02285-20240529 Pre-San Diego County Fair Media Sneak Peek—food+festivals+entertainment+animals—Del Mar Fairgrounds-R3

Sneak peek at the 2024 San Diego County Fair

Excitement is in the air as we close in on the June 12th opening day of the 2024 San Diego County Fair.

The Fair is the largest annual event in the county, with an attendance of nearly one million. Its origin dates all the way back to 1880, when “a group of San Diegans organized an agricultural fair to bring county farmers together to share ideas, see who had the best citrus fruit, who baked the best pie, and who had the fastest horse.” These days it is still an agricultural fair, but so much more.

The theme of this year’s Fair is LET’S GO RETRO — a blast from the past celebrating the fashion, music, pop culture, styles and fun of the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s (with a John Travolta, Saturday Night Fever vibe), ‘80s and ‘90s.

Recently, the press was invited to the Del Mar Fairgrounds to experience a preview taste (quite literally!) of what will be at the San Diego County Fair. There were Fair food and beverages, performances by entertainers, previews of multicultural festivals, farm animals, exhibits and displays, and more.

Be sure to bring your appetite (and best put your diet on hold) because, once again, this year’s Fair food will be too delicious to resist. Chicken Charlie will tempt you (as he did us!) with such yummy treats as a hot dog on a stick that is wrapped in funnel cake, drenched in maple syrup and sprinkled with powdered sugar. That is as sweet as it sounds, and just as messy!

Or, for something a little less sugar-coated, check out offerings at the Farmer in the Dell Coastal Farm Kitchen + Bar.

Believe it or not, until this day I had never eaten SPAM! Not any more, thanks to the SPAM STAND — and I liked it.

Try the Mexican Street Corn Pizza at Pizza and Subs…

… and for dessert Mom’s Bakeshop has delicious cookies.

Referring back to my John Travolta reference and the 70’s, you’ll see numerous disco balls hanging at the Rooftop Speakeasy (ages 21 and over).

If you really cannot decide what you want to eat, head on over to the Albertson’s/Vons/Pavilions grocery store.

Be on the lookout and have your camera ready to capture the walking Slinky.

Speaking of photography, check out the wide range of over 40 photography events and workshops at: https://www.sdfair.com/events/2024/photography-exhibit

To those of you who — like I did — entered an original photo in the international juried Exhibition of Photography competition (there was even a class for cell phone photos), good luck! We’ll be able to learn the results of the judging soon.

Jan’s entry in the Exhibition of Photography competition (Class: 022 Sports): “Sand barrels save NASCAR driver”
June 11, 2024 UPDATE: I won an award! Today it was announced that over 3,600 photos were entered in this competition for judging.

Scheduled events throughout the Fair include: Maritime Model Ship Building, the Great American Petting Farm, Dig for Treasure, Wood Carving and Violin Making demonstrations, Corn Shucking, Wine Tasting, Nerveless Nocks thrill show, Motu Nehenehe Polynesian Dancers, Firefighter Demolition Derby, Ballet Folklorico Tianeci, Extreme Dogs, Swifty Swine Racing Pigs, Goat Milking Demonstration, The Flying Royals trapeze artists, U-Jam Fitness, Quilting Demonstration, Home Made Make & Take, Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular, Gems & Minerals Docent Tour, That ‘70s Bird Show, A Hundred Drums, The Farm, Native American Pow Wow, Plant a Pumpkin Seed, Paul Ecke Jr. Garden Show, Horticulture Therapy by Farmer Roy, Polymer Clay Demonstration Make & Take, Stamp Collecting, The Bee Guy, Beer Talks and Brewery of the Day Craft Beer Experience, Ladybug Release and much, much more. For a more comprehensive list of the scheduled events, visit: https://www.sdfair.com/events.

As always, there will be exhilarating rides and carnival games in the Fun Zone and the Kids’ Zone.

Enjoy live music entertainment on several stages throughout the Fair…

… ticketed performances in the Toyota Summer Concert Series on the Grandstand Stage — featuring top artists, including Smokey Robinson, Ludacris and many more; and Saturdays at the Sound — featuring a different theatrical, glow-in-the-dark musical experience every Saturday night: https://www.sdfair.com/p/what-to-do/saturdays-at-the-sound.

The 20-day Fair season will run June 12 through July 7, with closures on Mondays and Tuesdays, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. See special offers and purchase your tickets for admission, parking, rides, games and concerts in advance at: https://www.sdfair.com/p/tickets. For more information, visit https://www.sdfair.com.

To explore a wide variety of content dating back to 2002, with the most photos and the latest text, visit “AutoMatters & More” at https://automatters.net. Search by title or topic in the Search Bar in the middle of the Home Page, or click on the blue ‘years’ boxes and browse.

Copyright © 2024 by Jan Wagner – AutoMatters & More #842

Jan Wagner

6 Comments

  1. John Dupree on June 23, 2024 at 3:14 pm

    Jan,

    It was good to meet you at the motorcycle exhibition yesterday. I’ve come to look at your site! Very nice. Congrats on the award for the Nascar sand photo as well… pretty amazing shot. I look forward to your coverage of the motorcycles.

    John Dupree

    • Jan Wagner on July 3, 2024 at 9:59 am

      Hi John,
      Thank you for the compliments.
      I’m sorry it took me a while to get back to you. For some reason, I did not receive an automatic notice from my WordPress website that you made a comment.
      I have shot thousands of photos already in my coverage of the 2024 San Diego County Fair. It has been a wonderful event. Today I am going back to the Fair to cover the monster truck racing in the Del Mar Arena.
      Jan

  2. Alberto on June 11, 2024 at 7:56 am

    Thanks for sharing, Jan. Looks like fun. I’ll go enjoy myself with my family there

    • Jan Wagner on June 11, 2024 at 10:48 am

      Thanks Albert,
      Even though the photo judging took place many days ago, the results were not announced. Those results will be announced at the Artists’ Reception at the Fairgrounds this evening (June 11/24). I’ll be there. Wish me luck!
      Jan

  3. David Sperry on June 10, 2024 at 10:01 pm

    Jan, I’m not one for County Fairs, but this one I could really enjoy. I love the retro look of the whole event. The official poster with logo is a work of art.

    I took the link to the Exhibition of Photography competition. The selection of photos are first class. Good luck with your award winning entry.

    Of the “Eras” I liked the 1950’s with the Corvette. Cool! I believe Spam traces back to WWII and it’s still going strong. Is there Spam ice cream?

    Great column. David.

    • Jan Wagner on June 10, 2024 at 10:29 pm

      Thanks David,
      This County Fair has something for everybody, and it is really big. I attend several times each year and I am always discovering new and interesting things to see and do.
      Jan

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