Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, California – There’s Still Time!

The 2009 Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, California has just a week and a half to go, but one of our fans in San Fran begged us to give it a mention. Sounds like the perfect afternoon quickie.

Alameda County and the city of Pleasanton rarely receive mention outside of business travelers and Bay Area statisticians, but a few times a year the place really comes alive. Assuredly, the best of those times is the annual Alameda County Fair, hosted appropriately enough at the Alameda County Fairgrounds.

Classic county fair fun is always the star of this show, with maybe a few surprises thrown in. Major attractions include the carnival midway, concerts, live performers, livestock competitions, a petting zoo, arts and crafts, demonstrations and, most importantly, plenty of finger-lickin’ fair food that’ll have you fighting over the last bite.

I’m afraid we missed opening act Charlie Daniels, but still to come to the concert stage before July 19 are Bowling for Soup, En Vogue, BJ Thomas, Solange Knowles (that’s Beyonce’s sister) and country music classic Aaron Tippin. Concerts are held daily and are free to attend. Come and go as you please.

Obviously, the Alameda County Fair has its bases covered, but you’ll discover some more unusual attractions as well. Live horse racing always manages to bring the crowds, especially since you can watch the action at no additional cost over your fair admission. Races are held Wednesday through Sunday. Oh, and in between the meets there will be wiener dog races, if you’re in to that kind of thing.

Professional roller derby is another surprise that you may want to check out. The San Francisco Bay Bombers will take on the ARSD All-Stars for daily demos and exhibition matches. If you’ve never seen this engrossingly violent sport played live, you’d be crazy to miss this.

Throw in some pig races, a rib cook-off, a gumbo contest and a whole mess of kids activities and we’re talking about non-stop entertainment. It doesn’t even matter which day you visit. You can bet there’ll be plenty to see and do.

The Alameda County Fair is currently going on and will run until July 19. Adult tickets cost $10 and include everything except carnival rides and food, for which you’ll need separate tickets. Learn all about it.

For hotels near Alameda Fairgrounds, make the Hilton Pleasanton at the Club. The hotel offers a 5-mile area shuttle that’s well within reach of the fairgrounds, so you can enjoy a great time at the fair without choking down that $8 parking fee. Add competitive rates and spacious rooms to the mix and you’ve got yourself an fine hotel.

Have fun!

Image by Gphoto, GFDL.

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