Step right up to the Marin County Fair, July 2-6
June 5, 2008
Celebrating its 63rd year, the Marin County Fair is one of the biggest community events of the summer! A slice of old-fashioned Americana, the fair boasts 28 free carnival rides, 11,000 exhibits, contests, livestock demonstrations, concerts, food, nightly firework displays, and more.
Come see artists and craftspeople compete for the blue ribbon in 800 categories ranging from baking and winemaking to photography and filmmaking. Curious city-slickers can learn a thing or two about farm life at the sheep-shearing or cow-milking demonstrations, or cheer on the Ham Bone Express racing pigs while the youngsters make new furry friends at the Great American petting zoo.
If horticulture is your game, you can admire the patient work of the Marin Bonsai Club and the Marin Orchid Society as they exhibit their delicate flora, or pick up some tips on how to spiff up your own garden from talented Marin locals at the Home Arts Stage.
Both Bay Area artists and popular retro bands hit the fair’s Main Stage throughout the event, including the iconic Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Chicano rockers Los Lobos, bluesman Elvin Bishop, and the UK-based roots reggae outfit Steel Pulse.
This year, the Marin County Fair also ushers in a new era of green-themed exhibits, competitions, and attractions. The 6,000-square-foot Exhibit Hall is packed full of interactive exhibits to encourage the greening of your daily life, while the Alt-Fuel Road Show shows off the coolest and latest alternative fuel vehicles on the road today. Hear bestselling environmental-lifestyle advocate Danny Seo give a keynote address on July 2, or watch the EarthCapades Environmental Vaudeville team weave comedy, circus skills, and lessons on ecology, every day at 2 p.m.
If you still haven’t had enough after a full day of music, rides, and exhibits, stay for the Fantastic Fireworks, launching nightly at 9:30 p.m. This year’s display is the longest and most elaborate ever staged on the lagoon, illuminating the sky above the fair with Roman candles, comets, meteoric showers, and bursting cascades of twinkling color.