Fairtime Contests & Events 2025
This is your chance to take center stage! Blow a giant bubblegum bubble, build a LEGO creation, make a milk mustache or show the world how much you and your mother look alike.
Any fairgoer old enough to stand on stage on their own is welcome in almost all contests, but check the FULL SCHEDULE for some that are particularly friendly to the youngest. All contests are free to participants with Fair admission. Everyone gets a special commemorative ribbon, and winners often get free Fair food or novelties donated by Fair vendors, or maybe some circus treats.
Elvis Day
Elvis is coming to the Sonoma County Fair on Saturday, August 9! All afternoon you can hang out with people dressed like Elvis, people who love Elvis, his music, and everything he stood for. The day includes an Elvis Look-Alike Contest, Elvis Trivia, and the famous “Thank You Very Much” contest. The Elvis Trivia Contest this year is a pub-style team trivia contest, so start putting your team together now! The highlight of the celebration is the Elvis Impersonation Contest. Ten Elvis impersonators will be performing with a live band, all competing for a $1,000 cash prize.
Past contestants have ranged from professional Elvis impersonators to first-time performers. But no matter who shows up to compete, you can count on a truly entertaining show! Each performer will sing a different song from Elvis’ career, all backed by the local band Buzzy & the Buzztones. Buzzy Martin and his band have a long history with this contest, and a reputation for helping each contestant sound great!
ELVIS IMPERSONATION CONTEST
First Prize: $1500
If you are a professional Elvis impersonator or just someone who sounds a lot like Elvis, this may be the contest for you! This musical impersonation contest is for solo vocal performers only. All contestants should be prepared to perform two songs originally performed by Elvis Presley. The Fair will provide a professional back-up band. All contestants will perform with the band. Although the musical presentation is critical, contestants should remember that the full picture is important, including stage presence, costume, and audience reaction.
- First place: $1,500
- Second place: $500
- Third place: $250
All other performers will receive $100.
To enter, send your name, contact information (name, address, phone number, and email address), a photograph, and a singing sample to SpecialEvents@SonomaCountyFair.com no later than July 15.
Applications will be reviewed beginning July 16, so make sure you are included and send your entry in early! The entry deadline may be extended if ten contestants have not yet been accepted.
In addition to the Impersonation Contest, Elvis Day will be filled with events and fun for Elvis fans of all ages. Trivia Contests, Elvis Bingo, Elvis Karaoke, Look-Alike Contests and More!!
Wear your Elvis costume and be eligible for special prizes!
World’s Ugliest Dog® Contest
The Sonoma County Fair is teaming up with the Sonoma-Marin (4th) Agricultural Association to present this year’s World’s Ugliest Dog® Contest on Friday, August 8.
If your dog draws attention for its sheer ugliness or quirky appearance, it belongs in this contest.
Winners will receive cash and trophies, with a total purse of $10,000 sponsored by MUG Root Beer up for grabs. The Grand Prize (first place) is $5000, $3000 for second place, and $2000 for third place. And don’t forget the backstory -- a special “Spirit Award” will be awarded, based in part on your dog’s biography.
Various members of the media will interview contestants, and professional photographs will be taken of each dog.
The first-place Ugliest Dog winner and owner will be flown to New York on Sunday, August 10th, for a LIVE appearance on NBC’s Today Show on Monday morning.
As your dog’s companion and chauffeur, you will receive free admission to the Sonoma County Fair and your dog will receive a special gift for being a contestant.
There are no restrictions on breed, size, type of ugliness, or professional status. All dogs will be entered into one large class, rather than being separated by pedigree or mutt.
For more information and to enter, go to https://www.sonoma-marinfair.org/worlds-ugliest-dog
Hot Dogs on Track!
Dog lovers are invited to bring their dogs to the fairgrounds at 9 a.m. on Sunday, August 3 to walk (or run) the racetrack with their leashed dogs. A full loop of the track is one mile, but if you or your pup aren’t up to that, shorter distances will be posted. Giveaways, fun contests, and treats are planned, including prizes for the best-dressed dogs. Bring the whole family out to enjoy the fun and get some exercise! Participants get free parking in the Veteran’s Memorial Lot, but all cars must be removed by 11 a.m.
This pre-Fair event gives dogs a chance to share the fun of this year’s “Hot Dogs and Cool Cats” theme. Dogs and other pets are not allowed to attend the Fair itself, which opens at noon, August 1-11 (closed August 4).
Harry Potter at the Fair
Calling all Harry Potter fans! Whether you are a long-time fan or are new to the world of Harry Potter, get dressed up and come to the Fair on Saturday, August 2. With the start of filming of a new Harry Potter series for HBO, fans should be brushing up on their command of the world of Harry Potter. Come to the Fair on August 2nd and join in the contests and fun. Young fans can enter a Trivia Quiz and a Potion Mixing Contest that afternoon. All ages can enter the Harry (and Ron and Hermione and more) Look-Alike Contest, practice Quidditch Skills, and take part in some Harry Potter arts & crafts. A special pub team trivia event will be held for older Harry Potter Fans at 7:30 p.m. on the Zone Stage in the Grandstand. Costumes are encouraged all day. Spotters will be out and about, ready to award prizes on the spot to fairgoers who are showing their wizardly spirit.
World Championship Grape Stomp
Long ago, grape stomping was a critical part of the winemaking process. Stompers crushed the grapes with their bare feet to release the juice. These days there are machines for that, but Grape Stomping is still a lot of fun. You can compete in the World Championship Grape Stomp at the Sonoma County Fair, starting in a preliminary stomp on Saturday, August 9 or Sunday, August 10. If you and your partner win in a preliminary stomp, you move on to the World Championship Finals on August 11, to compete for the grand prize of $1,000!
Anyone can enter. Just follow these simple steps:
First, remember that it takes a team of two. Recruit a partner - your son, your mom, your best friend, or even your sister! All ages are welcome. One person stands in the barrel on stage, flattening the grapes, and the other is down below, catching the juice in a jug and keeping the juice flowing.
Next, follow the directions to sign up and pay here, and you are in! The team fee is $40. Each team signed up before the Fair begins receives two free Sonoma County Fair admission passes. (On-the-spot sign-ups are also available, but those teams do not receive Fair admission.) All team members get official commemorative grape stomp T-shirts after they stomp.
Dance the Night Away!
Street dancing comes to the Sonoma County Fair this year, beginning with a Barn Dance in the Livestock Area on opening night, Friday, August 1. The Dustin Saylor Band will provide the music.
A week later, on Friday, August 8, local Santa Rosa band Los Del 7 will perform in the Mexican Village at 8 p.m. Los Del 7 started playing at small local gatherings with friends, and now they take their unique style and regional Mexican flavor to stages all over Northern California.
Both dances are free with Fair admission, so grab your partner and go dancing!