California has a great deal of fairs and expositions, many of which are well known, such as the Big Fresno Fair, or the California State Fair (Cal Expo, in Sacramento), and the Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles. The Mid-State Fair occurs on July 21-August 1, unlike the Fresno Fair that occurs in October. I’ve never been to any fair other than Fresno’s, and it’s been a while since I was even there. Plus, the Mid-State Fair is much closer than Sacramento’s (100 miles versus 170) and would be a great experience before going to the bigger California State Fair. Mid-State Fair’s motto is “The Biggest Little Fair Anywhere!”; seems similar to Fresno’s “Best Little Town” motto.
As the biggest little fair, it sits on just 40 acres of land, (same size of Fresno’s Chaffee Zoo) which is definitely smaller than Fresno’s 165 acres; meanwhile the California State Fair is an incredible 800 acres. Don’t let that 40 acres fool you into thinking the mid-state fair is featureless, as it surprisingly contains a variety of activities, such as concerts (though, it primarily revolves around farm animals and agriculture). 2019’s concert featured Melissa Etheridge, a singer/songwriter, huge flaming liberal and part of the LGBTQ+ community. Just a reminder that the event is in the summer (just like the California State Fair), so it would be wise to attend during cool hours!