Between the middle to end of Sept. the Kern County Fair arrives, as a new activity for family, friends, and couples to enjoy. This event brings many citizens from Bakersfield together every year.
With this event only coming once a year, is it worth going to the fair? No, with the price of how much everything cost all together. It’s not worth going. If one doesn’t donate blood or buy their tickets ahead of time, they will be paying so much more for tickets. For the fair, I spent a total of $60. For my general admission ticket, I spent $11, my parking ticket was $10, and my wristband was $39. I payed ahead of time; however, if someone were to pay at the door, they would spend about $65-70. All of this is just to get into the fair and ride all the rides. This doesn’t cover for the cost of food and if someone wants to play games. Someone would have to buy that all separately.
If someone wants to buy tickets to play the games, they’ll be spending the same amount of money they paid to get in. All the games require about 10 tickets per game, if someone loses, they lost $10. If they keep playing, they’ll keep losing their money. The food and drinks are also ridiculously priced. If someone didn’t bring any water with them, they’ll be spending 5 dollars for a water bottle. This is also the same amount they’ll spend at Disney Land. Instead of going to the fairgrounds, they should be using that money to go to an amusement park like Disney Land, Knots Berry Farm, or Universal Studios. At least with those places someone knows what they’ll be paying from the very beginning.
In addition to prices, if someone doesn’t want to wait in line for rides, they can get a fast pass for an additional $20-25. That way, they don’t have to wait in those longs line; however, they only let a few riders on who have the fast pass. Majority of the people who are on the rides don’t have the fast pass. So, is it really worth it? For some of the rides that are popular the fast pass line is just as long as the regular line. The only difference is the regular line moves a little faster than the fast pass line. If you have the fast pass, you’ll most likely get on one or two more rides than the people who don’t have it.
The lines for these rides are also so unorganized. A lot of people are always asking “is this the line for the Ferris wheel?” Most of the people that are in line are hoping this is the line for the ride they are trying to get on. Nobody fully knows which line is which due to lack of organization.
Even with all the negatives as stated above, there are a few good things that come with the fair. One of the most important ones is being able to have an activity to do in town. In the city of Bakersfield, there isn’t that much to do, especially for friends, couples, and family. So the fair becomes an activity and memory for locals to enjoy.
Apart from making memories, many locals can enjoy the local vendors, shows, livestock, and art exhibits. So if someone doesn’t want to waste their money on these death traps and scam of rides, you can instead walk around and enjoy the other side of the fair.
As I stated from the beginning, the fair isn’t worth going. Economically you’re paying too much for a local fair, when you could be using that money to go to an amusement park. Overall, the fair has some pros and cons; however, there seems to be more cons than pros.