Ventura County Fair : Fewer Fair-Goers in ‘94, but a Heap More Trash

Fewer people attended the Ventura County Fair over its 12-day run this month, but those who did left a bigger mountain of garbage than ever before.

Attendance dropped off almost 10% from last year, but the 247,823 visitors over the past two weeks deposited more than 400 tons of hotdog wrappers, empty beer cups and other debris.

Cleanup crews crushed 12 tons of the stuff daily, and carted away another 24 tons each night. Workers spent up to 18 hours a day keeping the fairgrounds clean, said Ron Murphy, the supervisor in charge of trash.

“I would say it’s up from last year,” Murphy said Monday, as work crews began to button up buildings and break down carnival rides. “We went through 20,000 trash bags for our 360 boxes. That’s a lot of trash.”

Nearly 250,000 visitors to the Ventura County Fair also gulped more than 65,000 cups of beer, gnawed on 350 pounds of jerky and chewed 15,000 ears of roasted sweet corn, vendors and fair officials said Monday.

Adding Sunday’s closing-day attendance, fair officials counted 26,380 fewer paid entries this year compared to last. But they are at a loss to explain the decline. “There isn’t a concrete reason,” fair spokeswoman Teri Raley said. “If I had a crystal ball, I’d use it.”

Nonetheless, fair officials are satisfied with the annual event, which had no major mishaps.

“It’s a shame there weren’t more people here,” Raley said. “But it was one of those things where everybody who was here had a really great time.”

Carnival workers spent Monday breaking down the 40 rides that only 24 hours earlier were whirling and twirling, to the amusement of the young and those with hearty stomachs.

“It was a nice two weeks, but it was kind of weak compared to the last few years,” said Steve Rouse, foreman of the 56-horse carousel. “It was pretty slow. We didn’t have too many people.”

Like other carnies, Steve Sualata of Oceanside travels from carnival to carnival nine months a year.

After breaking down a miniature 4-by-4 truck ride Monday, Sualata headed down the coast for the Malibu Kiwanis Chili Cook-Off, which also features carnival rides. Then, it’s off to Pomona for the Los Angeles County Fair.

“This is my second year, and it’s all right,” he said, storing what was left of the children’s ride on the back of a truck. “You get to meet a lot of different people.”

Unlike the carousel, Sualata said his ride was a money-maker for the Ventura County Fair.

“It was really busy this year,” said Sualata, who lived in a trailer on the fairgrounds over the past two weeks. “Kids get a kick out of it. They think they’re really driving.”

Mark Leavitt, a manager with the Arizona firm that operated the 40 carnival rides, said 85% of the equipment would be loaded onto 43 trucks and moved out by today.

“The Grand Wheel and the 1,001 Nights take a couple of days to tear down,” he said.

The lower-than-expected turnout apparently did not hurt his profits, Leavitt said.

“The ride gross was slightly up, but not much,” Leavitt said. “It seemed like they didn’t have the attendance they usually have.”

Outside the concession office Monday, about five vendors lined a park bench with stacks of paperwork and wads of dollar bills. Each was waiting to meet with one of the fair accountants who verify their receipts so the fair gets its 21%.

“Anybody on the grounds here is going to make out with a 10% profit,” said Barry Wittenberg, owner of Corn Roasters West, a Sonoma County-based vendor. “So when I sell an ear of corn for $2, I’m looking at 20 cents.”

James Bach, who with his brother owns the Pacific Coast Jerky Factory based in Ventura, said his stand at the Ventura County Fair did about $7,000 in business over the 12 days.

“Sure, we like to make money, but mostly we do it for the visibility,” said Bach, waiting in the seat next to Wittenberg. “We sell it for $20 a pound out here, so it’s a little less than it is in the store.”