Once Upon a Fair is this year’s theme for the San Diego County Fair. Fairy tales, beloved picture books, popular fiction and timeless classics are celebrated in fantastic exhibits throughout the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
The ever-popular Garden Show, not surprisingly, has become a place where gardening clubs from around the San Diego region have “hybridized” beautiful flowers and plants with . . . fantasy!
Walk around the Garden Show and you’re likely to discover scenes from wonderfully imaginative works like Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Snow White, The Three Little Pigs, The Tortoise and the Hare, The Little Mermaid, and more.
I always delight in the huge model train layout built by the San Diego Garden Railway Society. Their display this year contains fantasy elements from many well known tales.
Check out the following photographs! What stories can you identify?
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The most exceptional part of the San Diego County Fair is arguably the Design in Wood exhibition. Exquisitely crafted wood art, furniture, boats, musical instruments and more are exhibited in what has been described as the premiere woodworking show in the United States.
The San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association produces this annual show at the fair in Del Mar. Every time I go the fair I make sure to check it out. Most of the pieces that are displayed will absolutely, positively blow your mind!
Don’t believe me? I submit for your consideration a few photographs!
You might notice a few photos of woodworkers demonstrating their craft at the show. Several local woodworking organizations participate, right there in front of curious fair visitors, making tops, model ships, toys and other objects. Some carve by hand. Others shape pieces of spinning wood using a lathe, or use woodworking scroll saws.
Going to the San Diego County Fair this year? Don’t miss the Design in Wood exhibition!
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Once Upon a Fair is this year’s theme at the San Diego County Fair. What exactly does that mean? The fair in 2026 is celebrating reading books–and popular fiction and the classics take center stage!
The fair’s theme exhibit is filled with the wonders that readers find in books. The Wizard of Oz, Winnie the Pooh, Charlotte’s Web, Treasure Island, Harry Potter, Jules Verne, fairy tales we all know, Peter Rabbit, Superman, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Alice in Wonderland, Sherlock Holmes . . . visitors encounter all the great characters and timeless stories generations have come to love!
There is reading aloud story time for the very young ones. There are opportunities for visitors to contribute their own writing. Everywhere you turn you’ll find tributes to famous authors and illustrators. Renowned authors with a San Diego connection are recognized. Visiting libraries is encouraged. The shelves of your local library are like open vaults where endless treasures await.
It was exciting to observe children running from display to display, breathlessly recognizing the books they had come to know. One large, playful section of the theme exhibit is dedicated to La Jolla’s own Dr. Seuss.
It was awesome!
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Perhaps you saw these guys on television news. When I noticed them at the San Diego County Fair yesterday, I recalled their unique offer. Any member of the public can adopt an avocado tree on a 34-acre organic Hass avocado farm in Bonsall, California!
Years ago, when you drove up Interstate 15 north of Escondido, the steep hillsides would be absolutely covered with avocado trees. Not so much anymore. As the Heal the Earth website explains: San Diego’s avocados are celebrated as the best in the world for their creamy texture and rich flavor—but that heritage is disappearing. Local acreage has dropped by nearly 47% since 2008 as rising water costs and wholesale pressures force family farms to close… Meanwhile, 90% of U.S. avocados now come from imports, crowding out local growers.
You’ll learn all about your unique tree, including a photograph and updates on its growth. Most importantly, you’ll receive shipments of hand-harvested organic avocados from your tree! I was told you can visit your tree on the farm, too, and harvest avocados by hand. By supporting a direct-to-consumer connection between farm and table, you’re keeping San Diego’s organic avocado tradition alive—while enjoying the world’s finest organic avocados, shipped fresh from our groves to your home.
Cool idea!
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The San Diego County Fair is always tons of fun for the entire family. The Fun Zone features so much pure, unadulterated fun, however, that the sanest, most self-controlled visitor might be tempted to go completely berserk!
I headed up to Del Mar today. The free shuttle from the train station dropped us off at the fair’s West Gate, which leads directly into the Fun Zone. My camera got busy right away!
So many cool, colorful sights! I arrived in the late morning shortly after the fair opened, so the crowds hadn’t grown too much yet. What most caught my eye were the flashy graphics splashed on the carnival rides and games.
Walk through the Fun Zone and you’ll encounter superheroes, rock stars, dinosaurs, race cars, pirates, spooky ghosts, circus animals, friendly carnies challenging you to knock over bottles or shoot a basket to win a big prize, not to mention sugary, fatty treats galore!
Is it possible to have too much fun?
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The 2025 San Diego County Fair is a “Summer Pet-tacular” so you know lots of fun pet stuff can be enjoyed all around the Del Mar Fairgrounds!
