Nation's Largest 1-Day Street Fair Returns to Carlsbad

By Kelsey Aijala

The Carlsbad Street Fair, the largest one day street fair in the entire nation, returned to Carlsbad once again on Nov. 3rd from 8 AM to 5 PM.  

Since 1974, the street fair has been providing Carlsbad citizens and tourists alike with family fun and great products from the over 900 vendors that showcase their products and services. “The fair got started because a lot of the service clubs in the community wanted to have something that was centralized so they decided to have this kind of a fair 39 years ago and we jumped in on the first year,” Kevin Edwards of the Kiwanis Club said. The Kiwanis Club, which works with local Boy Scout troops to fuel hungry fair attendees with an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast each year, provides service to many organizations that benefit local youth with the $10,000 they raise each year. Whether it’s because of the good cause or delicious pancakes, the Kiwanis Club’s booth has been one of the most popular of the fair for years. “This has been our location since the beginning. It’s the prime location there’s no better place to be in the fair. We’ve got a lot of regulars who looks for us here every time the fair’s in town,” Edwards said. 

In addition to the Kiwanis club, the Rotary club and other service organizations that work with Carlsbad High School clubs are veterans of the fair, which attract many fairgoers and give back to the community at the same time.

The fair isn’t just for established organizations and businesses though, as many up and coming entrepreneurs showcase their products at the fair. “We wanted to do something that was family fun and that could be done outside just like the fair is so we came up with this idea and this is our third time showcasing it here,” vendor for Tarts on Fire Nic Izatt said.The fair is not only a great place to pick up interesting nicknacks, helpful products and get a head start on holiday shopping, it also is a way to get a taste of the local cuisine and see the work of Carlsbad artists. 

“I’ve always been doing street fairs and festivals but Carlsbad is the best. It’s the biggest one day street festival in the United States, it’s definitely one of those events that you want to be a part of if you’re a vendor,” local artist and vendor Gregg Visintainer said. “People come from all over the United States just for this fair so having my business and this same spot every year has helped out a lot.” 

No matter if you were young or old, a lifelong Carlsbadian or a just visiting this great town, a hardcore fairgoer or just taking the dog for a stroll with your family, the Carlsbad Street Fair proved to have something for everybody and was a huge success that will have people coming back for years to come.“We come here every year to get out and see all of the local vendors and new products. You find some really interesting stuff here and it’s a lot of fun to walk around with the family,” Elena Aijala said.