Top 5 weirdest carnival prizes at the fair

Ah, carnival games. The Las Vegas of county fairs. And who can resist when they’ve got these gems up for grabs.

1. A surprised, winking or maniacally grinning ear of corn. With your choice of three expressions, how can you lose? Be warned, though. The grinning one looks directly into your soul and knows all your secrets.

2. Inflatable automatic weapons. Your options are purple — for the stylish junior mercenary— or camouflage because of course it comes in camouflage.

3. Wacky bananas: one with a fuzzy beard and top hat and one done up like a Rastafarian. Hmmm. That would make a great band name — as in, “I used to play bass for Rastafarian Banana.”

4. Continuing the fruit theme, we have ninja fruit, complete with headband a la Rambo (or the Karate Kid, depending on your generation).

5. It’s not a prize per se, but they have a dunking booth set up where the guy hurls insults as you hurl baseballs in a race to see whether you can drown him before he sends you spiraling into depression. Disclaimer signs warn, “If you can’t take a joke, walk away.” Done.

Honorable mention for irony: the plush $100 bill — to remind you of exactly how much you spent in order to win it.

What’s hot?

Electric City Cabaret performs a musical comedy showcase at noon on the 3 Rivers Stage. Wine lovers, that’s “cabaret,” not “Cabernet.” Although both can be fun.

Hit the grandstands early to catch the Exceptional Rodeo, where community members with disabilities get a taste of rodeo while they rub shoulders with the rodeo queens. Come back for Pepsi Night when Great Falls’ own Jesse Kruse is scheduled to ride. It’s a show you won’t want to miss.

It’s also a day for the kids to show off their furry friends. The afternoon is packed with a cat show, poultry show and pocket pets competition. What’s a pocket pet, you ask? Stop by the Exhibition Hall between 1 and 3 to solve this Scooby-Doo-worthy mystery.