By Mike Bodine
Register Staff
9-3-2009

The Tri-Couny Fair begins today, but it’s not the only fair in the state raining accolades on Inyo County.
The Inyo County exhibit at the State Fair in Sacramento earned a gold medal ribbon, as well as some well deserved attention. The state fair’s theme this year was “Weird, Wild and Wacky” and Inyo,   with its wide array of bizarre and untamed attractions, was a perfect fit, according to exhibit organizers.
Rich White, who, along with his wife Kathy, have been in charge of the exhibit for the last five years, said that this is the first time in a decade the Inyo exhibit has taken a gold at the state event. The State Fair, which runs Aug. 21 through Sept. 7, is attended by more than 30 counties and nearly 30,000 people a day.
White and volunteers use minimal county funds to set up a display which stands up to the other county exhibits that use much more resources and funding.

The “Best of Show” ribbon, for example, went to Solano County who had four county employees, including electricians from its Building Department, working five days a week for four weeks to construct its exhibit, White said.

The Inyo County exhibit at the 2009 California State Fair in Sacramento. The county earned a gold ribbon – the first in a decade – for its display. Photo submitted

The Inyo exhibit, constructed by volunteers, features a taste of everything the county has to offer, from hunting and fishing to hiking, with spotlights on the weird and wacky.
White explained Inyo seemed to cover all the bases with the fair’s theme. The exhibit featured displays of the “wild” backcountry of the mountains and deserts, the “weirdness” of the
Amargosa Opera House and  other Death Valley lore, to the “wacky” Independence Fruitcake Festival.
The Fruitcake Festival really stirs the curiosity of passersby, White said.
The Inyo exhibit is a wealth of information about the area.
There is a relief map, fliers and several videos. Sierra Wave TV has supplied a short video of the California High School Rodeo Association finals held in Bishop. White explained that the rodeo footage is popular since the state fair, like many fairs, is steeped in agriculture.
There is a short video of Death Valley, and another video produced exclusively for the exhibit by the Manzanar National Historic Site.
The 15-minute video shown to visitors at the Lone Pine Museum of Film History is played for fairgoers behind a black curtain, to give viewers some intimacy and to let them hear the video over the ruckus of the fair.
Not only is the exhibit a way to show the rest of the state what the county has to offer, but also a chance to dis-spell some misconceptions about the area. For example, White explained that many who saw the Death Valley video assumed the county must be an oven, when in fact, the temperatures in the county are similar to Sacramento.
And, several of these displays were on show at the Exposition Center that highlighted all the state’s counties. This bigger display attracted more interest in the Inyo display, White explained.  
White added that the volunteers are dedicated at the Inyo booth, constantly manning the display for 10- to 12-hour shifts. Some exhibits only had staffing a couple hours a day.
White, a former business owner in Independence, said he puts in the long hours and time away from home because, “I’m very interested in having the county and local businesses be financially successful, and with tourism driving the local economy, this seems like the way to go.”  
White added he’d keep coming back as long as the county pays the expenses.
White’s only complaint: “I wish this fair was on a different weekend, because I want to go to the Tri-County Fair some time.”