The Sonoma County Fairgrounds

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Dear Staff, Volunteers and supporters of the Sonoma County Fair-- I just wanted to write a quick note and let you know how much my family and I loved the fair this year. We have two children (one school age, one younger), and I ended up taking them to the fair four times this year (I hadn't planned on having so much free time, but it worked out great). The kids loved the Sustainable Sonoma tent; they get fabulous free swag and we may take advantage of a great CSA whose booth we encountered there. We placed a few bets the first day, basically broke even, but the kids loved loved picking out the horses in the beautiful new saddling paddock and watching them run.

I also want to appreciate the fair board and staff for their continued dedication and focus on county agriculture. We love taking our kids to see all the exhibited animals, and they loved Sweet Lil's Farm too!!! Huge kudos to you for moving it to the Lyttle Cow Palace this year and expanding it...our kids loved petting the baby chicks, the piglets, and "milking" the cow.

We loved the Hall of Flowers, as always; I think my favorite one was the southern wall exhibit with all the orchids and bromeliads, but in hindsight it's kind of a blur.

We unfortunately missed the rabbits this year; I just didn't get there during one of our earlier jaunts and the kids were disappointed but the wild bird rescue out front really made up for it, the table staff were really knowledgeable.

Another great (and surprising!) find was the Turkey Stampede; we didn't schlep up there until our last day visiting the fair, and what an awesome fair entertainment (it helped put the "country" in county fair!)--the emcee was witty and professional, the turkeys were truly professional and even though my family's cheap you betcha we snapped up a couple of those souvenir scarves at the end of the show. Sure we could have gone to the Gravenstein Apple Fair over the weekend, but you get so much more great entertainment for your dollar at the Sonoma County Fair.

The kids areas in both sides of the grounds (by the racetrack, with the glass jars in the wading pool that entertained by kids forever) and over by the Brookwood gate (where my husband got caught up in constructing a circus in the sandbox) are such treats for kids and parents, I really can't appreciate you enough for putting together these much-needed shaded respites for those of us with little ones. The staff in the changing room are super nice too.

And thank you to Clo Cow for free ice cream cones every time we went. Our last day we visited we sat on the bleachers by the milking demonstration station, and were treated to a really fun, educational talk from a local dairy woman. She was really nice and patient in answering all our questions, and once again I was grateful that our fair really highlights the ag component of our county.

What else? I only got to go to one exhibit hall, a bit sad that I didn't get to both but that comes with this stage of parenthood; I still got to be completely floored by the toothpick structure and dazzled by the quilts.

I'm sure there's more I'm missing, but I just wanted to send you a note; we're a family of four on a budget, and while I grew up here and have always gone to the fair I wanted to let you know what a wonderful job you're doing in putting together a truly special family experience that's well worth the price of admission.

Thank you so much for all the special memories you help create!!!

Melinda and family

Thank you so much for the work you’ve done to make this year’s fair a great time. We had fun all day including horseracing, Ibleto’s (pasta), Dixieland parade, animals, chickens, baby goats, cows, Clo’s ice cream, and a big dill pickle.
Janie Roberts

Thank you! The Derby Dog Dash was the most fun I’ve had since the Harvest Fair last year. Splash Dogs was also great, and the AcroCats were a class act. Karin

We are new to the community so this is our first time at the fair. I can honestly say this is the best fair we've been to, and we've been to fairs from San Diego to Wisconsin! Tambra Curtis

Kudos to all the fair staff for a great fair--I came three times! Vi Traba, Santa Rosa

It was a great...I didn't milk a cow but I did get my Moms apple pie...and had a blast like always posted to Official Sonoma County Fair Blog

We spent four annual summer vacations in Sonoma County during those years, visiting the fair each time, and remember those trips with much fondness. We would still be making the annual trek if we still lived in Las Vegas, NV, but we have since moved to Florida. Thanks!
Cherie Pannizzo, Weeki Wachee, FL

Hello my name is Robert Lunceford and I played at the Sonoma County Fair today with the band "The Don Giovannis". I also have a small sound reinforcement company in Sonoma County, Authentic Audio & Sound. We were playing on "The Park Stage" and our sound tech was Gabriel Eller. I wanted to let you know that Mr. Eller did an outstanding job. He worked very hard and quickly to set up our 8 piece band and he did so with great courtesy and respect to all members of our band. We received nothing but high compliments from audience members in regards to the balance and quality of the sound that Gabriel provided. As a musician and fellow sound engineer, I greatly appreciated the service that Gabriel provided for us.
Robert Lunceford