Pima County Fair

Stayed overnight in the RV park. Some paved pads but many gravel sites — all level. We had plenty of space for our big rig and towed car. A great choice for us. We had a safe place to park, electricity (50amps), water and a good rate. Sewer was available but not necessary for our overnight stay. We didn’t use any of the facilities. They don’t take reservations. Would definitely stay here again.

I go every year and it’s never a disappointment! Bring money for rides, carnival games and FOOD! I suggest going Sunday-​Wednesday if your looking to beat the crowd and actually enjoy some personal space while having fun. Enjoy…

Okay so,
I was too broke to go to the fair last year and I’m so glad I was able to go this year.
I literally wish I would have been able to eat so much more because there is so much delicious food.
I went twice the day it opened and on a Saturday. I noticed the difference between going on a week day and a weekend because it was super packed on Saturday and it was hard to find a good spot to sit and enjoy my amazing food.
the only thing i didn’t like was the parking area. There were too many weeds and rocks.
if you are looking for something different to do the fair is really awesome a lot of rides, a lot of food, and the music is pretty great.

I do not own children. Therefore, I take it upon myself, for the good of all mankind, to act like a child when I see fit. The Pima County Fair is the perfect place for my husband and me to be 12 years old again. We love it!
Anyone who knows anything about Tucson has, at one point or another, found themselves bored and housebound, yet again, on a Saturday night. Nothing to do, nothing to look forward to, no good movies out, no new restaurants to sample… Bleh!
The P.C.F. changes everything! It’s something to do, something to wait for, to anticipate, for a whole year until it comes to town again. We have attended this wonder of wonders for the past 3 years in a row, and it seems to have gotten better each time.
Here are some highlights we run to each time we go:
1) Old Pueblo Hall — It contains art pieces from local yocals ranging in fields from baking, paintings, pastels, quilting, photography to sea shell concoctions. Participants can be either professional or amateur, and many of the pieces entered in the judged arena are displayed with their ribbons of merit. It’s very cool to see what people come up with, and rather inspiring to those who often think to themselves «Oh, I could do better than that!»
2) Food — Deep fried Oreos, Twinkies, Twix, Snickers, cheesecake, Pop Tarts, Twizzlers, etc. Need I say more? I didn’t think so! In addition to those gut busters, giant soft pretzels and cheese, chili cheese hot-​dogs and french fries, kettle corn, ‘karmel’ corn, cotton candy, pizza, corn dogs, pickles, bar-​b-​que, corn, Indian fry bread, ice cream, turkey legs, and so on and so forth. Pretty much anything a standard American could ever wish for… all in one place… This doesn’t happen every day, folks!
3) RIDES! — This is by far the biggest draw for my husband, sister, and I. We are all youngins at heart and we delight in placing our lives in the hands of carnival employees once a year. Rides range in excitement levels, from kiddie yawners to adult thrillers that move fast and spin you upside down and over and around. It’s a good time for all! If you go, get yourself to the FunPass line and don’t be cheap — get more tickets than what you think you’ll need — Most of the good rides are 12+ tickets to ride. Plus, any extra tickets you purchase can be used towards the dozens of carnival games. Woot woot!
As far as the ride variety, there were two small (but fun!) roller coasters, a free fall drop ride, a bungee jumping site, zip lining, a huge slide, a water ride, several spinning upside down rides, a para gliding ride, the infamous Zipper, the one that spins in a circle really fast while you get pinned to the wall by centrifugal force, plenty of Ferris wheels, a merry go round, and many more than I can’t recall after a night of deep fried sugar.
I would say we, two adults who act like children, spent roughly $ 50 per person and 4 hours at the fair last night. We believe the expenditure was worth the return.
If you’ve got a big family, you’ll need to be thrifty, but then again — it’s once a year. Live a little (within reason — let’s not get crazy) because you don’t know what’s coming tomorrow.
P. S. — The people in my party feel that the deep-​fried aspect of the desserts take away from the original item — all you really taste is the batter. So if you’re on the verge, wondering if it’s worth it — it’s not.
You’re welcome.
Better choices would be plain old cotton candy or kettle corn. The turkey legs have way too many calories/​fat for one person, so share!
Or get a pickle instead. Then again, who gets a pickle? I always wonder that at amusement parks. ‘Why do they sell pickles here? That’s weird.’ And than I’m surprised later when I see some kid walking by munching on a 5 pound pickle. Intriguing.
As my pappy always used to say, «Calories don’t count at Disneyland. Now let that be a lesson to you!» True story.

