Youths: Fair is place to be

The Octopus seemed like the ride of choice for teenagers looking for a thrill at the Roosevelt County Fair.

CMI photo Christina Calloway

Portales High School drum line members entertain the crowd to raise money for their band at the Roosevelt County Fair Friday afternoon. From left: James Idsinga, Marcos Lopez, Eric Sawyer, Edgar Estrada and Ty Bergman.

Portales Junior High School student Zackery McClendon said that was clearly the best ride, but his friend Korbin Baldridge had his eyes set on the Ferris wheel for other reasons.

“I have to kiss a girl tonight on the Ferris wheel,” Baldridge vowed, adding he was close to getting one last year but didn’t.

Baldridge and his crew walked the fairgrounds like they owned them and from their confident attitudes to the Portales High School drum line that played elsewhere on the grounds, it was evident that youth ruled the fair Friday night.

Bryce Hoover said he did not have the same plans as his friend Baldridge.

“I came to have fun,” Hoover said. “I’ve got to keep it innocent, because my parents read the paper.”

While Baldridge and friends were looking for the girls, Portales High School student Tori Alvarado said she and her friends came to socialize.

“(Friday night is) just when everyone’s got to be here,” Alvarado said.

Alvarado walked the fair with her girlfriends Kamryn McClary and Arcelia Serrano. They said there was more rides than last year but they still weren’t good enough.

“There’s only a couples of rides that I’d actually but other than that, the selection is not good,” Alvarado said. “There needs to be more appropriate rides for our age group.”
 

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