16-year-old Abby Ellingson is having an excellent weekend at the fair.
Not just because of the bright carnival rides or delicious fried foods — Ellingson’s pig, Anthony, was just judged the second-best market hog in the county. And for all her hard work raising the massive swine, Ellingson has won a shiny new belt buckle engraved with her achievement.
Ellingson is one of hundreds of Santa Clara County kids competing in livestock shows at this year’s county fair, which is running for two weekends, July 25-28 and August 1-4. Though she lives in a typical California home, she decided to get into livestock raising through her high school’s barn.
“When I tell my family, they’re like, ‘What do you mean, you raise pigs?’” Ellingson said. “It’s definitely a shock to everyone.”
A goat stands on an animal carrier at the Santa Clara County Fair in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
In an area now best known for its tech companies, the county fair offers a venue to show off talent and creativity in pastimes old and new.
This theme of this year’s fair, From the Fields to the Future, celebrates the region’s agricultural past as the Valley of Heart’s Delight, as well as its present status as a site for technological innovation. Fairgoers can milk a cow at one side of the grounds, and interact with a robotic dog at another. The fair’s home arts competition includes divisions for baked goods, quilting and place setting, as well as robotics and LEGO building.
“We have categories for almost everything,” said fair manager Salene Duarte.
Duarte has attended the fair since she was a child, showing animals in the livestock competitions. She became the fair’s top dog in 2019 and has seen the grounds through pandemic closures and its return to using the full grounds this year. Attendance hasn’t fully bounced back, but Duarte isn’t too worried.
“Weekdays have been kind of slow, but some people like it that way,” she said. “We’d definitely like to see more people.”
After the years of closure, the fair is back with several new attractions, and many of the classics. Of course, attendees can also enjoy classic carnival rides, food vendors, magicians — even the fair’s classic mascot is back in a new way.
The Cheery Farmer, a cartoon first drawn to represent the fair in 1946, was brought to life by professional magician and Santa Claus performer Glen Micheletti. Longtime fairgoers are quick to recognize Micheletti, wearing overalls, a bright yellow raincoat and a red briefcase, as he wanders the fair.
Eddie Zuniga, of San Jose, wins a prize for Brianna Rodriguez, of San Jose, at the Santa Clara County Fair in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
“They become little kids again,” Micheletti said. “They just light up.”
Donna Kelley is one of the artisans on the historical side of things, carving obsidian spear heads by hand. Kelley, a mechanical engineer by trade, appreciates how the fair introduces the public to both old and new technology.
“It’s perfect,” Kelley said. “I love the continuity of it.”
But to take in the fun, one must first pay the price of admission. Adults pay $17.50 to enter, kids $11.10, and parking will set you back another $20.
“It’s a little on the pricey side, but that’s expected of every fair, isn’t it?” said Eddie Zuniga of San Jose, who attended the fair for the first time Thursday.
This year’s fair will be open through Sunday, August 4.