I am a fan.
To be honest, I came for Silversun Pickups (SSPU) alone. I could not possibly care less about the dumb fair. And it is with those expectations — and level of (dis)interest — that I found myself thoroughly enjoying the entire fair and wishing we had the equivalent somewhere in Nevada. (Even our state fair sucks pretty badly, according to all accounts.)
Must try:
SSPU (Or whichever artist is performing that night, naturally.)
The set-​up is wonky with an area with folding chairs set up with seating in the front, which is fenced off from the GA area. Anyone who purchases entry to the fair can go to the concert. The upgrade VIP ticket gets one inside the seated area. I killed it playing some dumb die game at a local radio station booth, so I won tickets even though I did not know what I was playing (to the chagrin of the station employee).
Must try:
The horse stables
There was an elderly cowboy that must have lectured for hours on all he knew about horses and the personal history of his magnificent stallions. We simply met him when he noticed us taking interest in his animals. This is the type of gentleman that one just does not come across too often, and indicative of being at a true, bona fide fair and not some commercial shitfest.
Must try:
The monkey trailer
Those little bastards are a riot! Worth the 2 $ or whatever the hell it cost. They deserve a pay raise. (Or to be set free …)
Skip:
Deep fried treats
No, this is not a public service announcement about how you’re going to get your foot amputated and how you are going to die, et. cetera. (All that is true though.) This is a review of how shitty they are. They simply are shitty. Overpriced, and not good. Nathan’s at Mermaid’s Casino on the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas, Nevada sells 1 $ treats that put this nasty shit at the fair to shame. Skip it.
How can it be that a County Fair in Arizona be superior to our State Fair? Battle Born State, get your shit together.

A really nice fair though prices for rides/​food are steep. Be careful what you eat :)

Range!
No mention of the fact that this venue has a nice gun range, it’s probably politically incorrect to post huh? Only $ 8 for a lane and they have plenty so you rarely wait. Rangers are friendly and experienced. Saw people shooting pistols, rifles, shotguns, slingshots and bow.

Had a great time last night at the fair, as always. As others have mentioned, the food is very overpriced but hey, it’s only once a year! The deep fried treats are a must at any price. As far as ride tickets go, try to get them at Fry’s beforehand. $ 10 gets you 10 rides. It’s a much better deal than waiting and purchasing tickets at the fair. My only problem is that people seem to have lost all common courtesy. When did, «excuse me» or «I’m sorry» disappear from the vocabulary when you nearly knock someone over? How about «thank you» when someone holds a gate open for you? Other than that, a wonderful time was had by the whole family.

Yesterday was the first time my wife and I tried the Pima fair! it was awesome! a bit hot for my liking but it brightened our day and it was really enjoyable —
Favorite part: My wife shooting an airsoft gun !

Been to many fairs in my life and this is my favorite. It is the safest, most organized, nicest, cleanest, largest, most organized parking. Have gone with kids 3 years in a row, so haven’t covered the whole fairgrounds. Kids rides are run by at least 2 workers per ride, who are friendly and helpful. Wish there were a few more food choices on the side of the fairgrounds. We could not find any rides for a 2 year old to go on (36″ minimum).

Will be bringing the kids again this year. They love the rides, I love the animals. The only problem is how expensive all the rides are! Especially if you have more than one kid, or teens. Get ready to spend some serious money!

Went here to pick up my packet and run the Kiss Me Dirty Mud Run with a group of UnilocalERS! It was awesome; we got down and dirty and had loads of fun! This place was quite a drive for me; about 20 miles from my place but it was well worth the trip. This place may not look too big from the main entrance but it is pretty spacey. Normally, a general ticket for admission is $ 8 — so not too bad.
I guess if you got to check out Tucson places; this got to be one to put down on your list. It’s been open since 1911 and they celebrated their 100 year anniversary two years ago, 2011. A historic place; check it out.

