Antelope Valley Fair Sets Attendance Record

This year’s Antelope Valley Fair and Alfalfa Festival in Lancaster set a record for paid attendance and had no serious crime or injury incidents, fair organizers said Tuesday.

The 51st annual festival, the top public gathering of the year in the Antelope Valley, drew 188,212 paid visitors for concerts, contests, a carnival and other activities during its Aug. 25 through Labor Day run, fair officials reported.

That figure is 13.3% higher than last year’s paid attendance of 166,092, the previous high, said fair spokeswoman Sheila Burnette.

Total attendance this year was 313,222, including those who received complimentary passes and others.

Only minor law enforcement problems surfaced during this year’s celebration at the fairgrounds. Burnette said the most serious incident was a fight between two teen-age girls that left one with a cut across her abdomen.

Fair organizers attributed the relative calm to the daily force of about 100 Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and security guards who patrolled the fairgrounds and surrounding areas.

Among the fair’s five nights of concerts, visitors showed their preference for country music but still failed to fill the arena’s nearly 9,500 seats. The Oak Ridge Boys drew the largest crowd, with 6,658 tickets sold, followed by pop performer Kenny Loggins with 5,639 tickets sold.

Fair officials said it will probably take until later this month to determine whether this year’s event made money.