The Big Fresno Fair

Ghetto!!! expensive and a waste of time and money just not fun anymore. I can get a better less expensive meal at a 5 star restaurant then spending a fortune eating greasy food here.

Wow it’s all I can say. Awesome time Sunday last day… Got great discounts for 3 Teenaged girls… Fun fun fun!

Well our experience @ the last day of the fair wasn’t entirely too bad. I can’t say it was fantastic as I thought there’d be something really mind blowing or really «out there» being the last day & all but no. there wasn’t…unless you want to call the #LuchaExtreme wrestling something but I can’t say that it was either
I did enjoy the BMX show they had but you couldn’t see it too well where they had them set up. The skateboard part of it could only be seen from the side where the small stands were which was a disappointment & I believe they should’ve had more of a spotlight since the bikers were really great!
Of course the crowds you get, annoying people who are clueless & don’t «go with the flow» & just stop suddenly in front of you & stand there for no reason looking around. we always seemed to end up behind. lol
I did enjoy the exhibits. The art exhibits were off the «HOOK». Some of these kids are AMAZINGLY TALENTED! I’ve included a couple photos of just how talented they are. My daughters teacher from middle school last year entered her painting & she received 3^rd place for it. I’m a very proud parent!
All in all, through the walking which I didn’t think we’d be @ all day into the night, eating the various kinds of food (my fav is the cinnamon rolls), we had a great time! We’ll definitely go back next year!

I’ve been coming to the fair for as long as I can remember. I’ve skipped a few years here and there and never really miss much in my opinion. It was really hot today so it kinda made for a miserably hot time, but I did my best. I never ride rides or play games and am usually over it after a few hours. I mostly come here to see what, if anything is new and to eat some overpriced fair food. They rearranged some vendors and attractions this year, but everything is still easy to find. I tried the crab fries from Southern Comfort Kitchen and they were pretty good. Kinda steep for $ 9 but average as far as fair food prices go. The fries were seasoned, crisp, and topped with real crab meat and a creamy Old Bay sauce which was flavorful and brought everything together. The fries were actually larger portioned and came with more crab meat than I imagined which was nice.
I checked out the new Fresno County Historical Museum. It was interesting if you’re into history, but it kind of bored me to be honest. It’s two stories, but there’s not much to see upstairs except part of a courtroom and a few other items. The only thing I really look forward to checking out every year is the art exhibit which features local artists work on display. The works range from photography to painting to mixed media. As far as actual vendors go, in the two main buildings there’s not much to see in my opinion. Every year it seems like they have less exciting and unique vendors.

So I paid for the unlimited wristbands for our group. That was 25 dollars for each wristband. Explain to me why I should have to buy extra tickets to make sure my 2 year old can be in the ride? It’s ridiculous. And a other way to get more money. I think Fresno fair needs to find another company to go through for their carnival rides.

Who can afford to go anymore! We took 2 grandkids ages 3 & 6; had 5 corn dogs, 3 soft tacos, lemonade, Pepsi & water; played 2 kid’s games, rode 2 rides (all kid rides $ 4-​$ 5 each)…all for an obscene amount of money. I hadn’t been in a few years and won’t go back for a few years, just too EXPENSIVE! Even the food is too expensive.

