California State Fair opening weekend ‘roaring success’ despite turnout drop, officials say

California State Fair officials called the fair’s opening weekend a “roaring success,” as visitors flocked to the Cal Expo event for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a Monday news release, “tens of thousands” of people visited the fair from Friday, July 15 to Sunday, July 17. The weekend attendance marked a drop from the 2019 opening weekend, when around 100,000 residents came to the fair. State fair spokeswoman Darla Givens said that the fair could not provide more specific turnout numbers for the weekend.

But fair officials heralded a safe and smooth start to the 17-day fair, especially in light of the pandemic hiatus. For just the second time since 2009, the opening weekend saw no arrests, Givens said.

“We’re very excited that the opening weekend was so well received by our guests, who helped celebrate California with an exciting, successful and safe start,” said Cal Expo General Manager and CEO Rick Pickering in a Monday news release.

The fair sold 8,225 unlimited ride wristbands and 14,000 fast passes during opening weekend, as well as 10,000 individual ride tickets. The most popular ride was the white-water flume, which saw 8,500 riders turning to the water ride to take respite from the triple-digit heat.

Officials also praised the new clear bag policy for helping keep security lines short, allowing visitors to enter the fair quickly. The clear bag policy is one of a number of new security features adopted at the fair this year, which may have helped limit opening weekend arrests.

During opening weekend, fair officials also announced the winner of the annual food festival — this year, a cinnamon toast caramel roll from County Fair Cinnamon Rolls.

The State Fair will remain open through July 31.

This story was originally published July 18, 2022 at 5:16 PM.