We went to the Saline Community Fair today for Preschool Day. Preschool Day is a great deal. Before 2:30, admission was $5 for ages 2 & Up and includes kiddie rides until 2:30 at no additional cost. They also had lots of kid friendly activities and entertainment.
When we arrived, Gemini was performing on stage, but our kids were more interested in the fire truck and then making and decorating rafts to float in the pool. Then we ventured into the animal tents. My daughter’s favorite part was collecting the stamps in her passbook as she saw the different animals. She was also interested in the eggs in the incubators which had chicks hatching out. There were also a few other stands we visited. Most notable was a local dentist who had sand necklaces the kids could make and was giving away balloons.
At 11, the rides opened. The rides were a similar lineup to those that were at the Ann Arbor Jaycees Carnival this year. My daughter loves rides and had been asking to do them since we arrived. She rode the alligator roller coaster, scrambler, the crazy sub, and went in the fun house with her friends before we took a lunch break.
She was disappointed that the pizza truck was not open at lunch time, but settled for a hot dog. Unfortunately, as I was getting lemonade and she was eating with a friend, she was stung by a bee on her finger. Her first bee sting, but fortunately no adverse reaction (aside from crying for about 15 min). One of our friends suggested using vinegar (which was available at the fries cart) on the sting. I was afraid it would sting, but it seemed to help. It took a while for her to calm down and eat, but she ended up being ok to stay. She was somewhat mollified by her friend giving her his Dora yogurt (and giving him her fries in return). But, she really turned the corner when she saw the experiments that the Hands On Museum had setup. The favorite activity seemed to be mixing water with food coloring in ice cube trays (talk about a simple activity to do at home). At this time, Colors the Clown had her animals setup & was making balloon animals.
Then we returned to the rides. The kids rode the carousel, the helicopters, scrambler again, and the flying elephants. During this time, her friends gradually left. However, my daughter was not ready to be done. She ended up riding the bees (a very short ride as some kids had unbuckled their seatbelt & the ride was stopped and she decided she was done & got out) and the train. Then she asked me to ride the TiltaWhirl with her. I was a bit skeptical because she was not a big fan the last time I took her on it. This time she loved it and I didn’t have to try to keep it from spinning.
Finally, we headed over for a treat, ice cream. Even the ice cream stand was in on the preschool deal with a single scoop for $1 instead of $3 for the regular size. We just snuck in under the wire at 2:27pm. In that area, was the kiddie tractor pull set to start at 2:30. So we signed up & received a participant ribbon. They did the 3 & 4 yr old girls first, so we didn’t have to wait long. She is not yet adept at pedaling, so she needed some help to make it down the course. For making it down, they got a second turn with more weight. This time, they only gave her a little help and she make it almost half way down the course. The contest was still going on when we left.
Overall, we had a great day and will definitely return next year on preschool day. Preschool day was definitely a bargain for us ($23 including admission, rides, lunch, & ice cream). We are also hoping to see the parade on Saturday in downtown Saline.