Be prepared to thin the wallets because «The Big Fresno fair» is also big on spending, but the return on investment would the everlasting fun and memory that will be in photographs for all time, its an american favorite tradition that can’t be missed. The Fresno fair remain the same grass-​roots celebrations of regional food, drink, traditions, cultural nuances and quirky artistic pursuits they were originally intended to be, while a dash of the glitzy and glamorous, high-​energy and adrenaline pumping has been added for good measure. Its a fun time that can’t be missed.
To be honest what’s not to love above the Fresno Fair? (maybe the grueling heat) — it a place where the young and old can meet to enjoy rides (mini-​roller coasters, carousel, caterpillar, fireball, ferris wheel and etc), livestock competitions (horse race and turkey runs), live music (hollywood and latinowood), arts and crafts contests (agriculture, home décor), and deep-​fried everything-​but-​the-​kitchen-​sink concoctions that makes the cardiologist worry about your arteries.
There are some measure that can be taken to reduce the spending at the big Fresno fair and one particular measure is parking for me. The organizers does have parking located close to the Fairground, with parking prices costing 2 arms and a probably 4 legs. Parking prices near the fair ranges from $ 5 to $ 15. FREE parking is available, the only catch is that its located 3 – 4 miles away at a park and ride located at the corner of temperance and CA-​168, the free parking even comes with a convenient FREE shuttle service commuting every 30 minutes.
My favorite attraction of the fair other than the thrilling ride was the preview of the NEW Fresno County Historical Museum. Currently only the first floor will be open to the public. But this new 14-​thousand square foot museum costing $ 2.8 million and is estimated for completion in the next year and a half is currently open to public partially, and it showcases memorabilia from the historical Fresno past.
There are plenty of food and drink choices here everything from southern food, mexican flares, asian cuisine, american classic and so much more. There is even beer (alcoholic drinks) served here (ID check located on each side). Most stalls are credit card friendly, but there are some stall that are unfriendly to card payments, therefore having $ 10 – 30 of cash is highly recommended. There is also an ATM provided. Food taste wont be gourmet or amazing, but its edible enough, so I wont be a tough critic on food at a fair.
As for rides, they are token style, where you would have to buy it at a specific stall located around the fair, plan to pay $ 5 per ride or you could actually buy $ 35 flat rate ticket that gets you to unlimited rides in the fair.
There are plenty of exhibits to see here, such as a home decorating exhibits that flaunts beautiful quilts hand made by people in the valley, also prize winning baked good. Plus being the food centre of the world, there is even an agri-​exhibit.
Plenty of facilities are available, like toilets and changing rooms for babies. There is even a rental for strollers. Im just amazed how organize and well thought out the fair has been. It really did feel like a Disneyland, where money was leaking everywhere, but it also felt like a food festival, with fried gator and foot long coney dogs. Its a classic american tradition that can’t be missed. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and cool attire because it is HOT !

It’s been a while since I have been to the fair, reason being I am not a fan of large crowd. Being that fresno does not have much by way of amusement parks and carnivals the big Fresno Fair is as close as we can get. Thus everyone makes their way to the fair grounds for deep fried foods, questionable rides and petting zoos.
I decided to go to the fair earlier in the day because 1.) I thought there would be less people, 2.) There would be less chance that a fight would break out in the vicinity where I had my niece and 3.) I had to get back to my homework. I was right because I decided to go to the fair when it first opened for the day the crowd was less dense. This also made me realize how ridiculous the barricades leading up to the ticket windows were. since there was no line was no line we were able to walk up to the ticket window without waiting but first we had to make our way around barricades which weaved in and out a million times.
It was free for my 2 year old niece to get in and about $ 10 for each adult. at the entrance we were checked for any weapons by security guards with metal detectors. They even checked my niece as if she’d be packing a little baby pistol in her shoe.
We walked around for a little while to see what activities we wanted to engage in and what ultra unhealthy food we wanted to try. After much debate we ended up buying a Garlic Chicken kebab, Garlic fries, Pretzel sticks, battered veggies (zuccini, artichoke hearts, egg plant), a fried twinkie, and a fried slim fast bar because it’s such a backwards concept. The Garlic Chicken kebab, Garlic fries and twinkie were good and had great flavor. I was not a fan of the battered battered veggies the literally tasted like nothing (well maybe grease). the pretzel sticks tasted like salted card board. Also I died a little when I ate the fried slim fast bar, but I mean come on did you expect anything less?
My strategy to avoid fights fell flat on it’s face because a big brawl broke out amongst some teenagers. This signaled to me that it was high time to go home because my inner grizzly would have emerged if a hair on my niece’s head was touched.
In sum, I think that I have out grown the fair. the crowds are exhausting, the prices are unnecessary and the food is hit or miss. I left feeling guilty, likely with clogged arteries, and tired.

