Sonoma County California Fair Schedule

The Sonoma County California Fair Schedule centers on the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa, an annual North Bay event that combines Sonoma County’s agricultural heritage with entertainment, livestock, competitive exhibits, carnival attractions, food, music, rodeo events, and family activities. The fairgrounds sit on Bennett Valley Road in Santa Rosa, placing the event near the county’s largest population center while remaining closely connected to the vineyards, orchards, ranches, gardens, and agricultural communities that define much of Sonoma County.

The 2026 Sonoma County Fair is scheduled for August 7–16, 2026, creating a ten-day summer event rather than a short weekend fair. The 2026 program includes competitive exhibits, livestock activities, the Hall of Flowers, carnival rides, live music, rodeo events, special contests, family programming, and numerous agricultural displays.

The 2027 fair is expected to return in August, but a specific official 2027 opening and closing date should not be presented as confirmed until the Sonoma County Fair organization publishes the new calendar. Current planning information identifies August 2027 as the fair period, while the exact dates remain pending.

Fair Overview and Fast Facts

The Sonoma County Fair is held at the Sonoma County Fair & Event Center in Santa Rosa, at 1350 Bennett Valley Road. The fairgrounds operate as a multi-use event center throughout the year, but the annual county fair remains the property’s central agricultural and community gathering.

The fair’s mission emphasizes agriculture education, economic development, entertainment, and community resilience. That mission is particularly relevant in Sonoma County, where agriculture and tourism exist alongside increasingly urban communities around Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Sonoma, Windsor, Healdsburg, Sebastopol, and other cities and towns.

The 2026 fair runs for ten days from Friday, August 7, through Sunday, August 16. Monday through Thursday, the gates and carnival are scheduled to operate from noon until 9 p.m. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the gates open at 10 a.m., while the carnival opens at noon, with the fair and carnival scheduled to close at 10 p.m.

The 2026 schedule includes special days such as Senior Day, Food Bank Day, Kids Day, Sonoma County Office of Education Day, and Twin Pine Casino Day. These designated days give different parts of the local community a particular connection to the fair.

Sonoma County Fair Schedule 2026

The 2026 Sonoma County Fair takes place August 7–16, 2026, at the Sonoma County Fair & Event Center in Santa Rosa.

Friday, August 7, opens the ten-day event. The opening day includes carnival operations, exhibits, livestock activities, entertainment, and the first of the fair’s major special events. The 2026 arena program also includes a CCPRA rodeo on opening night.

Saturday, August 8, expands the weekend program with livestock activities, entertainment, competitive exhibits, carnival attractions, and a professional rodeo. The Wine Country PRCA Rodeo is scheduled for Saturday evening, giving the fair a strong connection to the western and equestrian traditions of Sonoma County.

Sunday, August 9, includes the World Championship Grape Stomp, one of the fair’s distinctive agricultural-themed competitions. The event connects the fair directly with Sonoma County’s grape-growing and wine-country identity.

Monday, August 10, is Food Bank Day presented by Redwood Credit Union. Tuesday continues the fair’s combination of exhibits, carnival attractions, agricultural activities, and entertainment.

Wednesday, August 12, is Wright Contracting Day at the Fair and Kids Day. Thursday, August 13, is Sonoma County Office of Education Day and another Kids Day, creating additional opportunities for families and younger visitors.

Friday, August 14, and Saturday, August 15, provide another major weekend period before the fair’s final day. Saturday is Twin Pine Casino Day, while Sunday, August 16, closes the 2026 fair.

The daily program contains numerous individual events, so visitors interested in a particular contest, livestock judging, concert, rodeo, parade, or arena attraction should use the day-specific schedule when planning.

Sonoma County Fair Schedule 2027

The 2027 Sonoma County Fair is expected to take place in August, following the established summer timing of the event. However, the exact 2027 dates have not been treated as officially confirmed here.

This distinction is important for anyone planning travel, accommodation, livestock participation, competitive entries, or vendor activity more than a year in advance. The 2026 fair runs August 7–16, but that date range should not automatically be copied into the 2027 calendar.

The 2027 fair is expected to continue the event’s combination of agriculture education, livestock, competitive exhibits, carnival entertainment, live music, family activities, and community programming. Specific 2027 rodeo dates, carnival pricing, special days, contest deadlines, livestock schedules, and entertainment should be confirmed when the annual program is released.

For exhibitors, the 2027 premium book will be particularly important because entry categories, fees, receiving dates, livestock rules, and judging schedules can change from one fair year to another.

History and Origins

The Sonoma County Fair has a long relationship with the agricultural development of the North Bay. Santa Rosa became a major commercial and agricultural center in Sonoma County, while the surrounding region developed an economy based on vineyards, orchards, livestock, dairy production, nursery crops, vegetables, flowers, and other forms of agriculture.

