On first arrival, the Galveston County Fair is always the largest
and loudest portion of the fair grounds. Rides and silly games
played for stuffed toys make for great fare.
Here is another picture showing
this cool inflated boat for kids.
For as long as I can remember (and almost as long as I have been on Earth), the Zimmerman's have competed in that yearly extravaganza, the Galveston County BBQ Cookoff. My aunt and uncle go to great lengths to make the event great fun for all of us, and it I look forward to it every year as a chance to see family, eat some great Texas BBQ brisket, and enjoy boiled crawfish.
In the year 2002, 285 teams (or families) entered the BBQ cookoff. Over a hundred had to be turned away due to a lack of space.
On first arrival, the Galveston County Fair is always the largest
and loudest portion of the fair grounds. Rides and silly games
played for stuffed toys make for great fare.
Here is another picture showing
this cool inflated boat for kids.
Over on the cookoff grounds, my family's stand is always well decorated
by my aunt and uncle. For most of the 80s, 90s, it was notable
for the German decorations.
Here is a picture of oma and opa.
Here are some of the hand-decorated
stand-up folks. You can see the grill in the background. It has
the words "Party Animals" written on it, a testimony to the age
of the grill. Here is a picture of my cousin Trey,
wearing the old official apron, and here is
my grandpa relaxing with a friend at one of our tables.
Recently, they have begun to change the theme. In 2006, a "BBQ in Jimmy Buffet's Paradise" theme was adopted, and looked great. Here are some photos of the new setup: 1, 2, 3.
Around the rest of the grounds are the rigs of other teams who
believe somehow they can compete with my uncles brisket and
sausage. Shown here is one flying the Six Flags.
Here is a western-style saloon.
Here is an interesting grill
indeed! Here is a nice olde
double-grill with a Texas decoration. Here is
the spot where my great aunt Margaret and
her family competes. And here is the booth where all the judging took place.
Another noteable attraction is the Tecate Beer Jalepeno-eating contest. Started in 2003, my
old father took the prize in 2004 and 2005. When he was too ill to attend in 2006, my cousin
Trey had to step in and take the prize. Here is a photo
of him with his 2006 trophy. If you visit the Houston chronicle, and search their
2005-2006 Archives for "Fred Zimmerman", you'll find a great article about it all.
The livestock show is also a main event of the day. Shown here is
one of my cousins (Sara) with her prize-winning pig "Onee". Also
here were Sara's chickens,
and some prize winning
bulls,
bunnies,
chickens,
goats,
lambs,
pigs,
turkeys,
and more goats!
And last is the rodeo, which starts around
8pm in the evening. Before the competition
started, there were a couple of shows put on for the crowd. One involved the klydesdale horses shown here, and another involved a horse-riding drill team. Although I didn't get any good pictures, here is an attempt at a picture of a horseman roping a calf.
This web page was brought to you by the crawfish. And by Trey, Michelle, her little girl, Aunt Patti, cousins Bambi and Lindsey, and by any other family that would hold still for pictures. If you find anything in here you have questions or comments about, feel free to leave me email right here.
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