The Marin County Fair is celebrating its 75th anniversary. With its "What A Ride!" celebratory theme, the fair kicks off on June 30th and runs through July 4th at the Main County Fairgrounds in San Rafael. This 5 day community event features exhibits, family fun activities, rides, games, live performances and fireworks.
The inaugural Marin County Fair and Harvest Festival was held in 1925 in Novato. Since then, the event has earned a much-deserved reputation for 'celebrating art, agriculture and the community.' Thanks to the event's commitment to conserving water, solar-powered stage and carousel and its impressive record of composting and recycling 94% of its waste, the fair is proud of its claim as the "Greenest County Fair on Earth."
Bands the likes of Kool & the Gang, Sheila E., the Plain White T's, the Wallflowers and Foreigner perform live each night. In addition to live music, the Marin County Fair encourages Marin and residents from around the Bay Area to participate in the competitive exhibits that give the fair its distinct hometown vibe. The 2015 event featured over 800 categories, 13,500 exhibits and some 7,000 entrants in exhibits that covered everything from performing arts to baking, fine wine to fine art.
Many families come to the Main County Fair to experience the creativity of the talented, artistic, technologically savvy and green-thumbed exhibitors. Programs range from international short films to fine arts to chickens, tamales and quilts, just to name a few. The fair is known for offering traditional and innovative competitive student exhibit categories.
The juried Fine Arts, Crafts and Photography Show is considered by many to be the best among the 78 fairs in California. The International Short Film & Video Festival is the only one-of-its-kind in North America at a county fair.
Fireworks displays light up the sky every night at 9:30pm over the lagoon. This 'extravaganza of music, rockets, Roman candles, meteoric showers and spectacular bursting cascades' is a favorite among families from near and far.
Image courtesy of Marin County Fair website.
The Marin County Fair is often defined by buzz words of change: “cutting edge,” “out of the box,” “trend setting.”
“It’s certainly all of these things in the fair industry, an inspiring and model county fair,” said Gabriella C. Calicchio, Director of Marin County Cultural Services. “The Marin County Fair combines classic fair exhibits with innovative new ideas. Add to that one-of-a-kind events, cuisines both local and global, a welcoming staff, cultural diversity and a rich history and legacy. This is the reputation and brand that the Marin County Fair has built over the last 75 years.”
In keeping with its innovative reputation, the Marin County Fair has an interactive smartphone app that gives attendees a map of the fairgrounds, allows them to quickly find food and drink vendor locations and check the schedule for events happening through each day. The 2016 Marin County Fair App in the Apple App or Google Play stores.
The Marin County Fair is open daily 11am to 11 pm from June 30th through July 4th. The Marin County Fairgrounds are located at 10 Avenue of the Flags in San Rafael. More information and tickets are available on the fair website.
