• RELATED EVENT:
Western Days Kickoff
Grab your cowboy hat and head down to the Merced Western Days Pre-Rodeo Kickoff in Downtown Merced on Saturday, June 6, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This family-friendly event at Bob Hart Square features kids’ activities, roping contests, horses and riders, live music, local vendors, and all kinds of fun. It’s a kick-off to the main event: the PRCA Pro Rodeo, June 12-13, at the Grandstand during the Fair.
Everything is happening so fast as summer is almost upon us.
We’re getting through the elections, the high school graduations, and of course, the Merced County Fair is just days away, starting Wednesday, June 10.
The flashing carnival lights, the smell of deep-fried novelty food, the roar of engines, and live music in every direction — it’s all coming our way for five days of hometown fun.
Inside this week’s print edition of the Times, readers will find our annual Fair Special, a complete guide to all Grandstand events, the concerts, the rides, the food vendors and the exhibits. Everything you need to know about enjoying the fair is inside those pages. Grab a copy while you can! Share it with your loved ones, and plan your trips to the fair!
But before the action begins, let’s take a second to acknowledge this 135-year-old tradition.
Yes, the Merced County Fair can be traced back to 1891. It’s much more than a five-day summer event. The fairgrounds is a vital agricultural hub for youth development, a massive economic driver, and a versatile year-round community space.
Over the decades, it has served as the “birthplace” of Merced College, acted as an alternative sports center for schools lacking facilities, and functioned as an emergency staging area for firefighters and health care workers.
Appropriately, the theme of this year’s Fair is: “Our Roots Run Deep.”
And it’s more than a theme, according to John Allgaier, the CEO of the County Fair.
Says Allgaier, “It is a celebration of the generations whose hard work, perseverance, and dedication built our community through commerce, agriculture, culture, and family traditions. Our roots run deep in a rich history that continues to shape who we are today while inspiring future generations for years to come.”