2016 Los Angeles County Fair

So, Alyssa and I had the day together and decided to attend the 2016 Los Angeles County Fair at Fairplex in Pomona. We went ahead and got our $12 tickets at Cardenas a couple of days before to avoid paying the gate price of $20 per person. After a delicious breakfast with my parents at Stevie Dee's in Rancho Cucamonga (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!), we headed to Fairplex.  Now, if you're like me, you probably have felt that the fair has gone down hill in the recent past.  In 2016, they brought it!  I am talking "A" game!

Good Times

I expected, arriving close to opening on a Saturday, that we'd be waiting to get in the lot at Blue Gate, but you know what?  We paid our $15 for parking and were parked, near the gate, within 10 minutes!  We walked in and through the fairly easy security screening area and began the trek under White Ave.

Once inside, we made an immediate right to the often overlooked area known as "The Farm".  We explored the vegetable gardens, pet and fed the goats, and learned about bees.  Outside of the $4 for goat food, this is all free!  I even found the Queen bee in the hive!

We grabbed our first and only beer of the day (shocking, I know.) from a well hidden little spot in the back corner of the farm area.  To my knowledge, it's the only spot at the fair to find this particular beer which is made in partnership with Claremont Craft Ales and Fairplex.  It's called Farm to Foam and it's light, refreshing, and tangerine like.  We then caught a glimpse of the Budweiser Clydesdales as they prepared to parade.

By this point in the day, it was time for lunch so we split a delicious beef brisket sandwich with waffle fries and the best bbq sauce I have ever had at a place called Chuckwagon.  It's located in that border area between the Carnival and the Home and Garden areas; right next to the log flume ride.

After lunch we explored another overlooked area, the train museum.  The volunteers are always happy to talk to you and you get to explore a few different engines.  It's never crowded, which is a shame, but it is a stop worthy of your time.  Frankly, I'd pay $5 to get in to just that area.  They do take donations and you absolutely should throw a couple of bucks in.

After the trains, we headed uphill, to an attraction I thought disappeared 8 years ago.  It turns out it just relocated to the hidden hill between the trains and the spas.  I am, of course, referring to America's Great Outdoors.  It's an educational area hosted by the Forest Service.  You can check out a lookout tower, learn about plants and animals, take home a free tree to plant and cut through a log where they brand what you cut and send it home with you.  Yes, it's all free!

After a quick jaunt through the Flower and Garden Pavilion for some much needed air conditioning, we headed to the newest attraction, Jurassic Planet.  Jurassic Planet replaces that weird light box thing they've had for 3 years and let me tell you, it's a welcome replacement.  There was a long line for the $5 ticket, so we hopped on our smartphone and bought the ticket online.  Show it on your phone at the entrance and skip the ticket line!  The attraction is a well laid out educational display...oh, who am I kidding?  It's a bunch of animatronic dinosaurs.  They move. They roar.  They battle.  They feel like they're looking at you.  It's awesome and worth the $5!

After coming back to the present, we checked out Mojo's Wild and Crazy Lagoon, the "Exotic" animals area that's now at the base of the picnic hill.  It included a giraffe, parrots, turtles, gators, and a monkey that we got to see laugh!  We headed inside the Art Center for some air conditioning and culture.  I recommend you give it a shot!  We followed it up with a visit inside the ice skating rink.  For $5, you can ice skate on a full-sized rink.  After checking out the vendors in all of the exhibit halls, we headed into another new attraction called "Let the Games Begin".  It's indoors and well laid out.  It has the history of every sport you can think of as well as opportunities to test your skills.  It's all completely free!

We ended our day since it was pretty hot and we are getting too old for it but I should also mention the $5.50 souvenir cup at many vendors is the best deal of the day.  It's only $.50 more than a large but you can refill it all day, at any vendor that sells that cup, for only $2.75.  Vendors are varied but we used ours mainly at the Fair favorite, Hot Dog on a Stick for some fresh, ice-cold lemonade!

Well, that's our day at the fair.  If you have been avoiding it due to lack of quality in the past, I say you give it another chance!  We had a blast and like I said before, they really brought their "A" game this year!  The fair runs Wednesday through Sunday until September 25th!  Get down there now!