What’s Going On?

The California State Fair is held annually in Sacramento (the state capital of California). Each year the Cal Expo hosts an over two week long celebration of what California has to offer and ends Labor Day. This year’s theme for the fair was “Weird Wild & Wacky” and at the fair there is a vast array of things to do. No one that comes to the fair will be disappointed because there is always something for everyone.

One good reason to come to the fair is to see Terry Stokes, the hypnotist, live on the PG&E Center Stage. Every year Stokes brings onto the stage volunteers from the audience in hopes to put them under his trance. While the group is hypnotized, Stokes is able to get the majority of them to do what he asks them to do as long as it is within the audience member’s morals. Oftentimes, he gets the audience laughing and entertains them so much that they stay and watch his entire show uninterrupted not wanting to miss a single moment.

Another thing to check out at the fair is the livestock that is displayed in the Livestock Pavilion and Cavalcade of Horses Arena. There you can find pigs, horses, lambs, goats, sheep, and other various farm animals. Cattle contests and horse wagon shows are just some of the events that take place almost every day at the fair and there are a few days where even a rodeo comes to town. In the California Ranchland section of the expo there is a petting zoo for all ages, where a couple of dollars can get you entry and the ability to feed all sorts of animals.

Exhibits in the Expo Center Buildings are always quite interesting. There are 8 buildings that make up the Expo Center. Each building displays something different to showcase off what Californians have done for the fair. The exhibit halls this year are Youth Art & Design, California Foodstyle, Wild, Wacky & Wonderful California (new to this years exhibit hall), It’s a Candy Nation (also new), Industrial & Technology, Fur & Feathers, California Fine Arts, and California Creative Arts.

Next to the Expo is a 9/11 Memorial that plays tribute to those that lost their lives on that day. There represented is a cross-beam that was part of the actual building, a twin towers replica, and a rotating 5,000 lb. granite ball with the names of those fallen which sits afloat on top of a small water fountain.

If the exhibits and the animals are not enough entertainment and fun for the family there’s a midway and carnival rides for the kids and the adults. The larger carnival is on the west end of the expo, whereas, the kid’s carnival is on the eastern end. Food vendors line all paths of the fairgrounds and if you don’t see one you haven’t been looking hard enough. Staples at the fair are funnel cakes, turkey legs, fried veggies, kettle corn, and corn dogs.

If entertainment is not your thing, there is a lot of shopping that you can do at the fair. Inside of a couple buildings there is a shoppers expo. Here you can find local businesses, even businesses from out of state here. Vendors present all sorts of things to buy from food snacks to “As Seen On TV” items. Make sure to bring disposible income because there are tons of things that are useful.

Adjacent to the shopping expo, there also is a couple of buildings that are dedicated to displays of the various counties that are in California. Each county has the opportunity to display what their county has to offer and usually they do so with big displays and lots of brochures. Some displays are pretty interesting and you can tell that a lot of thought has gone into developing them. Not all counties actually show up to display, but a majority of them come out to represent themselves.

If entertainment and shopping is just not what you are looking for you can just sit back and relax or take a walk in the Floriculture section of the expo, The Farm, the California Forest Center or even Raging Waters (at an additional cost).

Every year the fair has a pretty entertaining line up for the fair’s concert series. This year the fair was able to book the following groups to perform on the Golden 1 Circle Stage. They were David Cook, Jay & The Americans, Cannibal & The Headhunters, Merrilee Rush, Badfinger, SOnny Geraci and Otis Day, Tonic, Salvador, The Fab Four, Martha Munizzi, Tarde De Ritmo Y Recuerdos, Lou Gramm, M.C. Hammer, Three Dog Night, Blake Shelton, and Tops in Blue.

On September 3rd, M.C. Hammer performed live on the Golden 1 Circle Stage. He put on a good show for everyone and brought some of his old classics back. A few familiar songs that he played were “U Can’t Touch This”, “Too Legit to Quit”, “Addams Grove” (edited version of “The Addam Family”), and “Turn This Mutha Out”. M.C. Hammer said to his audience that he’s not there to perform and that he in not presenting a show, he was there to party and a party it was. He got everyone standing on their feet in the groove of things and later towards the end of his appearance he brought 30-40 people up on stage just to dance during two songs. Fans went crazy when on stage and it ended up being a club scene on stage. People on stage sure had a good time dancing, singing, shaking hands  and taking pictures with M.C. Hammer. Although, M.C. Hammer is getting older he still knows how to put on a great show and get the audience involved, a true sign of a good entertainer.

In our recession the fair still ends each evening off with a display of fireworks for about 10 minutes at 10 PM. The fireworks are shot off from the horse track and viewable from the grand stand as well as the eastern end of the fairgrounds. The carnival on the western side of the fairgrounds is open one hour after the rest of the grounds closes.

Pictures of the California State Fair can be seen by clicking on the picture link above.