The 147th Dixon May Fair rolled into a busy weekend on Friday, with crowds and excitement continuing to grow at the Dixon Fairgrounds.
Crowds packed the grandstand for Friday night’s Bull Riding and the beer garden for Outlaw Mariachi. During the day, fair goers surveyed the competitions, rode rides, played carnival games and ate fair food.
On Saturday, the 10th annual Dixon May Fair Classic Car Show entertained fans, the Vacaville High School Drumline performed, and the truck and tractor pulls closed up a busy day.
Sunday features the demolition derby at 5:30 p.m. before the fair wraps up its final day.
Karen Spencer, Marketing Director for the Dixon May Fair, said Friday that turnout was well on track for a good year, with pre-sales going through the roof.
“This year is going great so far,” she said. “We’ve had perfect weather for the fair and we have good attendance. I’d say it’s up there with all the good years that we have had.”
Community is the name of the game for the Dixon May Fair, she said, uniting the entire city and bringing people out to spend time with one another each year.
“This is where you see all the people you haven’t seen all year long,” she said. “Family, friends, neighbors — this is a very community-oriented fair. Everybody knows everybody, but if you come here for the first time you’re going to be treated friendly.”
More than just a chance to have fun, the Dixon May Fair offers folks in Solano County the chance to contribute with competitions in livestock showing, baking, quilting and more. Kids who raise animals all year long get the chance to showcase the community’s agricultural roots. Grandstand tickets also sell out each year, she said, and the shows there have become a familiar attraction that the whole community looks forward to.
“It’s a gathering place,” she said. “It’s a safe space, it’s where people come to not only take part in the rides, but they also contribute to the fair.”
Only twice has the fair been put on pause, Spencer said — once during World War II and once during the COVID-19 pandemic. Coming out of the pandemic, the fair is stronger than ever, with many of the old familiar items and attractions returning.
“When people came back out after the pandemic it was a big fair,” she said. “Everybody missed it.”
Frank Thurston, a family magician performing at the fair throughout the weekend, said his show is crafted for both kids and adults to enjoy together.
“There’s enough silliness for the kids, but there’s jokes for the adults, so it’s a nice mix, and the family can all watch together,” he said.
Thurston travels the regional circuit of fairs, and this is his fourth or fifth year at the Dixon May Fair. Based in Bakersfield, he said he was inspired to become a magician by hanging out in his uncle’s magic shop there. In June, he will celebrate his 40th anniversary as a full-time magician.
“I’ve forgotten more magic than I’ve learned,” he said.
Thurston refused to give any spoilers about his show, joking that crowds could look forward to “the beginning and the end, and everything in between.”
Flo The Clown is another performer at the fair, sporting a bubblegum pink beehive hairdo and a bright red nose as she rides a florescent pink tricycle around the grounds. Based in Nevada, Flo said she does fairs across the United States during the summers and internationally in the winter.
Clowning, it turns out, is no joke. Costuming is time-consuming and expensive, she said, but she loves to interact with people.
“Right before I start putting my makeup on I could go ‘Man, I don’t feel like clowning today,'” Flo said. “But the minute I put a drop of paint on my face I’m like ‘I’m ready. Let’s do this.”
Spencer said that the atmosphere is what makes the Dixon May Fair special, and she was glad to see another year of one of the city’s oldest traditions off to a great start.
“I always say you can see the whole fair in a day, but you want to come back again,” she said.
