L.A. County Fair moves to spring

Starting in 2022, event will trade September heat for a milder May

The Los Angeles County Fair is moving — not its location but its dates.

Beginning in 2022, the fair will be held in May rather than September, fair organizers announced in a prepared statement Tuesday.

The fair — known for its wacky food, carnival rides, fasttalking hawkers of household gadgets, home-raised farm animals, top-name concerts and eclectic art displays — will break from a near 100-year tradition to permanently move to every May.

When the fair returns in May 2022, it will be celebrating 100 years as the largest county fair in the country in a better climate, organizers said. The fair’s centennial three-week run is set for May 5-30.

“This is something we have been thinking about for some time,” said Walter M. Marquez, interim CEO of Fairplex in Pomona, home of the county fairgrounds.

The L.A. County Fair was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and again this year, though officials said it would be replaced with a “smaller and safer” event.

The closure of the fair for two years gave organizers pause. During the past few fairs, September’s triple-digit heat waves put a damper on fair attendance, organizers said.

Why move to May? Fair organizers say the cooler “May gray” days and nights will be more conducive to fairgoers. Also, moving the fair to May aligns it with the celebration of Cinco de Mayo and Mother’s Day and the summer kickoff of barbecues and national pride on Memorial Day weekend.

“It’s a perfect time to present our annual celebration — kids are preparing for the end of the school year, families are planning for weekends

and the weather will be perfect,” Marquez said in a prepared statement.

“The L.A. County Fair is an integral part of Los Angeles County’s history and our future,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, whose First District includes the fairgrounds, said in a statement. “The change in timing from September to May will provide prime opportunities in late spring for families, residents and outside visitors to enjoy a Fair that is as diverse and dynamic as our County.”

As a send-off to its latesummer run, in lieu of the full county fair in 2021, organizers have planned a

TERRY PIERSON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Thousands of fairgoers attend the last day of the 2019 L.A. County Fair at Fairplex in Pomona on Sept. 22. The fair was canceled in 2020 and this year because of the pandemic.