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Viewfinder: The Wildest Collections at the Santa Cruz County Fair

Forget comics and baseball cards, these collectors go for some things you'd never expect.

 
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Keeping it all in the family, Dakota Keldsen, 7, collects Dale Earnhardt, Jr. cars and won two prizes at the fair.
Photos (17)

Photos

Star Trek second floor; Kiss collection in the basement.
All the Mad magazines you could read in a lifetime.
Even when the winners aren't there, they leave award-winning letters to those looking at the collections.
Pez, pez and more pez.
No Photoshop here: This toy collection is just that colorful.
Dennis Keldsen, Jr., 10, from Watsonville, has been collecting Dale Earnhardt cars, since, well, before he was born, his mother said. The family saved cars for him and he proudly continued the tradition.

The Santa Cruz County Fair rewards not just what you make, but what you gather.

Tucked away behind the prize-winning quilts and photographs is a collection of collections.

People pay $1.50 to submit the things they've gathered over the years and a group of judges ranks them a few weeks before the fair. Then the winners are displayed in cases at the fair.

One of the winners didn't even know he'd won until he walked into the room before going to the concert Wednesday night.

Related Topics: Santa Cruz County Fair
Which is your favorite collection? What's the most unusual collection you've seen? Tell us in the comments.

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