More than one million people are expected to visit the Los Angeles County Fair this year from Aug. 31 to Sept. 23 at the Pomona Fairplex.
The 2018 fair has a theme for the very first time, which celebrates Route 66 with the slogan “Get Your Kicks...at the LA County Fair.”
“All of our attractions, exhibitions are with Route 66 theme," said Rene Hernandez, associate director of communications at the Los Angeles County Fair.
To align with the Route 66 theme and provide more affordable food options for visitors, each food stand was asked to come up with a special $6.60 menu, such as a corn dog with lemonade, a few pieces of Buffalo chicken with mac and cheese and a soda, or some desserts.
A large plastic “Route 66” cup is also available for $6, and customers can refill it at any food stand for another $3.
Other popular foods include the smoked turkey leg, jumbo hot dogs, and a variety of deep fried food, such as watermelon, pineapple, oreos, pecan pie, onion rings, filet mignon, bacon wrapped chicken legs, and more.
The fair also includes a parade, a museum with artwork, a farm with 500 animals and a petting zoo, an exhibition hall dedicated to Route 66, dozens of rides in the kid zone, shopping and vendor options, dozens of food stands, a beautiful indoor garden, and much more.
“Our flower garden pavilion this year theme is ‘Flowers of the Southwest.’ It takes a look of all different flowers from Arizona to New Mexico, California, and Texas. It just gives people a good idea of the types of flowers and animals that you can see in the southwest,” said Hernandez.
Other attractions include a free stage performance, a water balloon toss, and a pie-eating contest, while farm shows, pig racing, storytelling, circus acts, magic shows, and more are scheduled multiple times every day.
It typically takes visitors a few days to get through all the attractions, so many local residents buy season tickets for $49.99, so they can come as many times as they’d like. Parking is also free on the first weekend when you purchase the season pass.
Sandra Padilla bought a season pass and came to the fair on Sept. 8 for the third time already with her husband, daughter and niece.
“My mother-in-law passed away a few years ago. We would come here with her every year. So we do it every year in her memory,” said Padilla. “It’s a fun place, better than Disneyland I think. Just come here and enjoy your day.”
Other visitors say the lines for rides are shorter and the prices are cheaper than Disneyland, while the atmosphere is more casual and relaxed.
Regular admission fees are $20 for each adult on weekends and $14 from Wednesday to Friday. However, special packages can be bought at Costco, Albertson’s, Von’s, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and Subway. In addition, visitors can donate five new school supply items on Wednesdays, or five cans of food on Thursdays to get in for free from noon to 5 p.m.
“The school supplies and the food cans that we receive will all back to the communities,” said Rene Hernandez.
