A revamped Kings Fair offers new and different attractions June 11-14, along with a low admission cost, while hoping to draw on a larger crowd than in recent years.
The Carnival, Cows and Corndogs theme brings a lot of new things including a new carnival with new and exciting rides, said Kate O’Neil, fair manager.
Also new, is the interactive Egyptian Pharaohs Wildlife Exhibit, which offers a hands-on, up-front and personal look at the mid-eastern country, its history and its critters.
Kids and adults will be able to handle snakes and scorpions, O’Neil said, and also come face-to-face with a porcupine, fennel fox, monkeys and more.
“Thanks to the fair’s new foundation, we are able to afford this new exhibit,” she said.
Another exciting event at the fair this year is the Dock Dog competition, where canines race and leap into the air to fetch off the dock and into the water. While competitive racers will be entered, novice local dogs are welcome to enter as well.
“We’ve mixed things up a bit,” O’Neil said, “with one of the stages moved to a new location and other renovations including a newly painted entrance.”
But don’t worry, more traditional fair events will take place too, including tractor pulls on Saturday evening and sprint car racing on Friday evening. Fair mascot, Daisy the Moo, will be wandering around the livestock area, as well as the rest of the fairgrounds. A rodeo will be held on Sunday.
The fair offers live entertainment each evening with the James Garner Tribute to Johnnie Cash on Thursday, Journey Revisited on Friday, Little Texas on Saturday and Los Sables de Tierra Caliente on Sunday. Other stages will feature other bands including Kevin Willard and the Cadillac Boys, Prestige, Hired Gun, Califas, Flashback and the Crawdaddy’s. Magic acts and jugglers will be performing their acts around the grounds. And the popular Puzzlemania will be located in the Floriculture building.
“We made the aggressive decision to be affordable at the gate,” O’Neil said.
Admission to the fair is $1 on Thursday’s opening day, with $1 carnival rides, and $1 on Sunday, closing day. Regular entrance fees are $5. On Saturday, Hero’s Day, all military, veterans and their dependents are admitted free. All concerts and the rodeo are included with admission. Presale carnival wristbands are $20 for unlimited rides and are available at a variety of locations throughout Kings County. There is an additional admission cost for sprint car racing.
Last year’s attendance to the fair was 33,000. This year’s anticipated attendance is 40,000-plus, O’Neil said.
“Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we’ll have good attendance,” she said.
Fair hours are 5pm-midnight Thursday and Friday, June 11-12; 3pm-midnight, Saturday and Sunday, June 13-14.
The fairgrounds are located at 801 So. 10th Street, Hanford. Parking is $5.
For more information, visit www.kingsfair.com.