Visiting the Riverside County Fair and National Date Show at the Riverside County Fairgrounds felt like a pretty standard county fair experience with a slightly confusing title. I honestly expected to see more about dates, given the name, but I didn't come across much that tied into that theme. Most of what's here centers around carnival rides, classic fried fair food, and the usual midway energy. I did enjoy checking out the fair entries, which added a nice local touch and broke up the ride and food loop. It's a relatively small fair overall, and I was able to see just about everything in roughly two hours without rushing. Fine for a casual visit if you're in the area, but not something I'd plan an entire day around. read more

Riverside County Fairgrounds - Festivals Near Me - Indio, California

We have been coming here several years now for the annual Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival! Over the years, there is less emphasis on dates and more on typical fair experiences. Came late on a Sunday evening. Paid extra for VIP parking and bought the tickets online, to enter before the gate closed. The VIP parking is south of the fairgrounds. We liked the turkey leg and the funnel cake with raspberry jam! Also enjoyed the piglet racing and the dog stunt show. There are gem and mineral exhibits. The impressive model railroad exhibits are in a building with some history of the Festival. read more

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These tostilocos come with an Agua Fresca underneath & you can only get it @ the Riverside County Fairgrounds, go to the Raspados de Sur station by the horse track. You'll definitely enjoy it read more

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So disappointed. New to this part of California and love going to county fairs. Was excited to check the RivCo Fair out. Bought parking and admission tickets online. I knew there was a parade in Indio the day I was going to the fair, so I was prepared for some detours. What I wasn't prepared for was a complete lack of adequate signage telling you how to enter the public parking lot. GPS isn't helpful for stuff like this. We had to ask a guy who was working at the permit parking gate how to enter the lot. He was great. The exhibits were fun to look at. Love seeing the art and baking stuff. As for the food, what a disappointment! No local vendors, no local groups like Lions Club or VFW selling food. It was all some national carnival food vendors. Even the date foods were not local. Plus the price of food was insane. We had some bacon wrapped dates but decided to stop somewhere and eat local on the way home. A couple other observations of a first timer: Why is there no shade? Why not put in a few covered areas for people to sit and eat. Why are there no water fountains? It's the dessert. read more

I rode Turbo yesterday and had a terrifying experience. After I got seated, I told the staff to wait because no one had checked if my seat belt was secured, but the ride started anyway. When they stopped to load more people, we were left at the very top hanging upside down for about 15 minutes. Being upside down that long made me extremely dizzy, and I was terrified the entire time, worried my seat belt wasn't properly fastened. I was screaming to get us off, and my friend was also asking for help too, but we were completely ignored. It was the most frightened I've ever felt on a ride. read more

Riverside County Fairgrounds - The ride I was talking about - Festivals Near Me - Indio, California

This place has gotten very over priced and way smaller than years ago. The little kid rides seemed to have a lot less rides than years ago. I wanted to try a lot more food but it's impossible with the prices. read more

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What a great place. I have been here several times and what a grand experience. The many food booths were so enticing. Skip the diet for a day. Just pig out on so many delicacies. The brick oven pizza was my favorite. But the fried foods were fab. The displays were eye opening. Such a great variety of things for sale. The many entertainers kept me busy.all day. read more

It's true, there's not much of a Date theme anything considering it's also a Date festival, however there's a ton of greasy fried carnival food! I did see date shakes and a date cookie/brownie option at one of the vendors. We went during the day time, so it might've been nicer at night with the lights. Lots of rides. Entertainment was lacking, but considering they went on a hiatus because of COVID, I'm not complaining. There's street parking if you don't want to pay for parking, you just have to walk a little further, which isn't too bad. Despite the lack of Dates, it was still fun walking around stuffing our faces with fried Oreos and turkey legs. The stable/barn area where you can look at the adorable animals was worth it for me. I mean baby goats parkouring is the cutest thing ever! read more

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It's the perfect place for a 4 year old to have fun. They have a new butterfly exhibit this year. We paid $5/person to feed live butterflies that land on your head, arms, shirt or wherever you want them. Adults and kids all seemed to enjoy it. The standard fair stuff of rides, food, barnyard animals are great as usual. We're going again this weekend! The weather has been great. read more

