The official first day of summer this year is June 20, but for many San Diegans, the real summer kickoff will be June 11 when the 2025 San Diego County Fair opens for a 20-day run at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
As in recent years, the fair will run Wednesdays through Sundays only, and this year it will stay open for the weekend following the Fourth of July, with run dates June 11 through July 6.
To help navigate this year’s fair, we’ve gathered everything you need to know on this year’s theme, new additions, ticket prices, transportation options, rides, entertainment, exhibits and — most important for many fairgoers — new things to eat at the food booths. Here’s an overview.
Theme
This year’s fair theme is “Summer Pet-tacular.” A themed exhibit, “Pets Rock: Live on Tour,” will fill the fairgrounds’ 20,000-square-foot Activity Center building. Created by Kahoots Feed & Pets Store, it will include larger-than-life, walk-through exhibits that will allow fair-goers to experience the world from a pet’s perspective, including a supersized ball of yarn, an enormous bird’s nest and a huge aquarium castle.
The San Diego Humane Society will be hosting six to seven presentations each day on pet ownership, animal care and training. And there will be a puppy yoga class (meaning humans can do yoga while puppies run around them) at 10 a.m. June 29 and July 6 at The Sound concert venue.
The Human Society will also host a pet pavilion where families can interact with adoptable puppies, kittens and rabbits. Society spokeswoman Nina Thompson said Thursday that ever since the pandemic, the shelters have been running at full capacity, particularly with baby animals. Right now there are more than 700 pets available for adoption. At the fair, visitors can play with and reserve a pet but will need to visit a shelter in person to finalize the adoption.
From 6:30-10:30 a.m. July 4 — before the fair opens — there will be a Pooch Fun Run, where pet owners can bring their leashed dogs to the fairgrounds for a walk-run. There will be multiple one-day pet competitions, including pet costume and portrait contests. There will be an online pet photo challenge and pet caricature artists (who will work from photos).
There will also be a wide range of pet-related entertainment, including a presentation by “Cesar’s Way” host Cesar Millan at 6 p.m. June 21; a 4-H dog show on June 27; dachshund and corgi races on June 14.
Dock Dogs and Flyball contests will run June 25-29 and daily stunt dog shows are planned in Family Funville. There will also be animal-themed puppet shows, daily bird shows and a scent dog demonstration show June 25 and 27.
For all of the pet-themed activities, visit sdfair.com/p/what-to-do/pet-events–activities.
New foods at the fair
One thing that virtually every fairgoer looks forward to each year is trying out some of the new foods being unveiled at the concession stands this year.
At a sneak peek preview May 29, a handful of food vendors shared their new items for the 2025 fair run.
San Diego’s king of the deep-fried surprises, “Chicken Charlie” Boghosian, shared his latest treat, a kabob of meatballs and cubed mozzarella, dipped in batter, fried and served with a side of marinara.
San Diego’s Craft Lemonade has stirred up a new Pickle Lemonade, with pickle and dill juices, a fresh dill sprig and pickle spear. Craft Lemonade co-founder and Escondido schoolteacher Amber Vandewarker said this recipe was created in honor of her husband, who has a ion for pickles.
Country Fair Cinnamon Rolls, which is marking its 48th anniversary at the San Diego County Fair, is introducing its tres leches-flavored cinnamon roll this year. Willie Madaus, of the Northern California-based family-run company, said the new roll’s cream cheese topping has been enhanced with “tres leches” (three milks: condensed and evaporated milks and half & half), caramel sauce and Mexican piloncillo unrefined cane sugar.
Two new booths will be serving dishes that fuse Asian and Mexican flavors. Rico’s Monjares will serve a birria/ramen noodle soup with corn and a side of nachos, and The Ramen Taco booth will serve kung pao chicken, Asian slaw and hoisin sauce in a taco shell made from fried ramen.
Pat’s Pizza is introducing a hot honey and goat cheese pizza with pistachios and arugula, and Richie’s Sweet Paradise will be serving Dubai chocolate and pistachio cream-covered strawberries with toasted phyllo crumbles.
And Linda Vista chef Sylvester Owino’s Rafikiz Foodz, a traditional Kenyan food business that’s a regular at the weekly Carlsbad, Oceanside and Leucadia farmers markets, will make his San Diego County Fair debut this year with a diverse menu of chicken, vegetable, rice dishes, sambusas and loaded plantains.
Racing pigs
Pets are the main attraction this year, but the fair’s most popular live attraction is the Swifty Swine Racing Pigs. Wooden bleachers will be set up in the fairgrounds’ Durante Area, where fairgoers can watch five-week-old piglets take a speedy lap around a mini racetrack for the reward of an Oreo cookie at the finish line. The pigs will race up to six times a day. Check in at the booth for the schedule or find it here: sdfair.com/events/2025/swifty-swine-racing-pigs.
Speakeasies
Once again this year there will be two not-so-secret speakeasies serving up specialty cocktails.
In keeping with the fair’s pet theme, the Hair of the Dog speakeasy will be a “Bridgerton meets the dog pound” bar serving canine-themed drinks in the fair’s arena building. The signature cocktail is The Hound Dog, a maple syrup-infused Old Fashioned with a maple-glazed doughnut hole and “Scooby snack” cookie (for humans).
Destination Unknown speakeasy, on the sixth floor of the grandstand building, will have a deep-sea theme with tropical rum- and vodka-based drinks like the Fish Bowl and Mermaid Tail.
Summer Nights at the Sound
Our music critic George Varga will write about this year’s grandstand music lineup. But a broader mix of ticketed live entertainment will be presented on select nights in the Fairgrounds’ The Sound concert hall.
