The San Benito County Fair is still two months away, but
residents wishing to enter a prize pig or apple pie made with mom’s
famous recipe have only three weeks to meet the entries
deadline.
The San Benito County Fair is still two months away, but residents wishing to enter a prize pig or apple pie made with mom’s famous recipe have only three weeks to meet the entries deadline.
Fair coordinators have been receiving a few entries every day since the entry books were issued at the beginning of the month, said Kelley Ferreira, chief executive officer and fairgrounds manager.
“But usually everybody waits until the last minute,” he said.
The entry deadline is 6 p.m. on Sept. 3. Last year the fair had over 4,400 entries from around 1,500 people, and fair personnel hope to have even more this year.
The fair will be held at the San Benito County Fair Grounds from Thursday, Sept. 30 to Sunday, Oct. 3. And there will be some changes.
This year, a wine tasting put on by the San Benito County Wine Grower’s Association will be held on Saturday evening instead of Friday, Ferreira said.
Also different this year will be a salute to agriculture in the county, with the top 10 commodity producers setting up booths on the patio from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday to display their products, Ferreira said.
Ferreira doesn’t have a list of the producers who will be featured yet, but they will include wine, bell pepper, lettuce and walnut producers, he said.
Fair personnel will begin heavy advertising in mid-September to whet community members’ appetites for the family-oriented event, Ferreira said.
Although the over 40 volunteers already committed to organizing the fair are more than competent, because it is run solely by volunteers, fair personnel are always looking for more people to donate their time, Ferreira said.
“People are always stepping up to the plate to help out,” he said. “That’s what’s nice about this fair – there’s a lot of help.”
Anyone wishing to volunteer should call the fair office at (831) 628-3421. Fair entries can be mailed to PO Box 790, Hollister, Ca., 95024, or dropped off at the fairgrounds office at 9000 Airline Hwy., Tres Pinos, Ca., 95075. A complete schedule of this year’s events can be found at the San Benito County Fair Web site at www.sanbenitocountyfair.com.
