San Mateo County Fair

Every year, all the 4H clubs around the Bay Area attend the San Mateo County Fair and show animals.  There are also youth exhibits (Photography, Artwork, Food, and Lego®) one can enter. 

If you enter an animal at the fair, you will be expected to be there everyday starting at 7:00 in the morning to clean the pen, and get new shavings for the pen.  Larger animals such as goats, lambs, hogs and steer must get physical activity for 45 minutes once a day. If that animal has a show, it's 2 times a day. Physical activity is held in the arena used for judging and bidding.   Smaller animals do not require exercise, though opening a pen of a chicken (if it's yours or you have permission) to practice picking it up for judging, is allowed and encouraged.  Just don't let that chicken get away from your pen! 

Market chickens are judged and auctioned in pairs of 2.  Chickens must be the same gender (i.e. a hen and a rooster is not a pair).  Chickens should be near the same weight.  

Market turkeys are auctioned as one pen (1 turkey).   

Steer, lambs, and goats and hogs are judged and actioned as separately.

Youth should participate in finding buyers to come to the fair.  Buyer information will be provided through each project.

Show chickens are judged and can win ribbons, then taken home or are given back to their breeder.  

For information and registration on this year's San Mateo County Fair, click here.