Do you love chocolate? Candied bugs? Here’s a look at California State Fair’s candy maze

Jessica Ma
·2 min read

California State Fair visitors are discovering a bit of Willy Wonka magic at the Candy Maze Selfie Experience.

The exhibit, located in Expo Center Building 2, features hundreds of sugary treat varieties, organized in a maze. The candies are for sale by weight, so fairgoers could mix and match candies.

The candy maze had the classics, like Hershey’s chocolate and KitKat bars, as well as twists on more classics — like freeze-dried peach rings. If visitors felt adventurous, they could try seasoned crickets.

“How can you miss candy? Some of these (candies) are like old school days,” said Denise Boucher, who stopped by the exhibit.

Boucher was on the hunt for Abba-Zaba, a chewy taffy bar with a real peanut butter center. Boucher, 63, gravitates toward candies from her childhood.

“Remember the candy cigarettes? We used to think it was the coolest thing,” Boucher said.

Debbie Hilpert who came with Boucher, didn’t have a particular candy in mind to buy, but “she’ll know it when she sees it.” Usually, Hilpert goes for chocolate.

Tracy Wang, 17, left the cash register with a plastic bag of goodies. Her mix of Twix, mint patties and more cost a total of $14. She saw candies that she normally doesn’t see in the store.

“I was a little overwhelmed,” Wang said. “I do like the brand names, so I wouldn’t choose the generic bagged candies.”

Right next to the candies, visitors can pose for pictures at 14 dessert-themed photo stations. They could stick their heads through an American Gothic poster board, or lounge on a chair adorned with candy decorations.

Jannet and George Beltran pose in the American Gothic cutout, on right, as Christine Turner and Shelly Martin, left, view selfies taken a sofa shaped like a pair of lips at the candy maze selfie experience at the California State Fair in Sacramento on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.
Jannet and George Beltran pose in the American Gothic cutout, on right, as Christine Turner and Shelly Martin, left, view selfies taken a sofa shaped like a pair of lips at the candy maze selfie experience at the California State Fair in Sacramento on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.

The photo ops were free and a chance for the visitors to cool off from the heat. On the fair’s opening day, temperatures rose to 110 degrees, but guests could find relief from the heat in the Expo buildings, where there is air conditioning.

Carrie Root brought her six-year-old daughter Karli to the candy maze. Visiting the fair has become “like a tradition,” Carrie Root said, who brings her family every year.

The mother and daughter compared the candy maze to a kids’ playground. When asked about her favorite part of the exhibit, Karli Root pointed to the candy chair. Then, the life-sized plastic chocolate bar. Then, the lip couch.

Wang also came to the candy maze last year, so she has a “bunch of the same photos.” For example, she took pictures of the cow-ch, a cow-shaped couch, both years.

The candy exhibit is open Monday through Thursday from 11 am to 10 pm and Friday through Sunday 10 am to 10 pm.

Though they didn’t find Willy Wonka’s golden ticket, guests said they still enjoyed the exhibit.

“It’s been a fun day. It’s a cool day of relaxing,” Boucher said.

Phetmany Whittlesey, 12, center, and Elea Cacal, 13, right, pose for a photograph in a scene from “The Wizard of Oz” at the candy maze selfie experience at the California State Fair on Wednesday.
Phetmany Whittlesey, 12, center, and Elea Cacal, 13, right, pose for a photograph in a scene from “The Wizard of Oz” at the candy maze selfie experience at the California State Fair on Wednesday.