DIXON — California's oldest trade show celebrates its 147th season this season. The Dixon May Fair, which has been around since 1877, opened Thursday night at the Dixon Fairgrounds.
“We have something new, something old, something for everyone,” said Patricia Conklin, CEO of the fair. She says, “California's little fair is really about community.”
On Thursday night, the fairgrounds were filled with people enjoying food, rides, games and Solano County's showcase of local vendors and exhibits.
“You can go to a competitive exhibit at a fair and see what excites your community. Your next-door neighbor that you didn't know did it. It's kind of cool.” said Mr. Conklin. “There's something for everyone at the fair. If you ask 20 people what their favorite thing is, you'll get 20 different answers.”
Almost everyone polled by CBS13 on Thursday night had another unbiased favorite. The answers ranged from rides, children's carnival games, prizes, food, funnel cake, and even wine tasting.
In Solano County, where agriculture is a major industry, livestock shows are something many children look forward to year-round.
Peyton Mallory, who plans to show the rabbits on Friday, said, “They taught me how to take care of the animals and how to be careful not to hurt the animals when flipping them over.”
Most of the people at the fair Thursday night told CBS13 they had been coming to the fair since they were young.
They can call themselves impartial experts, but they may not be as qualified as the Lopez family.
“We've been to every fair in California. There are about 84 now, but there used to be many more. This is one of the great traditional family fairs, and we're both from Dixon. So I like coming here,” Roberto Lopez said.
When Roberto and his wife Lucy Lopez got married, they made it their bucket list to visit every fair in California.
“Sometimes we would have three fairs in one weekend, at different locations,” Lucy said.
But of course, as the saying goes, there's no place like home, in this case the Dixon Fairgrounds.
“Special family memories. That's why we try to bring them back every year,” Roberto said.
“When they're young, moms and dads take their kids to the fair, and then they take their kids, and they bring their kids again. I always wanted a theme of 'recycled memories.' “Because that's how I feel,'' Conklin said.
The fair runs until Sunday. Tickets can be purchased online.