Alameda County Offices - Fairgrounds

GREAT EXPERIENCE. WE WENT SPECIFICALLY FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT VENUE OF TERRY HANCK BAND. THE PARKING STAFF REALLY WERE HELPFUL WITH US IN PARKING LOT AS I AM DISABLED. IT WAS APPRECIATED! NUMEROUS STAFF ASSISTED US WHEN WE HAD QUESTIONS. THEY WERE SO HELPFUL AND A SPECIFIC VENDOR EMPLOYEE WAS SO ACCOMMODATING AND FRIENDLY WITH OUR PURCHASE LEMONADE STAND ON THE WAY TO THE WINE/BEER GARDEN. GREAT EXPERIENCE. WE THANK THE ALAMEDA COUNTY FAIR. WE DEFINITELY WILL RETURN.

I thought the fair was nice, it was a nice distraction. Did not like the food has much. We had Pepes tacos, i believe that's the name of the food truck. Anyways the tacos were dry and no flavor, for sure not a good place to eat.

Awful. They just want your money and scam you. Misleading marketing as well and the owner is horrible as well and INCREDIBLY unhelpful. Staff is rude is well and don't prioritize customer opinion. They're just greedy for money and scam you for your tickets. Awful marketting and misleading our group ended up wasting $200 for nothing. Owner needs to check themself.

I have always enjoyed going to the county fair. It was part of my upbringing and now a family favorite summer event. Everything now is 'cashless' and card payment only. Parking is $15 and card only. Buying carnival ride bracelets is both card payment and self service. Food vendors.all card payments. We are now living in a post-pandemic society. I get it.

I understand. Outdoors there are carnival rides for both the older daring and kiddie rides for the young ones, several live music stages, live horse racing, arts/crafts, info booths and finally a large selection of food vendors. A wide assortment of delicious fair food. Everything under the sun.literally. For the indoors there are displays of chickens/rabbits/reptiles, cooking demos, school aged art, sewing projects, commercial vendors, an entire building devoted to wine, dessert/baking contestant displays and air conditioning.

My only gripe. I was quite surprised on the food prices. For example, an extra long hot dog $15. An bbq ear of corn $10, chicken tenders/fries $18. Beer $15. No worries.just swipe that plastic and enjoy yourself downing that $10 deep fried Oreo.

Went to see.38 Soecial, and they were great as always. Love seeing them at the fair!

Had a great time at the fair with the love of my life. The fair is always so great! We went on a Wednesday and it wasn't too crowded to be honest it was a perfect day

This year Alameda County has you wear a mask indoors. Horse racing is understaffed. Very quick to take your money but long lines for everything. Food booths were plenty but expensive as hell and mandatory credit card purchases everywhere. I left early. Pets are prohibited but it looks like they just slap a service animal patch on which disrespectful to organizations that train animals. I watched a dog piss on some clothing for sale. The owner was oblivious.

Went on father's day all fathergot in for free before 3pm, But by the time I got there after 3pm the were telling us all as we walked up that they had changed the end time for that promo to 5pm. They had a lot of rides and games for the kids. Food was plentiful of all types. I enjoyed myself. I was talking with a security guard who was working there. She said Friday the first day was free to all, but hardly anyone showed. Next year I'll be there. I'm going back again before it's over this year, too.

Definitely not coming back, everything is super overpriced. They only take CARD no cash at all not even at the food stands no where. How would this work for people who only have cash? Also DO NOT purchase the "fast pass" here clearly it's just a scam for those who fall for it. We purchased 4 fast pass bracelets for all of the rides but the workers said we had to wait in the regular line so what is the whole point of the fast pass. There was a separate line for fast pass bracelets but NONE of the workers seemed to care. We could have just used the regular bracelet what a waste of money.

My very first time there and I have to say that the food area was amazing! I tried a few and I had a happy tummy I left around 6pm but the line to get in was telling me that the fun was just going to start

This review is for their Hazardous Waste drop-off event only. This Drive-thru event was very well organized. There were two separate queues. The attendants were around guiding the traffic. They scanned Driver License of every car entering because this event was only for Alameda County residents. The queue moved quickly and everything was conducted very efficiently.

