Inside the Volusia County Fair

Their season is underway here in Central Florida. I love the fair and David Martin is starting his tour in Volusia County. Their fair celebrating 103 years. That's incredible. Joining us live right now to talk about the food, the entertainment, all of it. Hi, David. Yeah, they've got everything here, and it runs through next weekend. And so it's my sincere honor and pleasure to introduce you to a favorite at the fair. It is the Disconnected Canines, run by Jody and Lawrence Frederick out of St. Augustine, Florida. Celebrating how many years there, Lawrence? This is our 18th year at the Volusia County Fair. But you've been in operation as Disconnected Canines for many decades. 39 years as Disconnected Canines, and I started playing when I was 12, so this is my 57th year in the sport. God bless you. I love it. And so these dogs that you come out here on the field with, how many do you have in the trailer with you? We have 12 dogs in the show, and they are all adopted. All adopted, all fostered, all beauties, too. What's the story behind Luna here? Luna actually was in Animal Control Services up in St. Augustine. Jodi was there on another case that she was working on, saw this dog, thought she looked beautiful, and decided to adopt her. Came with the name Luna, and Jody says she met Luna on a lunar eclipse day. Yes, that is a true story, yes. So the name is appropriate, and it's sticking. And so is her attention to detail. She's jumping on her back. What a fabulous show. You do how many shows a day out here at the Volusia County? Weekdays, we're doing two, 5.30 and 7.30. Weekends, it's three. It's 12.30, 2.30, and 5.30. And you need that many shows a day because you guys are, no question about it, the most popular show out here. Well, there's other shows that are really good, too. Come on, you know? I know, but let's be honest. On a 530 on a Saturday night, it's standing room only, 360 degrees around the field. Yes, that is correct. It does get really packed here. And we have different dogs in every show, so it works out that people can come to different shows and see a completely different show each time. Now, this is interesting. Luna smelled my coffee probably near my, it spilled earlier. And she's like, I'm in the mood for some pumpkin spice creamer. And she, but she listened to Jody. Jody said, hey, come here. And she came right away. Yeah. And that's just because there's such a, you know, the drive and the wanting to play an attitude in her mind. She'll do just about anything to play Frisbee every day. What kind of breeds do you have there on the show? We have two Moodies, two Australian Shepherds, we've got a Belgian Malinois, a Pit Bull, a Pit Border Collie mix, and then Luna is a Catahoula Australian Shepherd mix, and then the rest of them are Border Collies. I love it. By the way, the show is no upgrade on the ticket. Just come here and get yourself into the fair now through Sunday and see these beautiful animals doing amazing tricks. Congratulations now on 39 years. Yeah, and it's still going strong, so that's the good thing. It's getting bigger and better every year. Yeah, it's like I told you earlier, I wish I was as successful 20 or 30 years ago. I could have been retired by now. I understand. By the way, K9Frisbee.com is the website if you want to reach out to Jody or Lawrence or any of the animals here. Do you have meet and greets after the stunts? We do. After each show, you can take pictures with the dogs. It's free. You can pet them. In certain circumstances, we will allow certain children to throw frisbees for the dogs as a birthday treat or they're special. needs or something like that. This is terrific. Ah, the disconnected canines here at the Volusia County Fair. John, Amy, and Danielle, now through Sunday. Don't miss the fun. It's good old family-friendly entertainment, and Luna is entertaining. Thanks again, Lawrence. Appreciate you. Great seeing you this year. Thank you for having us, and hopefully we'll see you in many more years to come. You will. We're not going anywhere, and neither are you. Back to you in the studio. All right, we're also seeing fair season get underway here in Central Florida as well. David Martin starting his tour in Volusia County where they are celebrating 103 years. That is incredible. So he joins us live right now to tell us all about the food, the rides, and it looks like the entertainment too. Hey, David. You took the words out of my mouth. Good work, Stephanie. You're absolutely right. Entertainment is, like, incredible at the Volusia County Fair, now celebrating 103 years. New to the fair this year, the Fearless Flores Thrill Show, starring Zianna Selene Flores. How are you, Zianna? I'm good. How are you? Just fine. If you don't mind, I never ask a lady their age, but I have to tell our audience, how old are you? I am 15 years old. 15? 