California State Fair ultimate guide to food, rides, events and exhibits
Starting Friday, the 173rd California State Fair returns to Cal Expo for 17 summer days of corn dogs, coasters, and rock concerts.
This year’s theme is “Wish You Were Here,” inspired by the stories people tell about fairs past.
“People fall in love with the memories they’re making here,” said Alex Alcantar, the director of marketing and business development for Cal Expo & State Fair. “In many, many years, most of them will come back and will tell those stories.”
The fair will run through Aug. 2, and this will be the last mid-summer fest before the fair moves to a September date in 2027. Fair-goers can expect thrilling new rides and exhibitions, along with traditional cook-offs and animal shows.
Here’s everything to look forward to and to know before going:
Barbeque, birria tacos, bake-offs and beer
Fair-going foodies can look forward this year to a host of traditional food and drink options. Some returning favorites include funnel cake, shaved ice, BBQ stands, and tres-leche cinnamon rolls. Other returning vendors include Dole Whip, taco stands, and churros.
Meanwhile, those with an adventurous streak can enter into new territory by sampling a dirty cherry cola from the Dirty Soda Company, sharing a slice of Sicilian pizza at the Save Mart Wine Garden, or filling up with a basket of bacon-loaded mac and cheese from Brian’s Mac & Cheese.
The fair will also host a number of cooking competitions, including mac and cheese and chili cook-offs where spectators can sample and vote for their favorite teams, and canning and baking competitions where participants will be judged for their best jams and jellies, pickles and vinegars, cakes, pies, and breads.
Those with a competitive streak can enter a number of challenges themselves, including Milo’s Corn Dog Eating Contest, where the winner will earn $2,500.
Additionally, a beer den will feature 18 different varieties of beer from around the state along with food items and a Heinz machine where users can create their own custom sauces.
Cannabis
Those wanting to visit the fair’s Cannabis Exhibit and Experience, open only to those over the age of 21, can expect a 50,000-square-foot cannabis oasis filled with educational exhibits, live hemp plants, consumption areas, and vendors for products including beverages, cartridges, concentrates, edibles, pre-rolls, tinctures and topicals.
The fair will also host the 2026 California Cannabis Awards, ushering in cultivators and manufacturers from all around the state.
Lauren Carpenter, the co-founder of Embarc, a cannabis dispensary chain, said that compared to previous years, the exhibit will be able to provide a more sensory experience for visitors.
“We’ve integrated the cannabis experience in a more meaningful way,” she said.
Carpenter also stressed that the industry has come a long way since Proposition 215, which legalized medical marijuana in California in 1996, and whose 30th anniversary is this year.
“I grew up in Sacramento, so this is, like, I can’t believe I’m now here,” she said.
To commemorate the milestone, an awards ceremony is being held during the fair to recognize the activists that fought for the law to pass.
In addition to the awards ceremony, home cannabis growers will also be able to participate this year, with hobby growers competing in categories for best indoor, mixed light, and sun grown harvest plants to win medals and a Golden Bear trophy.
Free concerts and mariachi
Music lovers can get excited about this year’s Toyota Concert Series, which will feature Grammy-award-winning record producers and pop stars including Babyface and Wyclef Jean; country music icons such as Lee Brice and Trace Adkins; R&B and funk bands including KC & The Sunshine Band and Boyz II Men; and Ezequiel Peña, sometimes known as the King of Banda and Mariachi.
The concert series will take place on the Sky River Casino Stage, and admission is free with a fair ticket.
Concert-goers will be able to line up at the back of the venue starting 5 p.m. for first-come, first-served seating in the free area which holds up to 700 people, or can purchase reserved seats to guarantee their place.
Additionally, the Viva El Mariachi Youth Mariachi Competition will return this year for teams from around the state to compete on the PG&E Center Stage on July 26 for cash prizes.
Animal shows and amusement rides
The state fair wouldn’t be complete without some creatures and critters, and this year’s barn exhibits feature everything from alpacas and llamas to traditional farm animals like pigs and sheep, to small animals including birds, guinea pigs, and rabbits.
The California State Fair Open Livestock Competition will take place in stages throughout the fair for categories of animals including goats, cattle, longhorns, and sheep, and will involve a mix of events including judging, showcases, and written exams. Other competitions will showcase small animals such as guinea pigs, rabbits, and poultry; and junior livestock including swine, dairy cattle, and beef cattle.
This year’s thrill rides feature a new twirling and swirling ride called the Hip Hop, a Viva Las Vegas fun house, and a grand carousel, the largest traveling carousel in the country.
