LUCKY US: One doesn't really think about the weather when the weather is usually great, which is very often the case 'round Southern California. But one does pause to consider the charms of living in the Land o' 74 Degrees and Partly Sunny when one has to type the words "summertime county fairs." Why is this? Because in many places "summertime" would be an extraneous word. County fairs always happen in the summer, or the warmer months adjacent to summer, and it isn't worth explaining that. But here in California? It's so fine a lot of the time that we have county fairs that fall in many seasons, including wintertime (we're looking at you, Riverside, and you, mega date festival). It's just a reminder that it is nice to live in a climate that is friendly to the county fair. (Maybe travel brochures need to include that in a place's selling point? An idea.) Now the first of the big summertime Southern California fairs are up, and it lands in Del Mar on Saturday, June 8. Yep, we said "Del Mar," which means it's the...
SAN DIEGO COUNTY FAIR: The 2013 theme is "Game On!" which means one thing: The games of our youths -- think pinball to rainy Saturday board games -- will have their moment in the Del Mar sun. The Beach Boys, REO Speedwagon, Steve Miller Band, Kendrick Lamar, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will all be on the big concert stage and elsewhere around the fair? Loads of performers and performances, including a Gospel Festival. The San Diego International Beer Festival runs during the fair, from June 21 through 23, and there's a huge bacon fest this year, on June 16. Yep, it's a lot of classic haps, from midway high jinks to prized chickens to all of those baked goods and quilts that go into competition.
And the San Diego County Fair dates? Opening, as mentioned, is Saturday, June 8. The closing date? The Fourth of July.