Riverside County Fairgrounds - Butterflies galore! - Festivals Near Me - Indio, California

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It's still in process after the financial hit from COVID. The HR is willing to listen to suggestions, but as an over all, it provided a little to a lot of something for everyone in the family. read more

Riverside County Fairgrounds - The friendly seals. - Festivals Near Me - Indio, California

This was the worst fair ever. There were no dates. We paid fifteen dollars for parking, thirty dollars to get in, and stayed less than an hour. The corn dogs were nine dollars apiece. We also had stale kettle corn for nine dollars and an overpriced cup of corn which was a whopping twelve dollars. It was outrageous! The prices were hyperinflated and the food wasn't even tasty. There were no interesting stands, the dates were nonexistent, and there was no entertainment. I do not agree with the use of animals such as seals in a too-small tank to lure families as this is unethical. The hangers were bare except for a few lone gem sellers and woodworkers. Do not go as this is not a festival but a rip-off. read more

Lots of activities for young kids like giant jenga and connect four. There is a sand box with corn kernels that was always full of young (and some not-so-young) kids. The magician was fun and the rides were free. Very pretty inside with the lights and backdrops. We took family photos in front of the fountain. There are different types of pumpkins and paint pens to use on the them after they are bought. There is also a bar with different types of beer and cider for fall/Oktoberfest. Overall a fun way to spend the evening read more

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As a local, we don't get a lot of stuff going on here. But I do always look forward to the Date Festival. Sure it can be a little ghetto but I love it. Last year was a disappointment but this year was a little better. There was a lot less stuff but still not bad. I had fun, but I was real upset about the Fantasy Springs Staff, There was so much space down the in Front row for the Flo Rider Concert and they didn't let us go up, which makes no sense.. The only good thing was the food. Funnel Cake with Ice cream was amazing, I had a club sandwich which was good, and some Agua de Pina always good. It was super cold this year tho. My Boyfriend got a Corndog, Fries and a Soda which he said was super good, a Deep Fried Twinkie and a Deep Fried Snickers which were really good as well. We took multiple pictures and they came out really nice! Pricey But It was a good time. Once a Year read more

Riverside County Fairgrounds - Chocolate Power Whip Funnel Cake With Ice Crean - $19 - Festivals Near Me - Indio, California

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We went to see a concert at the fair grounds. We were not interested in going to the date festival only the concert. We bought upgraded box seats for close up viewing. When we finally got to the fairgrounds (more about the parking coming up) are tickets would not let us in to see the concert unless we also purchased tickets to the festival. What!? Why was this not listed on the website when we purchased the concert tickets? So we spent more money just to get into see the concert that we already had tickets for. Once inside no one seemed to know where we were to go for the concert. We just had to find it ourselves. We finally found it, by luck. Once inside the worker was unable to tell us which seats were ours and they were unmarked. Just here is box j, but all the seats were taken. We were told to go see someone else as she did not have a seating chart. Lucky for us it was not sold out and we sat in comparable seats in the next section over. We were by now 15 minutes late and the concert had already begin. Don't even get me started on the parking. No signage to tell you where to go. Following directions to the fair address gets you to the fair grounds but you have to drive completely around to find the parking. Took us almost 30 minutes to find the ONLY entrance to the parking. This festival is poorly organized. I would not recommend going to a concert here. read more

02/24/2024 One star is too high! Couldn't enter the parking lot from the street we accessed it from last year and was told to go all the way around! Couldn't find enough or trust enough employees to stand and collect money at entrances? There was no give on this and ended up parking off fair property for less money! Yes, they do charge to park! At the entrance you are asked to pose for a photo but no thanks! Not far inside the fair there was a display of prisoner seals in small portable pools for human entertainment. The new taiji in america! Sickening and disgusting! Come to find out, the county, in their infinite wisdom, has outsourced the fair to outside influences that don't know what they are doing! I misplaced a bag and went looking for lost and found but according to the rent a cops ... they had NO lost and found! Now there's good news! I received a large song and dance from customer service(?) and now have to call Monday and maybe talk to a human about my lost and found in the fair office ... the outsourcing of functions here in the valley is weak and unnecessary! Nobody here in town wants to run and coordinate the fair? There's plenty of greasy fattening food for everyone! Plenty carnival games unoccupied except the barkers. Rigged and fixed chance games and everyone knows that. The kids liked the rides it seemed. The animal barns were hustle bustle. Even though there is two more fair days, animals were being auctioned off. Last year, there were NO animals to see when we went! No maps available? What's up with that? Use to give out at entrance. Cheap. Outsource functions and lose benefits for the people to benefit the person now running the show. Not enough shade for older visitors. What a waste of money ... never more read more

