Community Corner

The 99th Alameda County Fair Promises Deep-Fried Good Time

World's largest cheeseburger, fried jellybeans, horse races, the Charlie Daniels Band and more.

It's a year away from being 100 years old, but the Alameda County Fair is no frail geriatric.

Organizers say this year's event is bigger, badder and more deep-fried than ever.

It runs from June 22 to July 10 at the in Pleasanton, and will boast fried jellybeans and fried butter, a giant squid made entirely out of recyclables, horse racing, 99-cent bull rides, the barbecue-obsessed duking it out for top prizes, the Charlie Daniels Band and more.

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Helmeted children will try to ride a bucking sheep for six seconds in the Mutton Bustin' mini-rodeo event. Pigs will fly over hurdles, kicking up dirt the whole time. Treasure hunters will break out their GPS devices in an attempt to dig up hidden prizes. People will make themselves sick on carnival rides.

And no fair is complete without kooky yet tasty food options.

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Jungle George's, a fair consessionaire, will sell deep-fried jellybeans for $5, deep-fried butter, also for $5, along with raccoon on a stick, yak and llama burgers, frog legs and python meat. Also offered: ant candy, crickets, chocolate-covered scorpions and larve (eew).

Organizers also have plans to cook the Mac Daddy of all burgers at this year's fair — the largest cheeseburger in the world, made up of 625 pounds of meat. That's equivalent to 2,500 Quarter Pounders. It'll be 1.37 million calories — based on a suggested 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, that could feed one person for more than 22 months, fair officials say.

Even the fixins on top will be big, with 50 pounds of cheese, 12 pounds of pickles, 20-plus pounds of onions and 30 pounds of lettuce.

The burger cooking, which will start at 5 a.m. July 2, will take 10 hours to cook with a 10-person crew and it'll take a crane to flip it. (Patch will be there getting video footage of this feat).

Fair concessionaire Juicy's will be making this meat monster, and a Guinness representative will be on hand to verify the results, making sure it is indeed the world's biggest burger.

After it's done, cooks will chop up the burger and sell bites to fair patrons for 99 cents (an homage to the fair's 99th anniversary). Proceeds will go to the Alameda County Food Bank.

Each weekend, there will be a different food theme in Festival Square, with a cafe-type setup. The first weekend, the theme will be "Spice of India" (complete with a henna tattoo booth and Indian-themed art). Then over the July 2 weekend, it will be "Made in Americana," and the last weekend, it will be "Fiesta Hispana," where roving Mariachi bands will play as patrons dine.

Barbecuers will be out in force as well, when the 9th Annual Rib Cook-Off and Chicken Contest gets underway on June 30 (contest entry deadline is June 28. Click here for details.) The preliminary cook-off days are June 30, July 1 and July 3.  Three winners from each day will advance to the finals on July 4.

Winners from past years have gone on to open their own barbecue restaurants and have appeared on national television showing off their rubs and recipes. Patch will be writing more about these famous barbecuers, so stay tuned.

The Budweiser Clydesdales will be at the fair this year as well. Spokesperson April Mitchell said it's been years since they've been present. 

There will also be gumbo contests, hot dog eating contests, hat contests, a battle of the bands showdown and a Ghirardelli chocolate dessert competition.

And while you're chewing on a hand-dipped corndog, you can enjoy big-name bands playing this year's free fair concerts. The Charlie Daniels Band plays on June 23, Foghat plays on June 24, Blue Oyster Cult will play June 26 (more cowbell!), Roy Clark plays June 30, and Survivor performs on June 28. And that's just a sampling of the musical acts taking the stage this year.

The yearly fireworks display will take place July 1, and will be 12 minutes starting at 9:15 p.m.

Fair officials also say there will be no shortage of "99" themes. First up is "99¢ Wacky Wednesdays": On June 22, June 29 and July 6, admission is 99¢ before 3 p.m. and $3 after 3 p.m. 

There will be 99-cent rides on June 27, 99-cent beers in the grandstands before the 2nd race every Thursday, 99-second bull rides, a 99 kisses contest (the winner will receive $99 for kissing his or her partner 99 times) and a $999 giveaway.

HOURS:

The fair will run from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday, Wednesdays and Thursdays (closed Tuesdays), and then from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. On July 4, the fair will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Ticket sales close at 9 p.m.

TICKET PRICES:

Adults between 13 and 61 pay $8 pre-fair and $10 at the gate. Seniors (age 62 and older) pay $6 pre-fair and $8 at the gate. Children between six and 12 pay $4 pre-fair and $6 at the gate. And children under six get in free.

PARKING INFO:

General parking at gates 8 and 12 costs $8. Preferred parking at gate 8 costs $15, and preferred VIP parking on Pleasanton Avenue costs $20.

Click here for information about carnival ride prices.

Season passes are available online until June 13 and cost $30. It's good for fair admission all 17 days.

 For a list of places to buy tickets and other promotions, click here.

Patch will be writing about the fair, as well as offering daily weather reports and daily suggestions on things to do. We will have comprehensive, daily coverage of the horse races. And we'll be launching a fair photo contest, so watch for that.


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