California State Fair

California State Fair
California State Fair, opening day 2014
GenreState fair
Location(s)Sacramento, California
Years active1854–1916; 1919–1941; 1948–2019; 2022–[1]
Attendance652,873 (2022)[2]
WebsiteCalifornia State Fair

The California State Fair (CSF) is the annual state fair for the state of California. The fair is held at Cal Expo in Sacramento, California. The Fair is a 17-day event showcasing California's industries, agriculture, and diversity of people. The CSF features blue-ribbon animal displays, culinary delights and competitions, live music concerts, a carnival, fireworks, and other family fun.[3] In 2018, officials reported daily attendance drew between 20,000 and 60,000 people per day and about $8.5 million of food and beverage expenditures.[4] The fair is policed by the California Exposition and State Fair Police.

CSF did not convene for the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic in California, which caused direct losses of approximately $16 million in revenue and impacted over 800 seasonal workers. During these years, the Cal Expo site served as a temporary Covid-19 testing site, homeless trailer site, and a go-to partner during the state's battle with wildfires.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference sacpress-tracking was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Padilla, Cecilio. "California State Fair sees increase in attendance after pandemic hiatus". CBS News. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  3. ^ "California State Fair". rove.me. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  4. ^ "California State Fair Attendance Numbers Continue To Dip". NewsRadio KFBK. Jul 31, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  5. ^ "Cal Expo & CA State Fair". Cal Expo & State Fair. Retrieved September 15, 2021.