Marin County Fair returns with water theme

This year's theme — "make a splash" — signifies a celebration of all things water, said Gabriella Calicchio, the event director.

Organizers of the 2024 Marin County Fair hope to “make a splash” with this year’s iteration of the annual summer event.

The theme signifies a celebration of all things water, said Gabriella Calicchio, the county’s director of cultural services, with a focus on water education, conservation and drought-resistant gardening, but also competitive exhibits such as art on driftwood, water poetry, a sea theme mural and water-themed fine arts and photography.

Among the featured exhibits will be a virtual reality deep sea experience and a fountain centerpiece on the fairgrounds.

The theme is intended to function as celebratory and educational, she said.

“The fair is back and better than ever. It’s going to be a great way to spend your Fourth of July long weekend,” she said.

The attraction held at the Marin County Fairgrounds opens Wednesday and runs through Sunday. Gates open daily at 11 a.m. The fair concludes at 11 p.m. after a nightly fireworks show.

On opening day, admission is free for visitors younger than 13 and older than 64, as well as veterans with identification.

Last year’s fair had 92,076 attendees — 79,815 paid — and made $1,951,265 in ticket revenue. Last year’s theme, “Electrifying,” was inspired by reusable energy.

Clara Franco, a spokesperson for the fair, underscored the importance of the public education effort surrounding water.

“It wasn’t that long ago that we were in a drought,” she said. “There’s a lot of education still that needs to be done with water conservation.”

Key to the effort is making the education engaged to youths, she said.

“It’s going to take this generation to help keep this planet green and keep it going for the next generation,” she said. “We’re keeping it fun.”

The centerpiece this year is a display of water fountains in the Exhibit Hall lobby and on the plaza. The fountains are intended to induce tranquility, improve air quality and increase humidity and offer an oasis for birds, bees and butterflies — as well as the people attending in the expected broiling summer heat.

Chris Choo, assistant director of community development, said he worked for much of his career at the county on creeks, flooding and sea-level rise. While he said he didn’t have a direct role in organizing the fair, he supports it wholeheartedly.

“This year’s theme is especially important to every resident and visitor as we are just getting out of a record drought with an understanding in California that the next drought is inevitable,” he said. “With climate change, Californians face more intense winter storms with the need for updated flood protection and sea level rise impacts our shorelines, travel, and commerce across the state.”

New for this year will be the “Butterfly Kingdom” and exhibit enclosure filled with more than 200 live butterflies of six species. The tractor pull in the pig racing arena and an entertaining event called frisbee dogs are sure to bring out youths, Calicchio said.

The fair also will welcome the return of the Marin County Fair International Film Festival for the first time since 2019.

Some new events this year are mostly geared toward inclusion. The fair will feature a Latin Heritage Day and an expanded fair day dedicated to Pride, or LGBTQ+ members of the community.

“It’s about celebrating everybody. It’s about inclusion. It’s about the Bay Area. It’s about Marin. Let’s celebrate everyone,” Franco said.

Additionally, the fair will establish an “ADA lounge” on site, part of a three-year effort to ensure full disability access at the fair. The lounge is a designated quiet space for people with disabilities who need a break from the stimulus of the fair. The room is equipped with noise-canceling headphones, comfortable furnishings, snacks and specially trained volunteers.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this service as a first step to transforming our fair into an event that is accessible to everyone regardless of their disabilities,” said Calicchio.

Next year, the fair plans to develop an audio tour of the fairgrounds to assist those with blindness or impaired vision. In addition, the committee seeks to partner with the fair’s carnival operator to improve the accessibility of the carnival rides and investigate opportunities for more seating areas in the carnival area.

This year the fair will be both indoors and outdoors, but the Marin Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium will continue to be under construction for safety projects. The Marin Center Exhibit Hall will carry the burden of showing more, but organizers reinforced there would be ample space for all exhibitions.

Longtime favorites will continue, such as the juried fine arts and photography exhibit, headline concerts, free carnival rides, sheepdog trials, the petting zoo, pig races and fireworks at 9:30 p.m. daily.

The concert schedule this year will feature a group of tribute bands covering hits from the 1970s and 1980s on July 4 called “Splashback Music Fest.” The fair also will feature Daya, Ziggy Marley and Los Lonely Boys as headliners.

Fair tickets are available online only. Select-day tickets for are $25. This does not include July 4, which are $30 like flex-day tickets.

Marin Transit will offer free rides on all bus lines every day. The SMART train will offer late rides after the fireworks.

More information is at marinfair.org.