Stop #4: The Ionia Free Fair - The World's Largest Free Fair (although parking will run you six bucks). Boy did this fair live up to its reputation too! For starters, we were located right next to the elephants (yes, real elephants - the world's largest land mammal!). These elephants might also have been the world's cleanest, as they were bathed via power-washer every morning just as the coordinators set up the HPSS tent and prepared the specimens for display!
The student coordinators were, admittedly, a bit nervous before the Free Fair. We weren't sure how we were going to handle a fair of such magnitude. However, local veterinarians from the Ionia area turned out for the fair and offered a helping hand to the HPSS - and they were great! Dr. Darcy Sobel arrived just as the extreme heat and humidity was starting to get to Ryan and Christina on Tuesday afternoon (a day on which no amount of lemonade could keep you cool). Dr. Sobel rejuvenated our enthusiasm and she even brought her own collection of specimens! The arrival of new radiographs, the world's largest (sensing a theme here?) bladder stone, tiny kitten embryos, and the ever-famous eyeball provided Ryan and Christina with shiny new items to share with the Ionia fair-goers!
Then on Wednesday, Dr. Jane Kapalczynski came by for the afternoon. Dr. K spent most of the afternoon taking fair-goers into the surgical suite to go through the surgical process with them - something they definitely enjoyed and the coordinators appreciated her doing! On Wednesday evening, Dr. Sobel returned to once again lend her expertise to the HPSS. So needless to say, the student coordinators had plenty of help! Why were we so worried?
With our extra real-vet helpers, we were able to talk to record numbers of you on Tuesday. The fair just grew more and more crowded as the night went on. We took advantage of the booming night life and showed off our radiograph view-boxes! Something about those bright lights really gathers attention.
On Wednesday and Thursday we had to deal with rain drops. We tried to keep our microscopes dry and held an umbrella over them as if they were our little children. A few times we actually moved the table inside the tent to keep everything else dry. Erin simply slid everything into the drawers of the bowie-unit - very handy. The drizzle let up though, and the crowds certainly didn't so we kept at it! The rain didn't damper the mood, and once again we heard from you, "This is the best thing I've seen at the fair" ! Although our favorite quote had to be, "I think I'm going to be sick . . . and I thought the rides were bad . . ."!
Thank you Ionia for another excellent fair! We hope we lived up to the greatness that is the Free Fair, as we aspire to be the World's Greatest Healthy Pet Surgical Suite!
The student coordinators were, admittedly, a bit nervous before the Free Fair. We weren't sure how we were going to handle a fair of such magnitude. However, local veterinarians from the Ionia area turned out for the fair and offered a helping hand to the HPSS - and they were great! Dr. Darcy Sobel arrived just as the extreme heat and humidity was starting to get to Ryan and Christina on Tuesday afternoon (a day on which no amount of lemonade could keep you cool). Dr. Sobel rejuvenated our enthusiasm and she even brought her own collection of specimens! The arrival of new radiographs, the world's largest (sensing a theme here?) bladder stone, tiny kitten embryos, and the ever-famous eyeball provided Ryan and Christina with shiny new items to share with the Ionia fair-goers!
Then on Wednesday, Dr. Jane Kapalczynski came by for the afternoon. Dr. K spent most of the afternoon taking fair-goers into the surgical suite to go through the surgical process with them - something they definitely enjoyed and the coordinators appreciated her doing! On Wednesday evening, Dr. Sobel returned to once again lend her expertise to the HPSS. So needless to say, the student coordinators had plenty of help! Why were we so worried?
With our extra real-vet helpers, we were able to talk to record numbers of you on Tuesday. The fair just grew more and more crowded as the night went on. We took advantage of the booming night life and showed off our radiograph view-boxes! Something about those bright lights really gathers attention.
On Wednesday and Thursday we had to deal with rain drops. We tried to keep our microscopes dry and held an umbrella over them as if they were our little children. A few times we actually moved the table inside the tent to keep everything else dry. Erin simply slid everything into the drawers of the bowie-unit - very handy. The drizzle let up though, and the crowds certainly didn't so we kept at it! The rain didn't damper the mood, and once again we heard from you, "This is the best thing I've seen at the fair" ! Although our favorite quote had to be, "I think I'm going to be sick . . . and I thought the rides were bad . . ."!
Thank you Ionia for another excellent fair! We hope we lived up to the greatness that is the Free Fair, as we aspire to be the World's Greatest Healthy Pet Surgical Suite!
No comments:
Post a Comment