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in Clovis & Central California
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2010 Annual Big Hat Days in
Old Town Clovis |
Story, Photos & Slide Shows
by JoAnne Green
April 12, 2010
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Spring season and Old Town Clovis have one
thing in common -- Big Hat Days Celebration.
The second weekend in each April,
the community comes together for two days to celebrate
one of biggest festivals of the year in
Clovis.
This year, Big Hat Days were held on April
10th & 11th. Each day, thousands of
fairgoers weaved through and lingered at
the booths of several hundred vendors of
crafts, arts, clothing, hats (including, of
course, big hats), foods, and much more. Not only
were there thousands of fairgoers from the
City of Clovis, surrounding towns in the
Central Valley, and throughout California,
but there were also many fairgoers and
vendors from other parts of the United
States.
Like many fairgoers, one of my favorite
things at festivals is always the food. So
naturally, I went directly to the food alley
on Sunday around 11:30 a.m. It was a
pleasant surprise to see that even though it
was a pretty cloudy day, the food alley was
packed with fair food lovers. All of my
senses were activated immediately by
the variety of wonderful food aromas, the
sight of so many people lined up at every
booth, and the buzzing sounds of blended
chats exchanged among food vendors and the
fairgoers. Everyone seemed to be very busy
and very happy. I decided to talk to some
food vendors to find out how the tough
economy affected their business. Here are
some of the surprising responses I heard
from the food vendors:
Story continued
below.
To
hear the music with the slide show, please turn on your
speaker.
Jeff of Dai Bai Dang Asian Street Cafe in
Fresno, said that business was great on
Saturday and good on Sunday. It was the
first time for Dai Bai Dang participating at
Big Hat Days.
Bassam Dakduk, owner of B. Food Int'L, San
Jacinto, CA, 4th year at this festival.
Philly Cheese Steak, Falafel, and Hot Links
looked really good at her booth. She also
said that business was great on Saturday and
good on Sunday.
It was easy to spot Paul B. Melton's booth,
Bushrod's Western Barbecue, from a distance
as the aromatic BBQ smoke was floating in
the air. His customers got the
delicious-looking ribs right off the hot
grill. Paul's catering company is in Fresno.
He has served his BBQ at Big Hat Days for
eight years. He said that the business was
good this year.
Fred Tatman, owner of Earthly Delights, Half
Moon Bay, CA, 4th year at this festival. The
Philly Cheese Steak and Parmesan Garlic
Fries looked and smelled so good at his booth. He also
said that the business was good this year.
Kim Sander's Taste of Paradise had set up a
Hawaiian-style hut to serve Hawaiian-style
shaved ice, gourmet coffee drinks, and fresh
fruit smoothies. Kim, a Clovis resident, has participated in Big
Hat Days for five years. She said that
business was "still good" this year, and
like all of the others, her booth was very
busy.
Funnel Cakes, hand-dipped Polish dogs, and
fresh potato chips and onion rings at
Katherine's Concessions were among the
popular food items at Big Hat Days.
Katherine's Concessions is family catering
business based in Reedley, CA. Sam, Desiree,
Taylor, and several other family members
have worked the booth at this festival for
twelve years. Sam said that business was
great on Saturday and good on Sunday.
Thai Food from AC Market, Fresno, CA,
offered egg rolls, chicken rice bowl,
teriyaki chicken sticks. Thanomchit was
working at the booth. It was his company's
first year participating at Big Hat Days. He
also said that business was great on
Saturday and good on Sunday.
Georges Trinchan, Executive Chef of Trinchan
Fresh Bistro in Fresno, offered BBQ
Brazilian- style pepper steak, chicken legs,
Brazilian rice, and Brazilian black bean
stew. These dishes looked, smelled, and
tasted delicious. Georges said that it was
his first year at Big Hat Days and it was
busy for his booth on Saturday.
As usual, there was a long line at the Olde
Tyme Kettle Korn booth. Brian Vang & Jeanie
Xiong are owners. Jeanie said that her
company has participated in Big Hat Days for
ten years. She said that business was good
on both days.
