Every year our media team takes a field trip to watch the horse races at the Big Fresno Fair. We were bummed when we found out we wouldn’t be able to attend this year, but we didn’t want to let our tradition die so we decided to take a road trip!
Sure, the drive through fair is different from the fair we normally get to experience but don’t discount how much fun it is to hop in a car with your closest friends and stuff your faces with ALL the fair foods. We’ve rounded up food must-haves and tips to navigate the Big Fresno Fair – drive-thru style.
Our Top Three Fair Foods You Have to Try This Year
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- Funnel Cakes– A classic fair food but still so yummy! Our team got one with powdered sugar and caramel drizzle and one with cinnamon sugar. We dove into both at full force and didn’t look back!
- Cinnamon Rolls – Who doesn’t love fair cinnamon rolls? They’re the perfect combination of soft and crunchy, AND you can buy a second one for breakfast! 😉
- Cheese On a Stick – Hot, gooey, and stringy – need we say more?
Our Top Three Tips for Navigating the Drive-Thru Process
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- PLAN, PLAN, PLAN – We cannot tell you enough to PLAN AHEAD! Visit the Fresno Fair’s website and plan out which booths you will want to stop at. Although the Fresno Fair has done a nice job of shuffling cars through the lines, you will be asked multiple times “where are you headed next?” so they can put you in the right line to get you to your next destination in the most efficient way and give you the option to skip booths.
- Take a Toyota, or Bring $50 Cash – It may not be Disneyland, but they do have a FastPass line! Our team went into the general line to get in and after waiting about an hour and only moving five car spaces we headed for the FastPass line. Since Toyota is the Drive-Thru Eats sponsor, Toyota-drivers have free access to the FastPass line! If not, it’s $50 on-site (cash only) or at your local Save Mart or FoodMaxx. We think it was 100% worth the $50, especially because the FastPass line coordinator told us the general wait time was three hours and the FastPass line was 20 minutes! *Bonus Tip: you can also pre-register to take the on-site COVID-19 test at for automatic free FastPass entry!
- Don’t Eat Anything Before – This may seem like an obvious tip, but what you don’t realize is that you’re buying food at a much faster pace than you usually do at the fair. Every other year you can buy a corn dog, walk around, eat some deep fried Oreos, walk around, etc. Well, this year you drive straight through buying one food after another back to back and although you can wait until the end to park and eat or take it home, let’s be honest, we’re all devouring all the food in our cars. That being said, go hungry so you’re free to eat all the goodness that the Fresno Fair has to offer.
A huge thank you to all the sponsors who helped make this event possible, including our client Fresno County Department of Public Health. We hope you get a chance to stop by the Drive-Thru Fresno Fair this year and experience stuffing your faces with all the fair foods you can get your hands on. Just remember to relax, roll down the windows, and enjoy the ride!
– SHAELEY CARTER, Associate Media Buyer
