We just got home from the Sacramento County Fair and I wanted to write a post on it as soon as possible because it's only in town for the weekend. This was our family's very first time going! The boys have gone with my mother in law before but it was the first time for myself, hubby, and my little girl. I can't believe that the County Fair has been going on for 81 years and I've never been before today!
The fair is at Cal Expo from May 25-29 from 10am-10pm except Monday when it closes at 7pm. General admission is $6. Kids 12 and under are free. Parking is $10. (I am in no way affiliated with the Sac County Fair.) Look for the popcorns, that's where you enter. LOL!
I want to make this a fast post so I'm gonna go in quick list fashion because listers gotta list! :D I went to the fair with 3 children ages 4, 7, and 9 so keep that in mind. If you are here for some woohoo party tips, you're on the wrong blog my friend.
Top 5 Favorite Things:
1. Wild Science in Building C. If you have small children, THIS is the place to be! We probably spent more than an hour here exploring for free! They had a variety of giant board games, misc other toys like Legos and Lincoln Logs, a wheelbarrow garden, a few booths, GIANT bubbles, and more. They also had benches for the parents (yay!) and there was a private area for nursing moms in case your baby needs a calm place to nurse. The kids loved playing in here! It was nice and cool. Honestly, the weather today was amazing so it might have just been the same as the outside temperature in the building.
2. Something Ridiculous Comedy Jugglers on the Main Stage. This is a free show that is family friendly. The comedy does push towards little boy potty humor which is probably why my kids enjoyed it SO much but it's all rated PG! I would recommend planning to get your lunch before the show starts, sitting down in the shaded seating, and enjoying your lunch while you watch these charismatic young men perform.
3. A Walk on the Wide Side Exhibit. It says "Welcome to the Jungle" on the outside. There are water features, a slide, and some animals to look at. It's tent but shaded and extra cool because of the running water so this would be a nice place to cool down if you got hot. It's really cute inside but very crowded. We also went on a Friday so there were a lot of schools there but it wasn't too bad. The animals were probably my favorite part. The kids got to pet the tortoises and we got to see a tiger being fed lunch. It was awesome!
4. Community booths. This is so weird but here goes; the Sacramento Area Sewer District, the Sacramento Public Library, and the Amtrak booths were awesome. They didn't try to sell us anything except the Sac Library wanted us to sign up for the FREE summer reading program where you can earn free stuff for reading. They were all so nice and they gave the kids some great free prizes! The kids LOVED the puzzles from the SASD and played with them in line while we waited for things.
5. Fair food! You know I AM a food blogger. I got a DIY elote from Noel's Food. They handed me a fire roasted corn on the cob and let me go to town dressing it myself. That was so good! Ave got fries from the Grinders stand which were seasoned and delicious. The boys got pizza from Milo's which was mediocre but you know pizza isn't exactly what the fair is known for. Dustin got a Squeeze with Cheese from Squeeze Inn stand which I argue is the most quintessential Sacramento burger. We got a giant cotton candy the size of my daughter to share and a huge fresh squeezed lemonade. It's the fair, you need the fair food.
(Not so) Pro Tips:
~ Bring your own water and food. I didn't know if you could do this so I didn't because you usually can't bring in food and drinks at the State Fair or concerts. I saw people with water bottles, Starbucks, pb&js from home, and even two girls with Panda Express take out. To save money, I would bring sandwiches, waters, and healthy snacks from home then indulge in a few fair treats like funnel cake, cotton candy, fried Oreos, shaved ice, etc...
~ Bring a tote bag for your loot! There are booths giving away coloring books, frisbees, etc... We shoved stuff in our pockets but upon leaving our hands were FULL of things since we had no bag.
~ Get coupons from Walgreens. I did not do this but the lady next to me at the ticket booth had fair coupons from Walgreens that she was allowed to use.
~ Go ahead and look for close parking! The parking lot looked packed but there was a lot of parking spaces near the front sprinkled here and there. People were already leaving when we got there at 11:40am so there were spots open in the crowds of cars.
~ Bring CASH! If you don't want to pay the ATM fees, bring cash! There were food stands that were cash only and some of the stands would only take a card if you spent over $10 which isn't fun if you just want a lemonade or 3 tickets.
~ There's a man who walks around making ballon animals for free! I don't know who he is or where he came from but the balloons are still here so I know I wasn't hallucinating.
