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Attendance Numbers Rise, Temperatures Drop at 2024 Los Angeles County Fair
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The Overdrive makes is LA Debut
RCS' new Overdrive from Kolmax-Plus made its debut at the LA County Fair. Photo by Steve Hinz.

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With an election year Americana theme of “Stars, Stripes & Fun,” the LA County fair, renowned for its size and diverse offerings, saw an 8% increase in attendance over last year. Some 787,843 guests showed up to enjoy the carnival, animals, and eclectic entertainment, bringing with them – sweaters.

The fair, formerly held in the heat of late August, is now a harbinger of spring in Los Angeles County, but it's been a very grey May this year. Fair staff dubbed this year's 16-day event, which began May 3rd, as having “the chilliest weather ever.”

Once a commercial-industrial show held along the Southern Pacific railroad in downtown Pomona, the fair is now in its 95th year. The event moved to May in 2022. According to LA Fairplex president and CEO Walter Marquez, “Guests are now acclimated to us being a May fair and, despite the cool weather we had this year, they are coming early and staying late.” John Landherr, chairman of the LA County Fair Association Board of Directors added that the “family-friendly event with a touch of the new” drew strong numbers this year. “We trended toward higher attendance almost each day of the fair.”

Marquez described the fair as a “community celebration, and county and state fairs across the nation reflect the unique characteristics of all their communities. Fairs celebrate people in all our wonderful and intriguing variety…” Indeed, the event's variety was a major part of its appeal.

The carnival drew kids little, big, and those who were merely kids at heart. Ray Cammack Shows offered over 70 rides, 29 games and 20 food concessions on the midway. The company celebrated its 38th years as the fair's ride purveyor.



RCS offered a free carnival ride for kids through their Read to Ride program, in which kids could read a book in exchange for the ride. The carnival also offered promotional giveaways for ride passes and games on both Facebook and Instagram throughout the fair. Wristbands were $50 and included 2 free games. They were valid for a single day only.

Staff at RCS reported fairgoer ride favorites included G Force, Bumper cars, the thrills of the Wild River raft ride, Ice Jet, Mach 1, Alien Abduction, and of course the Giant Wheel, among others. Also a big hit, a ride new to the midway this year, Overdrive. It's a new breakdance ride featuring an automobile-shaped ride car, and images of the Fast and Furious movie cast such as Vin Diesel and Paul Walker as part of its scenic appeal.

There was also a new treat on the RCS midway: served at the Pineapple Whip concession, it was a split jumbo sour dill pickle wrapped in Fruit by the Foot, and topped with pineapple soft serve, sour chamoy, lime tajin, and gummy spaghetti strands.

Speaking of food, edible fun was big business at the fair. Classic fair vendor Chicken Charlie served up 15 pallets of French fries, 5,000 ears of corn, 2,000 chicken kebabs, 10,000 drumsticks and 3,000 chicken sandwiches. At Midway Gourmet, bacon-wrapped pork belly on a stick, jumbo turkey legs and giant corn dogs were big sellers; the Tasti Chips stand celebrated its 50th anniversary with 25,000 pounds of potatoes sold as their homemade chips. The fair also celebrated a variety of new food choices this year, including a hot honey funnel cake chicken sandwich, sriracha dogs, and pizza fries. The Veggie Box, in its second year at the fair, served vegan options from Oreo milkshakes to plant-based burritos or burgers.



Also plentifully served were birria tacos and toasted pepperoni slices on a plate of crunchy fries from Pizza Slizer. Per fair staff members, fairgoers could taste and learn about aged cheese, including the award winning Joseph Farms 12-year-aged cheddar; participate in wine and cheese pairing classes; or enjoy the fair's wine education program, where over 20,000 individual 1-oz. tastings of wine were served, including gold medal winners from the Los Angeles International Wine Competition. Olive oil tastings and a craft beer bar were also part of the tasty mix.
Hungry bargain hunters were also well served: many food vendors offered value menu items priced at $9.50, including MacPherson's Ice Cream which poured a 32-oz. root beer float; and Ten Pounds Bun which served a third of a slice of the original ten pounder, sourdough with mozzarella and cheddar, along with a medium beverage.

Naturally, animals were also a big part of the fair fun, with over 200 furry friends at Cal Poly Pomona's Huntley College of Agriculture's petting zoo. New baby critters made their debut during the fair's run: two cows, 19 sheep, 24 goats and nine pigs in all. Fair attendees could also witness goat milking and calf feeding among other animal-centric activities at The Big Red Barn.

The livestock competitions in The Farm area included Future Farmers of America, 4H students, and open classes, who all came to show off their goats, sheep, llamas, and other animals.

Music was another major component of the fair's success. Concert performances included Pat Benatar & Neil Geraldo, Los Tucanes de Tijuana, War, TLC, Ramon Ayala, Nelly and T.I., and Dustin Lynch and The Outlaws. Indie music fans rocked out with local emerging music talent at NextFest LA, offering over 250 entertainment acts on multiple stages.

In an inclusive first this year, on Thursday, May 16, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the raucous fair sounds were quieted on “Thoughtful Thursday,” providing a “sensory-inclusive” atmosphere designed to encourage attendance for neurodivergent guests. The Fairplex partnered with nonprofit KultureCity for the event, during which carnival noise was lowered, lights turned off or lowered, and anxiety and over-stimulation reduced.  Roberto Viramontes, executive director of The Learning Centers at Fairplex described those hours as a time for those who “may have challenges with sensory inputs…to be able to have fun…we lower the music and the noise level as much as possible, turn down the lights, so that it's more inclusive to guests who do have sensory-processing challenges.”

Other special events at the fair included a Mother's Day brunch on May 12 and a whiskey tasting fundraiser on May 18 that included a Dustin Lynch concert. Additionally, fairgoers donated nearly 95,000 cans of non-perishable food on three Food Drive Thursdays, 25 percent more food donated than 2023.

This year also brought the return of the LA County Fair's first post-pandemic parade since 2019; Pride Day also made a jubilant return that included an evening indoor party. The fair's Black on the Block supported area Black-owned businesses with a focus on art, music, and food.
And, rolling in for even more excitement, the Skate R Cade skating rink made its debut at the fair. Guests were invited to roll it out around an indoor rink located in Expo Hall 9, to the sounds of a live DJ.  The venue also offered pinball games, claw machines, and custom cotton candy. Kristy Dahlstrom, project manager of exhibits, attractions, and entertainments, described the rink as “a 40 by 100 retro roller-skating rink.”
Given the fair's size and longevity, of course there was yet more for fairgoers to enjoy. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art held an exhibition in the Millard Sheets Art Center, a presentation of Mexican master Rufino Tamayo's work centered on Tamayo's longstanding interest in prints.
The Fairplex Garden Railroad celebrated its 100th anniversary; and guests were treated to displays in the Flower & Garden Pavilion, as well as the experiential America's Great Outdoors; pig and duck racing; and the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show.



Ticket prices varied by day, with online admission tickets priced at $10 and $25 for adults and the first fair weeks the least expensive. Tickets were $30 at the door. Kids and seniors were $15 at the door; purchased online they were priced at $10 to $12. General admission parking was $20 in advance and $25 at the gate.

Discounted ticket options included Pomona resident admission priced at just $1 on May 9th, and discount tickets were also available at Superior Markets and O'Reilly Auto Parts.
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