Portland Rose Festival CityFair (on the Waterfront)

 CityFair is too expensive. Serioualy. That was my main takeaway.

The average ride takes 9 tickets, but this extra cool ride where you lie on your stomach like you are hang gliding is 10.

To some extent you expect this kind of thing to be overpriced, but when I compare it to the Washington County Fair, for example, where you could at least get in free, then it seems like a bad bargain.

The fair does have some bands sectioned off, where there is extra admission, and here all of the entertainment is included, so that is one thing, but it also means different nights have different admission fees based on who is playing.

However, it is still an important part of the Portland year, and you may want to participate. Therefore, it is important to look for the bargains.

Most of that involves buying a pin at Fred Meyer for unlimited entry, and then a wristband on line for unlimited rides and three games.

 (I admit to being impressed that the wristband includes any games.)

That will not help you with food. Turkey legs were $13. They are less at Disneyland. (Though park entry is more, but it also covers more.) The $8.50 jumbo elephant ears truly were jumbo, though that made for some really crispy sections.

The biggest entertainment bargain was probably this video game and pinball arcade, where it was only 25 cents per game. Yes, you can get that at Ground Kontrol, but there was no Crystal Castles here to distract me from every other games while I tried fruitlessly to reach the end. (That's a personal problem.)

My personal favorite was Summer's Cotton Candy Art, where you could have cotton candy spun into various characters and creations. Also, they have steamed buns and fried ice cream.

I was not able to find more information, although it appears they did have a booth at the Bite of Bend.

One warning, though, cotton candy art is ephemeral. I carried this duck carefully, with no squishing, and by the time I got home he had shrunk down into a parakeet/lovebird, something like that.

Perhaps that makes it most emblematic of summer fun.

Or maybe the most emblematic part was when two little boys came off of a ride and asked their mother if they could go yet. She pointed and told them to go on another ride, and the oldest asked, "Then can we go?"

Outings don't always work out the way you want. That's one more good reason to look for discounts.

http://www.rosefestival.org/waterfront/city-fair