The fair developed as a public gathering where residents could display agricultural products, livestock, flowers, creative work, and domestic skills while competing for recognition and prizes.

Over time, entertainment became a major part of the event, but agriculture remains central to the fair’s identity. Livestock barns, competitive exhibits, the Hall of Flowers, grape-related competitions, and youth agricultural programs continue to connect the modern fair with Sonoma County’s agricultural landscape.

The fairgrounds also have a long association with horse activities. Live horse racing had been part of the Sonoma County Fair since 1936, but the fair board discontinued live racing beginning in 2025 because of major changes in the Northern California horse-racing industry. The decision shifted greater emphasis toward agriculture, education, exhibits, and entertainment.

The change is significant because it represents an evolving fair rather than the disappearance of its equestrian heritage. Rodeo, livestock, horse-related activities, and agricultural programming continue to provide western and rural elements within the modern Sonoma County event.

Comparing the Solano County California Fair Schedule with the Sonoma County California Fair Schedule gives fairgoers an opportunity to explore two distinctive North Bay agricultural traditions. Solano County’s fair in Vallejo combines youth livestock programs, agricultural exhibits, carnival attractions, live entertainment, and arena events within a Bay Area setting, while Sonoma County’s fair in Santa Rosa highlights the region’s vineyards, ranching heritage, horticulture, livestock, rodeo traditions, competitive exhibits, and family entertainment. Reviewing both schedules helps families, exhibitors, and visitors plan around livestock shows, 4-H and FFA activities, agricultural competitions, carnival rides, concerts, and other seasonal community events.

Agricultural Competitions and Livestock Shows

Agriculture is one of the defining features of the Sonoma County Fair. The county’s vineyards, farms, ranches, gardens, orchards, and livestock operations provide the foundation for many of the fair’s competitive departments.

Livestock exhibitions give 4-H, FFA, independent youth exhibitors, and other participants an opportunity to present animals that they have raised and cared for throughout the year. These programs emphasize animal husbandry, responsibility, recordkeeping, showmanship, and agricultural education.

The fair’s livestock areas also provide visitors with an opportunity to see cattle, sheep, goats, swine, poultry, rabbits, horses, and other animals associated with local agricultural production.

The grape-growing tradition of Sonoma County receives particularly visible attention through events such as the World Championship Grape Stomp. The competition provides an entertaining public expression of the region’s longstanding relationship with vineyards and grape production.

Agricultural exhibits extend beyond livestock and grapes. Horticulture, flowers, garden products, food products, and other agricultural entries demonstrate the diversity of Sonoma County’s productive landscape.

Fair Schedule Structure

The ten-day Sonoma County Fair has a longer schedule than many California county fairs. This allows agricultural competitions, competitive exhibits, entertainment, carnival operations, and special events to be distributed across more than one weekend.

The first weekend introduces the fair with major entertainment and rodeo programming. The middle of the fair focuses on family days, agricultural activities, competitive exhibits, special contests, and daily entertainment.

The second weekend brings another concentration of visitors before the event concludes on Sunday.

This extended structure also gives exhibitors more opportunities to display their work and gives families the flexibility to attend on weekdays rather than concentrating every visit into Saturday or Sunday.

The special-day schedule is another important feature. Kids Days, Food Bank Day, education-related programming, Senior Day, and other designated days help connect individual communities and groups with the larger fair.

Entertainment, Rides, and Midway

The carnival is one of the largest recreational attractions at the Sonoma County Fair. The 2026 carnival operates throughout the ten-day event, with different operating hours depending on the day.

The 2026 carnival schedule includes individual ride tickets, wristbands, special ride promotions, and height requirements for specific attractions. Because carnival prices and promotions can change, visitors planning for 2027 should wait for the new year’s ride information.

Live music is another major part of the fair. The 2026 program features performances across multiple stages, including local and Bay Area musicians representing country, rock, pop, blues, honky-tonk, and other musical styles.

The fair also features family entertainment beyond the carnival. The Kids Area provides crafts, games, performances, and other activities for younger visitors who may not be tall enough for many of the midway rides.

Daily parades, foam parties, contests, music, and other activities create additional entertainment throughout the ten-day event.

Open Class and Amateur Competitions

The Sonoma County Fair provides extensive opportunities for residents to compete outside the livestock departments. Competitive exhibits allow adults and young people to showcase creative, practical, agricultural, and household skills.

Adult departments include areas such as photography, home arts, industrial arts, crafts, jewelry, quilts, sewing, woodworking, electrical projects, and other creative or technical work.

Youth entries provide younger participants with their own opportunities to display baking, canning, decorated cakes, fiber arts, photography, crafts, agriculture-related projects, and other accomplishments.

