2026 San Diego County Fair: Everything you need to know about food, discounts and more

Officials with the San Diego County Fair offered a sneak peek on Wednesday of what’s in store for this year’s run, from June 10 through July 5 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

As always, this year’s fair will feature imaginative new foods, concerts, carnival rides, games, shopping, competitive exhibits, motor sports and livestock shows. But there are some new attractions, as well.

This year’s fair has a new theme, “Once Upon a Fair,” which will be featured in a walk-through exhibit near the fairgrounds entrance that celebrates stories and characters from beloved books.

The fair’s own story began in September 1880, when San Diego farmers organized a two-day celebration with contests for the city’s best home-baked pie, best citrus fruit and fastest horse.

The fair moved to the newly built Del Mar Fairgrounds in 1936, and today it generates a $328 million economic impact on the region. The fair has taken place every year since 1880 except during World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Becky Bartling, the fairgrounds’ new CEO, opened the preview Wednesday heralding the diversity of this year’s entertainment, exhibits and food items, saying “we pride ourselves in producing a fair that appeals to all demographics for the diverse community of San Diego, and this is your fair.”

Among this year’s cultural events are an Asian & Pacific Islander Festival on June 13, Native American Heritage Day on June 14, a Juneteenth celebration on June 19, Out at the Fair day for the LGBTQ+ community on June 20, a K-Pop Festival on June 28 and a Black and Brown Festival Showcase Presented by Movement BE on July 5.

Another focus of this year’s fair is affordability, with a variety of discounts offered on admission tickets, rides, games, food specials and transportation. To kick things off, admission tickets for all on opening day will be $5 before 5 p.m. Children 5 and under are always free, and youth ages 5-12 get in free on Fridays.

This year’s fair will feature concerts at four venues and exhibits of artwork, woodworking, gardening, flowers, gems and minerals, hobbies, photography and K-12 student projects. There will also be livestock competitions for children in 4-H, FFA and Grange programs.

Another favorite event for even more adventurous children is Mini Dwarf auto racing. Mini dwarfs are small-scale race cars with a maximum speed of 34 mph. Drivers compete in three brackets, from ages 6 to 14. Eight-year-old Ryder Edwards of Ramona said he’s having a great time in his third year competing in Mini Dwarf racing. Although Ryder’s car overturned in a race last year, his dad, Joshua Edwards, said it’s a lot safer than the motocross racing he did when he was young so he’s happy to support his son’s hobby.The Mini Dwarf races will take place July 4th weekend in the Del Mar Arena.

Perhaps the fair’s most popular attraction is the food, with vendors competing each year to serve the most trendy and outrageous must-try creations. Many of this year’s new food items have Asian, Mexican and Middle Eastern flavors.

This year marks the 30th anniversary for popular food vendor Chicken Charlie’s, run by San Diego resident Charlie Boghosian, who is famed for his deep-fried Oreos and Maui chicken pineapple bowl.

This year he’s offering a deep-fried purple-hued ube funnel cake. But his proudest new creation is the crispy chicken shawarma wrap, inspired by the food he grew up eating in his native Damascus, Syria. It has marinated spit-cooked chicken with house-pickled turnips and cucumbers and toum garlic sauce on grilled pita. “This is a very personal dish for me,” he said Wednesday.

Vendor Ricky Kasinak of Ricky’s California Corn Dogs, is marking his 55th year as a year-round vendor at fairgrounds. For this year’s fair, his company will operate four booths near the fairgrounds’ Paddock selling lemonade, tropical drinks and desserts. But the corn dog is king in Ricky’s sales, with an average of 200,000 sold each year.

Also marking 55 years at the Del Mar Fairgrounds is San Diego-based Giant Fair Foods, which can always be found near the fair’s entrance under the giant inflatable corn cob. Company spokeswoman Jeannete Viera said the booth sells more than 300,000 locally grown fire-roasted ears of corn at the San Diego County Fair each year, as well more than 3,000 baked potatoes. One of this year’s new food items is a roasted sweet potato with caramelized brown sugar on top.

West Coast Weenies, run by Nathan Marcus of Orange County, has been a vendor at the San Diego County Fair for more than 40 years and it holds the title as the fair’s No. 1 hot dog vendor. This year, he’s running booths selling hot dogs and corn dogs, a pizza booth and a Korean food booth, with an all-new deep-fried mozzarella on a stick, dipped in korean rice batter and crushed corn flakes.

The San Diego County Fair runs June 10 through July 5, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. Tickets vary in price by day of the week, age bracket and if they’re purchased in advance. General admission prices for adults start at $17, if purchased in advance. Children 5 and under are free, children 6-12 are free on Fridays. For tickets and other information, visit sdfair.com.

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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 5:29 PM.