Riverside County Fairgrounds - Ride Lighting Board - Festivals Near Me - Indio, California

This review is for the 2024 Riverside County Fair -- what we used to call the Date Festival. But the dates are gone, unless you count ones on display in shrink-wrapped containers with "do not touch" signs. There are no dates for sale or sampling, no cooking demonstrations using dates. There's hardly anything that says "Coachella Valley" about this county fair anymore; it could be anywhere. There are fewer vendors, fewer exhibits, and less free entertainment. You used to be able to watch kids showing off their farm animals but that's gone. There are barely any farm animals at all. They have lots of food booths if you're willing to spend $75 on two sandwiches, two drinks, and one order of fries. The midway seems larger and that's the only reason for the second star on this review. Otherwise, it's pretty sad. read more

The last few years of the fair have gone downhill for the food vendors. In that a lot of us expected to find dates for sale, we used to buy two huge flats and haul them to the car at the end of the day. For years my dates went to the shows and concerts with me. We'd get a date shake to cool down with, and always get one date stuck in our straws. Then..... there weren't date shakes, or flats of dates to buy. I expected vendors to have date flavored treats. But alas. That was not the case either. Now, I mentioned that first because it's called the Date Festival. BUT!!! The entertainment is Top Notch!! I love the different magicians, and performers, jugglers, strolling artists. Love love seeing clowns, and the fair mascots. The concerts are a ton of fun to attend. I have seen Great Shows over the years. And I love the huge variety. So I'll keep coming back to the fair for that part for sure. But my food money is going to Shields down the way. Their date shakes and flats of dates are superb. read more

This event sounded great, was advertised as a big hit with lots of events for the kids, but sadly this was not the case. I paid $8 adult and $5 child, along with $10 for parking (which is ridiculous considering you can't even park near the event's EMPTY lot?!). First driving in for parking was way confusing. Apparently you're suppose to enter Gate 6 off of Dr. Carreon but there was NO signage at all indicating this. I only found out after driving up Arabia Street and seeing two guards under a blue EZ-Up chatting and asking them. My question why not enter there at that gate entrance? You end up passing by them entering the other direction! Then when I did pass them inside the gate, they gave me crummy directions where to park. Again no signage anywhere once you turn the corner from the first building! I ended getting out to scout the area where I saw another guard on the other side of another gate who stated the event was on that side!? So I saw a slightly opened gate at the end and opened it so we could drive through and park on that side. Once we were walking up to the third building (again no signage as to the entrance or for what event) I saw the second guard again who was agitated and asked where I parked. I pointed back to the open lot and he said I wasn't suppose to park near the event building. When I asked why because that didn't make sense as it was a wide open lot (no cars but mine) the guard didn't have an answer other than you're just not suppose to. The other lot mind you is way farther than you need to be and just as big as the lot they don't want you in? Apparently the second rode iron gate was a pedestrian entrance to which the guard said "it's common sense" cause it was half open. Really!? No one around nor any signs to say otherwise and beside he should have been at that gate but instead was fielding a question by another lady yelling towards him from outside the Arabia gate asking where she's upload to enter for the event (thank you). That guard's attitude was really piss pour. After parking and speaking with the angry guard we walked into the event and realized we were the ONLY ones there! Two staff members is all they had. One girl selling Dollar Tree trinkets for 10x the cost and another behind a bar area?! The kids games were wack, hay maze (see pic) was halfa$$ at best, they had corn hole, Jengga, and a sandbox container full of corn. There were some cut out to take pictures too. Not much in the way of kid's entertainment. Apparently there was pumpkin decorating but only after you buy a $2 little hand size gourd (not a pumpkin). After talking to the two staff members it seems like they're really geared towards a more adult crowd after 7pm with a haunted house aimed at 16+ years (hence the bar, lounge seating and other room closed off). I expressed my complaint to the manager Chris Pickering who stated "well sorry", not the response I was hoping for, say like I appreciate the feed back, I'll look at adding some more kid friendly content for the morning-afternoon times, etc. I stayed in total and hour maybe so the kids did everything thing in about 15 minutes but another set of kids showed up so my little played a bit longer in the corn pit. Overall this event is not what it claims to be. Honestly the decor was the best part. Some signs for parking and directions to the building would be SUPER helpful and/or not so lazy guards. Way more "kid" stuff to do which could be applicable to adults later in the evening like the corn hole game but other stuff aimed at kids that could be moved to the side out of the way later. And why not have the haunted house toned down during the day for kids and ramped up scarier for evening. There was lots of potential if the manager gave a sh*t or knew what he was doing. Later I made a complaint on there FB page along with some friends of mine who also got duped into this, Chris took all the complaints down off the sight, now only the 4 positive messages remain, should say a lot about how this guy operates. read more

