Riverside County Fair, Date Festival to return in 2023; county names new fairgrounds operator

Eliana Perez, Palm Springs Desert Sun
·2 min read

The Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival will make a comeback in 2023, following a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19 health and safety regulations. The event will be held Feb. 17-26 in Indio.

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday announced a new partnership with Pickering Events LLC, a company with decades of experience in the fair and fairground industry, to operate the county fairgrounds in Indio, adding that the partnership will allow the Date Festival to return as a full-scale event on an annual basis.

A press release from the office of Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said that the new fairgrounds operator will provide "funding support" to improve facilities at the fairgrounds and enable more "world-class events" to take place there.

"Riverside County and the Fair Board look forward to being partners with Pickering in bringing the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival back for the community, as well as attracting events to increase use of the fairgrounds for the community and families," Perez said. “This is great for the City of Indio, the Coachella Valley and Riverside County and for the future of the National Date Festival."

The last Date Festival was held in February 2020. It was canceled in 2021. This year, the county fairgrounds hosted the Thrillville "fair experience," with officials noting that it was a temporary replacement.

The new agreement with Pickering Events sees the company licensing and operating the Riverside County Fairgrounds and Fair for five years, starting on July 1, 2022.

Pickering Events' senior partner, Rick Pickering, also serves as CEO of the California State Fair and Exposition in Sacramento. He's held previous roles as CEO of the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton and deputy general manager of the Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa.

“We are excited to revitalize the Riverside County Fairgrounds post-pandemic, and to bring back the full Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival February 17-26, 2023," Pickering said.

Eliana Perez covers the eastern Coachella Valley. Reach her at eliana.perez@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ElianaPress.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Riverside County Fair National Date Festival set for Feb. 17-26, 2023