It began as a celebration of local agriculture. But we all know that the annual three-and-a-half-week event they call the San Diego County Fair is really about absolute sensory overload. And we don't care what they call it. It's still the Del Mar Fair.
By whatever name, the San Diego County Fair began its colorful life in 1880 in National City, the brain child of Frank Kimball, who wanted to show off the region's horticulture and agriculture. The fair bounced around the county a bit -- to Coronado, Oceanside, Balboa Park and Escondido, where one of the judges in the horse competition was reportedly Wyatt Earp.
The 22nd District Agricultural Association, responsible for the fair then and now, got tired of the bouncing and in 1933 asked the Governor to provide a permanent site. Not surprisingly, the site selection committee had no lack of proposals, including one from the South Coast Land Company, owners of the failing Del Mar Golf Course.
But the fair board chose Crown Point in Pacific Beach instead. They should've known better. One of the principals of the South Coast Land Company was Colonel Ed Fletcher, a state senator, developer and builder who had brought San Diego County acres of water, miles of highways, and the suburbs of Solana Beach, Grossmont, Mt. Helix, Fletcher Hills, and part of Del Mar, to name a few.
Fletcher, the San Diego embodiment of energy and clout, pointed out that Del Mar was next to the highway, near the train station and easily accessible from L.A. and San Diego. He may not have mentioned that he and the other four owners would make money and get rid of a losing property. In any case, the fair board reversed its decision, and the San Diego County Fair went to Del Mar. The state paid $25,000 for the South Coast Land Company's 167 acres.
Government grants helped start a facility that would turn the Del Mar Fair into a permanent attraction. But the money ran out, leaving the race track unfinished. Taxes on pari-mutuel betting were supposed to support the fair, so something had to be done. The Directors turned for help to some Hollywood horse lovers: Actor Pat O'Brien and entertainer Bing Crosby, who had a home in Rancho Santa Fe.
The celebrities agreed to put up the $500,000 needed to finish the grandstand and clubhouse. In exchange, they got a 20-year franchise on thoroughbred racing at Del Mar.
The fair was saved, and the first fair in the new facility was opened by governor Frank Merriam on October 8, 1936. Unfortunately, it was an exceptionally rainy October, and the brand new fairgrounds were often a sea of mud.
The fair was suspended during World War II. The Del Mar Turf Club suddenly acquired an aircraft division which turned out airplane parts made by Bing's Bomber Builders. Marines from Camp Pendleton and soldiers from Camp Callan bivouacked in the stables.
When the war was over, a record crowd of well over 200,000 celebrated the return of the fair in 1946 -- or 1947, depending on which history you read. Attendance has been growing ever since.
This year the theme of the fair is A Salute to Local Heroes. No, not the person who can eat the most corn dogs or spin around the longest without throwing up. The fair is saluting the real heroes among us, like police officers, fire fighters, doctors and nurses, even parents.
Speaking of heroes, meet Ray Bubba Sorensen. He paints a Freedom Rock, a giant -- even heroic -- boulder in Iowa every May. He's doing the same thing here, creating a mural you won't find in a downtown gallery.
Another event you won't find in the Gaslamp is the turkey stampede. And a good thing, too. If you are unnerved by the sight of big ugly birds running around, you can always head for the tequila tasting. Or the brewery competition.
Or you can rise above it all where the air is fresh, clean, and free of the smell of fried cotton candy. Just kidding about the cotton candy, but the fair boasts the usual food vendors who have feverishly concocted the unusual: like fried coke, a Krispy Krème chicken sandwich, and rattlesnake bites. But you already know what those taste like.
The San Diego County Fair, formerly the San Diego Fair and Citrus Show, The Southern California Exposition, and the Del Mar Fair, runs through July 4 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
It's closed Mondays and a couple of Tuesdays, so plan carefully, or you definitely won't be a hero.
