Our First Monterey County Fair

The Peritik family is at the Monterey County Fair in Monterey right now, from Thursday, September 3 through Labor Day Monday, September 7. It is our first year here. This year's theme is Cowboy Boots and Coastal Roots, so we brought the hats. Find the straw hats and the wall of natural stone bracelets on the fairgrounds any day through Monday.

What the fair has going on

The Monterey County Fair has been held on these grounds since 1935, on twenty-two acres off Fairground Road near the Highway 1 and Highway 68 junction. The 2026 fair runs Thursday through Monday, from noon to 11 p.m. Thursday through Sunday and noon to 10 p.m. on Labor Day Monday. Carnival rides, junior livestock shows, fair food, exhibits, and a rodeo Friday through Sunday.

The concerts are free with admission this year. The Payton Stage has a headliner every night at 7:30: Eli Young Band on Thursday, a Depeche Mode tribute on Friday, Journey Revisited on Saturday, Amigo Bronco The Tribute on Sunday, and Twist On Taylor on Monday, with hypnotist and magic shows, a flying dog show, and barnyard races running through the afternoons. Seniors get in free on Thursday, military and veterans on Friday, and kids twelve and under on Monday. The fair's tickets page has the details, and parking is at the Monterey Pines Golf Course lot with a cart shuttle to the gate.

What we brought

The hats went up first this time. The shelves of hand-woven straw western hats stand at the front of the booth, brim to brim, with the pink and purple ones on the low shelves where the kids find them. Across from them is the tall wall of natural stone bracelets, with dreamcatchers hanging from the canopy frame and the elephant figurines and woven bags in their usual corner.

What the Monterey County Fair is like

This is our first Monterey County Fair, and we have not stopped smiling. Everyone here is happy: the families, the vendors around us, the people who run the fair, all of them friendly from the first hour. There is something in the air on these grounds once the evening comes in, the music and the ocean and the lights, and people feel it. They stop, they talk, they laugh with us. Divine is the word I keep using, and it is the right one.

Our first year on the Monterey Peninsula

We have set up at county fairs from Antioch to Sacramento, but this is the first time the booth has gone up in Monterey, and the first time we have worked a fair on Labor Day weekend. The evenings are different here. The fog comes in, the string lights come on, and people drift over from the concert.

We are Peritik, a family-run shop bringing natural stone jewelry, hand-woven hats, and a booth of small treasures to Northern California fairs and markets since 2017. We are here through Monday night. If you cannot make it, see where the booth goes up next.

Frequently asked

When is the Monterey County Fair in 2026?

It runs Thursday, September 3 through Monday, September 7, 2026, over Labor Day weekend, at the Monterey County Fair and Event Center in Monterey. Gates are open noon to 11 p.m. Thursday through Sunday and noon to 10 p.m. on Monday. The fair's own site has the final word on hours.

Where is the fair, and where do I park?

The fairgrounds are at 2004 Fairground Road in Monterey, just off the Highway 1 and Highway 68 junction. Public parking is at the Monterey Pines Golf Course lot next door, with a golf-cart shuttle to the gate.

Are the concerts free?

Yes. The nightly Payton Stage headliners are included with fair admission, along with the daytime shows. The rodeo and carnival rides are ticketed separately.

What does Peritik sell at the fair?

Hand-woven straw and felt western hats, natural stone bracelets, jewelry, dreamcatchers, and small home pieces, most of it between five and forty-two dollars. Hats and stone bracelets are what people come back for.

How do I find your booth?

Look for the shelves of straw hats and the tall wall of natural stone bracelets under a white canopy, with dreamcatchers hanging from the frame. That is us.

Find the fairgrounds

The Monterey County Fair is held at the Monterey County Fair and Event Center, 2004 Fairground Road, Monterey, California.