The annual Santa Barbara Fair and Expo offers thrilling rides, racing pigs, mouth-watering food, live entertainment and a multitude of events when it kicks off its five-day run Wednesday at the Earl Warren Showgrounds.
The fairgrounds in Santa Barbara, at 3400 Calle Real, has been transformed into a hub for dino-crazy fans, with the theme inviting visitors to “Have a Fun-O-Saurus Time.”
Fair gates open at 4 p.m. Wednesday, and the event will continue through Sunday.
“Dinosaurs are a fun theme,” Earl Warren Showgrounds CEO Ben Sprague said. “We have these animatronic dinosaurs in the exhibit building that move around. They look real.”
This year’s event will have music and dancing, hypnosis shows, outside games, magic tricks and more than 30 carnival rides that twist, twirl and spin around at the carnival area.
Fair-goers can enjoy a carousel ride and the popular Ferris wheel, which is nearly 100 feet tall, is returning this year. A new ride is the Mega Flip, a ride for people yearning to be weightless.
“It’s a pendulum-style swing,” Sprague said. “Your feet are free and you get spun around.”
If the fair food and carnival rides aren’t enough, the gathering has exhibits, and each day hosts its own cooking contest that people can enter.
It also has a wine and beer garden area for those 21 and older.
(Brooke Holland / Noozhawk photo)
The exhibit building has been named “Dino-Town,” and showcases artwork, photography, arts-and-crafts items and other projects by county residents. Ribbons will be tacked onto the award-winning work along the walls.
“It showcases the best of our artistic community,” Sprague said. “The community arts scene gets involved.”
It wouldn’t be the fair without some staples such as the All-Alaskan Racing Pigs. When the starting bell rings, the young pigs compete by running over both high hurdles and flat tracks. The race is a crowd favorite.
“The squeals of delight come from the audience and participants at the race,” said Sprague, who was appointed Earl Warren Showgrounds CEO in January. “I’ve heard it’s absolutely fun and people have a great time.”
The fair has all the petting zoo hits and many farm animals in the fair’s livestock area, including goats, chickens, alpacas, and bunnies, plus interactive displays highlighting agriculture and farm animals.
People who keep their Santa Barbara Fair and Expo ticket stub can receive free admission to the Ventura County Fair this summer.
“Hold on to your ticket stub,” Sprague said.
(Brooke Holland / Noozhawk photo)
The Santa Barbara Fair and Expo’s hours are: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 4 p.m. to midnight Friday; 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.
Children under the age of 5 have free admission, and admission is $8 for adults and $5 for seniors, and children over 5. A carnival wristband is $30.
Some on-site parking is available for $10 and free parking is available at La Cumbre Middle School, 2255 Modoc Road, and Bishop Diego High School, 4000 La Colina Road, with a free shuttle to the fair running every half hour.
Earth Day festival this weekend
Another popular event this weekend is the Community Environmental Council’s Earth Day Festival at Alameda Park in Santa Barbara, which has a variety of free events scheduled Friday through Sunday.
The theme this year is “Educate. Inspire. Act.”
Santa Barbara is the birthplace of Earth Day, and 2019 is the 50th anniversary of the 1969 oil spill in the Santa Barbara Channel that launched the modern environmental movement. The very first Earth Day was held in 1970, one year after that spill.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
