Throughout the year Bolado Park hosts over 200 events annually. In addition to the popular Saddle Horse Show and Rodeo, other events include quinceaneras, weddings, FFA / 4-H functions, car shows, poultry and rabbit shows, rodeos, horse shows, dog shows, the high school prom, circus’, school graduations and a blue grass festival to name a few. We are also a site for many youth activities year round. A week long Cub Scout day camp and Ag in the classroom (farm day) sponsored by the San Benito County Farm Bureau attracts over 1,000 students. This event provides students hands on experience in agriculture. They learn everything from animal husbandry / production to healthy eating habits.
Numerous fund raisers are held annually for local service clubs and charities in the community.
Sacred Heart School, the SBHS Baler Backers and the Southside School Parent Teachers Organizations alone raise more than $100,000 annually. The Hollister Exchange club operates food/beer sales at the county fair. They hold their annual Crab Feed annually in April. The dollars that are generated during these events go directly back to schools and various local charities for educational programs and scholarships within our community. A study published in 2010 showed that total activities at the San Benito County fairgrounds generated a total of some $3,700,000 annually in revenues for the local economy.
In the event of a disaster, the fairgrounds would play a key role by providing a staging area for the community. The San Benito County Search and Rescue and Local Law Enforcement agencies also utilize the facilities year round. The Fairground facility is the only facility in the community that is able to accommodate any type of event. Many of these events have a direct economic impact to our area in retail, lodging, food beverage sales and employment. We are a destination that attracts tourists to the area as well as a place where people celeb rate their culture, heritage and traditions.
The San Benito County Fair / Thirty Third District Agricultural Association are a very important part of our local community. The San Benito County Fair is one of the 78 fairs in California. In August of 2011 we were notified by the State, that future funding was completely eliminated for all California Fairs. This resulted in the San Benito County Fair losing $250,000 that the fair received to operate the facilities year round. To address the complete elimination of funding, the fairs Board of Directors, management and staff worked diligently and underwent a major restructuring to address the zero funding issue. Today staging of the annual county fair is driven solely by a large group of volunteers. The fair has close to 100 volunteers who work hard year round to make all these events run smoothly. In addition, The San Benito County Heritage Foundation has been established with the mission of generating revenue foe capital improvement projects.
Despite the elimination of State funding, thanks to the support and countless hours from hundreds of dedicated volunteers, the San Benito County Fair remains an important and active participant in the lives of tens of thousands of local residents. Come out and enjoy San Benito life at YOUR fairgrounds and thank you all for your continuing and strong support.