The California Mid-State Fair gates open next month with this year's theme, "Off to the Races," paying tribute to the horse track built at the Paso Robles Event Center in 1887, before the first fair was held there.
“We are bringing back some of our heritage," California Mid-State Fair Special Events Coordinator Teresa Dellaganna said. "The fairgrounds used to have a horse racing track, and that's our theme this year. One of our exciting new exhibits going on in the exhibits department is down in the Ponderosa Pavilion. We have a horse racing exhibit about the history of horse racing.”
Other special free events include a watermelon eating contest, pedal tractor race, a farmer's Olympics, and a diaper dash.
For adults, a Central Coast wine competition is taking place on the first Friday with awards that include Winemaker of the Year, Wine Grape Grower of the Year, and Winery of the Year.
Bartenders will also get to partake in a mixology competition.
Concerts for all of the fair's stages have been announced, and among the grandstand concerts, country music artist Cody Johnson is already sold out.
“There's also going to be 12 days of Frontier stages, which are kind of bigger artists," California Mid-State Fair Marketing Assistant Lachlan McKenzie said. "For the Mission Square stage, it's going to be local artists, 12 days of that as well, so that’s exciting.”
Discount deals are also available before the fair starts on July 16, with 30 local nonprofits providing discounted tickets ranging from local sports clubs, 4-H clubs, and Paso Homeless Services.
