Stanislaus County Fair had record attendance. Just how many came after pandemic hiatus?
The 2022 version of the Stanislaus County Fair drew more people than ever in its 110-plus years.
A total of 270,447 patrons came through the gates over the July 8-17 run on the Turlock grounds, the management said in news release Tuesday.
The previous record was 261,089 in 1989. The third most was the 260,000 or so people in 2019, before the fair was sharply restricted by COVID-19 over two years.
“After coming out of COVID, we were unsure what to expect, but the community knew what it wanted,” Chief Executive Officer Matt Cranford said. “It wanted a good summer fair.”
The event began as the Turlock Melon Carnival in 1911. It has retained its agricultural flavor while adding carnival rides, concerts, motor sports and other attractions. This year brought the first bloodless bullfights, a Portuguese tradition. And duck races.
Food and other concessions rose 38% over 2019, and Butler Amusement saw a 30% increase on the midway rides. The fair reported 10,285 entries in competitions ranging from flower arranging to sewing to agricultural mechanics.
Young members of 4-H, FFA and Grange grossed about $1.5 million for the livestock they raised for the fair. They sold 221 swine, 81 heifers, 71 steers, 259 animals in the combined lamb/goat category, and nine in rabbits/poultry.
The fair had a full lineup of FoodMaxx Arena shows with separate admission, including demolition derbies, monster trucks, the bullfights and a rodeo.
Well-known musical acts played the Coors Light Variety Free Stage, including WAR, Smash Mouth, Selena tribute artist Karla Perez, Sean Kingston, Gary Allan, Bone Thugs-N- Harmony, Danielle Bradbery, Night Ranger and Luis Coronel.
This story was originally published August 24, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