The Hall of Flowers is especially associated with Sonoma County’s horticultural identity. Its displays turn flowers and garden materials into elaborate competitive and artistic presentations.

For the 2026 fair, competitive exhibit entries open May 1 and close July 5. Entry and drop-off requirements differ by department, so participants should follow the relevant adult or youth guide rather than assuming that one deadline applies to every category.

Demolition Derby, Tractor Pulls, and Motorsport Events

The Sonoma County Fair includes several arena and motorsport-style attractions in its 2026 schedule.

The 2026 program includes a CCPRA Rodeo on August 7 and a PRCA Rodeo on August 8. These events feature professional western athletes competing in events such as bronc riding, roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing, and other rodeo disciplines.

Additional arena programming can include truck and tractor attractions, dirt-related motorsport events, and other vehicle entertainment. The exact schedule should be checked for the particular fair year because individual arena attractions can change.

A destruction derby is listed for the final Sunday of the 2026 fair. Visitors interested specifically in demolition-style motorsport should confirm the event’s ticketing and schedule before attending.

The discontinuation of live horse racing has changed the fair’s arena identity, but the continuing rodeo and other arena programming maintains a strong connection with Sonoma County’s western and agricultural traditions.

4-H and FFA Youth Programs

4-H and FFA participation connects the Sonoma County Fair with the county’s agricultural education system. Young exhibitors can spend months preparing livestock projects, learning animal care, maintaining records, practicing showmanship, and preparing for competition.

These programs provide practical agricultural education in a county where rural communities coexist with relatively dense urban and suburban areas. A child from an agricultural family can participate alongside young people whose primary home environment is in Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Petaluma, or another urban community.

Youth competitive exhibits also extend beyond livestock. Baking, canning, fiber arts, photography, crafts, horticulture, and other categories allow young people with different interests to participate.

The fair gives these participants a public venue for displaying their work and receiving feedback, awards, and recognition from the broader Sonoma County community.

Fairgrounds Facilities and Layout

The Sonoma County Fair & Event Center occupies the fairgrounds complex on Bennett Valley Road in Santa Rosa. The property includes exhibition buildings, livestock facilities, carnival areas, arena and grandstand spaces, parking areas, and other event infrastructure.

The Hall of Flowers is one of the most distinctive exhibition areas because it connects the fair directly with Sonoma County’s horticultural and agricultural identity.

Livestock facilities provide space for animal housing, exhibition, judging, and related youth activities. Competitive exhibit buildings contain artwork, photography, home arts, crafts, agricultural displays, and other entries.

The grounds also support stages, food vendors, carnival rides, family activity areas, and arena events. Because the fair lasts ten days, visitors can encounter substantially different activity patterns depending on when they arrive.

The fairgrounds serve the county throughout the year as a multi-use event center. This year-round role makes the property important to Santa Rosa beyond the annual August fair.

Getting There: Directions and Logistics

The Sonoma County Fairgrounds are located at 1350 Bennett Valley Road in Santa Rosa, California. The location places the fair within the city of Santa Rosa while remaining close to the agricultural and wine-growing areas that surround the county seat.

Visitors arriving from Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Windsor, Healdsburg, Sonoma, and other Sonoma County communities can reach Santa Rosa through the county’s major road network.

Fair traffic can be heavier during weekend evenings and major arena events. Visitors attending the rodeo, concerts, carnival, or other headline attractions should allow additional time for traffic and parking.

Because the fairgrounds are extensive, a visit can involve considerable walking between livestock facilities, exhibit buildings, carnival areas, food concessions, stages, and arena venues.

The daily schedule is especially useful for planning arrival. In 2026, gates open at noon Monday through Thursday, while Friday through Sunday gates open at 10 a.m. The carnival itself opens at noon.

Volunteer and Vendor Opportunities

The Sonoma County Fair depends on exhibitors, seasonal workers, volunteers, agricultural organizations, vendors, performers, youth programs, and community participants.

Fair employment opportunities include admissions and ticketing, exhibits, livestock facilities, administration, special events, maintenance, and parking. Some exhibit and livestock positions require specific experience or knowledge.

Competitive exhibitors are another important form of community participation. Residents can enter adult and youth exhibits across a wide range of departments.

Businesses and organizations can also participate through fair-time opportunities and other event-center arrangements. Vendor and business requirements can vary, so participants should review the applicable year’s information before applying.

For 2027, prospective exhibitors and vendors should wait for the new year’s entry guides, application materials, deadlines, and operational requirements.

Economic and Community Impact

The Sonoma County Fair has an important economic and community role in Santa Rosa and the wider county. A ten-day fair brings residents and visitors to the fairgrounds, supporting spending on admission, carnival activities, food, merchandise, entertainment, parking, and related services.

