Blog About It All

Disclosure: I am part of the California State Fair media program, in exchange for my time and efforts in attending shows and reporting my opinion within this blog, as well as keeping you advised of the latest discount offers, I am provided with complimentary tickets. Even though I receive these benefits, I always give an opinion that is 100% mine.

The California State Fair opens THIS Friday, July 17, 2026. The Fair will be open through Sunday, August 2, 2026! We love enjoying the California State Fair. The food, the exhibits, the animals its an annual tradition for our family. Something NEW this year is the hours, Monday through Thursday, the Fair will open at 4 PM through 11 PM, and then Friday through Sunday, the hours are 10 AM to 11 PM. I love sharing ways you can save and enjoy the Fair with your family. Be sure to follow me over on social media to see more of that. You can find me @BlogAboutItAll on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

You can save a little by purchasing your tickets in advance, so get them now. Advance tickets are $16, at the gate they are $18. Kids ages 4 and under are free, kids ages 5-12 are $10 in advance or $12 at the gate, and seniors are $12 and $14 at the gate.

You can find discounted tickets at your local SaveMart, and Costco also has a deal but I believe the Costco deal is only available before the fair opens.

If you love the rides you can save with a POP wristband they are $45 Monday through Thursday and $50 Friday-Sunday.

There are a ton of events and special days you can read more about that here. Some of our favorite days: The Viva El Mariachi Youth Competition, on the PG&E Center stage on Sunday, July 26th. Poppy's Birthday, celebrate Tuesday, July 28th 4:30-5:30 on the I Can go to College Promenade Stage. Military, Veterans and First Responders Appreciation Day will be Wednesday, July 29th, active duty, reserve and veteran personnel from all branches of the military as well as active members of law enforcement, firefighters and first responder units to enjoy FREE Fair admission. Active duty military spouses and dependents are also included in FREE admission on this special day.

If you love the concerts, you can read more about that here. All Toyota Concert Series on the Sky River Casino Stage shows are FREE with a California State Fair admission ticket. Fair-goers are welcome to line up at the back of the Main Stage venue starting at 5 pm for first-come, first-served seating in the FREE area behind the General Admission seating area. Please note that the free seating area is limited to the first 700 guests.

The State Fair does have a clear bag policy, must be clear on up to 12x12x12 size. Coolers are allowed but must be attached to a wagon. You can bring in food and water bottles, water bottles must be sealed, no glass, no metal water bottles, no Hydro Flasks. Parking is $15.

Here are some tips to help you enjoy your visit.

Freeze Water Bottles, make sure they are sealed.

Take a handheld fan, one of those mist ones is the best.

A great place to cool off is the Cooling Stations, they have shade, chairs, and large fans to help cool you off. Also the exhibit buildings. My kids could spend a long time in there exploring and enjoying the hands-on activities.

As always, I share a lot more in video form, check out our TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. I truly appreciate every one of you who reads my blog posts, and thank you for every like, comment, and share.

Wednesday, July 15, 2026
budget
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CA State Fair July 17-August 2, 2026

You can find discounted tickets at your local SaveMart, and Costco also has a deal but I believe the Costco deal is only available before the fair opens.

If you love the rides you can save with a POP wristband they are $45 Monday through Thursday and $50 Friday-Sunday.

Here are some tips to help you enjoy your visit.

Freeze Water Bottles, make sure they are sealed.

Take a handheld fan, one of those mist ones is the best.

Local Sacramento community this is a FREE Community Memorial Day Event, Monday, May 25, 2026.

When Sacramento County’s WWI veterans came home, their neighbors built them a building. Not a plaque. Not a statue. A 3,500-seat auditorium meant to be used.

That’s why Memorial Day at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium is different from most. The building isn’t a backdrop — it’s the memorial.

Join us Monday, May 25, 2026, from 10 a.m. to noon for a community gathering at 1515 J Street. Veterans, families, and neighbors — all welcome. Free and open to the public.

What to expect: a brief ceremony, light refreshments will be served, live music, and time to gather with the people who care about this place.

