Tag Archives: los angeles county fair

Hacienda Heights woman’s a big winner at Los Angeles County Fair

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Francine Rippy of Hacienda Heights figures she has won more than 1,000 ribbons at the Los Angeles County Fair. And this year is no different for the 75-year-old, who won 24 blue ribbons.

“I’ve been doing this a long time, more than 60 years,” Rippy said.

Of course, she has had decades of experience canning and preserving food. She learned as a teenager, growing up on a farm in Santa Fe Springs, now the Hathaway Museum.

“We had fruit orchards, so I learned how to can preserves, jams and jellies,” Rippy said. “We also raised horses, chickens and the calves from our milk cows.”

This early experience has served the Hacienda Heights woman well over the years. Her jellies, jams and preserves consistently win blue ribbons at the Los Angeles County Fair. She says she has won sweepstakes award 13 times.

“She is dedicated to the craft of preserved foods and we are honored that she continues to share that talent and passion with everyone here at the Los Angeles County Fair,” said Shanell Fuquay, Community Relations Coordinator.

Fuquay said the fair’s records don’t go back very far, but Rippy has won the sweepstakes for easily the past 5 years or more. That would have to be a record, Fuquay said.

Today, Rippy receives fresh fruit from friends and neighbors. She keeps her canning utensils ready because you never know when berries will ripen. The avid canner just finished making some blackberry jam.

Read more in Rich Irwin’s story RIPPY

Diamond Bar veteran honored for work on 9/11

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By Richard Irwin, Staff Writer

Diamond Bar is honoring it’s own 9/11 hero today at the Los Angeles County Fair. The fair committee thought it was fitting since Diamond Bar Day fell on the anniversary of this tragic event.

“We wanted to find someone who had responded to the 9/11 attack as a tribute to those who died that day,” said committee member Pamela Robinson.

The committee had a hard time locating a local person, until they talked to a resident during a Concert in the Park this summer.

“Khai Luu said he had been a platoon leader assigned to protect the Pentagon and the Capitol after the 9/11 attack,” Robinson recalled. “He agreed to help us pay tribute to our 9/11 responders.”

The Diamond Bar resident had been serving as a young lieutenant with the 274th Military Police Company in Washington, D.C.

“I was working for the District of Columbia’s National Guard,” Luu explained. “Before attending officer candidate school, I had served four years as an enlisted man.”

Unfortunately, Luu was participating in an exercise at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri when the attack occurred.

“It was an ‘aw shucks’ moment, I felt profound guilt and loss when I found out about the attack,” he remembered. “But they let us graduate early so we could help out in Washington.”

He was hoping to be one of the first to make it back, but Luu said it took a week to return to the D.C. barracks.

“I was given command of a reinforced platoon of 60 soldiers to help guard the Pentagon and Capitol buildings,” Luu said. “The Capitol Police were happy to have the help, because we didn’t know what would happen next.”

Luu was stunned to see a section of the Pentagon destroyed after being struck by an airliner. Another had targeted the Capitol, but crashed in western Pennsylvania when the passengers rushed the cockpit.

For more, read Rich Irwin’s story 9/11.

L.A. County Fair salutes Diamond Bar, Walnut

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Walnut High School Band participates during the West Covina and Walnut Day last year at the Los Angeles County Fair.

 By Monica Rodriguez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

High school marching bands, parades and a chance to honor outstanding residents from communities across the Inland Valley and beyond are some of the features of the Los Angeles County Fair’s Community Days.

A total of 16 cities plus Los Angeles County will have a day dedicated to them. Diamond Bar will march in on  Sept. 11, followed by Walnut on Sept. 26.

As part of the Community Days program, residents are able to purchase tickets for $5 when they present their city’s Community Day coupon at the ticket booth on the day their city is being honored. Tickets can also be purchased online.

 

 

“That’s a great value,” said Fair spokeswoman Renee Hernandez.

Each city’s celebration is organized with the involvement of its Community Committee, she said.

At each city’s celebration residents are recognized for their contributions during Community Heroes ceremonies.

The cities’ high school marching bands participate in Community Day parades as do service organizations, nonprofit groups and other members of the community.

Local businesses also participate through Business Expos organized on a city’s day of recognition.

 

 

Community Days are part of nurturing community spirit, Hernandez said.

Nine of the cities that are part of the Fair’s Community Day program also participate in the Big Yellow Bus Partnership Program.

With the help of this program, school districts in the nine cities receive assistance to pay for transportation to take their students to the Fair, Hernandez said.

Once at the Fair students can take part in the FairKids Field Trip Program, which is open to all schools free of cost as well as to students who are home-schooled.