Continuing the celebration of summer, the other day we headed to our first County Fair of the year. The San Diego County fair is a great venue to check out if you are in San Diego during it’s run. The fair is held at the lovely Del Mar Fairgrounds and offers fun for the entire family.
I have visited many fairs in my lifetime, and here are my tips to organizing a great trip to the fair:
- Download and print a map of the fair before you go and highlight the areas you want to visit.
- Look for coupons for the fair you want to attend. Just about every fair has a discount coupon somewhere.
- Review the fair schedule for special events you or family members might be interested in seeing. Many activities are only on selected days.
- Plan to arrive early. Parking can take up precious fair time and the fair is least crowded when it first opens.
- Try to attend during the weekdays to avoid weekend crowds.
- Dress kids in bright clothing and keep an eye on your kids. There are lots of distractions at the fair.
- Bring water bottles and snacks. Fair food, though tasty, is invariably expensive.
- Wear sunscreen and hats to avoid too much sun exposure.
- Wear comfortable close-toed shoes and dress in layers. Bring jackets if planning to stay until the evening.
- Bring some antibiotic lotion and a few bandaids. Sometimes the first aid area can be hard to get to for minor scrapes.
- Take breaks and listen to a concert or enjoy a snack for some downtime.
My personal highlights include the livestock exhibits,
The home and hobby exhibits. These are all the homemade jams in the competition.
The carnival section, where I won a stuffed elephant!
And of course, the fair food.
This funnel cake is 1/2 cinnamon sugar and 1/2 powdered sugar. It was 100% delicious!
This fair is an early fair that has come and gone, so be sure to bookmark for next year if you are planning a trip to San Diego. I will be attending another local fair soon. Do you go to county fairs during the summer? Which ones will you attend?
Tamara says
We have our tri-county fair in September as well as the big New England fair which kinda is our state fair – if you combine six states! It’s a big one. Then we do have individual town ones. They haven’t really started up yet that I know of, but can I just say that the San Diego County Fair sounds like a dream?! I’ve only been to San Diego once in December of 2005 – it was WONDERFUL.
Organizedisland says
Wow a state fair sounds amazing! I have never been to a state fair. Yes San Diego is a great area Tamara – awesome for families too.
Arelis Cintron says
This look like such fun. There aren’t many fairs in my area, that I know of, anyways. Might have to check it out. The Funnel Cake looks delicious as I am sure the jams are to!
Organizedisland says
I hope you can get to one Arelis. They are great simple fun!
The Dose of Reality says
You won’t believe it, but I’ve never been to a county or state fair. It is totally on my bucket list of things to do. I just pinned this post so I can have all the tips handy when the time comes. Thanks for this post today! It reminded me to look into the fairs this summer because I’ve wanted to go and take the kids!! –Lisa
Organizedisland says
Oh I hope you get to one Lisa! They are great family fun. I love the simplicity of them too!
Emmy says
Great tips! I haven’t been to a fair in several years. That funnel cake looks so good
Organizedisland says
It was really good Emmy! I would not let myself eat the whole thing, but I wanted to! 🙂
Sue {munchkin munchies} says
The photo of the piglets on top of their mom is TOO CUTE, especially the little guy on top of her:)
Susan says
I love county fairs! I love the tradition of the fair, especially the livestock. Thanks for sharing at Inspire Us Thursday.
Organizedisland says
Thank you Susan! Hope your weekend was great!