We had to stay inside our car at all times for safety and masks were mandatory. The attendants collected the bags/bins of hazardous waste promptly from our car trunk and we were out in less than 20 min. The attendants and staff were friendly and very helpful. We are very thankful for this essential service offered to us- residents of Alameda County!

Spa Show 2022: I wish there was a "ZERO" stars. After $15. to park. Four to 5 cars parked in front of a small pavilion. It consisted of 1 high end dealer that had their line up of spa's. Prices started at $20K. Talked to a sales person for about 8 min's, went to the bathroom, and left. The cars parked outside were from the dealer staff. Ninety minute round trip and $15. for nothing.

I was at the fairgrounds for the annual RV show. Course I just irritated when I had to pay $15 for parking you would think that fairgrounds could cut some slack. And then $15 to get into the show. The concessions are pretty pathetic. If you order cheese nachos and for the nacho cheese out of the bag. I had a A pretzel that was my guess made with regular bread dough. Because it did not taste like a pretzel. The fairgrounds could do a be a better job at concessions.

I'm glad I got to attend this year, I won a pair of Yelp Elite tickets as part of a giveaway. The rides were very fun but I did get a headache so I would suggest to pace yourself in between rides and choose different types of rides to avoid nausea or a headache. The food was okay, we ordered garlic fries but they weren't that hot but they did give us a generous portion. Had a great time overall!

Had a time of life be it food, rides, shopping, pig race, petting zoo, live shows, to crafts to pumpkin patches. Can i go on.? YES, everything was so well organized. They acomodated close to 5K or might be more so efficiently. The staff was also so helpful. Next year they will come in the month of June, please visit there because everyone deserves that kinda of happy and wholesome day.

Absolute money pit of an afternoon, you'd be better off going to six flags or great America. I came here for the county fair and it was just terrible. I swear these people try to squeeze every single dollar they can when you visit. It's $15 to park, another $18 just to go inside per person, and another $40 for a wrist band or $4 per ride per person.

They also conveniently have the height requirements set up so that if you have a kid 4 or under then they can't ride anything without an adult. And wait for it. you have to pay to escort your kid! So that means another $40 wrist ban for you the adult just so your kid can ride a few rides. It's completely rigged because these exact same rides have shorter height requirements everywhere else. It's honestly insulting that they think people will just shut up and swallow all this price gouging. I'm definitely not ever coming back and wouldn't recommend anyone come here ever!

It's a fairground so my expectations are quite low. The things that made the experience there so great, have little to do with the grounds, but the people who were assisting with parking. It's fine for what it is. The directions to enter were a bit funky for me, so I had to drive around a bit and ask for directions. Also, the people working there were unmasked which is strange during a pandemic.

But I went, came back to my car, which was safe, so that was fine. I hope to not have to go there again because Pleasanton is kind of far away from where I live. But if I have to go there again, it will be good.

The COVID vaccination clinic was organized really well at the Alameda County Fairground. It was well organized, streamlined, and very efficient. Many thanks to the medical staff and all the other people that keep this place running! Hope all will win over the virus soon.

A nice day to be outside! Not too crowded, picnic tables are adequately spaced apart. Free admission and parking, food is not free lol. Temperatures are taken at the gate. Minus one star because fair food is just sooo greasy, makes me feel sick after.

Made the drive over at lunch time for their Grab and Go event! Free parking on Pleasanton Drive. Don't go to the gates! Thats for COVID-19 vaccines. Parking was easy and we walked across. Staff is doing temperature checks at the gate and our stuff was asked to be put in clear plastic bags provided by the fair. There was free travel size hand sanitizers from Comcast. Tons of grass space and tables to enjoy the fair food or take it togo!

They also have curbside available for a fee. Food stands were spaced out and there was signs for social distancing and people had their masks on except when eating or sitting down. I felt safe and it was a beautiful day to enjoy the fair foods I missed out last year. Funnel cakes, turkey leg, dole whip, tri tip sandwich, and strawberry lemonade! Sorry not pictured.

