The Thurston County Fair Opens Today in Lacey

It's fair season!🎢

The Thurston County Fair opens today and runs through Sunday, Thursday, July 30 through Sunday, August 2, 2026 at the Thurston County Fairgrounds, 3054 Carpenter Road SE in Lacey.

Gates open at 10 AM daily, and the carnival rides start at 1 PM. Gate admission runs roughly $7–9, which makes this one of the best-value family days of the summer.

What's on offer over the four days:

• A full midway of carnival rides and games

• 4-H and FFA livestock judging

• The Thurston County Youth Animal Market Sale

• Live performances throughout the weekend

• Public baking competitions

• The Lion Gypsie Fire Experience

The Thurston County Fair is one of the last true county fairs in the region — the kind with actual 4-H kids showing the animals they've raised all year, blue-ribbon baking, and a midway lit up at night. Around 30,000 people come through over the weekend, and it stays refreshingly affordable and family-focused.

A few tips: bring cash for the midway and food vendors, go earlier in the day if you're bringing young kids (rides open at 1), and make time for the livestock barns and the youth animal sale, it's the soul of the fair and the reason it still matters to the community.

Full schedule and ticket details are at thurstoncountyfair.org.

Real estate note: county fairgrounds are one of those civic assets that quietly hold a community together, 4-H, FFA, and the agricultural roots that a fast-growing county like Thurston can lose track of.

Lacey has been one of the fastest-growing cities in the state, and the fact that it still hosts a genuine county fair with a working livestock program says something good about the place. If you're moving to the area with a family, this is the kind of tradition that makes a county feel like home.