Carnival & Fair News

The California Mid-State Fair returned to Paso Robles for its 79th year, running from July 16 through 27th with a theme referencing its long history, “Off to the Races.” 

According to fair spokesperson Lachlan McKenzie, the fair's venue was once a racetrack before the fair took over.

“We…just wanted to bring that history back and show it off, the horse racing that was here,” McKenzie notes, describing the popular annual event as offering “Different food, different rides, different things every year.”

New this year were cooling stations and misters, as well as some unique food vendors according to McKenzie, attesting that despite new rides and big-name concerts, it's the classic “small town vibe” that is the biggest draw for guests.



Fair admission this year was priced at $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, and $10 for youth. Season admission passes were $80 per adult and $40 for kids ages 6-12. On Seniors Day, Friday, July 18, those aged 62 and up received half-off admission; Kids Day the following Friday offered free admission for kids 12 and under. On Armed Forces Day, Saturday, July 25th, free admission was offered for those with a military ID.

Musical acts were a big draw for the fair this year. Jon Pardi performed a sell-out show, but all acts were robustly attended: Flo Rida, 311, Cody Johnson, Viva La Quebradita, Red Clay, rocker David Lee Roth, Bailey Zimmerman, country hit maker Keith Urban, and Don Felder, formerly a member of the Eagles. Also a sell-out: the Country Rodeo Finals held on the fair's final Saturday, July 26, at which the All Around Cowboy winner was Colter Negranti. The fair's concluding event was a major Monster Truck exhibition held in the arena.

The concerts, rodeo and Monster Truck events were each ticketed, with concerts ranging in cost from $50 to $110 for David Lee Roth to $50-$90 for Flo Rida, and $20-$35 for the Monster Truck event. Jon Pardi's sell-out concert was priced between $57-$167.

The fair was nominated this year by the Academy of Country Music (AMC) for Best Fair and Rodeo of the year, alongside such behemoths of the country and rodeo circuit as Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming and the grand Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in Texas.



Free activities and events ranged from a watermelon eating contest to free rides on a kid's train that traversed the midway; Pacific Animal Productions brought birds and sloths among other living creatures to the Headliners Stage; kids also enjoyed the Kids Day on the Farm exhibit with activities from berry harvesting to interactive milking demos, kid's roping, and a tractor display, as well as a chance to view fuzzy baby chicks. Megan the Bubbleologist and the Magic Fun! performers strolled the fairgrounds. There was also a draft horse demonstration.

Competitions were varied from photography and home arts to photography and painting, a cheesecake contest, and a salsa making contest.

If it wasn't music and events and attractions, then it was animals drawing fairgoers, from swine to goats, sheep, and steers. A preliminary figure of $3.1 million in sales was raised from livestock auctions; an increase compared to the $2.6 million raised last year. $3,200 was raised from the small animal auction that included bunnies.

Also no slouch at raising funds: the Industrial Arts auction, featuring the craftsmanship of local students, which brought in $234,900.

And of course, there was the carnival with its rides for all ages and thrill levels, provided by Helm and Sons. Their Diamond Observation Wheel made its first-ever appearance at the fair, and while the enormous midway attraction was a big draw for the carnival, so too were thrillers such as Zipper, Medusa, Blackout, and Star Fighter, the latter of which is an exclusive ride to Helm and Sons. Family fun was plentiful too, including the watery Big Spash ride, and little kids weren't forgotten either, with Helm and Sons' Cub Country, a separate kiddie ride midway. On the fair's opening day, all rides were free; unlimited ride wristbands during the rest of the fair's run were priced at $35 presale, and $55 at the gate. 



Along with the rides, there were many midway food wagons and games such as Water Race Fun, Big Game Basketball, Duck Hunt, Ring a Bottle, and Hi Striker.

As to fair food, Helm and Sons' Sugar Bear wagon brought the hot dogs, ice cream, and this time around, big juicy dill pickles; at Hot Dog on a Stick, along with traditional lemonade, there was pickle lemonade. Other unique fair treats included deep fried cream cheese on a stick, corn dogs, a French fry waffle bun holding a burger from the Original Bratwurst stand, where of course there were stellar sausages, too. Among the most unusual offerings this year was Beef Maui from vendor Ricardo's Hawaiian Feast, a hollowed-out pineapple filled with rice, coleslaw, teriyaki beef, and pineapple slices. The same vendor also offered a pina colada in a giant, pineapple-slice-garnished whole hollowed pineapple. Old West Cinnamon rolls offered a new treat twist on their classic cinnamon rolls: one covered with Dubai chocolate.

Overall, attendance was up this year by 6.5% at the fair, to a total of 366,2016. However, carnival revenue dropped by 1% over last year's totals for an intake of $1,692,094 in revenue. 

Concert sales were also slightly lower than 2024; around 83,000 guests attended the musical events at the Chumash Arena. Food and alcohol sales were similar to 2024 figures, with vendors reporting gross revenues just above $3.3 million. However, alcohol sales decreased slightly; according to fair spokesmen, that drop was due at least in part to cooler weather. 

Special events were hits with fairgoers this year, the Cattlemen & Farmers Day Awards BBQ sold out with 1,300 attendees, and large crowds enjoyed the CCWC Gold Medal Wine Tasting event and the Get Crafty Mixology Contest and Tasting.



It was indeed off to the races this year…here's to racing forward as the Mid-State Fair turns 80 in 2026.