Bad Weather Blamed for Carnival’s Low Turnout

As the Conejo Valley Days carnival moved into its second day, organizers said first-night attendance figures were significantly lower than last year, but the blue skies that arrived Thursday could signal a rebound for the weekend.

Figures from Wednesday, the first night of the annual event, showed that 2,067 people attended the carnival, contrasted with 3,408 the first night of the event last year. Total receipts for the first night dropped from about $19,000 last year to $12,000 Wednesday.

“Obviously, we’re concerned about the figures, but honestly, it was like a winter carnival out there (Wednesday) night,” said Gary Heathcote, chairman of the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce, which puts on the event.

An increase in admission prices this year may also have contributed to the attendance drop, organizers said. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and students, $2 for children ages 7 to 12 and free for children under 6. The carnival continues through Sunday.

On Thursday, warmer weather had organizers in high spirits as carnival rides began to fill up and a line formed at the entrance to Conejo Creek Park at the Moorpark Freeway and Janss Road.

“We’re very excited about the way things are going tonight,” said Jennifer Cummings, spokeswoman for the annual country-Western festival.

National Weather Service forecasters said Thursday that a storm system they expected to pass over Thousand Oaks late Saturday had changed direction. The new weekend forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and daytime highs between 65 and 70, they said.

Although the park was by no means packed Thursday, Conejo Valley Days officials said improved forecasts for the weekend could spare them a repeat of 1992, when the event lost money and forced organizers to ask the city of Thousand Oaks for a loan to pay their debts.

“We’re counting on this weekend to bring in the crowds,” Heathcote said.

For most in attendance Thursday, the focus was not on attendance figures and sales receipts, but on having a good time.

In the children’s tent, which is new to Conejo Valley Days, several children crowded around a table display of live reptiles.

Ten-year-old Chris Key carefully wrapped a boa constrictor around his neck, while four other children struggled to hold up a 50-pound Burmese python.

“It feels just like rubber,” Chris said as he caressed the slippery creature. “He’s real friendly.”

Other kids strolled along a row of educational displays, ranging from a firefighters booth to a “conservation corner,” where children learn about recycling and the environment.

Just outside the tent, parents lifted their children onto ponies and walked them through a tiny zoo where they could pet goats, lambs, pigs and assorted other four-legged creatures.

TODAY’S EVENTS

10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Special Children’s Day (invitation-only event for handicapped children)

5 p.m. to midnight: Carnival

5 to 10 p.m.: Bingo

6 to 11 p.m.: Junior Rodeo