SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Cal Expo's Board of Directors said the California State Fair and Food Festival will return next year from July 15 through July 31.
“While Cal Expo has been honored to provide support and much-needed aid to Californians during this health crisis, our region and state have greatly missed the excitement of the State Fair,” Chair of the Cal Expo Board of Directors Jess Durfee said in a statement Friday.
The fair was postponed in 2021 and canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since March 2020, Cal Expo has been utilized as a mass COVID-19 testing site as well as providing shelter trailers and warming stations for unhoused people. Cal Expo has also served as the location for two mass vaccination sites led by Sacramento County Public Health Department and Kaiser Permanente.
The 2022 State Fair will host various competitions including California's best-in-class wines, cheeses, craft beers, olive oils, fine arts and more.
The California State Fair also recently announced its first Cannabis Competition and Awards to take place next summer.
According to a news release, the competition is only open to licensed growers in California. It will award medals for the cannabis flower only, as well as 77 bronze, silver, gold and double gold medals will be awarded including the coveted Golden Bear trophy for “Best of California.”
California's first state fair was held on Oct. 4, 1854 in San Franciso, according to the Office of Historic Preservation. It was held in a different city each year until Sacramento became the permanent location in 1861.
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