This year’s lineup is “Taylor Shines Laser Spectacular,” a Taylor Swift-inspired family-friendly show at 6 p.m. June 11 and 12 ($24.84-$25.92); the Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular, a multimedia laser, video and projection show set to the music of the English band, at 6 p.m. June 13 and 14 ($34.56-$43.20); Hyprov Improv under Hypnosis, featuring “Whose Line Is It Anyway">sdfair.com/p/what-to-do/summer-nights-at-the-sound.
Featured exhibits
Besides the “Pets Rock” themed exhibit, there are two farm-themed exhibits at the fair this year.
Farm 2 U: Located in the fairgrounds’ O’Brien Hall, it will celebrate the agriculture, horticulture and cuisine of California. The exhibit will focus on the agricultural offerings of San Diego and Imperial counties, including the region’s flower and produce farms, vineyards and wineries, beer-making and more. Visitors will learn about the region’s top crops and organic farming and have a chance to meet the farmers and ranchers themselves. There will be a market selling locally farmed products, and there will be a new demonstration stage for farmer and chef talks and demonstrations. The San Diego Food Bank will take part in this exhibit, since it works closely with farms to distribute its produce to the needy and recycle food waste into compost. As in past years, there will be a Craft Brew Competition and Toast of the Coast Wine Competition, and the Paul Ecke Jr. Garden Show will also return.
Fairview Farm: Located in Family Funville, this farm and nature-themed exhibit for families will include a walk-through herb garden, a succulent garden, a scarecrow vegetable garden and a pollinator garden (for attracting migrating butterflies). There will also be a Backyard Bug Adventure exhibit for close-up encounters with real insects. And there will be farm-themed contests, including watermelon seed-spitting, corn-shucking and scarecrow-making.
Competitive exhibits
As always, the fair will celebrate San Diego artists, craftspeople, hobbyists and cooks in its competitive exhibitions. Returning this year will be the San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association’s Design in Wood show, a 2-D and 3-D fine art exhibition, the Paul Ecke Jr. Garden & Flower shows; the Gems, Minerals and Jewelry Show; the home arts, hobby and collectibles shows; the photography exhibition; the student showcase and the 4-H, FFA and Grange livestock shows.
Cultural celebrations
This year’s fair will feature several themed days celebrating different San Diego communities and interest groups. They include the Asian & Pacific Islander Festival on June 14; La Fiesta Danzantes de San Diego (Mexican folkloric dancing) on June 15; Out at the Fair, a family-friendly LGBTQ celebration on June 21; Gospel Music Day on June 28; the Bluegrass Festival and K-Pop festivals on July 5; and more.
Rides and games
The fair’s Fun Zone will feature a full complement of rides and games for adults, including two Ferris wheels, the Zipper, an aerial swings ride, the Slingshot, Skyliner, Super Shot, Tango, Thunderbird and Raptor Coaster. The fairgrounds’ inner racetrack area is once again set aside for the Kids Zone, with 30 children’s rides and many other attractions.
Fairgoers can take advantage of Pay One Price Ride Days on Wednesdays and Thursdays with unlimited rides until 8 p.m. with purchase of a wristband on June 11, 12, 18,19, 25, 26 and July 2 and 3. es are $50 before June 11 and $55 afterward. Fair ission must be purchased separately. Select San Diego 7-Eleven stores are offering $5 discount coupons for the unlimited ride deal with purchase of two 20-ounce Pepsi bottles. For details, visit sdfair.com/p/plan-your-visit/tickets-deals/unlimited-rides.
Special deals
There are plenty of ways to save on tickets and rides this year. If you like to visit the fair more than once, consider a season starting at $65 for ission to all 20 days of the fair run. If you love the rides and midway games, buy a Blast before June 10 to get 25% more ride and fun zone credits. Fridays are kids days, where children 12 and under get in free. Fridays are also “foodie” days, where the 18 finalists in the Fair-Tastic Food Competition will be selling their award-worthy dishes for half-price from 11 am. to 4 p.m. every Friday in June. Keep an eye out for $15 meal deals at participating food booths, where vendors will offer an entrée and side or drink for that price. For more discounts, visit sdfair.com/p/plan-your-visit/tickets-deals.
Tickets and parking
Fairgoers still have the option to buy tickets at the fairground gates, but they’ll pay a for the convenience. Walk-up tickets are $4 to $5 more than tickets purchased online in advance. To avoid overcrowding on the weekends, the fair is offering a $4 discount on tickets purchased for Wednesdays and Thursdays. For families with small children, Fridays are great days for discount. Children ages 6-12 get in free on Fridays and children 5 and under are free every day.
There are three parking options available. Onsite at the fairgrounds for $20 ($16, if purchased online with tickets at least 24 hours in advance); preferred onsite parking at the O’Brien gate for $55 ($50 in advance); $10 at the Del Mar Horsepark (with free shuttle service to the main gate); and free parking at the Canyon Crest Academy campus (with free shuttle service to the O’Brien gate).
The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System is also once again offering its Fair Tripper transit , which offers a combination of Trolley/Coaster/shuttle service to the fair and includes a discount on fair ission. the price ranges from $17-$25. Details at sdmts.com/fair-tripper.
2025 San Diego County Fair
When: June 11 to July 6. 11 am. to 11 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays.
Where: Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar
Tickets purchased online: $16-$20 for ages 13-61; $13-$17 for seniors 62+; $13-$17, youth ages 6-12; children 5 and under are free. Tickets purchased at the gate will be subject to an additional $4 to $5 fee.
Phone: 858-755-1161
Online: sdfair.com
