RIVERSIDE COUNTY FAIR & NATIONAL DATE FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY FANTASY SPRINGS RESORT CASINO ENDS WITH RECORD CROWDS

Attendance up as fairgoers flocked to one last weekend of food, fanfare, and fun

INDIO, Calif., March 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Even with three more acres of fun, the 76th annual Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival presented by Fantasy Springs Resort Casino was filled to the brim with fun-loving guests enjoying the last sun-soaked weekend of Blue Ribbon competitions, phenomenal food, and wholesome family fun.

"With ten days of perfect weather, the community came out in droves to celebrate together," said Riverside County Fairgrounds CEO Chris Pickering. "The addition of several new stages filled every area with music as guests walked beneath dazzling lights." 2024 marks the second year Pickering and his team produced the Fair & Date Fest, having assumed responsibility for the 91-acre Fairgrounds in July of 2022. "This was our first Fair & Date Fest with a whole year to plan," Pickering added. "The County and other community partners helped us reimagine the facility with improvements including power, paint, new restrooms, and a beautified entrance on Highway 111."

County officials hailed a nearly two million dollar joint investment in the Fairgrounds as a commitment to the future of the community event center. "I thought this Fair was great!" said Supervisor V. Manuel Perez. "It was really well organized, the improvements to the Fairgrounds made a difference, and there was a lot more to do, more entertainment and more rides, as well as a new United Farmworkers exhibit." The Merrill Award-winning Farm Worker Heroes exhibit was on loan from the San Mateo County Exposition and Fair Association, designed in cooperation with the National Chavez Center, Caesar Chavez Foundation, United Farm Workers Union, and A.L.A.S. of Half Moon Bay (Ayudando Latinos A Sonar). "I appreciate, with our partnership with Pickering Events, that we are continuing to make this better for the ten days of the Fair and also year-round for the community at the Riverside County Fairgrounds in Indio."

By the Numbers:

• 14% Increase in Gate Admission, with closing Saturday surpassing 2023's single-day attendance record
• $287,255 Raised by the Junior Livestock Auction, up 15% from 2023
• 87% More Competitors in Blue Ribbon still competitions; total still entries were up 19% over 2023
• $22,000 Distributed to 11 graduating high school seniors through the Date Festival
  Scholarship program; 43 Riverside County high schools were represented in the over
  200 applications received
• 531 Performances of free shows, including crowd favorites Mariachi Divas, Radio
  Ready Band, Sea Lion Splash, and All-Alaskan Racing Pigs, plus the nightly Date Pageant and community acts on the City of Indio Celebration Stage
• 15% Increase in Food sold, including classic tasty BBQ, the new hit freeze-dried candy, and boxes upon boxes of Riverside County's favorite Country Fair Cinnamon Rolls
• 40 Unique Foods featuring Coachella Valley Dates, including a new date beer-battered corndog by West Coast Weenies, perennially popular date shakes by Texas Donuts, and a tasting sampler Date Flight by Candy's Dates
• 25 Years with Fantasy Springs Resort Casino as Presenting Sponsor
• 3 Foreign Countries Filming news and documentaries at this year's event: France, Germany, and Saudi Arabia

The Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival presented by Fantasy Springs Resort Casino takes place at the Riverside County Fairgrounds at 46350 Arabia St., Indio, 92201.

For a calendar of upcoming events at the Fairgrounds, visit www.datefest.org.

SOURCE Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival