County/state fairs

bcla

On our rugged Eastern foothills.....
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Nov 28, 2012
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I remember there have been topic about specific things with county or state fairs. Yesterday I took my kid to one for the first time in 3 years, and back then my kid was much younger.

The one we went to was the Marin County Fair, in San Rafael, California. It's not on a permanent fair site like some of the other county fairs, but set up in a large park next to the Marin County Civic Center, which is the county building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. On the actual fair site are a couple of buildings of the Marin Center, which were designed by Wright in the same style. Almost everything else is set up as temporary structures except for a few park buildings. Here's a photo from the county website:

mc_fair_aerial.jpg


I guess it's a typical county fair, although no horse racing and it's only 5 days. We went as a family 3 years ago and had a blast, although I took the day off from work and it was my kid's last day at preschool. This one is great because they have carnival rides, and they're included with the price of admission. The other county fair we've been to (Alameda County Fair) has lots of rides, but they require either tickets or an unlimited rides wristband that costs maybe $30 (more than admission). The Marin County Fair is also a bit mellower. I wouldn't say that all the fairgoers are upper middle class Marin County residents (I certainly am not) but it doesn't seem to have the gang problems that I've heard at other county fairs. Just yesterday there was a fight that broke out at the Alameda County Fair.

It was the usual stuff - lots of agricultural exhibits including animal demonstrations and pig races. My kid was a bit bummed about not being chosen to be a flag bearer who could also get a prize for a winning pig. I wasn't too keen on the marketplace, but they had some local agencies that weren't trying to sell anything. My kid kept on going to the sellers that had fidget spinners, and I eventually bought one because it was cheap. It also had an American flag motif, so I guess it was somewhat patriotic even if it was made in China. I didn't indulge in the fair food, but we were allowed to bring our own food in.

Although the rides were nice, it was the 4th and they were included. So the lines were just ridiculously long. I think it was something like a 40 minute wait for any of the big rides like the swings or the tilt a whirl. They had two Ferris wheels (one was really big), and we waited in line for about 15 minutes when they stopped loading and told everyone that they were shutting down until they could get it fixed. They were actually turning the wheel by hand (but using the powered brakes) to let people off, and that was a neat trick for a 70 ft tall Ferris wheel.

They also had some pretty good entertainment. I didn't go previous days when the headliners were Ann Wilson (Heart), The Fifth Dimension (or the current version), The Commodores (no Lionel Richie of course), andUB40 (the newly reformed version). Our headliner was a diverse group called The Happy Together Tour. I didn't stick around for all of it, but we did check out a group calling themselves The Archies. They featured Ron Dante, who was the lead singer on The Archies version of Sugar Sugar. That was cool because everyone seemed to know the lyrics. I'm not sure who The Turtles are, but I vaguely know who Chuck Negron is (Three Dog Night).

And finally there were fireworks at 9:30 from the lake. It was kind of strange because there's a section of the lakeshore (the upper right corner in the photo) that's not in the admission area. There were a lot of people set up there, which was considerably more crowded than the shoreline inside the fair area. They also had lots of stuff that wasn't allowed inside, like grills. On top of that, there seemed to be unlicensed vendors there, including a couple of carts selling bacon wrapped hot dogs and one selling water. Still - everyone was having a good time and almost everyone got along well. I guess the only problem was that it was kind of hot. I asked some of the volunteer SAR there if they had anyone pass out, and I was told yes since some people don't eat or don't drink enough to stay hydrated.
 
Sounds like fun.

We have a 'fair' every year but it's nowhere near as big as what you're describing. There are rides and games and food but nothing fancier than mini donuts.

Prices are crazy though..after you pay for parking, and admission, and your wrist band you have nothing left for games or food.
 
Sounds like fun.

We have a 'fair' every year but it's nowhere near as big as what you're describing. There are rides and games and food but nothing fancier than mini donuts.

Prices are crazy though..after you pay for parking, and admission, and your wrist band you have nothing left for games or food.

This one isn't particularly big. The Alameda County Fair is the largest in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it runs for 3-1/2 weeks. The fairgrounds are also used year round for all sorts of shows and activities. They also have an off-track horse betting facility on the property, although it's not at the actual racetrack, which is the oldest racetrack in California.

I think the California State Fair is even bigger. Some of the rides are permanent and not the temporary carnival setups. They have a sky ride and a monorail. I saw a photo of the science fair there, and the building is the size of a convention center. And they accepted the old "CALIFORNIA" letters that used to be in the esplanade area of Disney's California Adventure.

1142408.jpg


They even have a year-round dedicated police department with 330 sworn officers. I guess it's because the fairgrounds are used year-round for various events. I don't think the Sacramento Police or the CHP (which provides security for most state property after they absorbed the California State Police) particularly want to patrol the fairgrounds.

http://calexpo.com/us/safety-security/
 
The only ride that is permamnent is the monrail. They took out the skyway. The food vendors are good and they are monitored. We have the same problems with fights and what not. I enjoy going to see all the animals. Me and DH go in the race track and watch. We enjoy sitting and eating while watching the races.

I haven't looked at the venue for the singers this year. I like seeing all the new food they have to try. You should come out and check it and see if it is any different from where you are. We have gone to a few other fairs around in past years, and they are much smaller.

The california letters are out front year round. We also have the water park in there that is a separate price. You can buy the discounts on groupon.
 

The only ride that is permamnent is the monrail. They took out the skyway. The food vendors are good and they are monitored. We have the same problems with fights and what not. I enjoy going to see all the animals. Me and DH go in the race track and watch. We enjoy sitting and eating while watching the races.

