Outrageous snacks, dining discounts and foodie events await visitors to the LA County, opening Friday, May 3 at the Fairplex in Pomona.
The fair has been drawing Southern California to its fairgrounds in Pomona since 1922, but this is the third year that the fair has been held in the spring instead of the fall. It will run from Cinco de Mayo weekend through Memorial Day on Monday, May 27.
This year’s theme is “Stars, Stripes & Fun.”
Food vendors are prepared to supply the fun with corn dogs, turkey legs, funnel cake and lemonade, plus a few wild concoctions.
Charlie Boghosian, better known as Chicken Charlie, has come up with a hot honey funnel cake chicken sandwich.
Dominic Palmieri, also known as the Midway Gourmet, plans to serve Nashville hot chicken tots — double-dredged fried chicken breast on a bed of buttery garlic tater tots — at one of his stands, Biggy’s.
Food vendors throughout the fairgrounds will be offering value items at $9.50. Some are meals with 16-ounce drinks.
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MacPherson’s Ice Cream, which like the fair also got its start in 1922, will be offering a 32-ounce root beer float at that price, according to Schuyler MacPherson, great-grandson of the founders. His other concession, Ten Pound Buns, will be serving a third of a slice of an Original Ten Pound Bun, sourdough bread topped with mozzarella and cheddar cheese, butter, and garlic, with a medium soft drink.
Value meal items also include corn dogs, slices of cheese pizza and more exotic treats such as deep-fried twinkies.
In addition to concessions, the Marketplace, a hall near the carnival games, will hold wine tastings with award-winning cheeses from the fair’s dairy competition as well as olive oil tastings. It also has a craft beer bar.
The fair will have four lounges where people can go for drinks and music: Plaza De Las Americas, in the Downtown Fairplex neighborhood; the Longboard Bar, near the grandstand; the Craft Beer Experience on Broadway near the clock tower; and the Marketplace. In addition, Top of the Park, on the fourth floor of the grandstand, will open 6-10 p.m. to concert ticket holders.
Special events will include a Mother’s Day brunch on May 12 and a whiskey tasting fundraiser on May 18 that includes a Dustin Lynch concert at 7:30 p.m.
LA County Fair
Where: Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona.
When: Friday, May 3 through May 27.
Hours: 5-11 p.m. opening day. After that 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, plus Memorial Day, May 27.
Tickets: $15-$25 for adults; $10-$12 for children 6-12 years and seniors 60-plus in advance. Tickets at the gate are $30, $15 for children and seniors.
Parking: $22 online, $25 at the gate. RV parking is $40.
Payment: Parking, admission and concert box office payments are cashless. Advance online purchases are cheaper than gate prices.
Information: lacountyfair.com
