Fairs have been big fun for more than 400 years and California's 145th State Fair promises to be bigger and better than ever. It's a celebration of the state's largest industry, agriculture. For 18 days beginning August 21st city folk are brought back to the country. One of last year's most popular events, the pig races, will take front and center stage. You can see the piggies run right near the entrance to Cal Expo. There's no missing them and you don't want to! Speaking of animals, the livestock nursery is another major draw at the fair. "There are veterinarians on hand 24 hours a day here. Every day of the fair a calf or some other animal is born," said Michael Bradley, California State Fair Assistant General Manager. Bradley added that officials hope to acquire a cloned animal this year. Don't forget to check out the working farm, complete with a cornhusking competition. The farm was created in 1983 to bring fair goers back to the original agricultural purpose of the fair. It has grown to become one of the most popular exhibits. Eighty percent of the fair's visitors stop by to see how crops are grown. The first state fair was held in San Francisco 145 years ago. Now more than 800,000 people are expected to attend the 1998 State Fair August 21 to September 7. Be sure to stop by the California Heartland booth and meet George Reading, Pat McConahay and the rest of the staff. For more information on State Fair events tap into the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Web site at www.cdfa.ca.gov/events. See you at the fair! If you have questions or comments about this story, E-mail Producer/Reporter Pat McConahay at pmcconah@kvie.org.