‘Fairest of Them All’ County Fair Begins Run Today

For 65 years it has been the Los Angeles County Fair.

But with the “World of Pigmania” as one of its most popular attractions, it’s clear that the annual 18-day event that opens today has more roots in Pomona than in Hollywood.

And that may be what makes it one of the largest and most successful fairs in North America.

Before the gates close on Oct. 4, thousands of fair-goers will have taken in hog-calling contests, the diaper derby and melon- and squash-carving competition. If good weather prevails, these and several thousand other events, exhibits and competitions could attract upwards of 1.5 million Southern Californians to the fairgrounds in Pomona, fair officials estimate.

“It could be a record,” said Sid Robinson, spokesman for the fair.

This year’s theme, “The Fairest of Them All,” is symbolized by a smiling, pink pig admiring itself in a hand-held mirror. The porcine design is being plastered on cups, T-shirts and buttons from the new Frontier Town to the rejuvenated Indian village.

Pigs are big at the fair. Pigmania, an educational exhibit on “swine and its various uses,” was such a hit at its introduction to the fair last year that organizers have brought it back and added the “World of Dairy,” a working sheepherders’ camp and a buffalo pen.

The “Happy Time Circus,” got the hook after a five-year run, but pig racing, the New Zealand Agrodome sheep show and Ankole Watusi cattle--with their horns that span 15-feet--will return after successful introduction last year.

Animals Are Most Popular

“According to our research, the most popular attractions are the animals,” said Robinson. “It’s the things that are traditional at county fairs . . . the things that--being in Southern California--you don’t see on a daily basis” that draw people to the fairgrounds.

It’s things like Joker the trick mule, the sheep-shearing contest and the Jerseymaid mooing competition.

“It’s not just a freak show, but a unique experience,” that makes the Los Angeles County Fair the seventh-largest fair in North America, and the largest county fair, said Robinson.

The fair, held on a 487-acre site with more then 1.5 million square feet of exhibit space, isn’t limited to glorifying denizens of the barnyard and small-town humor.

More than 1,500 commercial exhibitors hawking everything from hot tubs and car phones to things that slice and dice, have been setting up shop for the last three weeks. Exhibit space is sold out, Robinson said, and a waiting list already exists for next year.

12 Races Daily

Horse racing at the Fairplex Park, which operates as part of the fair, could top last year’s average daily wagering of $2.5 million, which makes it the 13th largest pari-mutuel wagering park in the nation. It features 12 thoroughbred, Appaloosa and quarter horse races daily, with first post at 12:30 p.m.

And entertainment goes beyond the advertised “chorus line of trained sheep” at the Agricultural Pavilion.

There are rock concerts, a high-dive act and, on closing day, “Monster Truck Madness”-- which features “huge trucks in a car crushing exhibition.” The 12-acre carnival grounds include a 120-foot-high Ferris wheel and a new Wild River log ride among its 85 attractions.

For the 18-day run, the fair becomes “like a little city,” said Robinson. The fairgrounds have their own post office and postmark, a First Interstate Bank branch, and police and fire stations. There are also 250 food and beverage stands.

The fair has been held in Pomona since 1922, when it was founded as a spinoff of a commercial and industrial show held at a Southern Pacific railroad siding. It has surpassed the 1 million attendance mark in 38 of the last 39 years with a record 1.4 million admissions in 1985.

Same Admission Price

Admission prices this year are the same as last year: $6.50 for adults, $3.50 for children ages 6 through 12. Senior citizens over 62 can gain admission Monday through Friday for $5.50. Parking is $2; $4 for preferred parking and $7 for valet assistance.

The price of admission includes virtually all attractions, shows and exhibits and entrance to the race track. There are extra charges for the monster truck show, the monorail and carnival rides and box seats at the races.

The fair opens at 10 a.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Buildings close nightly at 10 p.m., except Fridays and Saturdays when closing is at 11 p.m.