San Mateo County Event Center - San Mateo, California

Cali Living

I went to the event center for the gem show. I was surprised that the parking ticket of $15 ( when using credit card and $20 if paying by cash) did not include the cost of entry to the event. The entry ticket when buying at the event is $8 and they take only cash.
There was plenty of parking closer to the event center.
The gem show was very good with vendors display well organized and easy for attendees to walk through and view.

Terri Markey

I went to San Mateo Fair yesterday for senior day with free admission. That was fine, but parking is $20 if paying cash, and $15.00 for credit card. So I used a debit card. The turnout of people was more than usual. Lots of disabled people from nursing homes and also lots of children! Think they got in free?
What really surprised me is how things have moved around, and the horticulture exhibits were so minimal, I was very unimpressed. Normally it takes up half of a hall, but it was in one tiny segment of a bldg. Not at all resembling bygone years.
Totally disappointing! The hall for children had a Toy exhibit that took up most of one building. Looked fine and offered lots for kids. I checked out the photography exhibits, and culinary ones also. That was quite interesting. But when it comes to food and drinks, BEWARE! First thing outside the entrance they will not allow ANY water in Any type of bottle, you must dump it. I had to buy a bottle of Aqua Fina, for $4.00. Then later in afternoon I was near the community stage and wanted more water so went into the bldg adjacent where they always had beer, wine, water, and food. The door was open, but nothing was inside anymore!
I had to go back to the food court and pay another $4.00 to a vendor. My friend and I were shocked at the high prices of food.
We ended up choosing the Greek Gyro sandwich, and she added a salad, (very tiny) mine was $17.00, hers $20.00. All the food vendors were very similar in price. Even the barbecue offering a cheeseburger, 1/3lb., was $16.00. I decided after seeing it, that it looked worth about $3.00. Late afternoon we opted to go to the ice crem vendor which offers everything in ice cream, and had a waffle cone sundae that only cost $11.00. Terrific, as usual! I think that was Mrs. J's, Ice Cream in the food court.
I had looked for the vendor selling deep fried zucchini and onion rings, and stuffed baked potatoes, but again, the vendor wasn't there, like last year. Disappointing.
For senior day I had expected some big band swing, but there was only Hawaiian dancers, (all seniors).
In one building there is a butterfly room, and due to my phobia I could not make myself go into it, but my friend did. Before you enter, you are given a cotton swab, to hold at arms length and the butterflies will land on it, as they did for my friend. Mostly monarch. You are told not to touch any of them even if they land on you, which they will. She enjoyed it.
I enjoyed seeing the butterfly stilt walker, I encountered and took photo with.
We went in all areas of the fair, but somehow it just seemed different than previous years, and didn't inspire me that much.
When you can't afford to eat, it's maybe a sign not to go anymore? We did enjoy looking at the hundreds of beautiful handmade quilts, some exquisite. My friend also enjoyed so much of the crochet work, not your ordinary crocheting either.
We went through the farm building and petted many friendly goats. Seeing lots of other smaller animals in small cages, isn't exactly a good feeling, but we did see a rabbit that looked like a Yorkshire terrier, as the breed is called a Lion Head. Tiny ears, and long mane over it's head. Very unusual. All the rabbits are good to see.
If you're taking kids to the fair, be ready to spend a days salary on feeding them. The 4H girls weren't there, selling their cakes like they always did. Only costing $3-$4.00 slice. Food cannot be brought into the fair, they want you to buy it instead.
We didn't spend time or money buying from market vendors, whose prices also went up. Three bags of 6.oz candy for $20.00.
If you have to take food and put it in an ice chest in your car, you can go out if you get your hand stamped and can re-enter.
This year's theme is aimed for children more than usual. Lots of unusual things, and old toys exhibited, from back in the 1950's,60's,70's, and we saw PAC Man machines, a real trip down memory lane, also for those of us that can remember Mr.Potatoe Head?

Jem Le

Came here for the Foodie Land Night Market event. This event required advance admission ticket purchasing ($5-$7) and they also charge $15 to park in the event center's parking lot. The line to enter the lot was Looong during the day and if you don't mind a 5 minute walk, you can opt to park on the street near the park or the residential area. Even though I purchased the first session of the day but the crowd was huge and the wait for the popular food trucks were long and there were no shade. So while my food was grilling I was baking into a little brownie as well. Wish there were pinic tables/umbrellas in the lawn area for seating.

KC Leung

It's a convenient Event Center close to highways 101 and 92 freeways intersection and 10 min from SFO airport.Lots of parking for attending events,I have been to county fairs and expos at this location.

Paweł Głowacki

Quite a sizeable venue that can host a few thousand people. I came here for Makerfaire 2019 and certainly had some fun while there. For the faire, there was a lot of space to be inside and outside. Overall I enjoyed it there as the venue served its function as required.

Jason Magno

I have gone to San Mateo county event center a few times already and it's been amazing. Place is clean for all the events I've attended. Yeah binds are consistently changed out. Very spacious. Plenty of places to sit with shade. There was plenty of parking on-site and off site. They blocked off certain nearby streets for easy access to the event center. They have an awesome staging outdoor area for performances. Definitely would come here for the next event.

Curtis Shimamoto

Attended the Makers Faire again this year, and San Mateo is the original and flagship Makers Faire to this day. It is quite a lot of space that the event covers, and while years ago it seemed like they would never come close to needing the entire expanse, it has started to seem a possibility as the years progressed. Huge faire, with an insanely diverse range of various parts of the Maker Movement.

I took some family and friends who had never been, and was constantly bombarded with questions about what the Makers Faire is actually about. These continued up to the day of the event despite my explanation that it wasn't what they probably expect and the diversity makes it impossible to summarize efficiently. Once we got there, and walked around for a couple minutes those questions instantly ceased. Their sudden and overwhelmingly clear comprehension of my explanatory struggles was plainly obvious, but overshadowed by the sense of wonder that is inevitably evoked by such a huge range of creative, hands on projects in the endless rows of booths.

I have no idea what this venue looks like for any other events throughout the year, so I cannot comment there. But it is so spectacular for this glorious annual gathering of the Maker Community, albeit a bit short on available parking within the immediate vicinity. We parked a few blocks away and simply hailed an Uber to take us that last mile. Ultimately this was far more preferable to having to deal with the backed up traffic immediately adjacent to the grounds.

The event organizers did an excellent job designating an area for Uber, Lyft, or any other drop-off or roadside pickup service. They kept it close enough to not be a hassle to use the area, while ensuring the bit of roadway was only having event traffic directed along there if providing such services. So the traffic around the ride share service area was not bad at all, not having to battle with the rest of those folks driving 5 MPH looking for the $50 parking!

I'll absolutely be attending again soon! If not next year, then I'll certainly be sure to plan attending within three years or so. If you or someone you love is at all technically inclined, or even if just the type who is great at skills that are particularly hands-on, I urge you to check out this event. You will not be disappointed! (But purchase your tickets prior to approaching the entrance gate, or expect to pay significantly more for passes.)

Alessio Sangalli

This event center supports a number of fairs like the Makerfaire and the Minefaire. It's not a bad structure but parking is extremely expensive: look for street parking off E25th, you have to walk down a bit to find the area that is not limited to two hours. The structure itself is OK, even if bathrooms belong more to a third world country than the most high tech place on Earth.