Country Faire

On September 19 and 20, 2026, the grass around the Dry Creek Ranch House in Rio Linda was staked into numbered spaces, 1 through 150, with ten more lettered F for the food trucks. The house stands at 6852 Dry Creek Road, about half a mile north of Elkhorn Boulevard. Its ground is bounded by the road on the west and the north fork of Dry Creek on the north, with leased farmland of Sacramento County’s Dry Creek Parkway on the other two sides. The place serves as the grounds of the Rio Linda Elverta Historical Society, and that weekend it held the 13th annual Rio Linda Elverta Country Faire. The faire ran from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days, and breakfast was served from 7 to 11.

The organizers’ mission is one sentence: “The RLE Country Faire showcases the Rio Linda Elverta community for the benefit and education of the general public.” The Rio Linda News called the 2026 edition a free event. The faire’s listing on Sacramento365 gives admission and parking as free, with charges only for the pancake breakfast, the spaghetti dinner, the food trucks and the vendors.

Numbered spaces on the ranch grass

The 2026 vendor list put crafters beside the town’s institutions. The Knotty Hooker, Renewal Soaps, JT Carvings, Unicorn Crochet Designs, Sammys Dog Treats and Artesania Mexicana shared rows with the Rio Linda Food Closet, the Rio Linda Lions Club, Calvary Lutheran Church, the Bible Quizzers, the Rio Linda Quilt Trail and the Rio Linda Elverta Recreation and Park District. The Historical Society had a double space beside one for Sacramento County Regional Parks. A first responders section listed Twin Rivers, Sac Metro, the Sacramento sheriffs and the Highway Patrol. Space 148 was the information booth, and 149 held the raffle bikes. The trucks were Softy Star, San Tacos, Suck it Up, Cowtown Creamery, Fry Boys, River City Snowie, Forney Bros Kettle Corn, La Preferida Mexican and Lemony Lemonade, with the Rio Pub in the tenth space.

The sources give different counts. Cheryl Cook, the vendor coordinator, told vendors there were “over 150.” A July preview in The Rio Linda News promised more than 130 vendor booths. Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez’s announcement said more than 100. Rio Linda Online counted more than 160 vendors, food providers, exhibits and attractions taken together.

The site map shows the rest. The Fun Zone held bounce houses, face painters, games, a toddler area, a rock climbing wall, a Lava Slide and obstacle courses. The map also marks an entertainment tent and stage, horseshoe pits, hay rides, a fire truck marked #7, a train, a 4-H spot, a fire pit, a kids’ ID station, and an area labeled “Pirates.” The house itself was open for guided tours on Saturday. On other days the county offers tours on a limited basis, while work goes on to preserve the property’s historic character and make it more accessible and educational.

Zucchini racers and a rooster

The Rio Linda Grange brought its zucchini races to the faire for 2026. Entrants turn zucchinis into small wheeled racers and send them down a track. “Design your zucchini racer, cheer it on and see whose creation speeds to the finish line!” Supervisor Rodriguez wrote before the weekend. According to Roy A. Hickey, a girl named Addie took first place in the youth competition and was named zucchini-race champion, and a boy named Ethan placed second in the watermelon-eating contest. Shana Paz reported an “amazing turnout” for that contest. B Joyce Gates said her grandchildren “had a blast” and picked the zucchini races as their favorite part of the faire.

The chicken races ran beside a pen with bleachers, a water tower and a rooster. Tonya Haddix, president of the Rio Linda Lions Club, called the scene “classic.” Farm animals were penned on the grounds, and a tractor ride took children around. Katie Lynn said her niece liked the tractor ride best, and that she had not expected the attractions to be free.

Jars, quilts and sourdough under the showcase tent

Rio Linda Grange #403 sponsors the Community Showcase, including its awards and trophies. In 2026 the showcase moved into a new outdoor tent at the ranch house and was open for viewing Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Entries come from residents of Sacramento, Placer, Yuba and Sutter counties and must have been made since September 20, 2025.