The fair also provides an important marketplace and promotional environment for agricultural organizations, local businesses, artisans, food vendors, community groups, and exhibitors.

Its agricultural education mission is equally significant. The event provides an opportunity for residents to see livestock, horticulture, flowers, agricultural products, and youth projects within a public setting.

The fair’s role is especially meaningful in Sonoma County because the county’s economy combines agriculture, tourism, hospitality, manufacturing, residential communities, and urban services. The fair creates a common gathering place where these different parts of the county can interact.

The fairgrounds’ year-round operation further extends the property’s economic and community value beyond the August event.

Comparing Sonoma County Fair to Nearby Fairs

The Sonoma County Fair occupies a distinctive position among North Bay county fairs because of its combination of agriculture, wine-country identity, urban population, horticulture, livestock, rodeo, music, and large-scale carnival entertainment.

The fair can be compared with the Napa County Fair, where agriculture, wine-country culture, livestock, entertainment, and community traditions also play central roles. Sonoma County’s fair, however, has a larger multi-day format and a particularly prominent flower exhibition.

The Solano County Fair in Vallejo provides another useful comparison. Solano County combines agricultural communities with a major Bay Area population base, while Sonoma County places greater emphasis on vineyards, horticulture, ranching, wine-country culture, and North Bay agricultural traditions.

The Sonoma County Fair also differs from smaller rural fairs because it operates for ten days and offers a broad range of entertainment, competitive exhibits, carnival activities, rodeo programming, livestock shows, and family events.

Its Santa Rosa location allows the fair to serve both agricultural communities and residents of the county’s larger urban centers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the dates and hours of the Sonoma County Fair?

The 2026 Sonoma County Fair is scheduled for August 7–16, 2026. Monday through Thursday, gates and carnival attractions are scheduled from noon to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday, gates open at 10 a.m., while the carnival opens at noon and the fair closes at 10 p.m.

The 2027 fair is expected in August, but the exact dates have not been treated as officially confirmed.

Where is the Sonoma County Fair held?

The fair is held at the Sonoma County Fair & Event Center, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, California.

How much does it cost to attend the Sonoma County Fair?

Admission prices vary according to the year, day, promotions, and special events. Carnival rides and certain arena attractions can have separate costs.

Visitors planning for 2027 should wait for the official 2027 admission and ticket information rather than relying on 2026 prices.

Is there free parking?

Parking arrangements and pricing can vary by fair year and event. Visitors should check the current fair parking information before attending rather than assuming that parking will be free.

Can I bring my own food and drinks?

Visitors should check the current fairground rules regarding outside food, beverages, coolers, and containers. The fair itself provides numerous food vendors and concessions throughout the grounds.

How do I enter an item in the Sonoma County Fair?

Exhibitors should use the annual competitive-exhibit guides for the appropriate adult or youth department. Categories include photography, home arts, industrial arts, crafts, horticulture, flowers, food, youth projects, and livestock.

For 2026, competitive exhibit entries are scheduled to open May 1 and close July 5, although individual receiving and drop-off requirements can differ by department.

Is the Sonoma County Fair appropriate for young children?

Yes. The fair has dedicated family programming, a Kids Area, children’s contests, parades, carnival rides, animal exhibits, music, food, and other activities.

The Kids Area is designed specifically for younger children who may not meet the height requirements for many carnival rides.

Are pets allowed at the Sonoma County Fair?

Visitors should review the current animal and pet policy before bringing a household pet. Livestock and animals entered in approved fair competitions follow separate requirements, while service animals are subject to applicable accessibility rules.

Does the Sonoma County Fair have a demolition derby?

The 2026 schedule includes a destruction derby on the final Sunday, August 16. Other motorsport attractions can also appear in the annual arena schedule.

Because arena programming can change, visitors should confirm the specific attraction and date for the year they plan to attend.

Who organizes the Sonoma County Fair?

The annual event is produced by Sonoma County Fair and Exposition, Inc., a nonprofit organization that operates the fairgrounds and focuses on agriculture education, economic development, entertainment, and community resilience.

Is camping available at the Sonoma County Fair?

The fairgrounds have an RV park and year-round lodging-related facilities, but visitors should distinguish ordinary fair attendance from RV or camping arrangements. Availability, reservations, and applicable rules should be confirmed for the specific fair period.

What happens if the fair is cancelled due to weather?

Weather, wildfire conditions, smoke, extreme heat, or other safety concerns can affect outdoor events in Sonoma County. Individual activities may be modified, postponed, or cancelled when conditions require changes.

Visitors should rely on the fair’s current announcements for any weather-related changes rather than assuming that a particular condition will automatically cancel the entire ten-day event.