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The California Exposition and State Fair (Cal Expo) is an independent state agency established by law in the California Food and Agriculture codes. Cal Expo is governed by an appointed 11-member Board of Directors and daily operations are managed by the chief executive officer (selected by the Board). During the annual
California State Fair
The California State Fair is the annual state fair for the state of California. The fair is held at Cal Expo in Sacramento, California. The Fair is a 17-day event showcasing California's industries, agriculture, and diversity of people. The CSF ...
more than 2,000 seasonal temporary employees are hired. The California Exposition is a self-sufficient operation that receives no government funding but still has an estimated economic impact of more than $250 million on the region. The
California Exposition and State Fair Police provides safety and security services to the Exposition.
History
The
California legislature
The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislatu ...
created the State Agricultural Society to promote California's reputation for farming and industry. An agricultural exposition was organized and held in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
in 1854, and California Historic Landmark #861 marks the site. Given that travel was difficult in that era, the next several annual expositions were moved around the state, to
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
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, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
,
San Jose,
Stockton, and
Marysville.
In 1859, the exposition returned to Sacramento, and it was decided that a permanent site should be found. Capitol Park, a six block site bounded by E, H, 20th and 22nd Streets () was purchased and was home to the state fair for the next fifty years.
Growth in population and attendance forced the purchase of just outside the city limits on Stockton Boulevard (), and the first fair was held there in 1909. But
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
interrupted the fair in 1917–18. Continued growth caused that site to be expanded by in 1937. During and after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, from 1942 to 1947, the Fair was suspended and the fairgrounds were occupied by the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
. During its formative years (1929–1942?), the
California Highway Patrol
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enforcem ...
used some of the State Fair facilities as an unofficial "training academy", later using other state-owned areas in the Sacramento area for training use until the current CHP Academy was opened in 1976.
In 1948, the state purchased approximately 900 acres of undeveloped land along the
American River
, name_etymology =
, image = American River CA.jpg
, image_size = 300
, image_caption = The American River at Folsom
, map = Americanrivermap.png
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, map_caption ...
north of downtown Sacramento. Funds were not allocated to begin construction on this land until 1963, and the State Fair continued at the Stockton Boulevard grounds until 1967. The California Exposition was dedicated on Monday, May 22, 1967. Governor Ronald Reagan delivered the dedicatory address at the 630 acre site on the American River. Then in 1968, Governor
Ronald Reagan opened the new "Cal Expo" site, which covers over of developed land at .
Cal Expo has seen limited changes over the years. Following the tragic attacks of
9/11, a memorial plaza was installed in 2002. In 2012, the
Disneyland Resort
The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks (D ...
donated to Cal Expo the iconic 'CALIFORNIA' letters that previously stood in front of
Disney California Adventure
Disney California Adventure Park, commonly referred to as California Adventure or by its acronym DCA, is a theme park located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Park ...
from its 2001 opening until 2011. The letters now stand at the entrance to the Expo.
In addition to the annual State Fair, Cal Expo hosts a number of other community, trade and business events, including the annual State Fair Gala (supporting scholarships), Sacramento County Fair, International Sportsman Expo, Western States Horse Expo and a number of other RV, auto and special collectible trade shows.
The one-mile dirt racetrack at Cal Expo hosts live thoroughbred racing during the annual State Fair and live harness racing (September through May), in addition to special events like the Sacramento Mile Auto-race. The old
California State Fairgrounds Race Track
California State Fairgrounds Race Track has been the name of two dirt oval racing tracks located in Sacramento, California. The track was built in 1906 for horse racing on the site of the California Exposition. It was active for auto racing i ...
hosted
USAC National Championship races.
The fair hasn't been held since 2020 as the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
was to blame; the 159th was deferred to 2022.
California State Fair
Features
''Monorail''
Cal Expo is home to one of two operating permanent monorail system in California - the only other can be found at Disneyland.
The iconic monorail was installed during the creation of its existing grounds in 1968 by Universal Mobility Incorporated. The Monorail ride is only open for public use during the annual State Fair and is a great way to see the grounds from above. The storage facility for the monorail trams are located in the northwest corner of the grounds. Each tram features a different California symbol, like the
California Golden Poppy or
California Quail
The California quail (''Callipepla californica''), also known as the California valley quail or Valley quail, is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. These birds have a curving crest or '' plume'', made of six feathers, tha ...
.
''Magnificent Midway''
Carnival rides and games are operated by
Butler Amusements, Inc. Butler Amusements' first year at the state fair was in 2009. Rides and games were operated by
RCS Amusements for a number of years before that.
References
External links
Official web site of the California State FairPromotional web siteCDFA Division of Fairs and Expositions (governing body)California Historic Landmark 861Cal Expo Horse Racing
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State fairs
Fairs in California
Annual fairs
Annual events in California
Agriculture in California
August events
September events
Culture of Sacramento, California
Tourist attractions in Sacramento, California
UM people movers
Festivals established in 1854
1854 establishments in California