The classes run from acrylic and watercolor painting to “Art Night” paint-and-sip canvases, macro photography, string art, whittling, latch hook, hand-spun fiber and machine-quilted bedcovers. Junior writers answer the prompt “My superpower is…”. Bakers enter quick breads, Wacky Cake and “Tricks with a Mix.” Sourdough classes and a sugar-free candy class were new for 2026. Jams, pickles, olives and jerky are judged against the Ball Blue Book and USDA guidelines. Entries are ranked under the American System, Best in Show carries a $25 cash award, and the Barbara Florian Award goes each year to the “high point exhibitor.” Ribbons and awards were handed out Saturday between 3 and 4 p.m.

From the 2012 centennial to a $2,011.45 profit

The faire grew out of Rio Linda’s centennial year. The Carmichael Times wrote in 2023 that the Rio Linda Elverta Historical Society hosted a community-wide celebration in 2012. Over 1,500 people came and asked for it to become a regular thing, and by that account the faire “was born in October 2013.”

The planning committee’s own final report, published by Rio Linda Online on December 31, 2013, gives a different date and more detail. It says a group of citizens coordinated the 2012 centennial and then, with encouragement from the community, launched a follow-up event. In late May 2013 the boards of the Rio Linda Elverta Recreation and Park District and the Foundation for the Future approved sponsorship. The district let the group use the Community Center, Community Park, Depot Park and the Depot building for a $400 rental fee. The Foundation let the faire run as a program under its 501(c)(3).

The first official planning meeting came on June 4, 2013, leaving just over three months before the event. A core group of “Area Coordinators” took on the work. Meetings ran every two weeks and then weekly from late August. Audrey Grissom took the notes, which went to Wayne Lowery, the district administrator. Univision covered a Peace Garden dedication at the faire, and Neda Iranpour of KOVR opened the day with a live morning cast on Good Day Sacramento beside a Longhorn steer.

The faire was held Saturday, September 14, 2013, and “by all accounts,” the report says, it was “a smashing success.” It cleared $2,011.45 for the Foundation. On December 17 the Foundation voted unanimously to set aside $1,000 in start-up costs for 2014. The report was signed by Mike Grandinetti, facilitator. Introducing it, John Todd of Rio Linda Online wrote that the event “recalls the carnivals we had in the mid-80’s.”

A decade on Front Street

For its first dozen years the faire filled Depot Park, at 6730 Front Street in downtown Rio Linda. The 10th annual faire, on September 16, 2023, lined more than 60 vendors along Front Street and put food trucks such as Bacon Mania, Happy Cow and Richeese Burgers on 7th Street, which was called Food Truck Alley. Pig races started at 10, with a “Catch a Greased Pig” contest between heats, and the watermelon contest was held at the Klip Joint. A shot from a pirate cannon opened the Fun Zone at 11. There was a chainsaw carving exhibit, and the Lions Club parked its Vision Van for free eye appointments. A $5 pancake breakfast benefited the Rio Linda Future Farmers of America, and Girl Scout Troop 1565 served a spaghetti dinner. A barn dance ran from 6 to 9 that evening, with a beer garden at the Rio Pub and a movie for children at the Community Center.

The Carmichael Times put attendance that year at well over 5,000 and the cost at around $40,000. The volunteer committee raised the money through the year, including from its own fireworks booth. “This is the premier event in Rio Linda,” said Charlea Moore, the faire’s CEO.

In 2025 the 12th faire stretched to two days for the first time, September 20 and 21. More than 150 vendors filled the park lawn and the district parking lot. Rogues of the Golden Coast, dressed as pirates, fired black powder cannons. The Lions Club gave more than 20 eye exams. Across the street, Hal Morris of the Restoration Crew talked with visitors inside the historic Rio Linda Fire Station, where Avi Chand and Jacob Lanchinebre sat in an old fire engine. Shirley Breckenridge, vice president of the faire’s board, put the cost at $40,000 to $50,000. “People bring their dogs and they bring their llamas and they bring their goats,” she said. “You never know what you’re going to see walking down the aisle.”

Then came the move to Dry Creek Road. Because the faire could no longer be seen from M Street, there had been some uncertainty about whether visitors would find it. Early estimates put the crowd on the first Saturday at more than 8,000. The sky was clear and the temperature reached about 90 degrees, and as the afternoon went on, shade under the ranch trees became scarce. “We got there at 10:30, and I couldn’t believe how many cars were in the parking area,” Katie Lynn wrote. Carmen Argau’s comment was shorter: “Great event. I go every year.”