Date & Time

Monday, May 25, 2026 · 10 a.m. – noon

Location

Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
1515 J Street, Sacramento, CA

Admission

Free and open to the public

The auditorium has stood for nearly a century. The only way a memorial stays alive is if people keep showing up to it.

We hope you’ll be there.

— The Team at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium

Monday, May 18, 2026
california
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Sacramento Community Memorial Day Event

Local Sacramento community this is a FREE Community Memorial Day Event, Monday, May 25, 2026.

When Sacramento County’s WWI veterans came home, their neighbors built them a building. Not a plaque. Not a statue. A 3,500-seat auditorium meant to be used.

That’s why Memorial Day at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium is different from most. The building isn’t a backdrop — it’s the memorial.

Join us Monday, May 25, 2026, from 10 a.m. to noon for a community gathering at 1515 J Street. Veterans, families, and neighbors — all welcome. Free and open to the public.

What to expect: a brief ceremony, light refreshments will be served, live music, and time to gather with the people who care about this place.

Date & Time

Monday, May 25, 2026 · 10 a.m. – noon

Location

Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
1515 J Street, Sacramento, CA

Admission

Free and open to the public

The auditorium has stood for nearly a century. The only way a memorial stays alive is if people keep showing up to it.

We hope you’ll be there.

— The Team at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium

Disclosure: #Sponsored This post is a sponsored post in collaboration with Meta. While I attend sponsored events to share my experiences on my blog, all reviews and opinions expressed here are my own. #MetaPartner #InstagramScreenSmart

I was invited to attend the Meta Screen Smart Event here in Sacramento, and I learned so much. If you are a parent, have teens, or soon-to-be teens, you know that navigating social media and tech can be scary, challenging, and uncharted territory for many.

Thank you, Instagram Meta, for inviting me to your Screen Smart Event. I have four sons, three of them are teenagers. As a parent I know we all have concerns about who our teens are talking to online, the content they’re seeing, and whether their screen time is balanced.

I’m grateful Meta is making it easier for parents to manage and supervise their teens’ (ages 13+) experiences across Instagram, Meta Horizon, Facebook, and Messenger by consolidating the parental tools in Family Center. You can learn more about resources for you and your teen by visiting Meta’s Family Center at meta.me/screensmart.

Our sons are ages 18, 16, 14, and 10, in parenting I've learned that they are all different and unique; one may need more guidance and boundaries than another. Family conversations about the pros and cons of social media needs to be an ongoing conversation. As parents, we must be willing to adjust to each season that our child is in. 

At the Screen Smart event, they had a panel of speakers, Kira Wong O'Connor, who discussed Youth Safety Policies. Dr. Cara Natterson, Pediatrician, Best Selling Author, and Co-Host of the This is So Awkward podcast, and Kristin Hendrix the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for Trust and Safety, discussed Raising Screen Smart teens, and navigating today's digital world.

I loved and so appreciated Dr. Cara Natterson sharing about parenting. She shared that kids actually feel loved and safer with limits and guidance; they see it as an expression of love and care.  I also loved her recommendation to have open dialogue and encouraged us to ask open-ended questions to our kids, leading with curiosity and no judgment. She also encouraged us as parents to be the example and model the behavior we want our teens to have. I know I need to be better at setting my found down and having time limits even with social media being my job, my kids need to see me setting limits and boundaries too.

I'm sure you know and have seen countless stories of the impact of one's digital footprint. It is important to have that conversation with our kids; there is a long-term impact on what we post, share, comment, and even like on social media. 

I also loved the reminder that social media should enhance what we experience and see, not be the only thing we experience and see. It is important in this tech and social media world we live in to remind our teens that there is life off-line. This event was very informative and helpful, and as parents, I think it's important that we share with one another what has worked for us and what hasn't, with no judgment. Know each family is different, each child is different, what one requires another might not, but we can all learn from each other. I love learning tips from parents who have already raised their teens, and parents in the thick of it. We can all help each other.

Instagram knows parents want to feel confident that their teens can use social media to connect with their friends and explore their interests, without having to worry about unsafe or inappropriate experiences. To address parents’ concerns, Instagram introduced Teen Accounts in 2024, a protected experience for teens, ages 13+. Teens on Instagram are automatically placed in Teen Accounts, which have built-in limits on who can contact them and the content they see, and more ways to connect and explore their interests. I love that this takes place automatically and parents don't have to do anything.