19 years old. And what are you holding there? A bling bling helmet? Yes, sir. It looks great on you. So how long have you been riding a motorbike? I've been riding inside the cage for like 10 years. I've been riding since I was five. Oh, my goodness. That is the globe of death. You're about to get in it for us and do some stunt work. But you like this. This is what you do. Yep. It's my favorite thing. When you were five, what was it that spoke to you about the noise, the gas, and the fearless globe of death? Just... Everything. The fact that my entire family did it, it kind of just... You're multi-generational. Yeah, yeah. It's in the family blood. You're in your DNA. All right. You feeling good this morning on this Monday? I am, I am. Is the globe of death ride off? Yes, sir. Okay, put the helmet on, go start warming up, and we'll talk to you afterwards. Good luck. In the meantime, let me introduce the audience to Ronnie Hall, who's the general manager of the fair here in Volusia County, DeLand. How you doing, my friend? I'm doing great. Thank you. I want to show the audience what this place looks like at night because it's a stunner, right? Oh, it is beautiful. Great weather. It's just awesome to see. It is. Now, the fair runs through Sunday. You had opening weekend. How did it go? It's been great. It's been phenomenal. Great crowds, great entertainment, all new acts. It's just exciting to see the kids. Yeah, and it's affordable, family-friendly entertainment, isn't it? Yes, sir, it is. With all the advanced sales, discounts, nightly to get into the fair, you can literally come out and spend six hours for $10. Yeah, and make sure you eat, too, because fair food is the bestest. All right, so is there a website we can get back for tickets and all that stuff? Yes, sir. Go right to volusiacountyfair.com. All right, and make sure you get on the zipper. That's my favorite ride at the Midway. Ronnie Hall, always a pleasure to see you. Thanks for opening up the fairgrounds for us this morning. All right, let's go meet Syndel. Syndel, Syndel. Syndel, what was your middle name? Syndel Sabrine Flores. You're the sister of... Zianna. Zianna. Miss Zianna. And so you also ride. I do. Yep. I've been riding inside for a little over 20 years. 20 years. My goodness gracious. So should we point to your sister and give her a show? Yeah. On the count of three. Three, two, one. The show is yours, Zianna. I will take a step away from here. So what exactly do you describe going on here? What is this? So right now she's inside the Globe of Death. We are a third generation stuntman. At a young 15 years old, she's amazing. I love the way her helmet sparkles. Oh absolutely, she wants everyone to know that she is just as good as the boy is in there. Yeah, I bet. I don't think I've ever interviewed A woman, a young woman in the Globe of Death. I asked her if she goes upside down. She goes, no, I can't go upside down. Come on out and come say hi. That's wonderful. Let her out of that Globe of Death here. The Fearless Flores Show. It's fearlessflores.com. They're out of Sarasota, Florida. And so how many shows a day do you do? So on the weekdays, we're going to be doing two shows, 6 o'clock and 8 o'clock. And then on the weekends, we have three shows. So, how was opening weekend for you? Did you have a good crowd? It was great. There were so many people. They were so excited. And you tell them your age when you get in there? I do. There you are. They all want to get your autograph because you're the next best thing. Congrats on this. Wonderful job. Thank you. Thank you. Again, that is the Fearless Flores Thrill Show, part of the Volusia County Fair, now through Sunday, 103 years. In fact, how many years has your family been doing this, you think? Oh, wow. You know what? I have no idea because we are a 10th generation circus. 10? 