Beach Boys draw big crowd for final Friday of 2024 California State Fair

SACRAMENTO — The 2024 California State Fair is nearing its end, and this year's run has had even more triple-digit heat days than last year.

On the last Friday of the fair this year, big crowds turned out to see one of the fair's concert headliners: the Beach Boys. The good vibrations made this Friday one of the fair's busiest days.

"They sold out very quickly with our concert series," fair spokesperson Darla Givens said.

So far, the West Coast sunshine has brought triple-digit heat days to the fair this year.

Many people said it would be nice if the state fair moved to a cooler time of year.

"No one really wants to come out when it's 108, 109 because you get on rides and you're burning yourself or you're getting sunburned really bad," one attendee said.

Before 2009, the fair was held around Labor Day which on average is 7 degrees cooler than mid-July.

Some people beat the heat by checking out indoor attractions like the Wild Things Adventure exhibit, which has drawn more than 100,000 visitors.

"They'll go inside the buildings, and they'll come in the mornings and come in the evenings," Givens said of attendees.

High temperatures are dropping into the 80s for the fair's final weekend. God only knows that will be a big help in making sure attendance won't be a wipeout.

"I think we're going to see this packed and crawling with people," Givens said.

A survey shows 69 percent of people would prefer moving the state fair away from mid-July, and Cal Expo staff say that's under consideration.