2012 Sonoma County Fair Deemed A Success

Now that the 2012 Sonoma County Fair has officially closed its gates for the season, we are busy tallying up our records, sweeping up the grandstands, and packing away the carnival rides. Despite the slow economic climb, attendance and spending at the fair were up from last year. Although the final numbers won't be released for a couple of weeks, the preliminary results show paid admissions fell 1.5%, with a total of 193,207 people, slightly down from 196,154 in 2011. Food concessions were up 1.75%, at $2,740,283. In 2011, food concessions were $2,693,174.

Sonoma County Fair offered 5 days of live horse racing on both a dirt and turf track with total purse monies exceeding $1.8 million. The average field size was better than any other race meet running only 4 days. The racing handle, including satellite wagering, decreased 6 percent to nearly $31.4 million.

There were a number of events and attractions added to the schedule to celebrate this year's nautical theme "Cruise On In." The Pirate Olympics, Creature Feature exhibit, Bubba's Beach and Sand Sculpture turned out to be a huge hit with the kids. In light of the overwhelming success of last year's cattle drive, the sheep drive this year from downtown Santa Rosa proved just as entertaining. Farmer's Day, a Fair favorite, drew a terrific crowd for Mutton Bustin', the Pig Scramble, the sheep counting contest, and some good old fashioned fun.

According to Hall of Flowers designer Greg Duncan, this year's theme, "Ports of Call," which showcased eleven intriguing cities from around the world, was very warmly received by fairgoers. "I think everyone really felt like they were traveling to another place as they made their way through the show."

Two new community based interactive exhibit areas were added. Greentivities demonstrated to fairgoers fun ways to recycle, reduce and reuse. There were several guest speakers and workshop oriented discussions providing creative tips for conserving and living more lightly on the earth. Inspiration Stations captured the essence of the "do it yourself" spirit by providing hands on demonstrations for specialized skills and crafts. These interactive workshops were both educational and entertaining.

It was another noteworthy year for the 2012 Sonoma County Fair Junior Livestock Auctions. The combined total for all auctions broke the $1 million mark for the sixth year in a row, bringing in $1,094,391.57. The auction totals across categories have far out-paced last year's record-breaking numbers, further emphasizing the community's strong support of youth agriculture programs.

We were fortunate to have had warm days during this year's fair that often carried into the evening. We experienced a few typical cool Sonoma County nights brought on by the coastal fog, but overall the weather was quite pleasant

"We had a terrific Fair", said Saralee McClelland Kunde, Sonoma County Fair Board President. "Fairgoers enjoyed the multiple locations for free live music, an amazing array of delicious food, the Sheep Drive through downtown which drew attention to the Fair's Agricultural roots, the Junior Livestock Auction raising over $1 Mil for the 6th straight year, 3 weeks of horse racing, and all the other shows and attractions provided for our community."

The tentative dates for the 2013 Sonoma County Fair are July 24 through August 11.