The California Poppy Festival is well known across the Antelope Valley. This event took place at the AV Fair & Event Center this year. There are tons of games and attractions for everyone to enjoy. Admission to the fair was $13 at the box office, and parking was $10. 

When you first enter the poppy festival, you first see the vendors. There is a large seating area outside two separate buildings with vendors inside. These vendors sold various items, including stuffed animals and unique handmade jewelry. All vendors were small-owned businesses, so you could ask for a business card to buy from them later. Outside these buildings were water stations with tiny cups that you could refill for free as many times as you wanted instead of buying a water bottle for three dollars. 

You walk into the food area once you venture further into the grounds. Many trucks sold food that varied from snacks meals, and desserts. Some food they sold were hot dogs, pretzels, and rice bowls.

There was a fair share of games and rides at the poppy festival. They ranged from roller coasters to claw machines. There were also some sponsors with wheels for you to spin to earn prizes. Some performances could be found at stages outside or in the vendor buildings. 

There was also a small petting zoo in a few of the buildings. You could pet pigs, sheep, goats, cows, and bunnies. They were kept in pens and separated into different buildings with wash stations outside for you to clean your hands after petting them. The animals were all very friendly and open to being petted by people.

A student at Quartz Hill, Jennifer Fernandez, gave a review of the poppy festival. She was performing for Folklorico and walked around afterward. “Unfortunately, our performance time was shortened, so we couldn’t do all of the regions that we had planned out. However, we still managed to pull it off as a team and have fun while we danced. I really enjoyed going and experiencing everything there.”

Overall, the poppy festival is an enjoyable event that happens once every year in April. If you have a free weekend and some cash, this is a fun idea for next year.