Teen Account protections are designed to address parents’ biggest concerns, including who their teens are talking to online, the content they’re seeing, and whether their time is being well spent. These protections are turned on automatically, and parent permission is required if teens under 16 can change any of these settings to be less strict.

Last fall, Instagram announced that it’s revamping the Teen Account experience so that it now shows content that’s appropriate for ages 13+, inspired by movie rating criteria and parent feedback. This means that Instagram’s goal is for teens to see content on Instagram that’s similar to what they’d see in an age-appropriate movie by default. For parents who want even more control, Instagram offers an additional, even more stricter setting called Limited Content. If teens want to change their default setting to see 18+ content, they can work with a parent or guardian to do so. This is the most significant update to Teen Accounts yet, designed to ensure teens can have age-appropriate experiences while exploring their interests online.

Starting Tuesday, May 12, Meta is making it easier for parents to manage and supervise their teens’ experiences across Instagram, Meta Horizon, Facebook, and Messenger by consolidating the parental tools in Family Center. They are also giving parents new insights to better understand their teens’ algorithm on Instagram and the topics that shape it.

They are also giving parents in supervision new insights to better understand their teen’s algorithm on Instagram and the topics that shape it.

Parents will have broader visibility into those general interest categories their teen selected so they can stay informed and have meaningful conversations with their teen about the content they’re seeing.

I highly recommend you visit the Meta Family Center they have so many tools and resources. Learn more about resources for you & your teen by visiting Meta’s Family Center.

Tuesday, May 12, 2026
family
No comments

Meta Screen Smart

Thank you, Instagram Meta, for inviting me to your Screen Smart Event. I have four sons, three of them are teenagers. As a parent I know we all have concerns about who our teens are talking to online, the content they’re seeing, and whether their screen time is balanced.

I’m grateful Meta is making it easier for parents to manage and supervise their teens’ (ages 13+) experiences across Instagram, Meta Horizon, Facebook, and Messenger by consolidating the parental tools in Family Center. You can learn more about resources for you and your teen by visiting Meta’s Family Center at meta.me/screensmart.

Our sons are ages 18, 16, 14, and 10, in parenting I've learned that they are all different and unique; one may need more guidance and boundaries than another. Family conversations about the pros and cons of social media needs to be an ongoing conversation. As parents, we must be willing to adjust to each season that our child is in. 

At the Screen Smart event, they had a panel of speakers, Kira Wong O'Connor, who discussed Youth Safety Policies. Dr. Cara Natterson, Pediatrician, Best Selling Author, and Co-Host of the This is So Awkward podcast, and Kristin Hendrix the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for Trust and Safety, discussed Raising Screen Smart teens, and navigating today's digital world.

I loved and so appreciated Dr. Cara Natterson sharing about parenting. She shared that kids actually feel loved and safer with limits and guidance; they see it as an expression of love and care.  I also loved her recommendation to have open dialogue and encouraged us to ask open-ended questions to our kids, leading with curiosity and no judgment. She also encouraged us as parents to be the example and model the behavior we want our teens to have. I know I need to be better at setting my found down and having time limits even with social media being my job, my kids need to see me setting limits and boundaries too.

I'm sure you know and have seen countless stories of the impact of one's digital footprint. It is important to have that conversation with our kids; there is a long-term impact on what we post, share, comment, and even like on social media. 

I also loved the reminder that social media should enhance what we experience and see, not be the only thing we experience and see. It is important in this tech and social media world we live in to remind our teens that there is life off-line. This event was very informative and helpful, and as parents, I think it's important that we share with one another what has worked for us and what hasn't, with no judgment. Know each family is different, each child is different, what one requires another might not, but we can all learn from each other. I love learning tips from parents who have already raised their teens, and parents in the thick of it. We can all help each other.

They are also giving parents in supervision new insights to better understand their teen’s algorithm on Instagram and the topics that shape it.

I highly recommend you visit the Meta Family Center they have so many tools and resources. Learn more about resources for you & your teen by visiting Meta’s Family Center.