What I heard about the sky ride was that it was a newly installed ride in 2016.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article88566657.html

At least in California, the big carnival ride operator is Butler Amusements. They were the ride operator at the Marin County Fair, although most of their signs saying how many tickets for a ride were covered up with tape. At the Alameda County Fair they have tickets and expensive wristbands. I believe they're the same operator working the Alameda County Fair. I've also been to a number of their traveling carnivals. I took my kid to one at a shopping center parking lot. They also had one at a parking lot at Laney College in Oakland. Back in 2014 I took my kid twice to San Jose's Winter Wonderland. That one was great because they had a ton of rides and the unlimited ride wristband was $15. I'm not sure how the pricing works, but I think the price of the unlimited wristband may be subsidized, although the tickets required don't change for the same ride at different venues. Supposedly the tickets they sell are good at any carnival rides that they offer anywhere.
 
Hmmm....I didn't know they were putting it back in. Maybe the other one was really old and wanted to update it. It was not in at the fair last year. So it must of got installed afterward. Maybe your tickets cost more due to insurance reasons. I look at the pass for the whole fair

When I go I always use the groupon coupon to buy costs way less. I bet if you look on a few sites like groupon you could find discounts as well. I have seen a few ways for fairs in our area at Costco as well.
I wouldnt pay full price with out groupon , as I don't feel the full price is fair for one day pp.

Ours have the same thing for the rides with the wrist bands. We don't ride the rides so have no idea of the costs. And reading the article, to me 5 dollars for a ride one way is costly, and how many times are you going to use it for a 7 dollar day pass?
 
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We have a reasonably big one here, roughly 100,000 attendees over 5 days. No horse stuff, just motor sports, concerts, ag displays, and rides are included in the ticket price. The headliner this year is Lynyrd Skynyrd. We probably won't go at all.
 
Our county fair is dinky, mostly 4-H exhibits and livestock, with some grandstand events like demo derby or a rodeo, and some inflatables run by the preschool as a fundraiser.

I think our Iowa State Fair is one of the biggest, with over 1,000,000 visitors every year.
 
We love the Woodstock Fair, in Connecticut. BIG, mostly agricultural fair with lots of good food. When we lived up there we went every year for over 30 years. Unfortunately, since we moved down here to Texas, we've only gotten back about 3-4 times. But even after 50+ years, it hasn't changed!
 
Orange County Fair starts next week and goes for a month. It is huge and pretty fun. Where else can you see Winnebago demolition derby
 
California State Fair opens one week from today.
 
I grew up in Springfield, Illinois, home of the Illinois State Fair. From where I lived before I moved away from there, I could have thrown a rock and hit the fairgrounds.

Every August, the entire town would be abuzz about the Fair. All of the exhibits, the rides, the shows, the washed-up rock bands, the fireworks, and all that. And every August, I'd get really excited about it, then go to the actual Fair and be bored to tears.

Substitute the words "July" and "Country bands of middling popularity" and you've got the Sangamon County Fair, which happened about 20 miles down the road.

I suppose these things have value to people who dig agriculture, folksy hobbies, and the nostalgia of it all. To me they're a relic from the pre-television days, but whatever. To each his own, as they say.
 
Every county in my state has their own county fair throughout the summer, and we have two state fairs, one in Milwaukee and one in Chippewa Falls.
 
Our county fair this year(Scott county, ky) had a Ronald McDonald show as a headlining attraction.
I think there was a tractor pull and demo derby also.
Went once, never again.

When we were in NE Ohio the county fairs had better entertainment. Saw Garth Brooks playing in front of a grandstand, he even stayed for autographs, before he became a superstar. This year's entertainment is Martina McBride and Montgomery Gentry.

The Ohio State fair is a great fair. We went to the KY state fair and didn't really like it at all. It's one of the few things that I think is better in Ohio than KY.
 
Hmmm....I didn't know they were putting it back in. Maybe the other one was really old and wanted to update it. It was not in at the fair last year. So it must of got installed afterward. Maybe your tickets cost more due to insurance reasons. I look at the pass for the whole fair

The Sac Bee article says that the last one was taken down in 2007 because it was operated (and I suppose owned) by the previous amusement ride operator. Supposedly Butler Amusements was trying to install a new one for several years but managed to do it last year. The article says it was up and running in 2016.

As far as the price goes, I suppose it makes sense to get a wristband for doing it round-trip.
 
The Sac Bee article says that the last one was taken down in 2007 because it was operated (and I suppose owned) by the previous amusement ride operator. Supposedly Butler Amusements was trying to install a new one for several years but managed to do it last year. The article says it was up and running in 2016.

As far as the price goes, I suppose it makes sense to get a wristband for doing it round-trip.
I don't know if that is included in the wristband..... I will let you know
 
I don't know if that is included in the wristband..... I will let you know

I wasn't sure what you meant by wristband. The article said that a one-way trip was $5, but an all-day sky ride wristband was $7. I don't think the sky ride is included in the general ride wristband.
 
Orange County Fair starts next week and goes for a month. It is huge and pretty fun. Where else can you see Winnebago demolition derby
You know for half my life li
I wasn't sure what you meant by wristband. The article said that a one-way trip was $5, but an all-day sky ride wristband was $7. I don't think the sky ride is included in the general ride wristband.
Duh, sorry in a stupor fog just woke up....I was thinking you were thinking it was included on the ride wristband. But even at 7 pp for all day adds up.
 












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