My Fair Summer

When I was a kid, my family went to the fair every summer. It was almost a two-hour drive from my house in Washington to the infamous Puyallup Fair. For those that are wondering, it’s pronounced “Pew-Al-Up.” And yes, I did get a kick out of pronouncing it “Poo-Yall-Up.” Still do, in fact! The fair had the typical rides and games, but what Puyallup was best known for was its agriculture. Those Puyallup people went all out with the livestock, raising giant roosters and hosting grueling rodeo battles. I was disappointed when I moved to Ventura as a 16-year-old. The county fair there didn’t even come close to what the Washingtonians put on. I wasn’t sure what to expect of the San Diego Fair at the Del Mar fairgrounds when I went last week, but I’m happy to say it more than measured up to my childhood memories!

This year’s theme at the San Diego Fair was “Race to the Fair,” so the auto theme was woven into the fair whenever possible. There was an entire show room dedicated to classic automobiles, and there are cool car shows and truck races throughout the duration of the fair.

Food is always a major fair attraction, and the San Diego fair is no different. Delicious fried food abounds, with traditional classics like corn dogs and inventive new fare like deep-fried kool aid and fried jalapeños stuffed with crushed Baby Ruth candy bars.

I love that the San Diego Fair features a huge section just for kids. This area has fun games, contests and crafts, and also has displays of local kids’ collections and artwork.

Classic fair favorites like caricatures, fortune tellers and games were there, along with some interesting new stuff like chess, horse shoes and archery lessons.

Del Mar fairgrounds had the most rides I’ve ever seen at a fair. Everything from swings to fun houses, mirror mazes, roller coasters and tea cups. It would definitely be worth going on Wednesdays or Thursdays to take advantage of the Pepsi Pay-One-Price Ride Days, during which fairgoers can ride as many rides as they want for $30.

San Diego isn’t lacking in the agriculture department, either. I saw horses, pigs, goats, sheep, turkeys, alpacas, rabbits and even an elephant!

My favorite part about the fair was the community presence throughout the whole thing. The shops featured local businesses, prize-winning works of art from local schools were on display, and local talent was featured. The garden displays submitted by different community groups were absolutely breathtaking, and are a must-see.

The San Diego Fair provided a complimentary family 4-pack of admission tickets to the fair and Pelly’s Mini-Golf passes to select San Diego Bargain Mama bloggers as part of TeamSDBM’s #SDFairFun. I’m excited to be included and, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.