THE KNOW

July 5

Vitalant will hold an El Dorado Hills Stadium 14 & IMAX Theater blood drive, 12:30-4:30 p.m.

The Bloodmobile will be parked near the movie theater on the north side on Vine Street. Make an appointment at donors. vitalant.org and use blood drive code SMFM486 or call (877) 258-4825 and mention blood drive code SMFM486. Walk-ins will be accommodated if space allows.

Celebrate Hump Day with Matt Rainey at The Green Room Social Club in Placerville, 6-9 p.m. For tickets and more information visit clubgreenroom.com.

July 6

The Shingle SpringsCameron Park Chamber of Commerce hosts a grand opening and ribbon cutting at DNA Golf Academy, 5:30 p.m. at 4100 Cameron Park Drive, Suite 108, Cameron Park.

Ten Foot Tiger will perform at The Green Room Social Club in Placerville, 7-10 p.m. For tickets and more information visit clubgreenroom.com.

July 7

Rescue Community Center presents Friday Night Out BBQ, 5-9 p.m. with live music, BBQ hamburger dinner, drinks and a raffle. Everyone is welcome. For tickets and more information call (530) 677-9345 or visit rescuecommunitycenter. com.

Hip Nosis performs a free concert at the Cold Springs Golf and Country Club in Placerville, 6-9 p.m.

The Pops Chorale chamber series presents The Instrumental Voice, a concert of flute music, July 7 & 9 at Harris Center for the Arts on the Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom. For tickets and more information call (916) 608-6888 or visit harriscenter.net.

Blu Egyptian will perform at The Green Room Social Club in Placerville, 8-11 p.m. For tickets and more information visit clubgreenroom.com.

The Sacramento Shakespeare Festival presents “Macbeth,”

July 7-23 at the Art Court Theatre in the Performing Arts Center on the campus of Sacramento City College. For tickets and more information visit sacramentoshakespeare. net.

July 8

Sierra Vista Winery hosts its first art show featuring many local artists, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 8 & 9. For more information call (530) 622-7221 or visit sierravistawinery.com.

Sam Chase will perform, 4:20-7 p.m., followed by Ryder Thieves, 9 p.m. to midnight, at The Green Room Social Club in Placerville, 4:20-7 p.m. For tickets and more information visit clubgreenroom.com.

L.A.vation – World’s Best Tribute to U2 will perform at Saureel Summer Nights hosted by Kilt and Cork at Saureel Vineyards in Placerville, 5-9:30 p.m. For tickets and more information visit kiltandcork.com/saureelsummer-nights.

Women of the Moose host a spaghetti feed fundraiser helping the

Biggest Summer Fairs Are Back

Summer means sunshine, hot weather and time outdoors for family. Ergo, it’s time to go to a fair!

Northern California boasts many fine fairs at this time of year. You could plan part of your summer just traveling to all of the county fairs.

The biggest and best of all of these are the Stanislaus County Fair and the California State Fair & Food Festival. Both are worth attending.

This year the Stan Co Fair (as it refers to itself) runs July 7-16. The State Fair (as I will refer to it here) runs July 14-30.

That’s nearly an entire month of rides, exhibits and concerts. More than you can shake food-on-a-stick at. Let’s take a closer look.

Life happens at the Stan Co Fair

This fair is over an hour from El Dorado County, but I highly recommend it to those who enjoy a large, old-fashioned fair with an emphasis on fun and agriculture. Every day is Animal Day at this fair. Last year’s attendance was 270,447. That’s a lot of funnel cakes, turkey legs and frosty beverages.

The Stan Co Fair has cooling stations and abundant shade beneath heritage trees. The campus, while clearly older, is walkable. You can get to everything fairly quickly.

The concert schedule includes: Parmalee, Ginuwine, El Dasa, Plain White T’s, Revisiting Creedence, Lit, The All-American Rejects, Blue Öyster Cult, Ashley McBryde and Los Nuevos Rebeldes. Check online for performance dates.

In addition to the fair exhibits and free concerts, this year’s event schedule includes tractor pulls, bloodless bullfighting, destruction derbies, monster trucks, PRCA Rodeo, jaripeo (a form of Mexican bullriding), and AMP Motorsports-Motocross. These events require an additional admission purchase, which can be done online for convenience. Check online for dates.

I highly recommend the Bloodless Bullfighting, which is done in the Portuguese tradition. The bull lives! That Sunday, July 9, event will sell out.

