Hops in Humboldt is the latest in a long list of local events to postpone or cancel in recent days as local COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surge due to the Delta variant but the Humboldt County Fair Association’s board has voted to go forward with next week’s opening day. So far this week, Humboldt County […]
Humboldt County Fair
Posted inLife + Outdoors
The Race to Bring Horse Racing Back to the Fair
The Humboldt County Fair homepage says, “While there are still uncertainties as we move through 2021, plans to have a full fair including horse racing, vendors, carnival, exhibits and livestock is underway.” Come Friday, the fair is just seven weeks away with plenty of loose ends to be tied. At least now there are some […]
Posted inNews
Humboldt County Fair Announces Dates, Fundraiser for the Ponies
The Humboldt County Fair announced today plans (if all goes well) to hold the event from Aug. 18 to Aug. 29 with the theme “A Country Fair with a Western Flair.” According to a news release, the fair has set up a “Horses to Humboldt” GoFundMe page to help owners make their way to Ferndale […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
The Eel River Jockey Club
In my last column I mentioned Rohnerville was once a hub of Southern Humboldt. I did not mean to imply that it still was in the 1960s but certainly it was 100 years earlier. Rohnerville is currently an unincorporated area about 2 miles southwest of Fortuna. The town was originally called Eel River. The Eel […]
Posted inNews
Conway Out as HumCo Fair GM
The Humboldt County Fair Board has “laid off” General Manager Richard Conway, the Ferndale Enterprise has confirmed. The Enterprise reported on Twitter this morning that Board President Andy Titus said the decision was made to part ways with Conway after seven years due to “large financial problems, no fair and lack of work.” The Enterprise […]
Posted inNews
“A Crippling Blow”: California Fairgrounds Call on State for Support
The Redwood Acres Fairgrounds is one of several fairgrounds across California encouraging the public to reach out to legislators for help weathering an extraordinary year in revenue losses. Ben Brown, who took the helm of Redwood Acres as CEO in February, calls the situation “a pretty crippling blow” “We’ve cut everything we can,” says Brown, […]
Posted inNews
Ferndale Enterprise: Humboldt County Fair Board Cancels this Year’s Fair
The Ferndale Enterprise is reporting that the Humboldt County Fair Board of Directors voted to cancel this year’s fair due to concerns over losing money because of decreased attendance, lack of sponsors and because large crowds may not be permitted. Check out Ferndale Enterprise‘s tweet about the fair below: The @humcofair board voted minutes ago […]
Posted inEat + Drink
A Boozy Flavortown Meat Party
For the second year in a row, I ventured beneath the grandstands at the Ferndale Fairgrounds to check in at the “Judges Only” bar. Eighteen of us — mostly strangers who all clearly love meat — gathered to judge Guy Fieri’s sixth annual Surf and Turf BBQ Competition at the Humboldt County Fair. Lined up […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Photos from Ladies Hat Day at the Races
A large crowd of fans of horse-racing and ladies in hats showed up for Saturday’s free admission to the eighth annual Ladies Hat Day at the Races at the Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale. The hat wearers moved onto the racetrack for the Parade of Hats competition in “Hatagories” that included Most Glamorous, Best Racing […]
Posted inEat + Drink
What’s Good: County Fair Edition
First, a shoutout to the folks who amble to the fairgrounds toting bottles of water, sandwiches and baggies of carrot sticks. Bless your forethought and discipline. Say kind things about the rest of us, whom you’ll surely outlive, when we’re gone. Along with your excellent cholesterol counts, by forgoing the indulgences of the fair you […]
Posted inNews
State, Fair Association, County in Standoff Over Sunshine Laws
Some nine months after the Humboldt County Fair Association and the county of Humboldt entered into an eight-year lease agreement for the association to operate the county-owned Humboldt County Fairgrounds in Ferndale, the lease still hasn’t been ratified by the state, the last step toward making it official. The county, HCFA and California Department of […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
New Fairgrounds Lease Leaves the Public in the Dark
In case you missed it, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors decided Oct. 16 that you don’t get to have input into how the county fairgrounds are operated or how public funds are spent to maintain them. The board voted 4-1, with Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson dissenting, to approve an eight-year lease with the […]