Spoiler Alert! They’ve got shrimp & grits!
Remember the old adage about not really missing something until it’s gone?
It was never more true than it was two years ago, when COVID-19 shut down the California State Fair & Food Festival.
I had taken the Fair for granted for the decade or so that I’d lived in Sacramento before the pandemic roared into town. I remember getting through the early weeks our first shelter-in-place order, in the summer of 2020, hoping and praying that we’d be able to gather at Cal Expo that summer for some rides, great music, incredible food, and the general fun that comes with a day at the Fair. Alas, it wasn’t to be.
Well, that dark summer’s in the rear view mirror. While we still need to be diligent about masking and distancing, let along getting our shots, the Fair is back and ready for business. Most of it takes place outside, so the COVID-aware among us should be good. The event runs through Sunday, July 31.
I’ll be filling you in over the course of the next week or so with all of the best of the event, having been out of town for the last few days (I STILL can’t believe that I missed Chaka Khan on the 14th!). In addition to the nightly concerts (free with admission to the fair), there are the rides, farm animals, and lots of great, family activities.
You’ve never too old for the Fair…and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!
And since I know you want to know about the food, I may or may not have already shot over there for some Dole Whip. And a funnel cake.
And next trip? There’s a glorious truck at the Fair, near the entrance to Kid’s Park, that’s selling shrimp & grits. Hand to God. If you grab some before I do, shoot me a note and let me know how it is. I make a mean pot of it myself, but you can’t beat a good bowl of shrimp and grits that you don’t have to cook, right?
In closing, here are some words that I’ve been waiting for two years to write:
See you soon at the California State Fair & Food Festival!
