Midway Moments: Seniors stack up fun in Lego contest

Editor’s note: Midway Moments is a column that looks at funny, unusual, inspiring — even embarrassing — moments at the 2016 Orange County Fair.

Friday was Seniors Day at the Orange County Fair, a time when the most seasoned of fairgoers got discounted admission tickets and — much to their surprise and amusement — free rides all day on the merry-go-round and La Grande Ferris wheel.

There also was a scheduled event just for seniors on the Meadows Stage, a sunny venue between The Trough (a beer stand) and a display-only tractor.

There, where even seniors wore wristbands to prove their age to buy beer, fair officials hosted the “2 Minutes to Win It” contest. The name was a take on Guy Fieri’s NBC game show “Minute to Win It.”

The seniors got twice the time for their adventure at the fair, and instead of Fieri and his spiked blond hair, Judy Hofmann of Anaheim Hills led the spectacle, adorned in an outfit that topped even Fieri’s spikes.

Hofmann, a 25-year fair worker, was dressed completely in neon green: pants, shirt, jacket — even earrings and sunglasses.

Twenty minutes before the 2 p.m. contest, a few seniors and other attendees sat at tables in front of the stage. Tunes more modern than the seniors were likely to recognize played before the music dimmed and Hofmann, microphone in hand, publicly lamented that Friday was the fair’s last-ever senior contest.

“Awww,” some in the crowd groaned.

The two-minute challenge was to stack Lego blocks with one hand. The tallest stack would win a Raising Cane’s gift card. Everybody got a ribbon.

“You must be a senior to sign up,” Hofmann said. “And if you are a senior and you’re sitting out there and you’re being very shy, don’t be. When you come to a fair, you always want to do silly, fun, crazy things. And if you pass it up, you’ll be sorry.”

She joked that sometimes there’s a “stampede” to sign up. (There wasn’t this time.)

“Don’t get hurt in the rush ... we’ve had a couple of minor injuries,” Hofmann cautioned.

Before the Lego-stacking challenge, Hofmann corralled some children — “seniors-in-training,” she called them — and non-senior adults for a hand jive, a pattern of hand moves associated with 1950s music. Even Sparkles Delight, one of the fair’s clowns, joined in the routine, which persisted for several minutes while the hand jive song from “Grease” played.

“Born to hand jive, baby!” the lyrics went.

When the song ended, Hofmann dismissed the group and bid them farewell with “We’ll see you in 50 years.”

The first contest was for women. Five signed up. The Lego blocks were Duplos, which, because they’re designed for infants and toddlers, are oversize compared with regular Legos.

“Sometimes people get very serious here,” Hofmann said. “Sometimes there’s some kicking and gouging. We want you to show good sportsmanship.”

The women did.

An upbeat song played as they stacked as fast as they could.

“This is a very exciting contest,” Hofmann said.

“Get the big one!” one woman shouted from the audience, urging a contestant to use the biggest brick.

Rita Wade of Palm Desert and Shannon Harper of Orange got to a point where their Lego towers were so tall they needed to stand to continue building them.

When it was over, Wade took first place. Harper was a close second.

“See how much fun it is?” Hofmann told the crowd.

“That was hot and heavy, folks,” added Betty Hart, an OC Fair program coordinator who organized the event.

Then it was the men’s turn. There was trash talking, at least at the beginning. One man’s tower fell on the table and broke. Another’s fell on his face.

In the end, Jeff Ziemba of Garden Grove achieved the tallest stack — “a skyscraper that will soon be owned by Donald Trump,” Hofmann proclaimed.

“No, I’m not building for Trump,” Ziemba clarified. “No thanks.”