Agriculture Takes Center Stage

BY BY KAI OLIVER-KURTIN
June 18, 2026

Attractions

Photography by Chloe Caldwell

San Diego County Fair’s Farm 2 U Exhibit

San Diego County Fair is going back to its roots with an emphasis on agriculture at every touchpoint, including a significantly expanded Farm 2 U exhibit showcasing agriculture from San Diego and throughout California. Farm 2 U is housed inside O’Brien Hall within Del Mar Fairgrounds, which will host the 2026 fair June 10 through July 5 with the theme Once Upon a Fair.

For many, San Diego County’s largest and longest-running community event with nearly one million visitors annually brings to mind carnival rides, fried food, and concerts. Fair organizers are eager for more San Diegans to get involved with the Fair’s original traditions, from food competitions and livestock displays to agricultural trivia and beer and wine competitions, as well as arts, crafts, and more. The interactive Farm 2 U exhibit gives fairgoers a free alternative to paid attractions, with fun and engaging learning opportunities all about agriculture and the benefits of local food.

New competitions that are intended for backyard gardeners will take place this year for honey, eggs, fruit, and veggies.

The honey competition was created at the request of the San Diego Beekeeping Society and will focus on products that can be made from bees, including a session where kids can make a beeswax candle to take home. One of the most entertaining categories is for fruit and veggie monstrosities—think funny-looking tomatoes or misshapen carrots.

“There’s a standard of perfection, unfortunately, and we as consumers don’t like produce that doesn’t look pretty,” said Mary Martineau, a deputy manager and programs supervisor of the Agriculture, Arts, and Education department. “But just because it’s not perfect doesn’t mean you can’t eat it.”

Martineau taught high school agriculture for 16 years before joining the fair staff. As she told former students, she’s not necessarily trying to turn others into farmers or ranchers. “I just want everyone to know where their food comes from—that’s the most important thing,” she said. “We’re doing demonstrations onstage so families can sit and watch while talking about how to use those products. We’re trying to have hands-on activities every day instead of just a static display of information.”

Competition judges will include local farmers and producers like Frank Hilliker, owner of Hilliker’s Ranch Fresh Eggs in Lakeside, who will hold weekly presentations called Sunny Side Up Sundays, where he talks about egg production in the poultry industry. Henry Avocado Corporation in Escondido will bring avocado trees and their fruit, giving fairgoers a chance to see how this beloved local staple originates while it’s in peak harvest season. There will even be an opportunity to purchase farm-fresh goods directly from local producers at a farmers’ marketplace held throughout the fair.

One particularly notable display and competition is produced with help from the Master Food Preservers program at University of California Cooperative Extension. This volunteer group showcases food preservation and canning during workshops and presentations all around the county and has a strict certification process to join. During the fair, they hold daily presentations to teach others how to prepare and preserve various foods for storage. Some example products include kombucha, kimchi, pickled jalapeños, pasta sauce, and zucchini relish. The goal is to show fairgoers these techniques so they can try their hand at home and maybe return next year to enter competitions. Escondido resident Sandy Shephard is a longtime competitor in the Home Arts & Hobbies exhibit. In 2019, she took home 27 ribbons for food competitions ranging from chili and baked beans to guacamole and salsa, and last year, she won prizes for pickled onions and jam.

“I suffer from depression, so I use my cooking to deal with that,” Shephard said. “It’s uplifting to me; it’s helpful to do these things, and the staff at the fair is like my family.”

“I’m looking forward to entering food items this year and to also display my collections of cars, frogs, and Coca-Cola,” she said. “There’s always a lot of excitement around seeing who wins the competitions.”

At least one competition will look a little different this year. The San Diego County Fair Wine Competition, formerly known as Toast of the Coast, which was open nationally, will now feature Southern California wineries exclusively.

“We sat down as a group this year and decided that we really wanted to focus on the local vintners, so we rebranded the competition,” Martineau said. “It’s only for wineries that are located and bonded in Southern California—San Diego, Riverside, and Imperial Counties, for now. We’re keeping it local because we really want to showcase local producers.”

“We’ve had mixed reviews about this change; some smaller wineries were really thankful that we are making the shift and focusing on them, but some were kind of bummed they couldn’t go up against wines from Napa, Sonoma, and Paso Robles,” she added.

However, the San Diego County Fair Craft Brew Competition remains open to breweries nationwide, with a special award category for the best brewery in San Diego. Top-scoring breweries are invited by the fair’s catering service to sell their award-winning brew throughout the fair’s Beer Experience bars.

Cooking competitions will include showdowns between fairgoers of all ages who volunteer to test their culinary skills with a selected California fruit or vegetable, just like in popular cooking shows. Outside of O’Brien Hall, a patio garden competition will challenge participants to stage a 10-foot-by-10-foot area with plants according to various themes. The exercise is intended to illustrate the potential of growing some form of fruit, vegetable, or other plant in your living space, no matter its size. As a nod to San Diego County’s large horticulture and cut flower industry, part of Farm 2 U will also include a flower show and floral arrangement demonstration. Other daily competitions will include activities like butter making, lasso roping, corn shucking, seed spitting, and rooster crowing.

In the livestock expo barn, fairgoers can see live animals and watch a fleece competition between sheep exhibitors, while the infield area will have farming activities for young kids, including corn picking and egg collection. Exhibit areas and activities are spread around the fairgrounds, where visitors can find many opportunities to explore and connect the dots about eating local.

“The average fairgoer is fascinated by these things [agricultural products] and where they come from,” Martineau said. “The more we can teach them about it, the better off we are.”