2016 San Diego County Fair-Mad About the Fair- Part One: Before it opens!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Kirk is resting up after his short vacation, Ed (from Yuma) is busily writing a post and Cathy has this post ready to go, so here it is.  

Yes, it is that time of the year.  The San Diego County Fair,  (6th most attended in 2014) will open on Friday June 3 at 4 p.m. with its theme "Mad About The Fair". 

The front gate and Midway are being set up. The Fair Theme will be explained in the first building to your right when you walk in the main gate.  The theme is a mix of Lewis Carroll classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, fused with influences from steampunk, cosplay, great literature, wacky machinery, and all the fun and magic you have come to expect at the Fair.

Food booths are being set up. 

 Home and Hobby has had items brought in, judged and  set on display.

I do usually post twice: before the fair and during, but always neglect to post after the Fair ends.  The Fourth of July morning is the event that local 4H clubs wait for all year.  The auctioning of the livestock they have raised is both education for the Club members and a community event. Many of our local restaurants purchase animals at the Fair for processing and use as menu items.

One place we stopped at last year was the Pan Fried Chicken booth- on the Midway.  The chalkboard special $12 grilled plate was a great find (mushrooms, peppers, asparagus, green beans, peas, zucchini and a slice of pineapple) grilled properly and so tasty, this will be a regular stop for us. 

There are daily contests (some require pre-registration), regular contests (like this pie- eating competition each day at noon), one day contests for adults (admission is free if you are entering one of these) and upstairs in Home and Hobby, daily demonstrations. There are also demonstrations going on in the Woodworking and Gemstone areas, a Farm to Table Dinner, a Spirit  and Cocktail Festival, Wine Festival and Beer Festival (all requiring an additional fee, see the link for information).  Of course, Concerts and other entertainment.  Basically something for everyone and then more.  There even will be a Sunday Teatime event held (additional fee, reservations need to be made).

New foods available are at the bottom of this link (Some of these don't appeal to me at all, but we'll see what I end up trying).

There is still time to purchase a "Best Pass Ever" and some other discounts, like the Costco deal for $65, before the Fair opens.  That will save you some cash (as will utilizing the free parking areas and maybe entering a daily contest). There are also three days (June 3, 4 and 8) when you can get in for only $4, if you purchase your tickets at Albertsons or Vons (along with a $10 regular purchase). There are so many deals and discounts listed on the website, listing here would just be confusing.
It's going to be a great Fair again this year. 

 2016 San Diego County Fair Open Friday June 3 at 4 p.m. until July 4 (The Fair is closed on Mondays, except July 4, and the first two Tuesdays.) Website

Comments

[Faye]

Thanks for the new foods link - I just clicked on it and nothing seemed all that amazing (at the moment at least). Are there still Albertsons in SD? Most Albertson/Haggen locations seem empty right now after Haggen left.

[Soo @ hungryones]

Boy I can't wait to eat the delicious fried food! I like getting pan fried chicken at that booth. I didn't know they had a healthy plate too...

[caninecologne]

I'm looking forward to going to the fair this year! I get 4 free tickets because I'm an educator, woo hoo, so yay for that. I liked seeing those roasted vegetables - healthy! I'm not sure which bad fried stuff we'll try this year but we'll definitely get at least one thing because it's the fair!

Haha, it looks like they dressed up Don Diego as the Johnny Depp version of the Mad Hatter (the Tim Burton version of "Alice in Wonderland"?). That's kind of freaky but funny. Too bad the sequel tanked at the box office.

I like that they incorporated the classic John Tenniel illustrations in their PR for the fair. The steampunk aspect will probably confuse the elderly. Still, it's a cool theme, "Mad About the Fair"...

[Cathy]

The only things being considered are the fried cinnamon apple rings and deep fried pizza...because I know I like each of those in their un-fried state, Faye. At first I could immediately think of four Albertsons, then I looked online and those are the only ones in the county. Technically four cities (Lakeside, El Cajon, La Mesa and San Diego) but those last three locations are within one mile of each other.

Some of the newer fried foods do look interesting, Soo. The pan fried chicken booth has always had grilled asparagus and artichokes available; I think I posted about one of those a few years ago.

Glad you could get tickets, CC; I'm thinking the Fair Administration is trying to offer discounts to see if more money will be spent inside the gates (instead of at the gate). We do try food items that are indulgent, but not as many in one day as we used to. The interspersing of steampunk and cosplay seems to be a way to get all ages to attend this classic event.