The sights, the sounds and the smells: Wallace Baine takes you on a tour of the Santa Cruz County Fair
Quick Take
Go inside the 2023 Santa Cruz County Fair, running through Sunday at the fairgrounds in Watsonville, with Lookout’s Wallace Baine via video shot by Lookout photojournalist Kevin Painchaud.
The Santa Cruz County Fair is underway at the fairgrounds just outside Watsonville. The 2023 fair runs through Sunday, and the theme is — as it is every year — to do something, or eat something, you would not at any other time of the year.
The fair looks and feels — and smells — just as it has for years, despite the stormy offseason and the ensuing change in leadership. The livestock pens are all full of blue-ribbon-winning farm animals. The Alaskan Racing Pigs are racing. The corn dogs, cinnamon buns and turkey legs are all available for the culinarily adventurous. And the pavilions and halls are full of everything from paintings by local artists to prize-winning tomatoes and apple pies.
The fair is as it’s always been. It’s open Friday from noon to 11 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets are $20 general admission; $13 for adults 62 and over; $10 for kids 6 to 12; and free for kids 5 and under. Parking is $10.
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