[ WEEKEND ]
E.K. Fernandez Shows brings in a new ride to this year's state fair. For $10, the "Drop Zone" will give riders a feeling of weightlessness. Starr Wedemeyer was one of the first to try the ride.
‘Drop Zone’ big
draw at fair
IMAGINE cruising to a height of 120 feet over Halawa Valley with eight of your closest friends. The Ewa plain stretches out majestically in one direction, and cars become smaller and smaller on the nearby H-1 Freeway as you get farther away from the ground below.
Suddenly, just as the passenger compartment you're strapped into seems to ease its way to a stop, a feeling of weightlessness briefly overcomes you -- and then you're back at ground level.
50th State Fair
Where: Aloha Stadium Parking LotWhen: 6 p.m. to midnight Fridays; noon to midnight Saturdays and Sundays through June 20 (also noon to midnight May 31 and 6 p.m. to midnight June 10)
Cost: $3 for ages 12 and up; $2 for ages 4 to 11 years old; free for keiki 3 and under
Call: 682-5767
Other highlights
(Call 682-5767 for information)» "Hawaii Auto Show," featuring a selection of vehicles from JN Automotive Group.
» Tony the Tiger of Kellogg's cereal makes an appearance, 1 to 3 p.m. May 29.
» Garfield the cat will be at the fair, 1 to 3 p.m. June 19 and June 20.
» Two teen dance parties, 7 to 10 p.m. tonight and June 18, with radio station 104.3 XME and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. » KCCN FM-100 hosts the "Overdrive Live Concert," 7 to 10 p.m. June 5, with live entertainment by Keahiwai, the Next Generation, Ho'onu'a and B.E.T.
» "Military Appreciation Day," noon to 6 p.m. Monday.
Welcome to the "Drop Zone."
"E.K. FERNANDEZ Shows has gone NASA, baby!" says Scott Fernandez, whose company produces the annual 50th State Fair that opened yesterday in the parking lot of Aloha Stadium. "It's very, very thrilling -- it's like a late takeoff on a big wave.
"It's difficult to describe ... you're absolutely weightless. You come off the seat," he said.
This year marks the first time Hawaii residents will be able to experience the "Drop Zone," which takes advantage of hydrogen-filled rams to help propel passengers towards the ground at over 60 feet per second, before a magnetic braking system stops the ride from crashing into the ground.
Fernandez compares the feeling of weightlessness on the ride to the thrill of bungee jumping, without the "what-the-heck-am-I-thinking" feeling of strapping yourself into a harness and jumping off the top of a building.
"By the time you're ready to scream, the ride is over and you're safely on the ground," he said. "It's something for the whole family ... it's not super extreme, but it's one of the most exciting rides we've had in the last four years."
It'll cost an additional $10 to ride the "Drop Zone" during the fair (the price drops to $5 per ride on Memorial Day), but the third generation show promoter promises that it's worth the extra money for an experience that may not return to the islands ever again.
"It's one of those rides that's addictive," said Fernandez. "(But) it's only here for the state fair, and then it's over, gone."
ALSO NEW this year is "John Strong's World of Wonders Sideshow," a throwback to when carnivals and state fairs across the country used to rely on live shows to keep people entertained.
"(The sideshow) used to be a staple," says John Strong, who arrived in Honolulu earlier this week with six other performers, including a contortionist, who also performs as "Spider Girl," the "Electric Woman," "Human Blockhead" and an escape artist listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. "Forty years ago, it was all shows ... very few rides," he said.
And if those performers aren't strange enough to get you into Strong's tent at the fair, maybe a man who lays on a bed of broken nails or a woman who can blow smoke and water out of her eyes will convince you.
"The island has never seen anything like this for over 21 years," said Strong. That was the last time E.K. Fernandez Shows featured an authentic sideshow at one of its events.
"We see a variety of older people, teenagers, families," he said. "Everybody likes the sideshow."
AND AFTER a five-year absence, the "Marcan Tiger Preserve Bengal Tigers Show" returns to Hawaii for three daily performances (3, 7 and 10 p.m.) during the fair's four weekend run.
Nine Bengal tigers will be unloaded from a container ship this morning before making their way to a special 40-foot arena that's been erected on the grounds at Aloha Stadium.
Among the animals scheduled to perform are standard (orange with black stripes) and white (white with black stripes) Bengal tigers, a pair of golden tabby (gold with reddish stripes) Bengal tigers and three of only 20 snow white (white with almost indistinguishable stripes) Bengal tigers left on the planet.
Handler Mike Inks will work with trainer Andy Spolyar while the tigers are here, and insists that the animals enjoy performing almost as much as the crowds that attend their shows enjoy watching them.
"They're very aware that people are out there," said Inks. "They're definitely different (during) the show than they are during the rest of the day.
"If the crowd is really into it" during a performance, he continues, the tigers "act very different ... they're much more animated."
Don't believe him? Admission to the tiger exhibit is free, and Inks welcomes observers to hang out even when the animals aren't performing in front of a crowd.
"It's kind of a big thing with us," he said. "There's a big misconception of how animals are dealt with, and we try to counter that by explaining in detail what we do with the animals and why we do it."
"We do everything out in the open," said Inks. "If people have any questions about how they're taken care of, they can see."
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