Photos: 2012 Santa Clara County Fair

Thousands of Santa Clara County residents came out in throngs, it seemed, to the third day of

And organizers, from carnival ride operators to food vendors, said crowds on Saturday seemed way larger than last year.

At the Little Hands on the Farm interactive exhibit, children packed the farming activities

The Giant Tortuga exhibit was a hit, with young and old admiring the reptiles brought to the fair by the Silicon Valley chapter of the California Turtle and Tortoise Club.

The three live bands that entertained fairgoers on Saturday—The Cocktail Monkeys, The Groove Kings and The Megatones—sounded great, but it was a sparse audience at the pavilion stage with the majority of the public hanging out by the carnival rides, the food booths and animal exhibits.

The Demolition Derby featured about half a dozen funky refurbished vehicles, no trucks surprisingly, that kept a brimming arena laughing with the antics of drivers deliberately ramming their beaten-up cars into each other.

At the Sea Lion Encounter show, children fell in love with marine life, all three shows at standing-room only to watch trainer Rachel Daggett mesmerize with tricks performed by "Sake," one of the lions that "likes to kiss."

Corinna Morales, of Gilroy, was taking a bite of her corn on the cob, after commenting that the food was the reason she attends the fair every year.

Similarly mom Tiffany Le and Kelsey Magana said their favorite part about the event was the food—the best item being the strawberry funnel cake.

"Not true," exclaimed CJ Ayers, 12, holding a giant turkey leg he had just taken a bite out of.

Jerry Sooter, an operator of the Rio Grand Train kiddie ride, said he was wiped out from helping so many parents and adults load their children into the motorized little wagons this year.

The fair, which began Thursday continues today, Sunday, Aug. 5, its final day from 12 noon until 9 p.m. at the Fairgrounds in San Jose, 344 Tully Road.