10? Well, you didn't have those ten generations ago. No, no, no, but we are third-generation daredevil stunts, things like that. You might have had horses ten generations ago. That might be a way to do it, horses in the globe of death. All right. Let's talk about fair season where I want, I don't know, a fried Oreo or something. So fair season is underway here in central Florida officially. Yep, David Martin is starting his tour in Volusia County, 103 years old for this fair. He is joining us. I thought you were going to say David's 103, but he's not. He's joining us live this morning to tell us about all the cool things you can see and do there. And David, I told him, Chi-Chi's. And it was funny because you said that and another viewer also said she wants Chi-Chi's to come back. Yeah, wasn't there, Amy, a Lums in Ohio? I thought maybe you would know that one. Oh, are you talking about like an old-style buffet kind of place, right? Yeah, exactly. Lums. Maybe it's Lums. I don't know. It doesn't matter. But bring back Chi-Chi's. Glad they're coming back. Well, speaking of Chi-Chi's, say hi to Ronnie Hull, who's the general manager. Terrible pivot. He's the general manager of the Volusia County Fair in DeLand, Florida. He's been here since the beginning, since the year 1923. No, but it's exciting to be here so long. That's what your bio says. Yeah, I'm getting old. I mean, so, obviously, what was the first thing they featured in 1923? Obviously, as you know, Ag and education. That is the most important foundation. That's still the cornerstone of this fair. But before we get to the animals, let's remind our friends that you've got until Sunday to enjoy great fair food. What's the best item in the Midway to eat? What's the craziest thing to fry? Yeah, anything fried. Pickled pizza. Bacon on a stick, I mean, come on, whatever you want. And then you eat that and go ride the rides on the Midway. We're looking at some video right now that Paolo shot a few years back. You'll have to re-eat again. Oh, man. That's funny, actually. And not for good reasons, but yes. So keep that food in your tummy if you're going to go in the midway. What are tickets costing? What do you get in for? $15 for adults. Go online, find the discounts. You can get in for $10. Oh, my gosh. It's affordable family fun. I love it. It's the start of fair season around Central Florida. But yeah, as we mentioned before, animals, ag, 4-H, that's a big deal around here. So let's go down into row A and B to remind our audience why we're here. And Ronnie, what's going on in this pavilion right now, right now? So right now, daily, these exhibitors must care for these animals. And daily, it is done from 6 a.m. all the way up to showtime, whether it's a 5 or 7 p.m. show. And these kids have to come out, bathe, feed, water, clean pens, check on their animals. They are everything from mom, dad to vets. They need the nurture and care for them, and they do. Oh, my goodness. So we're talking about students here, high school students, essentially. All exhibitors are 5 to 18 years of age. 5 to 18. I found a 5-year-old right here. What's your name? My name's Lily. Lily, how old are you for real? I'm 17. And what school do you go to? I go to Pine Ridge High School. Pine Ridge High School, home of the? Panthers. I knew that. Who are you holding right there? That's adorable. I have a market lamb. Aww. What's her name? Raider. Raider. Him or her? It's a him. It's a him. Okay. Well, you're so cute, Raider. Oh, this is great. So you allow the public when they come out to the fair to walk these corrals? Yes, they can come into the barn daily except during show times. That way we can move the animals to the show ring and they can walk the exhibitors. Show their animals and show all their attributes. Let's start with one right here. Hi, what's your name? Brindley. Where do you go to school? DeLand Middle. DeLand Middle, home of the? Terriers. Okay, who do you have here? This is Tex. Tex? I love the name. What is Tex? A Hampshire lamb. I knew that. I knew that, Ronnie. And so, how old is Tex? Eleven months. Eleven months. And look at the leg warmers. Those are adorable. Thank you. Did you make those? No, I bought them for my friend. Alright. So they do dress up the animals to some degree, do they? Well, it's also care. They want to protect the animals, temperature, regulate their body temperature, keep them as comfortable as possible. Why is it so important to have kids ages 5 to 18 be part of this? Well, that's the cornerstone of society. We have to educate our public to understand how we feed our country, how we take care of animals. Some animals need more care than others. And it's so exciting to see you today learning those trades. All right, let's go into this one here. I'll let you open it up here. We've got 30 seconds left to show the big animals here. Who do we have in this area? We're getting into our heavyweight market, Steve. All right, well, I guess there's some frozen food at the fair as well, because David froze. You know, the goats are known to eat wire. That's great to hear. They do, too. They're adorable. But I love seeing all those 4-H students. I think, you know, a lot of times we forget about, like, these programs are still very popular, very active. There's a great Central Florida farming community, and so love to see that. Good luck to all the kids who are showing their animals.