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Where are the dates? I was really looking forward to trying some creative goodies with dates incorporated. At a minimum, I would have liked to purchase a box of dates, which are prominently grown in the area, but nothing, not even a date shake in site. It's a good fair but please stop calling it a date festival, its misleading. read more

I wanted to visit this fair because I'm fascinated with Indio's historical relationship with the date fruit. The homage to the Middle East is exemplified in the simplified minarets, horseshoe arches, and Persian domes at the fair entrance and one of the stages. Unfortunately, one of the utilitarian steel buildings featuring date displays was underwhelming aside from a vitrine of tempting date baked goods on display. (Too bad they were in competition instead of on sale.) I consoled myself with a date shake from a nearby vendor and tried fish tacos at one of the many brightly-lighted food trailers. While the vegetables seemed fresh and crisp, there was about a goldfish-sized fish portion in each. Oh well, having high expectations with carnival food is never a good idea. Checking out the animals and watching the judging was a highlight for me. In the barn filled with rows of chickens, I watched the elderly judge handle and poke the birds then pause and scratch his brow as his assistant took notes. He seemed absorbed in his methodical responsibilities. It's all a mystery to me but I'll assume that the best chicken won. The llama judging was fascinating. Some of these tall creatures were better groomed than contestants in New York City's Westminster Dog Show. These were such beautiful animals and the judge kindly took to the microphone to explain the traits she sought when deciding a winner. If I was under 18, I'd probably find the fair truly exciting. The rides, colors, bright lights, and endless quantities of sugary foods would have kept me happy at that age. As an adult, walking the midway was a pleasant enough morning but I wish the simple date fruit was given more attention here. read more

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It started at the entry with this lady name, Bobbie, to beginning of our entertainment, she greeted us very friendly. I had my three-year-old little girl she interacted with my little girl made her smile made us laugh. She was so funny I just love her. I absolutely love her she was such a great joy to , enter in to a day of festivities awesome awesome awesome! You need more people like her. Thank you for hiring her. She's a great asset to your festival. read more

Be careful with food vendors that do not have prices posted. My granddaughter paid $26 for fries with cheese- and they weren't the pan mold type that cost $15-just fries!! The price was questioned and the vendor said "what do you expect- your at the fair". I wouldn't have paid that- but youngsters feel like they had too- unbelievable!! read more

Not worth the time or the money whether you have kids or not. First, you pay for parking $10 minimum and then pay for admission. Inside the "festival/fair," there is nothing to really see. The exhibitions are minimal in scope and participation. The live stock variety is limited (goats, sheep, swine and a few cows). There are more vendors than there are exhibitions. Basically, you pay an admission fee to get into the gates and then pay even more to ride some carnival rides, pay to play midway games where the odds are in favor of the house, eat expensive fair food that's been cooked hours in advance and/or buy cheap stuff from vendors. The fair is small in scope and comparison to some neighboring county fairs. Bottom line, save your time and money. It's not worth the trip. read more

