Got the back-to-school blues? The Santa Cruz County Fair is the cure!
The 2024 Santa Cruz County Fair is a one-stop-shop for experiences and entertainment that will take you back in time and transport you to the future!
We’re calling it “Pioneer Days to Modern Ways!”
Red: a Taylor Swift Tribute Band
For the first time ever, the Fair will feature a drone light show. Each night of the five-day Fair, “Skye Dreams” will amaze fairgoers with 200 drones dancing in the sky above the fairgrounds. It’s an artistic and high-tech experience!
But even as the Fair embraces “modern ways,” it’s always rooted in agriculture.
The Ag History Project is an educational opportunity; a place to see how farming was done in the good old days. And of course, FFA and 4-H students will show off their prize pigs, goats, sheep, cows, rabbits and poultry in the Junior Livestock Auction.
In our Exhibit Halls, come see what your friends and neighbors have created in dozens of categories. Those categories include agriculture, horticulture, livestock, poultry, home arts, amateur wines, fine arts, LEGOs, poetry, youth displays, handspun/handwoven crafts, quilting, photography, floriculture, collections and more!
There is still time to enter the Fair yourself! The 2024 Exhibitor’s Entry Guide is available online at santacruzcountyfair.com. A printed Guide is also available at the Fair Office, 2601 East Lake Ave. (Highway 152) in Watsonville and at local libraries and feed stores throughout the county.
Most online entry deadlines are Aug. 22, including livestock and poultry. Please check the Entry Guide to confirm the deadline and receiving schedule of the specific department you’re entering.
Live musical entertainment this year includes: Antsy McClain, RED — A Taylor Swift Tribute, Escaramuza El Centenario Charra Show with Lola Montes and Los Tiranos Del Norte.
The Fair also hosts a carnival midway, Monster Trucks and Motocross, magic shows, kids’ shows, horse shows, tractor parades and roving entertainment. Plus, all the savory and sweet fair treats you only get once a year… from funnel cakes and cinnamon rolls to fried artichokes and BBQ kabobs.
Now that we’ve convinced you to come have fun at the Fair, we also want to offer you some awesome deals that will save you time and money! Pre-sale tickets and ticket packages are available now! Pre-sale tickets cost less than tickets at the gate. And special packages include deals on admission, parking and carnival wristbands. Buying pre-sale carnival wristbands saves $5!
New this year, carpool to the Fair with your family, neighbors and friends! Fill your car with 5 or more people and park for FREE!
Monster Truck and Motocross tickets are also available online now.
To buy tickets and packages online, visit https://tickets.santacruzcountyfair.com/p/tickets
Pre-sale tickets are also available at the Fair Office: 2601 East Lake Ave., Watsonville.
If tickets are purchased at the Fair Office, there are no additional fees. There is a convenience fee to use the online ticket portal. Pre-sale ticket prices will be available through Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 11:59 p.m.
All the nostalgia and excitement of “Pioneer Days to Modern Ways” awaits you at the Santa Cruz County Fair, Sept. 11-15!
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Top Photo Credit: Stephen Rider