San Diego County Fair: Race to the Fair

Birds are chirping, skies are blue, and the sun is beaming on my shoulders. I can almost smell the cotton candy, and my powers of deduction tell me this can only mean one thing: it’s almost time for the San Diego County Fair to arrive at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

The San Diego County Fair has been a beloved tradition since 1880, and nowadays it is the largest annual event in all of San Diego, bringing in more than a million guests each year.

And there’s plenty of room for everyone, since we are blessed to have the sixth largest fair in the entire United States. This makes for over 75 wild rides, 40 different games of skill, countless exhibits and concerts, and as much delicious deep-fried fair food as you can handle.

The 2011 San Diego County Fair theme is Race to the Fair: a celebration of modern and historic automobiles. The theme promises to provide you with amazing daily car shows featuring woodies, hot rods and muscle cars brought to you by San Diego’s hottest car clubs. In addition, special events will include antique car races, a trophy car display, monster trucks freestyle event, beach buggy racing, and a demolition derby.

One of the very best things about the fair is the live entertainment, since most of the concerts and events are free with admission. This year, the concert line-up is incredible and very versatile. The Toyota Summer Concert Series brings you, among others, Pat Benatar, Bruno Mars, Weird Al Yankovic, The Beach Boys, and Joan Jett. The San Diego County Ford Dealers Paddock Concert Series is scheduled to include tributes to Bon Jovi and Michael Jackson and performances by Tony Lucca, Elliott Yamin, Paul Revere and the Raiders, A Flock of Seagulls, The Music of ABBA, and many others.

The Chevrolet Del Mar Arena is set to be the stage for many entertaining events, such as the Charity Horse Show, Incredible Dog Challenge, San Diego International Beer Festival, Del Mar Classic Amateur Horse Show and San Diego’s Best Dance Crew, along with a majority of the car themed activities.

Apart from the cool concerts and events, the San Diego County Fair is known to bring us amusing contests of all varieties. Daily contests will include the Pie-Eating Competition and the ‘Three O’Clock Fun’ traditional picnic contests. One day contests are set to include the Daylight Photo Shoot-Out, Fruit and Vegetable Contest, Zucchini Car Race, and the Pocket Pet Contest. Additional performance contests will include Musicpalooza and A Capella Sing Off, as well as tons of competitive exhibits.

With the San Diego County Fair, it’s true that every day brings something new. Every Tuesday is ‘Kids Day’, meaning kids under the age of 12 get in for free and get to enjoy special activities. Each Tuesday will also be ‘Taste of the Fair’ day, allowing fair goers to sample fair foods for only $2. Wednesdays and Thursdays are ‘Pepsi Pay One Price Ride Days’ and every Sunday is ‘Dia de la Familia’, which will provide loads of Latin-themed activities and entertainment.

The 2011 San Diego County Fair runs Friday, June 10 through Monday, July 4, and will be open daily at 11 am on Tuesday through Friday, and 10 am on Saturday through Monday. Entrance is priced at $13 for adults, $7 for ages 6-12 and 62 + and free for kids under the age of 5. Heads up: if you plan on attending the fair more than once, the “Best Pass Ever” will get you unlimited access for $22. Visit sdfair.com for more details.

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