Overview The LA County Fair fills the Fairplex grounds in Pomona from Thursday to Sunday through most of May, and more than 89 million people have come through its gates since the first fair in 1922. Each edition takes a theme; 2026 was Play Your Way. The fair moved from its old late-summer dates to May in 2022, the year it came back for its centennial after two canceled years. Fairplex, which runs it, is a nonprofit in a public-private partnership with Los Angeles County, and its 487-acre campus holds more than 500 events a year. On site Ray Cammack Shows brings the carnival, more than 70 rides and games, and added Sound Storm and Air Raid in 2026. That year the grounds also held the Cutest Dog Show on Earth with rescue dogs, a pirate play area for children at the Lagoon, a full-size roller rink, two petting farms, cow- and goat-milking demonstrations, the Flower and Garden Pavilion and a concert every night. Cal Poly Pomona's Huntley College of Agriculture brought 210 animals, and 18 lambs and 14 goats were born during the run. The food stands keep count: in 2026 Chicken Charlie's cooked more than 10,000 pounds of chicken, and the Midway Gourmet sold enough corn dogs to stretch nearly four miles. Audience People come in groups and stay: Fairplex puts the average party at five guests and the average visit at 5.3 hours. Most are local, with 64% from Los Angeles County and most of the rest from San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange counties. In 2026, 19,492 students came through the FairKids field trip program, 80 community organizations took part, and guests brought 105,152 cans to three Food Drive Thursdays. Track record The first fair ran five days in October 1922 on a former beet field, with harness racing, chariot races and a wing-walking act. It went dark from 1942 to 1947 and again in 2020 and 2021. Attendance: 787,843 in 2024; 683,000 in 2025; 642,081 over 17 days in 2026. Fairplex counted 1,447 news mentions of the 2025 fair between mid-April and late May. Brand presence The grounds are divided into neighborhoods - Downtown Fairplex, The Hill, The Farm and Gardens - and a brand can present one of them, an Expo Hall or a stage; in 2025 Anheuser-Busch's Estrella and Superior Grocers presented the Plaza Stage. The official automotive partner gets signs at the main parking gates and at the Clock Tower plaza, the fair's main intersection, and shows cars both outdoors and in an Expo Hall. Ticketing partners sell discounted fair tickets in their own stores. Packages can stretch past May into Fairplex's own KABOOM! on the Fourth of July, Oktoberfest and the Lights Out Halloween event.