Here's my Instagram Story from today. Please follow me on Instagram and watch my stories to see more fun events like this that I don't get around to blogging.
The fair is at Cal Expo from May 25-29 from 10am-10pm except Monday when it closes at 7pm. General admission is $6. Kids 12 and under are free. Parking is $10. (I am in no way affiliated with the Sac County Fair.) Look for the popcorns, that's where you enter. LOL!
I want to make this a fast post so I'm gonna go in quick list fashion because listers gotta list! :D I went to the fair with 3 children ages 4, 7, and 9 so keep that in mind. If you are here for some woohoo party tips, you're on the wrong blog my friend.
Top 5 Favorite Things:
1. Wild Science in Building C. If you have small children, THIS is the place to be! We probably spent more than an hour here exploring for free! They had a variety of giant board games, misc other toys like Legos and Lincoln Logs, a wheelbarrow garden, a few booths, GIANT bubbles, and more. They also had benches for the parents (yay!) and there was a private area for nursing moms in case your baby needs a calm place to nurse. The kids loved playing in here! It was nice and cool. Honestly, the weather today was amazing so it might have just been the same as the outside temperature in the building.
2. Something Ridiculous Comedy Jugglers on the Main Stage. This is a free show that is family friendly. The comedy does push towards little boy potty humor which is probably why my kids enjoyed it SO much but it's all rated PG! I would recommend planning to get your lunch before the show starts, sitting down in the shaded seating, and enjoying your lunch while you watch these charismatic young men perform.
3. A Walk on the Wide Side Exhibit. It says "Welcome to the Jungle" on the outside. There are water features, a slide, and some animals to look at. It's tent but shaded and extra cool because of the running water so this would be a nice place to cool down if you got hot. It's really cute inside but very crowded. We also went on a Friday so there were a lot of schools there but it wasn't too bad. The animals were probably my favorite part. The kids got to pet the tortoises and we got to see a tiger being fed lunch. It was awesome!
4. Community booths. This is so weird but here goes; the Sacramento Area Sewer District, the Sacramento Public Library, and the Amtrak booths were awesome. They didn't try to sell us anything except the Sac Library wanted us to sign up for the FREE summer reading program where you can earn free stuff for reading. They were all so nice and they gave the kids some great free prizes! The kids LOVED the puzzles from the SASD and played with them in line while we waited for things.
5. Fair food! You know I AM a food blogger. I got a DIY elote from Noel's Food. They handed me a fire roasted corn on the cob and let me go to town dressing it myself. That was so good! Ave got fries from the Grinders stand which were seasoned and delicious. The boys got pizza from Milo's which was mediocre but you know pizza isn't exactly what the fair is known for. Dustin got a Squeeze with Cheese from Squeeze Inn stand which I argue is the most quintessential Sacramento burger. We got a giant cotton candy the size of my daughter to share and a huge fresh squeezed lemonade. It's the fair, you need the fair food.
(Not so) Pro Tips:
~ Bring your own water and food. I didn't know if you could do this so I didn't because you usually can't bring in food and drinks at the State Fair or concerts. I saw people with water bottles, Starbucks, pb&js from home, and even two girls with Panda Express take out. To save money, I would bring sandwiches, waters, and healthy snacks from home then indulge in a few fair treats like funnel cake, cotton candy, fried Oreos, shaved ice, etc...
~ Bring a tote bag for your loot! There are booths giving away coloring books, frisbees, etc... We shoved stuff in our pockets but upon leaving our hands were FULL of things since we had no bag.
~ Get coupons from Walgreens. I did not do this but the lady next to me at the ticket booth had fair coupons from Walgreens that she was allowed to use.
~ Go ahead and look for close parking! The parking lot looked packed but there was a lot of parking spaces near the front sprinkled here and there. People were already leaving when we got there at 11:40am so there were spots open in the crowds of cars.
~ Bring CASH! If you don't want to pay the ATM fees, bring cash! There were food stands that were cash only and some of the stands would only take a card if you spent over $10 which isn't fun if you just want a lemonade or 3 tickets.
~ There's a man who walks around making ballon animals for free! I don't know who he is or where he came from but the balloons are still here so I know I wasn't hallucinating.
Here's my Instagram Story from today. Please follow me on Instagram and watch my stories to see more fun events like this that I don't get around to blogging.
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