California Exposition and State Fair

The California Exposition and State Fair is the annual state fair for the State of California. The annual event is commonly known as the California State Fair and the current site in Sacramento is commonly known as Cal Expo.

Recent fairs

2007

The 154th California State Fair ran from August 17 to September 3. Among the performers were Daughtry, Chicago, The All-American Rejects, KC & the Sunshine Band, Tesla, Huey Lewis and the News and Weird Al Yankovic. [cite web |url= http://bigfun.org/fair/ConcertsEntertainment/concertcalendar.asp |title= Concerts and Entertainment |accessdate= 2007-07-26 ] Total attendance was less (739,380), but the fair was open 6 less days than 2006. Average daily attendance was almost 10% higher than in 2006.

2006

The 2006 California State Fair ran from August 11-September 4. The free concert series included REO Speedwagon, The Village People, Ciara and more. The attendance was 941,502, up more than 20,000 from 2005. [cite web |url= http://apps.calexpo.com/fair/PressRelease/ViewPressRelease.asp?PRelId=88 |title= California State Fair Wraps Up 22 Days Of BIG FUN |accessdate= 2006-09-10 ]

History

The California legislature created the State Agricultural Society to promote California's reputation for farming and industry. An agricultural exposition was organized and held in San Francisco in 1854, and California Historic Landmark #861 marks the site. Given that travel was difficult in that era, the next several annual expositions were moved around the state, to Sacramento, San Jose, Stockton, and Marysville.

In 1859 the exposition returned to Sacramento, and it was decided that a permanent site should be found. Capitol Park, a six block site bounded by E, H, 20th and 22nd Streets (coord|38.580|N|121.477|W) was purchased and was home to the state fair for the next fifty years.

Growth in population and attendance forced the purchase of 80 acres just outside the city limits on Stockton Boulevard (coord|38.552|N|121.452|W), and the first fair was held there in 1909. Continued growth caused that site to be expanded by 75 acres in 1937. During and after World War II, from 1942 to 1947, the Fair was suspended and the fairgrounds were occupied by the Army.

In 1948 the state purchased a large tract of undeveloped land along the American River north of downtown Sacramento. Funds were not allocated to begin construction on this land until 1963, and the Fair continued at the Stockton Boulevard grounds until 1967. In 1968 Governor Ronald Reagan opened the Fair at the "Cal Expo" site, which covers over convert|350|acre|km2 at coord|38.593|N|121.435|W.

References

External links

* [http://www.bigfun.org Official web site of the California State Fair]
* [http://www.funnevergrowsold.com/ Promotional web site]
* [http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/fe/ CDFA Division of Fairs and Expositions (governing body)]
* [http://www.noehill.com/sf/landmarks/cal0861.asp California Historic Landmark 861]
* [http://www.virtualemotion.com/vt/calexpo_virtual_tour/TourWeaver_calexpo.html California State Fair Virtual Tour (Java)]