Wandering around, whether its inside the Pets Rock Live on Tour theme exhibit, or the many art and hobby exhibits, or the Paul Ecke Jr. Garden Show . . .you never know what funny pet images you’ll discover! A dog running for mayor? A skateboarding cat?
Enjoy some random photographs I took during my visit a couple days ago!
Also, if you missed it, check out the fair’s humorous Meowseum of Fine A(rt) by clicking here!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
The 2025 San Diego County Fair has a theme that’s close to the heart. It’s all about beloved pets.
Not surprisingly, a variety of non-profit organizations centered around animals are present at the big summer event in Del Mar. I stumbled upon several of these organizations. I’d like to draw your attention to what good people (and animals) are doing in their community.
The above dog and the next photograph represent an organization in Baja California, Mexico. La Manada Feliz rescues animals and provides them with a better life with loving people. Here’s their website.
La Manada Feliz operates a cage-free sanctuary where rescued dogs can receive medical care, learn social skills and heal. Their website says: Help us achieve our mission by adopting, supporting as a guardian and/or volunteering at our dog sanctuary in Valle de Guadalupe.
Next up, San Diego Spaniel Rescue does exactly what its name says. They are an all volunteer based non-profit organization dedicated to providing breed education, rescue, fostering, medical and adoption services for abused, abandoned and/or homeless Cocker Spaniels.
If you’d like to help them or would like to adopt a rescued spaniel, you can go to their website here.
More good work and smiles can be found at Pug Rescue San Diego County.
Here’s their website. Pug Rescue of San Diego County (PRSDC) is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing unwanted, neglected, abandoned, and relinquished Pugs and placing them into a new permanent home where they may live out their lives in a loving and caring environment.
Check out the friendly dogs in my next photo! They are part of Pawsitive Teams!
Pawsitive Teams was founded in 1997 with a desire to be a volunteer-inspired and volunteer-run organization designed to promote the use of well-trained dogs to improve the lives of San Diegans. Our volunteer service dog trainers spend two years with their canine charges prior to placement with individuals with limited mobility who can benefit from the skills of our specially trained dogs. Our therapy dog program is overseen by a steering committee of volunteers dedicated to using therapy dogs with a variety of populations such as at-risk teens, active-duty military, children testifying in court, and those with mobility or developmental disabilities. Our mission with the therapy dogs is to partner with community organizations and work together with professionals in accomplishing client-related goals.
To learn more, check out the Pawsitive Teams website by clicking here.
Need I say the San Diego Humane Society does many wonderful things for animals in our community? They were at the San Diego County Fair, too, encouraging people to adopt a loving pet. Not just dogs!
Find your fur-ever friend today!
There are many ways that you can help their good work. Here’s their website.
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
A popular attraction at the San Diego County Fair is the Exhibition of Fine Art on the first floor of Grandstand East. The fair’s theme in 2025 is our love for pets, so it isn’t surprising many of the fine art entries depict beloved animals.
The exhibition is extensive and broken up into many categories based on media and subject matter. Artists who’ve submitted their work, hoping for a blue ribbon, are from many walks of life all around San Diego County. When I checked out the exhibition, I couldn’t help noticing pets were a common subject, and not just dogs and cats. I saw rabbits, parrots and other critters!
There are pet portraits, pets painted humorously, pet abstracts! If you have a pet or simply love animals, the art will definitely put a smile on your face.
I photographed random examples that I really like…
Look who I met as I left the fine art exhibit. Woof and Meow!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
I recently walked past Dog Beach in Del Mar and was surprised to see the Dog Memorial Garden and its hundreds of painted rocks had vanished.
Today I learned what happened to the special memorial garden, which is also called Gwen’s Garden. It was relocated to the Del Mar Fairgrounds, and now occupies the space in front of the Del Mar Historical Society’s Alvarado House!
I was told the Dog Beach Memorial Garden was moved because construction work is slated to begin on the nearby bridge.
If you’re going to the San Diego County Fair this year, make sure to visit the Alvarado House. The historic beach cottage is located to one side of the outdoor Paul Ecke Jr. Garden Show.
When you walk up the ramp to the Alvarado House, you’ll see many heartwarming photographs of the beloved rock garden at Dog Beach, before everything was moved.
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
Three panels of awesome chalk art welcome people arriving at Grandstand East during the 2025 San Diego County Fair. The theme of the fair this year is “Summer Pet-Tacular” and images of dogs, cats and other non-human friends are all over the Del Mar Fairgrounds!
Stay tuned for the next day or two. I’ll be sharing fun photos of pet art that I found and like! Other stuff, too!
First, check out this incredible chalk art!
Three dogs ride a roller coaster at the San Diego County Fair. Chalk art by Meg and Toni Canilang.A party hat cat! Chalk art by Katie Bush.Two friends among flowers. Chalk art by Maribeth McFaul.
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
