Photos by Julia Aron


Our first stop is some sort of corn stand, where they smother the corn in mayonnaise and sprinkle it with spices. I’m game and Julia and I decide to share one between us. Somehow, we end up with something completely different – a corn soup of sorts. We go with it and it’s tasty - though I’ve never quite tasted anything like it.

The fair is jammed with people, rides, games, music, fair-workers on loudspeakers trying to entice people into playing their games. It’s no different than a fair you’d see in the states, except for the spinning sombrero ride!

After our corn extravaganza, we settle on a cross between quesadillas and tacos. The shell is doughier than a tortilla, almost sponge-like. There’s pork or beef. Gillian asks for one with just cheese and relieved, I follow suit. I would’ve eaten chicken, but pork, beef……no thanks.

The food is pretty good and there is no water to buy, so I settle on a tapioca-type drink and Julia orders a Jasmine tea-type of drink. We pay for our meal, which for the four of us, is around $10 – and head over to the town center where the fireworks are scheduled to start.

I haven’t been this close to fireworks for as long as I can remember. Living in NYC, you’re lucky to get a good spot on a roof deck on the 4th of July to watch the fireworks display. Here, it feels almost overwhelming to be so close to the noise and the actual launching site, which is not more than a few thousand feet from where we stand.

Somewhere along the way, we lose Gillian and it’s just Julia, Ron, Matt and myself. The guys are ready to head over to the beach to continue the party, but Julia and I are wiped out. We bid them good-bye and head home with me crossing my fingers that my street food experience will not come back to haunt me.