Riverside County Fairgrounds - People who work the fair are not familiar with this offer. - Festivals Near Me - Indio, California

It's great and all but the wait lines are sooooooo big! You can get a fast pass but they normally sell out

What Dates? I went to the last Festival before Covid. Then there was at least one small table inside the exhibition hangar with a few baked date items you could buy. This year none. Event Parking is $20 and is a hike. Only buy a giant turkey leg ($19 - $22) if you like ham. The meat was pink and the skin like leather (did not look or taste like turkey). I googled and read that they are processed the same way that ham is in a salt solution (so the meat is the same pink color) and the turkey tastes like ham (which I don't like). The aftertaste was horrible. read more

My kids and I attended Friday's event. There could be more signs helping to find the entrance. It was a little frustrating. However once I did, I arrived to the parking lot cashier. There was a blonde hair girl who approached my car to collect a parking fee. She was very friendly, professional and more knowable about the event than most. She had my 3 little ones laughing. This is the first year of this type of event in our area and I'm sure in time each year it will get better. For the time being, we made the best of it and my kids were kept entertained and in return kept me happy. read more

If you want the the best ever ANYWHERE burger, stop at the JUICY's OUTLAW BURGER stand at the National Date Festival and Riverside County Fair! We went to the Fair for Valentines Day which is the first day. We have seen Juicys before but it is always to busy to stop, this time they had just opened and now I know why it is always so packed they are truely the best burger we have ever had!! Enjoy the fair it is great this year! read more

Riverside County Fairgrounds - Food - Festivals Near Me - Indio, California

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Came here with my boyfriend earlier this year on a whim since our friend had some spare tickets! It's been a couple of years since we last went to the Date Festival and we wanted to go back to try and relive some memories. Parking was pretty hard to find. My boyfriend and I ended up parking at a dirt lot next to a small shopping mall about two blocks away from the entrance gates. When we got there the lines were crazy long! Most people were in lines to purchase tickets, but since we already got ours we only had to wait in line to get in. That probably took about 20 mins. I would really recommend getting a Maple Bacon Donut while you're here! Sure, it's super unhealthy, but YOLO. My boyfriend and I also ordered a Date Shake since this is the Date Festival, and I didn't like it all that much... I remember loving it when I ordered it around four years ago but it just tasted really strange when we got it this time around. There were a lot of small chunks of dates which were kind of hard. Maybe they didn't make it right? As always, food is always expensive at festivals so you do end up shelling out a lot of money. There are also a handful of carnival rides and games at the festival. My boyfriend bought us some tickets to get on a ride and it was only after we got off that we realized they didn't take our tickets! We were able to get on three other rides before a worker finally asked us for our tickets LOL so I would say that was pretty worth it. This is a pretty fun place to take your family and kids or even go on a date, but there isn't that much to do other than eat and go on rides. That's kind of all that a festival really is anyway. read more

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Yeah the food is not all that I went to a vendor stand called Noels it's like Mexican food I order a carne asada burrito and damn I'm gonna tell you it had very little bit of meat I was so mad I paid about $13 and change also I went to the ICE vendor And I bought a souvenir cup and the cup is a LA County fair cup 2019 instead of a Riverside County date festival 2020 read more

Riverside County Fairgrounds - This cup was sold to me at an ICEE vendor at the riverside county national date festival in Indio California on Monday, February 17, 2020 - Festivals Near Me - Indio, California

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Not worth it at all. We went thinking it would be similar to the strawberry festival and have date incorporated foods but there was only one building with a small booth about dates. There's not much to do and the food/activities/shopping is lacking. It's also 15$ at the door compared to 10$ online. read more

I am an avid Fair goer and for the past 20 years attended the LA County Fair. Made a decision 5 years ago to try the Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival with no regrets. The Headliners, the attractions, vendor sales, the carnival, the food are all great. It might not be as large as the LA County, but they offer everything that the LA County does just on a smaller scale. Looking forward to attending this year!!! read more

