Photo: Brian Keith Lorraine / Moment / Getty Images
POMONA (CNS) - The 95th Los Angeles County Fair will close its 16-day run Monday at Fairplex in Pomona.
This year's theme was "Stars, Stripes & Fun," celebrating the county's diverse communities.
"County fairs are a community celebration, and county and state fairs across the nation reflect the unique characteristics of all their communities," Walter Marquez, Fairplex's president and CEO, said earlier this month. "We are excited to embrace Southern California's cultural mosaic with `Stars, Stripes and Fun."'
The fair provided more than 70 rides, 29 games and 20 food concessions this year in a carnival conducted by Ray Cammack Shows, whose Read to Ride program for school-aged children afforded parents the opportunity to scan a QR code and have their children write book reports in exchange for a carnival ride.
The fair's concert series concluded Sunday with a show by Los Tucanes de Tijuana. Earlier concerts featured the funk/rock/soul band War, TLC, Ramon Ayala, Nelly and T.I., Dustin Lynch and The Outlaws.
Latin-influenced entertainment, such as mariachi, banda, cumbia, and norteña music is presented at Plaza de Las Americas.
Expo Hall 9 takes attendees back to the "good ol' days" of skates, Pac-Man and pinball with Skate-R-Cade. Guests can rollerskate for free, then play arcade games.
The Fairplex Garden Railroad is celebrating its 100th anniversary, so attendees are encouraged to see the historic model train on display and the special 100 Years of Model Trains "Birthday Cake."
The Flower & Garden Pavillion's "We are LA" is a tribute to what makes the county the bounty of culture that it is. The exhibition highlights the "true stars" of the region -- the people that inhabit it and the beauty they create.
The Millard Sheets Art Center hosts an exhibition from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art of famed Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo.
The fair will run from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday. Fairplex is located at 1101 W. McKinley Ave.
Ticket information is available at lacountyfair.com/buy-tickets/. Tickets for children ages 6-12 and seniors 60 and older purchased in advance online are $12. Parking is $20 in advance online and $25 at the gate.
Payment for parking and admission is cashless.
The fair evolved from a commercial-industrial show first held along the Southern Pacific railroad siding in downtown Pomona in 1921. It proved so successful that the businessmen who produced it held the first Los Angeles County Fair in October 1922.