The Alameda County Fair opens Friday in Pleasanton, CA, with a full slate of rides, concerts, food, contests and nighttime spectacle. It starts with a fireworks display and a schedule built to keep crowds moving from the carnival to the Michelob Ultra Grandstand and beyond.
John Stamos is among the names drawing attention this year, performing with The Beach Boys as part of The Big O Tires Concert series, which changes acts each night. The fair also will screen World Cup watch parties, starting Friday with U.S. vs. Australia, and it will do so while offering saver tickets through June 19 before prices rise the next day.
That timing matters because this is not just a weekend opening. The fair is stacking up repeat visits with a 100-foot roller coaster, a petting zoo, pony rides, pig races, small animals, family movies on the Jumbotron screen and special exhibits, including a new 9/11 Memorial Exhibit and a Time Capsule dedication tied to the country’s 250th anniversary. The Time Capsule is set to be installed on June 26 at 1 p.m. and remain sealed until 2076.
One part of the schedule does not fit the easy rhythm of the rest. Drone shows are set for every night except July 4 over the Michelob Ultra Grandstand, while a massive fireworks display is planned for July 4 itself. The fair is also promising a packed stretch of late-June and early-July action, with The Demolition Derby on June 20-21, Monster Trucks on June 26-28 and Arena Cross Nationals on July 3 and 5, though the schedule can shift if soccer watch parties run late.
For visitors, the next deadline is simple: buy early or pay more. General admission is $17.60 until midnight Thursday, then rises to $19.80 on Friday; children and seniors go from $14.30 to $16.50, while children under 5 and active military members get in free. After that, the fair settles into its run with the biggest question not whether there will be something to do, but how many trips one ticket can realistically cover.