It wasn't too crowded for the date festival but the expectation of the "date shake" was very subpar. It literally tasted like a regular vanilla milkshake. Everything else about the fairgrounds were as expected. Fair foods, variety of rides, etc. I didn't try their bbq stands but the ribs and turkey legs looked tasty at least. read more

This is the worst fair I have ever been to in Indio this 2023 year.ITS 15.00 per person to enter the fair and inside most of all you see is very over priced fair food .There is a couple of lonely sad seals that are kept in two small tanks of water for a small so called show.There are also a small group of monkeys that are shown in a hot small metal room to the public what a life for these poor animals and it is also a separate price to see these animals.My wife and I paid 30.00 for our admission to the fair.My wife ate a 1300 funnel cake and we saw the ten different booths they had inside the buildings and outside the buildings in one hour.We also couldn't use our cash to play the games like it used to be.Now all the games require you to buy expensive packs of over priced packages of tickets to play the games and ride the only adult ride there the ferris wheel.What a rip off and we all know it we and our friends will never attend this Butler Amusements/Date Festival again .This faestval has nothing to do with Dates or the Date Harvest roots that our desert isknown for and It is only a festival of money hungry idiots who want our money .As for Butler Amusements/Date Festival promoters you people should give up trying to hustle all of us locals for a quick buck.Dont worry about next year because the word is going out now to all locals here NOT to go to your rip off festival next year Your fake looking t.v.commecrcial that shows abig festival is also fraud and a lies too it won't work anymore.Sell the festival fairgrounds to someone who will put it to good use for our community.Your event this year proves all you do is ripp off people for quick money and offer them nothing in return. read more

Sorry Palm Springs peeps, but this place blows. I could list a million and one reasons why, but I will just list some of the main ones. *Parking. Near by parking is 10 bucks. WTF. We are in Indio, after all. *Admission. It is 8 bucks to get in, and 25 bucks for an all day wristband. I saw countless rides and 'attractions' that said, 'no wristbands, price $5.' So what was the point of spending the 25 bucks...? *Kids under 5 free. GREAT! Or so it sounds... Though they may be free, their rides aren't. WTF. If the adult pays, and pays for a wristband, they have to sit on the ride with their kid, and STILL have to pay for the little one?? Seems like BS to me... *Animal Cruelty. Poor ponies are tied to one another all day, forced to give pony rides. Monkeys on a leash with abused qualities fetching money for a handshake... To name a few. I wish I never stepped foot in this fair, as my dollars were going to support this kind of cruelty. *Food. The fair food always looks like a good idea, but after you eat it, always makes you want to explode out of both ends. Thank you for putting a nail into my fair go'ing's coffin. I never want to enter one again! read more

Riverside County Fairgrounds - Holy French fries batman!!! - Festivals Near Me - Indio, California

