The San Mateo County Fair will take place from June 5 to 13 at the San Mateo Event Center after a year of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since San Mateo’s tier switched from red to orange on March 17, the county fair was permitted to host a traditional walking fair rather than the proposed alternative of a drive-thru fair. Since then, San Mateo County moved to the yellow tier on May 11.
“There [has] been a lot of excitement, … [and] ticket sales have been phenomenal,” said county fair event coordinator Kerry McArdle. “A lot of people are saying ‘Thank you’ and ‘Glad that the fair is back.’ It’s such a tradition, and last year, to not hold the fair, was so devastating for some people. [That’s] one of the reasons why the county wanted to do this for the community and be able to bring it back.”
The county fair has been running for 87 years and has become an annual tradition for generations to enjoy. It was originally called the “Little Flower Show,” but became the “San Mateo County Fair” during its revitalization in 1935. With a mission to promote and educate about culture, technology, agriculture, arts, horticulture and sustainability, the fair’s motto is “Where Tradition Meets Innovation.”
“[The fair is a] diverse place where you can eat, watch concerts and competitions [and] even see animals, so there [are] … activit[ies] that any person can do,” said freshman Aimar Cruz Parada. “Everyone deserves to experience it at least once.”
California’s orange tier allows for 25% capacity. To minimize physical contact, tickets will only be sold online and digitally scanned at the entrance. The fair will follow COVID-19 safety regulations by requiring the use of face masks, a distance of six feet in between groups, composed of a maximum of three households and sanitation of contact points every 30 minutes.
“There’ll be a couple of health questions upon entry and a temperature check,” McArdle said. “Halfway through the day at 4 to 4:30, they’re going to clean all the carnival equipment. That’s something that has not happened in the past. You’ll [also] see a lot more hand sanitizers [and] plexiglass.”
The fair will include its usual treats and activities: carnival rides, funnel cake, pig races, animals, barbecue, the ferris wheel and many other activities, one of which includes demonstrations from the robotics team. So far, the set list of performers has not been finalized due to the fair’s last-minute announcement of reopening plans in mid-March.
“Typically, [we] would have started planning in the fall of 2020,” McArdle said. “[This year], everything’s going to be done in a short time frame. [However], because of COVID-19, [there] will be limited attendance and [less] commercial vendors … than in the past.”
Aragon Robotics has attended the San Mateo County Fair for the past several years. This year, they will be stationed at the drone zone on June 5 and June 12, allowing guests to operate a robot created by the team.
“[The fair] really gives Aragon Robotics more exposure to other people and more contact with potential robotics members in the future,” said sophomore robotics team member Bethany Yeung. “It also allows us to reach more kids … [to] get them interested in the STEM field, robotics, programming and technical building, which is super fun.”
Due to distance learning, in-person meetings have been limited to a small number of Aragon Robotics members, resulting in a tight schedule.
“The robotics team is very excited to be back at the fair this year,” said sophomore Andrea San Miguel, Aragon Robotics’ outreach captain. “When we heard it was cancelled last year, everyone was bummed out as it’s one of our most popular and fun outreach events that the whole team loves to get involved with. We’re very excited and thankful to have been invited.”
Although the county fair will look different this year amidst the pandemic, it nevertheless will offer its annual activities and booths for all San Mateo County residents to enjoy.