They even had oreo churros but I had no more hands to hold stuff. The event goes on till this Sunday and will come back next week on the 18th. It goes from 11 am to 8 pm. Prices are steep as usual but anything to support.

Covid testing tips. Every week, the county is only alotted 1200 sample collections at this location, which gives only a few hundred sample collections available a day. Given the surge and holiday season that just passed, you bet your behinds the line is going to be long. People generally keep to themselves. The police officers are helpful and friendly.

The staff, professional and efficient. I'd recommend you come at 8 or earlier for a test. I arrived last week at 8:30 ( 1/2 hr before their start time) and the line was pretty long! They cut people off before the testing site even opened! I waited 2 hours to get my test done. Come earlier to avoid waiting as long and to not get cut off due to the daily limits.

What to bring: 1) photo ID 2) face mask 3) charger/battery for your phone because y'all need things to do while you wait What to download: Stanford MyHealth app - this is how you'll get your results! When you register, they'll text you a link to which you have 45min to sign up and register your account. Turn around time for results is currently 5 days due to the surge (I received mine in 4).

Nice to be back at alameda county fairgrounds at least to a drive thru event lol, lots of cool memories here pre COVID can't wait to be back here enjoying lots of good food and fun

COVID testing review. Testing is now open to all county residents! Please get tested if you think you may have been in contact with someone with covid or if you have symptoms. It's so easy and it's free if you have insurance. Drive through testing, you don't have to get out of your car. Well organized. You snake through a drive through and wait maybe 5-30 mins depending on how busy they are. They're open 9-12pm M-F or until they run out of tests. Big thanks to the medical staff who are spending their days looking after the public health of our county

This is a review for Fair Food Friday. To participate in this event, you need to order your meal tickets online and prepay. You have the option of adding alcohol to your dinner. I'm all for supporting local and we like to go to the Fair, but with COVID-19, that might not happen this year. On the day of pickup, you drive to the Yellow Gate entrance on Pleasanton Avenue (where the train stop is). You'll be directed to enter the Yellow Gate (a first for me) and drive up to one of two lines.

Someone will check you in on the tablet, and then someone else will bring your order to your car. You can opt to have it placed in the trunk or inside your car. What was really cute was the painted cows that you typically see around the Fair were on the drive around the park, but they were wearing masks!. It was encouraged to take photos and use the hashtag #alamedacountyfair, #fairfoodfriday #foodie.

The pick up experience was five stars. Let's talk about the food. This is where it gets a 3 star. The brisket was well done, some parts were like beef jerky. The loaded tots needed to be warmed up, but on the dry side. The beans were good because my son ate it all. The cheesecake tasted like a churro covered cheesecake. I'm sure it was good when it came out of the fryer. I don't regret participating in this event, but I'm not sure I could do it again based on the food.

I came here last night for the Nor-Cal night market event and wow was it FUN! I had a blast coming here with my husband because we knew was to expect from a night market because we originally was introduced to it in Chang Mai, Thailand. There was many delicious food options to choose from varying from sea food, meats, soul food, desserts, and drinks.

My husband and I tried a few places and wanted to try more but we were too full from eating too much. The lines were long for certain vendors because of the popularity. We tried steak fries, lobster Mac n cheese, rainbow grilled cheese, jasmine green tea drink, beignets, Hawaiian garlic shrimp and churro ice cream. My least favorite was the lobster Mac n cheese only because I'm not a big fan of lobster!

Also they had an area for games to play, also a ton of vendors to check out for shopping, and a a few performances to watch for entertainment. Also what I loved the most was that the event lasts until 12 am which is great for people who get off from work late but still get to experience the night market and they also cater to people who eat halal. I highly recommend to check out the night market!

Many events are held here, but the RV show was the one that reeled me in. Parking and traffic control was organized. From the lot to the show was not that far, but shuttle service was available for those who needed it. Entrance was a separate fee. Ticket collector should have teared the tickets in half to allow in and out access. His response was to trust him that it would not be a problem. That's far from feeling assured. Hilarious!

Initially thought the other RV makes would give interest, but that wasn't the case. We spent most of our time at Airstream. Everyone has a preference and the RV show has something for everyone.