The 12-day-long California Mid-State Fair is almost here.
Vendors, maintenance crews, and fair staff are working around the clock, getting ready to welcome people back to the Paso Robles Event Center.
“We are very, very happy to be back full fair, full steam ahead like our theme says," said fair spokesperson Tom Keffury.
While last year's fair attendance numbers weren’t as high as they were prior to the pandemic, fair organizers and vendors said this year might be different.
“We are anticipating this year a full fair. Our ticket sales and presales are strong," said Keffury.
“This year I think it’s going to be off the charts. It’s nice to see, too, the fairgrounds is filling back up again. Last year was a little soft, a lot of people were having a hard time getting back out here, but this year it’s packed," said Michael Compton, co-owner of Willamette Valley Pie Company.
James Wilde has been attending the fair since 1967, and this year won’t be any different.
“If I can get time off of work probably every night just to go out. Buy a pass. It’s nice on a hot night," said Wilde.
Compton traveled from Oregon and has been a vendor at the fair for eight years now.
“We do pies, cobblers, my wife does homemade cookies that are her grandmother’s recipe," said Compton.
Some new things to expect this year include new vendors and a newly renovated parking lot located right across from the fairgrounds.
There will be metal detectors at each gate entrance that everyone will have to go through prior to entering the fairgrounds.
The California Mid-State Fair opens Wednesday, July 20 at 4 p.m. and runs through July 31.
