‘We’re glad to be back.’ Merced County Spring Fair opens in Los Banos after 2-year hiatus
Longtime Los Banos resident Liliana Rosales is used to bringing her kids to the Merced County Spring Fair in Los Banos every year.
Her family missed not having the fair the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
So the Rosales family was excited for the return of the fair after the long hiatus. They were among the happy crowd that was out roaming the fairgrounds on opening day Wednesday.
“It’s been a quite a while, two long years that the kids have wanted to come to the fair,” Rosales said. “They love it. We were raised here. It’s nice to finally be back.”
Rosales watched as her twin 7-year-olds, Sebastian and Sophia, had a blast riding the miniature Ferris wheel with their cousins Natalia Alcarez, 3, and Aaliah Alcarez, 6.
“That was their first ride,” Rosales said. “They already left and are ready for the next one.”
There were plenty of smiles and laughing as people took in the opening day festivities.
Kids enjoyed riding the rides and playing the midway games. There was also the return of the fair food staples like cotton candy, corn dogs, ice cream, pretzels, nachos and shaved ice.
“Our last fair was in 2019,” said fair manager Bob Walker, who has been working with the event for over 40 years. “Everyone is excited to be back. Everyone is doing back flips.”
People flocked to the livestock, photo, art, cooking and crafts exhibits, as well as the entertainment.
There were also pig races put on by the All-Alaskan Racing Pigs, kids dance performances by Los Banos dance studio Dance Explosion and a comedy show by Skips Banks.
“Performing is priceless,” Banks said. “I’m fortunate to be here. It’s so good to see people smiling, especially with all the bad news going around. It’s good to see people laughing for 20 minutes.”
Banks’ high-energy, prop comedy show featured plenty of masks, costume changes and music.
Walker says opening day is always hectic and Wednesday was no different. “It’s the first day and everyone is getting settled in,” he said. “People are learning where they are supposed to park.”
The fair gates opened at 10 a.m. on Wednesday and runs through Sunday. There is different entertainment scheduled all week, including a demolition derby on Friday night and a tractor pull on Saturday.
On Saturday the popular May Day Parade will take place with floats and bands from many cities in northern California participating.
Ricardo Salcedo was another Los Banos resident who was happy to bring his kids back to the fair.
“Kids are having a blast,” said Salcedo, who has lived in Los Banos for 20 years. “They were looking forward to the rides and getting out with no restrictions. We come every year. It always brings smiles.”
“We’ve always had great community support,” Walker said. “What we’re seeing from pre-sale tickets is people are excited to come back. We’re expecting a lot of people to come through this weekend. We’re glad to be back.”
For more information or questions about the fair visit the event website at www.co.merced.ca.us/88/Spring-Fair or call the fair office at 209-826-5166.
Also, check out the Spring Fair Facebook page.
This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 10:59 AM.
