By Godfrey Lee

 The theme of the Marin County Fair 2024, which ran from July 3-7, was ‘Make a Splash!’ celebrating one of our most precious natural resources — water — and all things water-related, according to the Marin County news release.

“Water is especially relevant and important in Marin County” says the website, “whether we use the water for recreation, conserve it during drought times, have concerns about sea level rise, or to care for the local marine life.”

The fair educates and entertains the fair-goers with water-related exhibits and competitive exhibits categories. One exhibit displayed the many personal essays that people wrote and contributed on what water meant to them.

Water was also the dominant theme of much of the fine art, and the categories included “watercolors, sea, surf and sand, water birds, drip paintings, and marine mammals, just to name a few.”

According to the news release, community partners told of “the important role water plays in our local environment, from the source of our precious drinking water on Mount Tamalpais and the Novato Creek Watershed to the rising sea along our coast.”

Water-related activities at the fair taught people about watersheds, water conservation, and more.

Much of the fair was the same as years past with headline concerts and side performances, carnival rides and fireworks every night.

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The community food booths were closed, which meant that food and drinks could only be brought from the specialty food vendors scattered around the fairgrounds. For dinner, this writer bought a huge barbeque, foot-long, turkey leg, complete with fries and coleslaw, that I could not completely finish eating.

The farm exhibits also seemed empty and a bit smaller without the chickens, due to the concern about Avian Influenza, which can also infect humans.

On Sunday, July 7, as part of Latin Heritage Day, the Community Stage featured local Latin talent from around the Bay including Raya Nova, Area Agresiva, Zazil Haa, Ballet Folklorico Netzahualcoyotl, and Clave MC.

I watched the last main concert, featuring Los Lonely Boys, and left the fair after the fireworks. I enjoyed the fair and will hope to visit again next year, even if I know it will still be more or less the same as before.

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