Cal Expo delays California State Fair, will continue as site of mass COVID-19 vaccinations
The California State Fair will be delayed and slimmed down this year as leaders of Cal Expo announced Wednesday that they will continue to dedicate most of its buildings and open spaces to the COVID-19 response.
“While the California State Fair is more than just an event, it is vitally important that Cal Expo continues its efforts to get Californians vaccinated and help our communities recover,” said Jess Durfee, chair of the Cal Expo board.
The fair has been scheduled for July in recent years. The Cal Expo board said in a Wednesday news release that it will discuss presenting a modified “slimmed down” version of the event later this year.
Since 1968, Cal Expo has been designated as a place to recognize California’s achievements, agriculture, diversity, traditions and trends. Hundreds of events, including the State Fair, are held annually on the 350-acre site at 1600 Exposition Blvd. in Sacramento.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Cal Expo’s expansive parking lots and facilities became a crucial asset for health care organizations and state leaders seeking a place where they could stage testing and vaccinations in a manner that complied with public health recommendations.
“Although the State Fair and the hundreds of events hosted by Cal Expo see more attendees than the other larger event facilities in the region, by continuing to host mass vaccination programs we are supporting the governor in reaching the goal of reopening the state,” Durfee said.
Since the end of January, Kaiser Permanente has administered more than 80,000 vaccine doses at the facility while Sacramento County has given more than 40,000 shots at Cal Expo, board officials have said. In late March, county and Kaiser personnel were giving 5,000-plus doses a day combined and plan to vaccinate more than 10,000 people a day once supply becomes available.
More than 60,000 people were tested for COVID-19 in 2020 at Cal Expo. State officials asked this week that Cal Expo continue to function as a “vaccination super site” until at least the end of September to ensure the public and students can get shots by the time school starts in the fall.
“There is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel, and I am proud that Cal Expo has been able to play such an important role during this difficult time,” Cal Expo CEO Rick Pickering said. “It is imperative that everyone gets vaccinated so that we can once again safely host the many events our community loves, including the annual California State Fair.”
The State Fair was canceled in 2020 as the coronavirus, which causes the respiratory disease COVID-19, spread around the globe. It was the first time the event has been canceled since World War II. More than half of the organization’s revenue comes from that event, which attracted more than 600,000 people in 2019.
The agency’s revenues have been in decline for some time, along with fair attendance. Legislators provided a cash infusion to keep the state-owned facility going in 2020-21.
This story was originally published May 5, 2021 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Cal Expo delays California State Fair, will continue as site of mass COVID-19 vaccinations."