Ahhh I remember when this used to be billed as the DATE Festival, not the "Riverside County Fair". I used to love it as a kid, but as a kid, I didn't get to go many places, so each was kind of special for that reason. I think due to the whole 9-11 tragedy, they have downplayed the Arabian theme, I'm guessing??? Or maybe it just wasn't drawing people who thought it was a fair all about palm tree fruit?? It's not the "Date Festival" any more which kinda makes me sad. I loved the Arabian theme, I always thought it was magical and gave the Fair character.. Google directions said to "follow the Fair signs" once you exit the freeway. Ummm, there were TWO Fair signs and then the whole parking thing was confusing as hell. I had to drive back and forth, people were hawking parking everywhere at questionable places, and finally settled on "official" "preferred parking" for $12. = Dirt lot. It was $9 to get in, not $8 like their website claimed. I was THROUGHLY frisked by a security guard, my purse deeply checked and had to walk through a metal detector. Hmmm, made me wonder how safe the place was???? OK, so I guess they must have had some issues in the past, but sheesh. Feel me up and made me remove my shoes why don't you? Or at least don't make me feel like a criminal with your security guard attitude. This ain't NASA, baby. By the way, unlike my fellow yelpers complained, they had Date stuff, it was just confined to one of the buildings with a display right out front of it. Wasn't hard to find. Now, as for the food vendors: These same food vendors work ALL Fairs and charge an arm and a leg everywhere, so when did other yelpers get so darn grouchy about that part?? Have you priced DisneyLand lately? But ALL they had was the Pepsi brand. Really? Pepsi sucks weenie!! I guess Pepsi has paid off all these Fair vendors to sell their crappy brand, so I had to get some lemon drink for $2.50 for a small because it was just so hot that day (like every day in Indio). I also agree, the other souvenir & trinket vendors were blah: Photographs, low rider tee shirts, painted tattoos, Rasta weed stuff and kids dresses and junk jewelry. ALL the vendor owners, both food and junk sellers, seemed surly and bored. I avoided eye contact with all the vendors because the expressions on ALL their faces said: "I hate this work and I hate you". Ugh and I wanted to try some fried oreos and other goodies, but believe me, I notice this stuff. That was the part that put me off. I scrapbook as do a lot of people, and there was not a single post card or flat scrapbook thing to buy anywhere either. I asked the gal at the "Official Souvenir Kiosk" but she told me did not speak much English. Uhhh huhhhhhh no cards or anything to shove in my scrapobook to say "I had a great time at the National Date errr Riverside County Fair". Only the cheap "booklet" thing they gave away and by the way, I could not find the damn map until I got home: It was folded under the cover.. Ugh. OK, so last time I was here it's was about 1999. Wow, I have to say overall, it SEEMED more low-rent somehow. I used to enter Art in the art show, and even the quality of the art has gone down. Same old gem show, pig races and camel rides. Only saw about 4 people dressed in the Arabian costumes walking around. That sucked too. As I recall, even the nightly show they put on was really pretty bad, but hey... I guess it's just Indio. Here's the low down: If you have kids, they'll have a great time. They do have a rather large selection of carny rides and games for the kids, but remember, travelling carneys tend to be sketchy at best, so... Be prepared for surly ride operators. If surly faced food and trinket vendors are not a problem for you, then you'll enjoy that part too. If you do not mind this has become a basic non-descript fair, then you'll like it. Events are few and far between, like the Camel races and Monster truck thing, but I did see a BMX bike display... Well, I had to wait like 20 minutes while the guy hyped it via loud speaker, then saw two guys ride a half tube back and forth a couple times. I got bored and walked on. Hey, I work long hours to go have fun, I do not have time to wait for hype. I want SHOW. It IS fairly large, I HAVE been to ALL the southern CA Fairs several times, so this one ranks right around the middle over-all size and event wise. But if you go without kids expecting a great time, mehhhhh...... read more

$8 entry + $8.50 pink's hotdog = $16.50 hotdog. So worth it! As far as the fair goes, Eh. San Diego fair has more to offer. I don't go for the rides, i like to walk around and check out the vendors. read more

This is a disgrace by any fair standard... Crappy food, crappy games & shows, and a crowd of trashy people.. It's hard justifying paying 7.00 for a crappy, frozen corn dog or a cold slice of even worse pizza.. I've been coming to this for years and each year it seems to be getting gradually worse(or perhaps I'm getting older and wiser).. I'll just have to wait for the OC fair I guess...only decent thing is I bought my tickets on Groupon (2 tickets for 9.00; generally 9.00 each).. read more

Riverside County Fairgrounds - Festivals Near Me - Indio, California

Great fun at an affordable price. I'm not sure what these other reviewers were expecting but definitely a great value. For $9 entrance fee you can see monster trucks and/or top artists perform in the same day. You could easily spend $40 a person+ to see some of the artists that play here at most venues. Yes, the food vendors aren't cheap but it's the same as any other fair, sporting event, or concert and these are independent vendors who can charge what they want. read more

This place is animal abuse! It made me go vegetarian! The food is way too expensive. AND THERE ARE NO DATE VENDORS at this DATE festival!!! Nothing "dates" about it. I wanted a date shake, date hamburger, ANYTHING! But they had NOTHING! Parking is too expensive as well. Don't go! read more

Always u could never miss out the food , from ribs , turkey legs corn on the cob , tri- tip and funnel cake but the not enough selling exhibits. Went through in about an hour , not a ride person so I didn't go for that . In at 11 gone by 14 . read more