Carnival & Fair News

An 18-day run for the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, California, concluded with an increase in both fair attendance and carnival wristband purchases. The early summer weather was perfect with sunshine and breezes, encouraging attendance. 

Offering family fun from June 13 through July 6th, the fair had an outstanding year in terms of attendance, which rose 13% this year, bringing 410,159 visitors through the fair gates. Wristband sales for carnival purveyor Butler Amusements, increased 27%. And July 5th marked the highest-ever single day carnival wristband sale for Butler.

And that wasn’t all: the livestock auction totals rose 25% to $1,252,661.95, and guests came hungry too, consuming 155% more food purchases than last year. 

General Admission was priced at $19.80, with kids ages 6-12 and seniors ages 62 plus at $16.50; a bargain bundle that included four general admission tickets plus a parking admission was priced at $84.70; individual parking cost $15. Carnival wristbands, available for purchase at a Butler Carnival Kiosk inside the fairgrounds was $40.70 Wednesday-Thursday, and $46.20 Friday through Sunday.

On Wednesday, July 2 admission was only $5.50 until 5pm. Throughout the fair’s run, there were three “Throwback Thursdays” with Fair admission discounted to just $11 until 5 p.m., and $3 Fair Food Bites of popular Fair foods until 5pm. Wednesday, July 2, is $5.50 day from noon to 9 pm. Wednesday, June 18 was the fair’s canned food drive, guests who brought 4 non-perishable food items before 5 pm received free admission, and all rides were priced at just $1. 
Military members received free admission daily before 5 pm; first responders were admitted free July 4 until 3 pm.

With a theme of “Celebrate Summer,” fairgoers surely did celebrate. While the fair’s usual horse racing events were not included this year, there was plenty of animal and agricultural presence, and thrilling entertainment to go with the carnival rides and tasty eats.

Guests also enjoyed the introduction of the brand new Safeway Barn housing sheep, goats, dairy cows, piglets, baby chicks, and a horse, as well as being the birthplace for a black pygmy baby goat named Midnight by fairgoers. 

The barn was a big upgrade for the fairgrounds, a sustainable building with solar and a rainwater harvesting system. The state-of-the-art barn is Phase One of The Farm project, an educational destination and future field trip draw located on the Fairgrounds.

The agricultural exhibition “Fields of Gratitude, Thank a Farmer” displays were visible throughout the fairgrounds, highlighting various agricultural businesses and offerings, including a brand new spotlight on Bee Keepers.

As to the carnival, there were over 44 rides in all provided by Butler Amusements, including thrillers like Invader, King XXL, Vertigo, and Wave Swinger. Family rides such the Giant Wheel, Mardi Gras Fun House, and the State Fair Slide were also on the main midway, while the kiddies had a bevy of rides to themselves including the Wacky Worm, wet boats, and Tommy Kangaroo.

There were new action sports shows on view at the fair this year, with tractor pulls, rodeos, and Monster Truck events held at the Michelob Ultra Grandstand. 

There was a stunt show, FMX motocross shows, and two separate fireworks and drone shows during the fair, as well as nightly drone shows throughout the fair’s run. The Off Axis Stunt Show ran June 13-15, a Rodeo on June 27-29, and the “Monsters of Destruction” Monster Trucks show on July 4-6. Attendees also enjoyed daily entertainment like high flying trapeze artists, racing pigs, stage shows, a Wine Fest, and the Big O Tires Concert Series. 

There were also some exciting rides for fairgoers to experience outside of the carnival: brand new this year were hot air balloon rides. While the balloons remained tethered to the ground, they did rise 100 feet in the air for a thrilling experience and view. Camel rides were also available.

And the fair was host to a variety of national performing acts and a wide range of music, such as Too $hort, Air Supply, Sugar Ray, Clint Black, War, The Romantics, and TESLA. Ticket sales for the concert series was on the rise this year too, up 66%. Ticket pricing ranged from $18 to $60 for reserved seats, with tribute shows often starting at $18, and included general fair admission for the day of the show.

The action continued right through the close of the fair: the final week brought a Labubu hidden scavenger hunt, as well as the popular Junior Livestock Auction to the fairgrounds.

The fair promoted engagement heavily through its website, online, and on social media, clocking social media as on the rise too, up 30% on TikTok and 15% on Instagram.  

No matter what way fairgoers heard about the fair, they arrived hungry-- for corn dogs, BBQ Turkey Legs, burgers, funnel cakes, deep fried Twinkies, candy apples, and cotton candy – all the classic fair favorites. 

According to Tiffany Loushin, Director of Entertainment, Agriculture and Programming at the fairgrounds. “This was one of the best years yet for our food vendors. The food is always the main attraction for guests, but entertainment kept them engaged longer and coming back.”

The Grandstand Stage featured the West Coast Regional Qualifiers of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest with the competitive eating challenge winners advancing to the finals in Coney Island on July 4th. 

Fairgoers also voted on their new favorite eats in two different categories: Crazy New Item and Red, White, and Blue. The Cheeseburger Egg Roll, Hot Honey Chicken Fries, Cajun Octopus on a Stick, the Gansito (Mexican Twinkie) and the Star-Spangled Sundae were just some new menu items and among those voted upon. The new Foodie’s Choice winner was the Cheeseburger Egg Roll.

Fair COO Angel Moore was delighted with the robust turnout for the fair and its events, noting that “The Fair is such an important part of summer in Alameda County, and it was great to see so many people out enjoying the Fair and making memories.” She adds that the fair celebrates “the culture and community of Alameda County.”

The Fair also continued to help support the community with events such as the Food Drive, the largest in Alameda County. This year some 18,000 meals were collected for the Alameda County Food Bank. There was also a pet food drive that benefitted Valley Humane Society, for which 14,434 pounds of food for rescue pets was collected. And the fair’s annual blood drive benefitted the Red Cross with a total of 14,824 pints of blood donated.