Bannock County Fair in Downey continues through Saturday

DOWNEY — After traversing along the blacktop of Interstate 15 and viewing the olive-colored vistas of distant mountains and stretching fields of sagebrush, a road stretches into the town of Downey and leads travelers to the Bannock County Fairgrounds.

Under the rolling clouds that dot the vibrant blue sky are several buildings, the exited chatter of children escaping out of one of the covered corrugated steel structures from which a magician is performing fantastical tricks that delight the young audience.

Nearby, the bleating of sheep marries with the sounds of neighing horses, the quacking of ducks and the deep resonations of mooing cows that lay blissfully in their covered stalls. The animals of the fair stir idly, beautiful mares and handsome stallions whinny in their pens, the goats curiously approach passersby, inspecting outreached hands with breathful smells.

The theme this year for the Bannock Fair is Barnyard Beach Party and the corridors of pens that house these delightful critters are decorated with rainbow beach balls, tropical trappings and everything you’d expect from a beachside soiree under the sun.

The fair runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Saturday and offers an assortment of other fun activities including a hypnotist act, fly fishing competitions, treasure hunts, musical performances and chicken shiz bingo. A few of the bigger events include a car show, the Bannock County Fair Rodeo and a trash car exhibition.

The usual fair foods delight the troves of children and adults alike that tromp across the fairgrounds, indulging in snow cones with wild flavors like Mango Tango, Northern Lights, Pizzaz, Pink Flamingo and Tidal Wave. The smells of barbecue meat, Mexican street corn and plenty of sizzling fair food fills the air, inviting patrons to partake in the delicious cuisine.

Vendors sell a variety of goods, many of them homemade, including cute cross-stitch stuffed creations, leather goods, jewelry, toys, colorful sweet sodas and neon popcorn. The hometown discount price is reflected in every good and service here.

Next to the mechanical bull, which looks peculiarly realistic under the hot sun, a large steel tower emits a constant wave of bubbles, which float listlessly over the expanse of the fairgrounds.

In one forlorn corner of a grassy field rests a long trailer, which is designed to look like a pirate ship and houses the three eccentric aquatic stars of Sea Lion Splash.

The Texas-based company utilizes four different units across the United States, stopping in places like California, Kentucky, Alabama, Washington, Idaho and even as far as Florida. Sea Lion Splash has 17 sea lions in total with 9 that travel with these troupes, performing for the delight of audiences.

The creatures featured in this enchanting animal showcase include a 22-year-old sea lion named Stella from South America, an 8-year-old sea lion from California named Kika and a young 4-year-old sea lion named Gouda, also from California.

“You’re going to see a lot of funny and happy things happening with the sea lions,” show coordinator Frank Martin said. “We teach them to do their natural behaviors but on cue, it’s an educational show that has lots of laughs (featuring) all three of our sea lions. We have two Californians and one South American. All three are rescues that would not have survived in the wild. Two went blind, one was an orphaned pup and so they travel around and help rescue other sea lions by raising funds for the organization.”

Thanks to the efforts to rescue, these charismatic aquatic friends can live full and enriching lives that they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to have in the wild due to their ailments. One of the performers, Stella, was affected by pollution and went blind while Kika was orphaned as a pup. Other rescues include survivors of shark attacks. Each sea lion has a different background and a different story.

“Stella was the first sea lion to have corrective eye surgery in the world,” Martin said. “That was done at SeaWorld in San Diego. They were able to fix one eye, not the other, so she still has cataracts in one. Gouda was completely blind and they fixed both eyes partially, so she doesn’t have perfect vision. She still has a little cataracts but she can see now, but they don’t see well enough to be released back into the wild.”

While the Sea Lion Splash organization didn’t want to spoil all the fun that guests can expect at one of their shows, they did reveal that each sea lion exhibits around 70 different behaviors for audiences to enjoy including a bit of splashing, ball balancing and plenty of laughter.

“Just looking at the sea lions, they are really beautiful,” lead trainer Nicky Fuentes said. “They’re magnificent. They are enticing to people. Sometimes people say that they are like a big dog. The sea lions in the showcase (exhibit) how clever, how intelligent, how beautiful and how fast they can be. It highlights their natural behaviors.”

Shows for Sea Lion Splash are on Wednesday and Saturday at noon and 3 p.m. as well as Thursday and Friday at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. For more information on any of the fair events, vendors or locations you can visit bannockcounty.us/fairgrounds .