It is officially fair time as Friday marked the opening day of the 2023 Stanislaus County Fair in Turlock. The fairground gates opened to the general public at 5 p.m., welcoming thousands to the 105th full capacity fair since the event’s founding in 1911.
The fair’s opening night was sponsored by 209 Multimedia, the parent company of the Turlock Journal, which handed out free sunglasses to the first 1,000 people through the gates.
At the front of the pack was the McCauley family of Hilmar, who won the title of first in line. Mother, Tori, joked that they were only first in line because they mistakenly thought that the gates opened at 4 p.m.
“We honestly thought that it was already open,” she said with a laugh. “But the kids love the fair, especially the animals, so they’re excited to go see them.”
Other than the animals, all three children, Hunter, Jason and Paige, proclaimed that they were most excited for the rides.
Jose Piña is serving as the Stanislaus County Fair’s marketing manager and spokesperson for the second consecutive year. He wasn’t surprised at the site of long line leading up to the grand opening.
“Honestly, ticket sales have been slamming,” he said. “It’s trending to be a huge year.”
Last year was the first full capacity fair since 2019, as the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the event in 2020 and forced a limited capacity crowd in 2021. The excitement was made clear in 2022 as the attendance record was broken with 270,447 visitors over the 10 days of operation. Nevertheless, Piña believes that this year’s event has the potential to best that number.
The McCauley family wasn’t the first to enter the fairgrounds, though, as livestock judging has been taking place for the past two weeks. Friday’s showing included rabbits (market show), dairy cattle (register bulls, heifers and replacement heifers) and swine (breeding show and showmanship).
Also helping ring in the 2023 festivities on Friday on the Modelo Variety Free Stage was country music band Parmalee, who performed hit songs like “Take My Name,” “Carolina” and “Girl in Mine.” Meanwhile, Tongue and Groove performed on the Michelob Ultra Stage while the Rich Olds rocked out on the PG&E stage.
Over in the FoodMaxx Arena, the trucks and tractors once again came together for Tractor Pulls to serve as the opening weekend shows for the fair, as tradition.
More on this year’s performers, arena events and attractions planned for this year’s Fair can be found in the 2023 Fair Magazine inside Wednesday’s edition of the Turlock Journal or online at www.TurlockJournal.com/special-pubs/fair-tab.
