Meetup at California State Fair in July @ Chicken exhibit building!

[HHandbasket]

I was thinking maybe around 4 or 5 p.m. on the 18th in the chicken (Fur & Feathers) exhibit hall. I'd be happy to share my personal contact info with any BYC-ers who send me a private message, and we can coordinate our times and dates. I'm *really* flexible and am willing to go whenever it's good for everybody. I have a friend coming up from Merced next weekend, as well (former dairy farmer), so I'll probably be at the fair allllllllllllllll day on Sunday. I'm going on Wednesday, the 14th at noon (opening day), as well. I took Wednesday-Friday off from work anyway just because work's been hectic & I'm ready for a few days of Me Time. The state fair is usually huge, and if you like to view all the art exhibits and farm exhibits, you really need a whole day to see it all (a day and a half is better LOL ... longer if you like the rides, too).

For those of you with families, the Raging Waters waterpark is also open during the fair. You can bring your kids and spend the day and stay cool in the water. Check www.bigfun.org for more information and pricing. It's just a wholesome, good, clean, old-fashioned way to have some fun. It can be pricey (the food is expensive), but the important thing is to have a good time and enjoy the fair. You learn a lot about your state, and there's a lot here to love.

Beings that it's only a week away, we should probably start coordinating in the next day or 2.

See you guys there! So exciting....

 

[GammaPoppyLilyFlutter]

4 or 5 sounds pretty good, since we'll hopefully leave in the morning. I'll send you a PM soon, since we should probably know who we are supposed to meet.

 

[mediazeal]

I went to see chickens last year at the fair and found that there are days when it is only fur and days when it is feathers.
we definately want a feather day
does anyone have a fair schedule and know which days are for chickens?

the dufus at the gate sent me to the livestock barn last time first (opposite end of the fair) so I got the complete walking tour of the fair on a very very hot day when I only wanted to see chickens and chicken people. then I finally got to the fur and feathers building and found only bunnies and guinea pigs
argh.

so that might effect which day we want to go
other than that, I'd like to come

 

[suzettex5]

Sunday afternoon around 5ish works for me and the kiddo's!! See ya'll there!!

 

[HHandbasket]

Thank you, Mediazeal, for pointing that out! I forgot that they started that a couple of years back, probably for the health and well-being of the chickens.

I have a tentative schedule, and it does not look like the chickens are going to be out on the 18th. HOWEVER... that being said... I am contacting the state fair administration to confirm that and will have a definitive answer by the end of the day today. We may have to wait until the final weekend of the fair to see the chickens if the tentative schedule I have is correct.

Here is a link to it if anyone wants to check it out:

http://www.bigfun.org/pdfs/competitions/fur_feathers/FFDates.pdf

Like I said, however, I am contacting fair administration today because there may be birds on display, as well as poultry-related activity in the farm exhibits.

More answers to come!

 

[cherylcohen]

We were planning to go the sunday 18th but if there are no chickens then, hmmm

will this link be updated if the chickens are there?

 

[HHandbasket]

Yes, the link is being updated.

I heard back from The Powers That Be at the state fair. The chickens will not compete or be shown until the 19th-22nd for the Junior Poultry division and July 30-Aug 1 for the general poultry competition.

I am so glad we checked on that!

Anyone wanna try for 7/30 (Saturday) or 8/1 (Sunday, last day of the fair)?

I think everybody here would have been hoppin' mad at me if they made the trip all the way out there this weekend & it turns out the chickens aren't even going to be there. Whew! Saved by mediazeal (thank you again).

 

[cherylcohen]

I'd go 7/31, which is the saturday. Will the chickens still be there? What about all the other animals. Do they have to keep them there until the end.

I'm hoping to get some names of some breeders

 

[HHandbasket]

Yes, that's right, 7/31 is Saturday and 8/1 is Sunday (my bad LOL). The chooks will be on display from 7/30 to 8/1. I also got the name and number of a breeder in Elverta who is going to be showing at the fair, and I'm going to talk to HER and find out what days her chickens will be there, because she said something about showing later this week. I'll contact her today and see what kind of better info we can get about the where's, when's, and particulars.

 

[cherylcohen]

Awesome! thanks

My goal is to fin some local breeders (northern CA) as I haven't had great hatching luck with shipped eggs.