I haven’t been to the fair in about seven years. I decided to go this year because my daughter is leaving for college in the summer so she wont be attending for a few years. We planned to make a day of it so I took the day off from work and she ditched school. It was opening day so entrance was $ 1 and all rides were $ 1. We were going to go to EVERY exhibit and ride mostly all the rides. We spent a lot of the time in the Gems and Minerals because we love crystals and there is lots to look at. We got there at 11 am and the crowd was fair not too crowded. The first place we ate at was SONORAN HOT DOG. IT WAS HORRIBLE! it was a bacon wrapped hot dog with literally a tablespoon of beans, half a giant jalapeño and some white sauce. I also ordered fries with the same stuff on top, UGH WASTE OF MONEY. I also ordered a 16oz soda and they literally gave it to me half full and I had to take the lid off and tell them to put more. My gawd, it was barley 12:30pm, there was no need to be this skimpy!
We enjoyed the photo exhibit and home arts. Later we went on to eat fried cheese curds, cinnamon roll, corn dog, chocolate covered cheesecake and popcorn. All those were delicious btw. The one thing that pissed me off about the fresno fair is they have NO WATER FOUNTIANS! like sheesh, it’s $ 3 a water bottle each time and it was a hot day and we were there all day so I spent $ 20 just on water alone.
Lastly, the carnival ride area opened at 3pm and we got tickets and got on all the rides with no problems or long lines. We stayed late so we went back into the carnival area around 7pm and it was jam packed, rude people everywhere and that just reminded me why I haven’t been to the fair in the last 7yrs.

I’m giving them an unfavorable review based on their lack of disclosure. We bought tickets to one of the concerts (about $ 42.00 each) and when we arrived we were told we needed to purchase fair tickets ($ 10 per person) as well. I’ve scoured their website and I can’t find any mention of this. I also don’t know if it was a rule of the venue or what but the show ran from about 7:15 to 8:35. Not really getting your money’s worth in my opinion.

First of all it was my mistake for going on a Friday night as it was so crowded that it took forever to get around. What was very dissapointing is that there was not as many vendors as I remember. A few of the food vendors were very rude and seemed as they could careless. Also that a few of the vendors advertised that they sold coca cola, then when you went to order one they stated that it was pepsi due to the contract with the fair. That is fine as I prefer pepsi but you should give what you advertise. I do not think that I will be returning next year

It’s just OK
We go there just to eat any more as the rest is pretty much the same old thing.
I like the horse races but forget about the beer, way too expensive.
Lots of police presence
We try to go when it’s not crowded

We parked in a lot between S. Chance Ave and E. Kings Canyon Rd for $ 6 (which is a lot cheaper than I would think for a Saturday). It was about a 2 minute walk to the fair.
There was a $ 10 entrance fee which gave me an option to use my credit card which is a huge plus (and most of the venders also take credit).
Upon entering there are several standard carnival rides that were on average $ 5/​ride, which is a little steep considering that the rides were nothing to write home about and most of them were not very long.
The food was also standard theme park type food with corn dogs at every other booth, cotton candy, churros, bbq, tacos, funnel cakes, this really yummy garlic stand with the most delicious finger licking garlic fries I had ever had. It was my favorite of everything I tried. The «fresh» lemonade was a disappointment as the lemonade flavor was too sour, while the strawberry lemonade was too sweet (and it was super expensive!). Be ready to shell out at least $ 15 – 20 for food and drinks at least.
The farm animals consisted of cows, goats, roosters, hens, turkeys, rabbits, and an assortment of birds. It was hard to get used to the smell of animal poop, but hey what do you expect from live caged animals who were constantly eating?
Overall, I think if it weren’t for the company, I probably wouldn’t come here for the fun or food. You definitely need to come with friends, otherwise this «big» fair will get old and boring real quick.

The fair wasn’t a big deal. It was all about eating than anything else. The exhibits were a snooze. I was excited to see some cute farm animals but the shit smell was overwhelming, nevermind! No petting zoo? They had the most depressing caged Kangaroo, I wanted to cry after seeing it and had to go eat my sorrows away. The Racing Pigs were fun to watch.
I tried the Cajun Corn dog, tri tip sandwich, Apple funnel cake. The BBQ foods were great, I just have to find out the name of the vendor! I think there wasn’t any crazy deep fried foods this time. I saw that there was deep-​fried butter, but it made me sick just thinking about eating that. This concludes my fair experience, most likely wont go again.

