The “Fab Fair”-themed 2014 San Diego County Fair opens Saturday with tributes to the Beatles’ arrival in the U.S., along with all the entertainment, rides and, ahem, cuisine, that draw fairgoers annually.
The fair, celebrating the start of the British invasion in music and pop culture, will run through July 6, but will be closed on Mondays and the first two Tuesdays.
Adult fair admission is $14, with an $8 rate for seniors 62 and over and children ages 6-12. Children under 6 get in free. Deals and discount days are available.
Among the tributes to 1960s culture will be photographic exhibits designed to give viewers a behind the scenes look at the “Ed Sullivan Show,” which famously featured the band and the Beatles’ subsequent tour.
Other nods to the decade of love include the John F. Kennedy Exhibition featuring a model Oval Office and a fuselage re-created to look like Air Force One as it did when JFK was a passenger.
There are many, many more atttractions.
On Opening Day, the Burn Institute will host a fire expo and will pit firefighters against each other in a demolition derby to raise money for fire and burn prevention education programs and aid for burn survivors.
Demonstrations will include a mock extrication from a burning vehicle, rappelling, CPR training and fire engine displays.
The day also will include a performance by Third Eye Blind on the Heineken Grandstand Stage, the first in a concert lineup that includes Voz de Mando, Sunday; Jeff Dunham, Thursday; Darius Rucker, June 13; and Smokey Robinson June 20.
Grandstand entertainment highlights also include Toni Braxton with Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, June 21; Grupo Intocable, June 22; Huey Lewis and the News, July 1; REO Speedwagon, July 2; and Matisyahu, July 3.
New culinary choices are on tap for this year’s fair – and believe it or not, some are healthy. And boy, oh boy, some aren’t.
New to the fair this year are Chicken Charlie’s Triple Decker Krispy Kreme Cheeseburger and Deep Fried Chicken Skins; the Smoked Jack Daniels Bacon- Wrapped Churro at Bacon A-Fair; and Sippers’ Chocolate Peanut Butter Bacon Banana and Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel.
Presumably the Reno’s Fish & Chips Seafood Salad and Grinders’ Cauliflower Sandwich might be moderately healthy alternatives.
The fair parking lots are usually full by late morning, so organizers suggest using public transportation or parking at off-site lots and using free shuttles.
Off-site lots are located at:
- the Del Mar Horsepark, 14550 El Camino Real;
- the MiraCosta College campus in Cardiff by the Sea, 3333 Manchester Ave., and
- Torrey Pines High School, 3710 Del Mar Heights Road.
Buses leave the off-site lots every 15-20 minutes.
– City News Service contributed to this report.