Good to know: This is an evening fair on weekdays. Gates open at 5 p.m. on weekdays and at noon on weekends. Buildings close at 11 p.m. and the carnival is open until midnight.

Gang colors are not permitted within the Stan Co Fair, and there is a quiet — but firm — law enforcement presence so everyone can enjoy the fair in safety.

Admission is $15 for adults, $7 for kids (ages 7 to 12) and seniors (65 and better). Kids younger than 6 are free. Unlimited ride wristbands for the carnival are $35 weekdays/$40 weekends. Smart cards for rides can be purchased at kiosks on site. Parking is $10.

The Stan Co Fair is located at 900 North Broadway Ave. in Turlock. Visit stancofair. com for more information and promotions (free stu ).

California State Fair

The State Fair is geared toward food, agriculture and fun. It has an expansive hardscape campus. Comfortable walking shoes, water and sunscreen are highly recommended.

This year’s State Fair o ers an expanded o ering of events and tastes. The focus is on the progress of agriculture throughout the state. The county exhibits are always interesting. Hopefully, more counties will participate this year.

Concerts are “free” at the State Fair … BUT … If you want a better seat, reserved seating is $25/ticket. This year’s schedule includes Fitz and the Tantrums, Confunkshun, Ashley McBryde, Boyz II Men, Ginuwine, LeAnn Rimes, Scotty McCreery, Revisiting Creedence, The Isley Brothers, Third Eye Blind, SantanaWays, 38 Special, Ashanti, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Gin Blossoms, Kool & The Gang and Trace Adkins. Check online for performance dates.

Some fairgoers will not be happy with what I am about to share. In order to keep everyone safe at the State Fair, there are two new policies.

First: Minors younger than 18 cannot enter the fairgrounds without an adult. Any person entering may be asked to show a valid California Driver License or Identification Card or other Government issued ID. Each adult can only chaperone five minors at a time. Groups larger than five minors require an additional chaperone for every five minors. The chaperone (parent/adult) is required to

■ See FAIRS, page B5

LIVE CONCERTS ARE MUSIC TO FAIRGOERS’ EARS

Performing

July 27: George Thorogood & The Destroyers

Friday, July 28: Gin Blossoms

Saturday, July 29: Kool & the Gang

Sunday, July 30: Trace Adkins

Burton Creek State Park

Imagine 6 miles of trail in alpine forest to wander, almost to yourself. I found all this and more at Burton Creek State Park just outside Tahoe City.

No big State Park sign will help you find this park so have directions before you go. In Placer County near Truckee, I took Interstate 80 east to exit 185 Highway 89 south in Truckee. Go through Tahoe City to Highway 28 (N. Lake Boulevard). Stay on 28. Past Rocky Ridge Road and directly across the street from Star Harbor make the left turn into the park. The dirt road leads to ample parking. Head up a gentle hill and around the gate and enjoy.

I wanted an area that gave me the social distance I needed to relax in nature. This park offered plenty of room to roam. I did see other hikers and mountain bikers, but the numbers were minimal compared to other more popular parks in our region. Finding open space is getting more challenging to find as people are looking to get outside.

The trails are wide and cover 6 miles of the south facing slopes of the north shore of the Tahoe Basin. I enjoyed the smell of pine and, when a storm passed through, the smell of rain on the forest floor was pure perfume.

As heat, wind and lack of precipitation dry out lower elevation trails, the flowers still bloom in higher elevations around Tahoe. In fall the cottonwoods change color and the sound of the wind through the yellow leaves is music to my ears.

It was nice to wander among the towering trees with no destination in mind other than to be out on the trails. Burton Creek was dry when I went through and so were the many tributaries I crossed, but I didn’t mind. I cannot offer a river, a waterfall or a view from the top, but for me I was there for peace and quiet among the trees and Burton Creek State Park delivered.

Mary West is author of the book series “Day Hiker – Gold Country Trail Guide I, II and III” (available on Amazon), a collection of the Day Hiker columns where West shares her longtime love of the outdoors, favorite hikes in Northern California’s Gold Country and beyond. West is the recipient of the 2017 and 2019 CRAFT Award for Best Outdoor Column and the 2020 Craft Award for her second book “Day Hiker – Gold Country Trail Guide” series by the Outdoor Writers of California. Follow West on Facebook and Instagram.