Whoohoo! It’s officially the first day of summer, which means that it’s not only the longest day of the year, but also the start of fair season! And the event that always kicks it off – Redwood Acres Fair – was in full swing on its opening day, upholding the annual fair’s 2023 theme: “Summer Starts Here.” 

All of the things that you would usually expect were there – greasy funnel cakes, cotton candy and other standard fair fare, lots of livestock and other animals, toy trains, somewhat unsafe-looking rides and, of course, carnival games that are usually almost impossible to win. 

Though the fair seemed noticeably less packed on opening day than it was in 2022 (likely because the fair offered free admission on opening day last year), there were still plenty of people out enjoying the splendidly sunny Humboldt day at Redwood Acres. And, hey, less people means shorter lines for the food, tickets and rides!  

Of course, things will probably pick up quite a bit over the weekend, especially on Friday evening when stock car racing takes place on the Redwood Acres Raceway (4 to 11 p.m.) The fair also added another special event to this year’s racing, turning Saturday into Motorsports Night. It’ll feature sports car drag racing from the Redwood Sports Car Club and “slideways exhibition” put on by Grassroots Drifting.

Image from a previous ‘Hillbilly Boat Race’ | Submitted by Redwood Acres 

The main event of motorsports night will be the Down & Dirty Hillbilly Boat Race – where the race cars drag speed boats behind them and attempt to dislodge the boats of their competitors.  According to a press release sent out by Redwood Acres, this will be the first boat race at Redwood Acres since 2016. The races are free with admission to the fair.

“The twist to bringing boat races back will be that the event will be run on the infield of the 3/8-mile track,” the release states. “The main reason boat races have been off the schedule for so long was because of the damage the events did to the racing surface. Boat racing in the dirt should add an all new and exciting challenge to the action that fans will not want to miss out on.” 

You can find more information, rules for the boat race and footage of past boat races on the Redwood Acres Raceway Facebook Page. Redwood Acres Fair runs from June 21-25, from noon to midnight. You can find more info on Redwood Acres’ website. 

Scroll down for more photos of the fun on opening day!