Stephen McElroy, President, Antelope Valley Fair Board of Directors, confirmed today that the Antelope Valley Fair & Alfalfa Festival will move its 11 day fair run, traditionally ending on Labor Day, next year. The new dates will be advanced a week in 2009 with a start date of Thursday, August 20th and ending Sunday, August 30th. Fair officials explained the change of dates was because of the shifting of other Southern California fair dates. Most major fairs within the state host their events on a fixed cycle, allowing commercial vendors and food concessionaires to rotate amongst the venues. The decision to change the Antelope Valley Fair dates to a week earlier was triggered by an announcement by the L.A. County Fair in Pomona to start their fair run on September5th of Labor Day weekend.

According to Board President McElroy, "We believe that starting our fair a week earlier will actually affect our fair in a positive way. Our fair is not only tradition, but one that's looked forward to with a great deal of anticipation. We will continue our efforts to provide the Antelope Valley with the same high level of entertainment and involvement our community has come to expect from their Fair."

General Manager Dan Jacobs, added, "The scheduling of fair dates, statewide, is something of a balancing act. Given our new dates, the Orange County Fair will precede us and the L.A. County Fair will follow us allowing for some very attractive routing for concessionaires, vendors and various entertainers. These changes will become more evident in the weeks to come."

The Antelope Valley Fair has marked milestones throughout its history. Although the fair's roots go back to 1895, the fair became an Agricultural Association under the Division of Fairs and Expositions, State of California, in 1941. At its core, the fair staged friendly competitions among local ranchers and farmers. It grew from a modest 4 day event, over a half century ago, to its current 11 days. From the early days of cow-milking and hay-loading, the modern fair now offers world-class concerts, carnival entertainment and modern exhibitions, but still attracts the faithful and curious with its signature "Rural Olympics". As the term 'rural' takes on a quaint meaning for those living in increasingly urbanized areas, the Antelope Valley Fair and Alfalfa Festival, as the event is known, showcases agricultural and wholesome family values to thousands of Valley residents each and every year.