California State Fair returns: Mark these 2022 dates for fun, food, wine and fine arts
The California State Fair and Food Festival is set to return to Cal Expo next summer after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19.
On Friday, the California Exposition and State Fair Board of Directors announced the fair’s return over 17 days — July 15, 2022, to July 31, 2022.
The international award-winning California State Fair will include a comprehensive list of competitions including California’s best-in-class wines, cheeses, craft beers, olive oils and fine arts, to name a few. It’s also a destination that celebrates the best the California has to offer in agriculture, technology and the diversity of the Golden State.
Coming in 2022, the state fair will host for the first time a competition — open to all licensed cannabis cultivators in the state — to judge the finest cannabis in California.
“We are thrilled to announce that the California State Fair will come roaring back in 2022,” said Jess Durfee, the chairman of Cal Expo, in a news release. “While Cal Expo has been honored to provide support and much-needed aid to Californians during this health crisis, our region and state have greatly missed the excitement of the State Fair.”
Since the start of the pandemic, the grounds at Cal Expo have been dedicated to almost entirely COVID-19 response — serving as a mass testing site and a vaccination site, as well as providing shelter for homeless residents.
Since 1968, Cal Expo has been designated as a place to recognize California’s achievements, agriculture, diversity, traditions and trends. Hundreds of events, including the State Fair, are held annually on the 350-acre site at 1600 Exposition Blvd. in Sacramento.
The back-to-back cancellations were the first time the state fair had been canceled since World War II. More than half of the state agency’s revenue comes from the event, which attracted more than 600,000 people in 2019.
The agency’s revenues have been in decline for some time, along with fair attendance. Legislators provided a cash infusion to keep the state-owned facility going during the pandemic.
The road back to events at the Sacramento facility has been slow but is gaining steam, as Cal Expo hosted the Sad Summer Festival in August and continues to host Republic FC soccer matches at Heart Health Park. More concerts are planned in the months ahead, including a music stop by alternative bands 311 (Oct. 10) and the Violent Femmes (Oct. 12), the Stamp and Scrapbook Expo (Oct. 22-23) and the Harvest Festival for arts and crafts (Nov. 19-21).
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 3:24 PM.