon ($15), while the lowest was bottled water ($2).
GB BBQ offers a ribs and fries combo, turkey legs, curly fries, corn on the cob, and more.
GB Corn Dogs naturally offers corn dogs, as well as cheese sticks, pizza bread, agua fresca and more.
Funnel Cakes West’s namesake dish is available with a variety of toppings, including powdered sugar, whipped cream, strawberry, apple caramel and chocolate. It also dispenses fresh lemonade, both regular and strawberry flavored in 32-, 44- and 64-ounce cups.
Fried Fantasy specializes in deep-fried confections — Oreos, Twinkies, Snickers and cheesecake — as well as churros, cotton candy and other items.
As evident by Friday’s turnout, Imperial Valley residents did, in fact, miss their Mid- Winter Fair food and drinks.
Friday’s line to enter the fairgrounds was backed up all the way to Second Street until the 8 p.m. closing time.
It was apparent that the most popular booth on Friday was the GB BBQ, as it constantly had customers lined up to order.
The IV Fairgrounds board of directors decided to hold the festival as a way to give the fair’s food vendors a helping hand.
Alan Phillips, the fair’s Chief Executive Officer, said the food festival “is being held to lend support to our fair food vendors who have had a very bleak year in 2020.”
A menu of all the available items can be viewed at www. ivfairgrounds. com/ fair- food- drive- thru. html or through the fairground’s mobile app, which can be downloaded at my.yapp.us/CMWF