Ferndale's Humboldt County Fair returns August 12-16 with classic attractions
Ferndale's fair runs Aug. 12-16 at the Humboldt County Fair and Event Center, with its 130th annual run, RV camping and livestock contests.
Ferndale's Humboldt County Fair will return Aug. 12-16 at the Humboldt County Fair and Event Center, bringing carnival rides, fair food, livestock contests and exhibit halls back to south county. The 130th Annual Humboldt County Fair will also lean into handicrafts, art, horticulture, animals and other staples under the theme line Where the Trees Meet the Seas!
The fairgrounds became the permanent home of the Humboldt County Fair in 1897, and Visit Ferndale describes it as the oldest continuously running fair and horse-racing track in California, aside from the war years. That history gives the event a different weight in Ferndale, where Victorian storefronts and an agricultural setting make the fair feel tied to the town itself, not just to a summer calendar slot.
The fair page now has ticket information, schedule updates and booking links for campspots and RV parking, a practical detail for families making travel plans from across the North Coast. Those logistics matter in Humboldt County, where the fair draws visitors into Ferndale and sends business to nearby shops, restaurants and lodging when people stay overnight or build a trip around the event. The Humboldt County Fair Association lists its office at 1250 Fifth Street, Ferndale, CA 95536, and says it is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The competitive-exhibits page puts the fair's local labor and talent on display, saying Humboldt is home to artists and skilled tradespeople and inviting entries in crafting, cooking, growing, sculpting and breeding. That is where the fair's role in county life becomes clearest: youth exhibitors, 4-H families and agricultural competitors use the fair as a public stage, not just an entertainment venue. Humboldt County 4-H said in April 2025 that the fair requires all market animals to meet exhibitor requirements, a reminder that livestock remains central to the event.
The fair association says it employs many local community members during the fair, adding seasonal work to its cultural footprint. The grounds also stay active after August: North Coast Stand Down 2026 is set for Sept. 24-26 at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds, and the calendar marks it as the 20th anniversary of providing services and care to veterans and their families.
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