Peggy Sears makes all of the gourmet jams,
jellies, and pickles for the booth of Jammin'
JAMS. This company is based in Mariposa, CA.
Russell Juan, sales person, said that Jammin'
JAMS has came to Big Hat Days for three
years. He also agreed with the owners of
Olde Tyme Kettle Korn that business was good
on both days.
Bob Collins and Norb Moniz, Sr., are the
owners of Roasted Sweet Corn, The Corn
Specialist Company. They were really busy
husking corn and roasting it as fast as the
corn lovers lined up at the booth. Bob and
Norb said that business was good on both
days. At this booth, I met Bryan Collin,
Bob's nephew, who was from upstate New York.
He was vacationing here and helping out with
husking corn at this festival. Bryan said
that he liked Clovis because it reminded him
of his home town, and that he enjoyed Big
Hat Days very much.
Turtle Apples, Rocky Road Apples, M&M
Apples, Apple Pie Apples, Almond Toffe
Apples Oreo Apples, Bare Naked Apples,
Ultimate Dark Apples were the names of the
many types of beautiful and
delicious-looking gourmet caramel apples at
the booth of Delilah's. Delilah Martinez,
owner, said that this was her first time
participating in Big Hat Days and that
business was good on both days.
Away from the food alley, the Clovis
American Legion Cecil Cox Post 147 also did
well with their concession at the Post patio
on Big Hat Days this year. Over one hundred
loaves of Gilroy-style garlic bread were
sold out. They also sold out of their
popular trip-tip sandwiches on Saturday and
Sunday.
It was a pleasant surprise to see OceanSpray
at Big Hat Days. It was the first time for
OceanSpray to have its booth here. Fairgoers
helped themselves to OceanSpray's four new
flavors of juice and three new flavors of
Craisins.
It was great to see all of the food vendors
busy serving their food to their fans.
Let's talk about hats. After all, it was Big
Hat Days. I was so delighted to spot three
gracious ladies -- Victoria Howard, Holly
Foley, and Toni Lookabill, who were
strolling and mingling among the crowd. They
were wearing beautifully designed hats that
Sunday. Victoria's special pink hat has a
pink flamingo on the rim. As a Fresno
resident, she has come to Big Hat Days
frequently. Holly has a red big-rimmed hat
with red feathers. She lives in the Bay area
and has come to Big Hat Days five times.
Toni's red hat has a beautiful silver
butterfly pinned on it. She also lives in
the Bay area and has come to Big Hat Days
five times. Victoria, Holly, and Toni said
that they love the tradition of Big Hat Days
and plan to attend as many Big Hat Days as
they can.
Story continued
below.
To
hear the music with the slide show, please turn on your
speaker.
As far as pretty and fancy hats go, many
people at Big Hat Days would agree that
Linda Banzuelo has designed many beautiful
and unique hats. Linda is owner of Pretty
Fancy. It was amazing to see many elegant
Victorian-style hats with all the fancy and
lacy trimmings on them at Linda's booth. She
said that some of her hats won the Kentucky
Derby Hat Contest in Louisville, KY, in 2005
and 2006. She has participated in Big Hat
Days for eight years and has developed a
good following of many regular customers.
Linda also said that business was very good
on Saturday, and that she anticipated the
same on Sunday.
Story continued
below.
To
hear the music with the slide show, please turn on your
speaker.
It was such a great pleasure for me to see
so many smiles on the faces of fairgoers of
all ages on Big Hat Days. What an enjoyable,
family-fun affair! Hope to see you all at
2011 Big Hat Days.
Source:
www.ExperienceClovis.com
Copyright © 2010 JoAnne Green
Do
not republish or repost photos or text without written permission.
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http://www.experienceclovis.com/Fest/Fest_ArticleBigHatDays2010.htm
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Plagiarism is a crime.
Have an
Awesome Day and Experience in
Clovis and Central California!
Clovis is what every
small town aspires to be
when it grows up!SM
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Editor &
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Clovis
resident for 30 years
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