We like to make it a point every year in going to the fair and this year was no exception. We walked around enjoying the different items to view and all the different foods. We got the usual to eat (corn dogs, fried zucchini, and bierocks). Everything was very good and all the attractions were great. Our final stop as we leave the fair is always the cinnamon buns and we got a half dozen to go. they are a must every year. Stop in early if you don’t like crowds

I grew up going to the Big Fresno Fair. For the last few years I have gone, I have wondered what I thought was so fascinating about this annual event. The cinnamon rolls, the horse races, the giant pickles and of course the barn yard animals are a few of the highlights. But otherwise, this fair has lost its pizazz for me.
The parking price is ridiculous. The entrance fee is decent, $ 10, I think? And the amount of people that come to the fair has gone through the roof. It just isn’t worth going to on a weekend, especially at night.
If you are going to go, definitely go on a weekday/​night.

I went to the Fresno Fair with a group of friends last night, and we had a really fun time. We make a point to go every year.
Parking and traffic are always ridiculous. There was a large parking lot near the back entrance but they were charging $ 12 to park there. Sorry, I’d rather save my money and walk! We found a $ 5 lot off Chance, I think. We always park around there and just walk. They have shuttles that go to some lots, too, which is nice.
As others have mentioned, no, it’s not the nicest part of town to be in, especially at night. All night long, though, I saw lots of police and security guards, so that made me feel safe. All the people who open up their yards/​apartment complexes for you to park in seem a little shady, though, and I also wouldn’t park along one of the busy streets. Just sayin.‘
Maybe I’m cheap, but $ 10 for adult admission seems steep to me, especially considering how much money you have to shell out for anything inside. It bothers me that they don’t have a student discount, either, or at the very least, a City of Fresno employee discount. So for $ 20 a couple, you better plan to spend most of the day there to get your money’s worth!
All the booths/​shops were fun and I always enjoy looking. Want a knock-​off purse, feather clips for your hair, some Rasta gear, or a furry hat with animal ears? They’ve got everything! Even things you didn’t know you needed, like Cutco knives and such.
The Gem & Mineral building is by far my favorite. I’m part of the Gem & Mineral Society so I volunteer and sell rocks at their table. But I really love looking at all the displays, and really, who doesn’t love cutting open a geode and seeing the sparkles inside? Is it just me?
My friends all got lots of different food. I heard the pulled pork sandwich was just OK. Since there’s not much for a vegetarian to eat at the fair, I stay with my old standby, the fair cinnamon rolls. They are delicious and I always eat them way too fast (in fairness, they don’t stay fresh for more than a day, so eat ‘em quick). By the way, a cinnamon roll with frosting is now $ 5. Pretty sure they were less than that last year. Maybe it’s inflation.
Overall, the fair is a lot of fun. Lots of games, lots of rides (if you’re brave enough). Also, if you want to be a carnie, some of the booths are hiring. Bring friends or just your special someone, as well as lots of cash, and you’ll enjoy the fair!

The business model goes something like this…
F quality… check
F service… check
F comfort… check
Charge an arm and a leg… check
and the suckers will come back year after hot, polluted, rude year, check that, make it one less next year.
Typical Fresno screw the average Joe, business as usual, maximize profit, bait and switch.
The one star is for the hard working folks that are involved but that’s’ it.

GHETTO.
BUT this is a damn busy fair. I will definately give it that.
And they even have some pretty darned decent musical acts.

This is a pretty good fair. Lots to see and lots to do. Something for everyone. It’s pretty clean considering and seems pretty safe, lots of police and private security.
During the day seems to be the best time if you are looking for smaller crowds. Seems like 5:30−6pm is when the crowds get rather large. When it gets crowded, it gets hot and stuffy really quick.
Parking is a nitemare if you get there around 5pm-​8pm. Avoid the lots at those times. 2−4pm parking is a breeze. No lines to get in, smooth sailing.
The food is all pretty good, it all depends on the who, what, where.
For what the food is, it’s expensive. But when compared to fairs across the nation, it’s priced about the same as other places.
It would be nice to see more free water fountains. I hate having to pay $ 2-​$ 3 for bottled water.
The exhibit areas are always fun to browse too. I do enjoy seeing the fruits of peoples labor. Be it the animals, plants, fruit, or veggies, etc.
The fair is pretty clean, parking lots seem safe, and the fairgrounds seem safe as well. The fairgrounds aren’t exactly in the nicest area, but the fairground have a lot of police officers and private security. I haven’t ever felt scared or unsafe there.
They wand everyone as they enter and the police are patrolling everywhere. Seems pretty safe to me.