After 12 days of food, fun, music, and rides in Paso Robles, the California Mid State Fair is wrapping up.
Another season of the California Mid State Fair is in the books for Paso Robles. Sunday marked the final day of the fair and the best opportunity for Billy Robison and his family to beat the crowds.
“I expected it to be more people here already, but it just opened, and that's kind of the goal," Robison said. "We know there’s going to be a lot of people."
Robison said he’s been coming to the fair since he was a kid. Now, his own kids, Liam and Bailey, are old enough to experience the fair.
“It seems very similar to when I was a kid," Robison said. "You have the fun food, you have the local vendors, the rides are consistent. It's a good time.”
That feeling is no accident. Colleen Bojorquez is the CEO of the California Mid-State Fair and Paso Robles Event Center. She said balancing nostalgia with fresh experiences is the challenge at the heart of every season.
“That's probably the hardest thing that we have to do is embrace tradition and have community where people who have come for years and years and years, they come and still get that feeling, but then at the same time bringing something new so it's not just the same old thing," Bojorquez said.
Despite multiple heat advisories during the two weeks of the fair, Lachlan McKenzie said people still came out in impressive numbers.
“I think it's been huge even with the hot days," McKenzie said. "Last year, it was kind of colder. People are still enjoying it, still coming at like 12:00, enjoying the grounds. It's been really interesting to like see all the people that are coming. It's awesome, and I feel like it's been a lot busier.”
This year’s theme for the fair was “Back to the 80s” to celebrate the fair’s 80th season. McKenzie said they try to bring in new elements each year that relate to the theme, and they’re already planning for next year.
Bojorquez said it's bittersweet to see the end of another season.
“We are tired, we're exhausted, we put on 12 days and very little sleep," Bojorquez said. "It's also exhilarating because we've seen what we've done, and we hope that today is just as good as the first day.”
