South San Francisco, CA July 2, 2018 Press Release
Themed “We Build the Fun,” the architects of family fun at the San Mateo County Fair have packed up their tool boxes for the 2018 fair.
The 2018 San Mateo County Fair concluded its nine-day run on June 17 and fair officials have deemed this year’s event another tremendous success. “We measure our success on many factors, but the number one factor is the fair guest experience,” said Dana Stoehr, chief executive officer for the San Mateo County Event Center and Fair. “Our fair guests had a wonderful time. We could see it in their smiles, we heard it from their comments and they confirmed their satisfaction through our onsite fair survey.”
Stoehr reports that fair attendance was up nine percent over 2017, with more than 127,000 people attending. In addition, more than 6,000 exhibit entries were received, also up from 2017. In the Youth Exhibits category alone, more than 1,250 entries were received—the most popular category being color photography. The annual Livestock Auction, held on the final Saturday of the fair, generated $178,700 for 4-H and Future Farmers of America members. In addition, a capacity crowd of 2,200 fans grooved to the sounds of TLC—this year’s most popular concert.
“Our guests experienced the fair through all their senses,” said Stoehr. “They tasted the fair’s newest food item, an award-winning Nutella, caramel, bacon-topped funnel cake. They touched the furry baby animals in the petting zoo. They sniffed the aroma of smoking turkey legs on the grills. They watched the chair-stacking Acrobats of Hebei China with wide eyes and listened to really great music on our four stages.”
While the 2018 fair concluded just 10 days ago, plans are already underway for the 2019 fair. “Our team started planning next year’s fair the moment the gates opened for this year’s fair,” said Justin Aquino, fair operations manager. “We are still celebrating this year’s success and at the same time, we are in motion for an even greater fair in 2019.”
The San Mateo County Fair is the Peninsula’s premier community event for Bay Area family fun and entertainment. The San Mateo County Fair strives to provide a diverse experience through education, inspiration and entertainment. The annual Bay Area fair represents a celebration of our community’s talent, interests, innovations and rich agricultural and artistic heritage.
Visit sanmateocountyfair.com to sign up to receive regular updates. #SMCF2018.