The carousel horses, exquisitely painted and bedazzled, are valued at over $30,000 apiece, said Sean Butler, the chief operating officer of Butler Amusements, the family-run business that owns the fair’s rides.
“This carousel is special. It was actually purchased as a gift to my grandmother from my father, so we’ve had this from the family for over 35 years,” said Butler.
Art, history, and culture exhibits
For those looking to cool down after enjoying the rides, the fair’s Crafts and Student Showcase has just the thing. Visitors can walk past display walls featuring paintings and artwork from K-12 students across California, admire intricate tapestries and quilt work from Californian artists, and take pictures of crocheted animals and figures, including one of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
For the first time, the fair will also host the First Peoples’ Art Showcase, which will display basketwork, paintings, and clothes made by members of indigenous tribes including the Karuk, Cupeño and Yurok tribes.
“We are still here. We’ve never gone anywhere. We’re still engaging our traditions, our culture, our ceremonies,” said Heather Bernikoff, a Cal Expo board member.
The exhibit also features a tepee display in recognition of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and the disproportionately high rates of disappearances of Indigenous and native Americans.
The King Tut Experience is another new exhibition which features replicas of artifacts from the excavation of King Tutankhamun’s tomb. A golden ankh and calcite sculpture of Queen Ankhnesmerire and Pepi II are just a few of the replicas that visitors can walk through and read about.
Special events
Each year, the state fair organizes a slate of special events, and this year is no exception. This summer’s events include fireworks on Fridays and Saturdays at 10 p.m., visible from across the fair grounds; a truck and tractor pull on Saturday, July 18; a Monster X tour on July 25 and 26; and Pride Day on July 25, which will feature its own range of events and activities including Drag Queen Bingo at 2 p.m. and a disco dance party at 4:30 p.m.
Of course, a number of food-related events will also take place, including a Zucchini Derby on July 25 and 31, where participants will transform their squash into racer cars, and a Dinner 911 Cooking Challenge on July 26 in which members of the military, veterans, and first responders will face off in a live cooking competition in teams of two to prepare a three-course meal in front of spectators.
How to stay cool
With the weather forecast for opening weekend and the following week predicting temperatures hitting above 90 degrees every day, the fair has set up 7 cooling stations around the fairgrounds equipped with fans and phone-charging stations.
Visitors should also be aware that the state fair allows plastic water bottles to be brought into the fairgrounds, but bans water bottles made of metal, aluminum or glass.
There will also be 15 additional air-conditioned buildings: California Buildings A, B, C, and D; Expo Center buildings 1 through 8; the Tractor Supply Co. Big Barn; Satellite Wagering Center at the Michelob Ultra Grandstand; and Guest Services.
Parking and ticket prices, and how to save
The state fair’s ticket prices differ depending on when tickets are bought. Tickets purchased in advance are discounted by two dollars from tickets bought day-of:
- Adults: $16 for advanced tickets, $18 for day-of tickets
- Seniors (Ages 62+): $12 for advanced tickets, $14 for day-of tickets
- Children (Ages 5-12): $10 for advanced tickets, $12 for day-of tickets
- Children (Ages 4 and under): Free
Fair-goers can also visit participating Save Mart stores for discounted tickets prices:
- Adults: $14
- Seniors: $10
- Children (Ages 5-12): $8
- Children (Ages 4 and under): Free
- Carnival Rides Wristband: $42
To save even more, visitors can participate in SMUD Giving Fridays on July 17, 24, and 31, courtesy of Sacramento Municipal Utilities District. To participate, visitors can bring five or more nonperishable and non-expired food items for a free, same-day admission ticket which must be used by 3 p.m. of the day the ticket is received.
The food items will be donated to Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. Canned meat and beans, peanut butter, soups and stews, and canned fruit and vegetables are the most needed items, according to the state fair website.
Concert tickets to the Toyota Concert Series on the Sky River Casino Stage are free with general admission, but reserved tickets can also be purchased on the state fair’s website.
Tickets for carnival rides are available for $45 on Mondays through Thursdays, and $50 on Fridays through Sundays.
What to bring
As was the case with previous state fairs, all visitors younger than 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older at all times.
Admission to the fair grounds also requires that visitors bring only clear bags that fall within the state fair’s bag policy size requirements, or a small clutch or one-gallon plastic bag.
Foldable chairs and umbrellas can also be brought in as long as they fall within size requirements. Coolers are also allowed as long as they are attached to a wagon.
