A County Fair to Remember

By Jondi Gumz

The 2024 Santa Cruz County Fair was a big success by many metrics.

Ron Haedicke of the Fair staff reports record revenues for the Junior Livestock Auction:

Exhibitor total: $621,528.50
Heritage Hog auction: $16,384.00

That brings the total to $637,912.50.

“Amazing!!!!” wrote Haedicke.

Attendance was up every day, he said, adding, “We’re still crunching the numbers.”

Also in process: revenue from fees paid by concessions and the carnival.

Haedicke said the fair tallied 5,100 exhibits which include photography, flowers, fine art and collections — up by 20% over last year, a huge increase.

Another metric: Haedicke said, “We never ran out of parking.”

In the past, the fair has drawn so many people that some were turned away when the parking lot was full.

For the first time, the fair offered a special deal for “carpools,” vehicles with five people inside. The driver paid $15 to park and everyone inside got $5 off their fair entry admission.

The car pool deal attracted 2,100 people.

The idea came from fair manager Zeke Fraser, in his second year in the job, looking to make the fair “more green.”

Santa Cruz Metro offered free bus rides to the fair, but Metro spokeswoman Danielle Giagola said Monday totals would not be available for a few more days.

The weather was good, and this year, fair staff set up a new pavilion tent in an effort get more foot traffic into the commercial space to check products on display there.

With the theme of “pioneer days to modern ways,” this fair featured a high-tech drone light show in the sky every night, which was well-received.

“Everybody loved the drone show,” Haedicke said.

Fair Tradition

The Diaper Derby and Toddler Contest, a fair tradition started by Loretta Estrada, was a favorite among young parents. Both races had full fields.

Contestants start at one end of the mat with a parent and crawl or run to another parent at the finish line — well, some do, others wander off or just sit down.

The slowest two minutes in sports. And the winners are:

Diaper Derby

First — Dallan, Santa Cruz • Second — Finlay, Boulder Creek • Third — Peter

Toddler Contest

First — Santiago • Second — Brielle, Spreckles • Third — Raelynn, Los Gatos

Fair aficionado Michael Olson said, “Thank you for a great fair.”

TOP PHOTO: Proud parents with the winners of the Santa Cruz County Fair Toddler Contest. • Photo Courtesy of the Santa Cruz County Fair