LA County Fair — Pomona Opening Weekend
- LA County Fair opened Thursday, May 7, at Fairplex in Pomona and runs through May 31, bringing back rides, concerts, livestock, food, and exhibits. - This year’s fair lasts 17 days, opens a day earlier than last year, and leans into a “Play Your Way” theme with 70-plus rides. - The opening weekend matters because it sets the pace for a monthlong regional draw — and ticket prices strongly reward planning ahead.
The LA County Fair is back in Pomona, and the useful thing to know is that this is not just a three-day splashy opener. It started Thursday, May 7, and runs through May 31 at Fairplex, mostly Thursday through Sunday plus Memorial Day. That matters because the opening weekend is busy, but the fair itself is built as a monthlong choose-your-own-adventure — part carnival, part food crawl, part concert venue, part agriculture showcase. (lacountyfair.com) ### When is it actually open? For 2026, the fair runs May 7 through May 31. Regular operating days are Thursday through Sunday and Memorial Day, with hours listed as 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The big wrinkle is opening day — the fair launched on Thursday, May 7, and this year opened a day earlier than last year’s schedule. (fairplex.com) ### What’s new this year? The theme is “Play Your Way,” which is basically the fair leaning hard into participation instead of just spectacle. Fairplex is pitching it as the county’s “biggest playground,” with more than 70 rides and games, two new rides called Sound Storm and Air Raid, on-the-spot contests, a full-sized skating rink, and a pirate-themed play area at the lagoon. (fairplex.com) ### Is it just rides and fried food? Not even close. The daily schedule for Friday, May 8 alone stacks together petting farms, livestock exhibits, gardening displays, a lowrider-themed exhibit called “The Culture of the Low & the Slow,” home arts, a roller-skating-and-arcade setup, pig races, blacksmith demos, and mus(fairplex.com)k — you can come for one thing and accidentally build a whole day around five others. (lacountyfair.com) ### What about concerts? Opening weekend already has the fair’s concert strategy on display. WAR is booked for Saturday, May 9, and Banda El Recodo with Banda Los Recoditos for Sunday, May 10, both at 7:30 p.m. The useful detail here is that concert tickets include fair admission for that night, so for some visitors the concert is basically the anchor and the fair is the before-party. (lacountyfair.com) ### How expensive is it? The fair is very obviously trying to pull people into advance online buying. Opening day admission was $12. After that, advance online single-day tickets run $18 to $25 for adults, $15 for children ages 6 to 12, and $15 for seniors. At the gate, adult admission jumps to $32. Children 5 and younger are free. Fairplex is also cashless for admiss(lacountyfair.com)oying if you’re not. (lacountyfair.com) ### Is there anything special this weekend? Yes — especially Sunday. The fair is pushing a Mother’s Day package for May 10 at $39.99 for adults and $29.99 for children, bundling admission, food credit, and a return ticket for a later date. Saturday also includes the “All Hands On Decks” silent disco block from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., which is a pretty good snapshot (lacountyfair.com)lacountyfair.com) ### So what’s the smart way to think about opening weekend? Think of opening weekend as the loudest, most crowded version of the fair — but also the clearest preview of the whole month. You get the headline attractions, the first concerts, the full midway energy, and the broadest sense of what “Play Your Way” actually means on the ground. If you want the classic fai(lacountyfair.com)rest of May is the release valve. (lacountyfair.com)