Went here Saturday on the last weekend that the Pima County Fair was opened. Definitely a place to stop by for those who need something to do on a free weekend. Ample parking space though you’re corraled into spots. Be careful of who you park next to as my girlfriend’s car was dinged by a rude old woman who seems to have forgotten her manners.
Anywho, loads to do for a flat entry fee but doesn’t include the tickets you need to buy for rides. Rides are typical of what you would find at a fair and they have many attractions such as a central area where they had a bug fair and a hay maze for the kids.
Also there are plenty of food stands and it seems they discovered that just about everything can be fried. Definitely heavenly and if I haven’t eaten earlier I’ll be 20 lbs heavier.

We visited the Pima County Fair today and had a fun time. The fee is $ 8 per adult, $ 5 per kid, and children under 5 years have free admission. They don’t open until 10AM on Sat.-Sun. and won’t open until 1PM on weekdays. Be prepared to spend more money for ride tickets (sold separately) and food/​sweets. There was plenty of parking ($ 5 per car) but I suggest arriving early before it gets packet around 1PM. The fair closes around 11PM so you get plenty of time to play.
This fair is small compared to a state fair but there is plenty of entertainment. They had tigers on display, monkeys on display, a petting zoo (goats/​sheep, pigs, and llama), a livestock show (for teens and kids), a (barrel racing) horse show, lots of rides for kids and adults, and lots of food. The bungee jump was great and so was the rock wall. They had a historic section of the fair reserved for old tractors. The rides were ok. They had a carrousel, playground slides, small teacup ride, and so forth. If you are willing to dish out the cash for the games then you have that option too. There were some displays of art but if you have ever been to a bigger fair somewhere else then you might feel something is missing.
There are a lot of vendors. Some of them will get in your face and push a sale, so be prepared and put your game face on. There were a lot of vendors trying to sell the same thing like sunglasses, cheap purses, hair accessories, incense, hats, leather wallets, costume jewelry, and stuff that will just collect dust on your shelf at home. Some vendors were selling the common «seen on TV» stuff. Really there wasn’t much interesting or different to buy at this fair. A hand full of the vendors were the rudest I had come across in a long time (could it have been from the 100 degree heat?) so that was the only big pitfall about this fair.
The food sold was mostly hotdogs, corndogs, fry bread, burgers, and the meat-​on-​a-​stick variety. Of course you can’t pass up the caramel apples, cotton candy, and other common fair sweets. There was kettle corn, funnel cakes, specialty fudge, slow cooked meats, jerky, spices, popcorn, dips, specialty candy, deep fried foods, gyros, baked beans, corn, jellies, and other mouth watering yummies. There are a few bars there too that sell beer or margaritas. So after you have walked five or more miles all over the fairgrounds you can’t treat yourself to something fattening or unhealthy.
We didn’t walk out of the fair without spending around $ 150.00 on our parking, entrée fee, ride/​game tickets, food, petting zoo feed, sweets, a professional pic of our family at the fair, and some shopping. Bring a hat, your suntan lotion, and a camelbak to save you from the sunburn and paying through the nose for a small bottle of water. We had a great time but will go on a day when the heat isn’t so bad.

The fairgrounds are pretty awesome! I rarely met a fairgrounds I didn’t like. This one is nice and far out of city limits but isn’t so far away that it is a ridiculous drive. You just hop on the I-​10 and head out until you find it. During huge events like concerts, I have found it very difficult to get in and out of here, so be prepared. Saw Metallica years back and what a zoo, took 45 minutes to get off the freeway and in there.
Parking seems handled well enough by competent staff during shows and the fair.
There is a bar here during the fair, and a nice concert area with plenty of port-​o-​potty restrooms (I pay close attention to restrooms). Lots of beer to get your drink on, and vendors everywhere. They do a good job here. The 4-​H buildings great and lots of animal stables. The best fair to attend is in Phoenix in terms of size and quantity, but they do a good job here at a good facility.