Valley Fair Wraps Up 50th-Anniversary Year

Joshua Aceves, a student at North Hollywood High School, joined the Future Farmers of America last year after watching his older brother have all the fun.

“My brother was in it before me, so I used to go with him to fairs and stuff and it was pretty cool,” Joshua said.

On Sunday, the 16-year-old was one of thousands of participants on the last day of the San Fernando Valley Fair, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. Four of the lambs from his high school won ribbons in the livestock competition Saturday; two of them took Group One, a designation for best meat, and another pair took Group Two, which is for lambs with a bit more fat on them.

The fair, held at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, was “a bigger, badder fair than ever before,” said Jana Olson-Collins, a spokeswoman for the event.

It featured more vendors, crafts and displays than in previous years, and organizers say attendance at the four-day event surpassed last year’s 40,000. Final figures were not available Sunday.

Displays this year included homemade jams and jellies, livestock and an interactive NASA exhibit. “The children get to experience the present, past and future of the Valley,” said Dale Coons, manager of the fair.

To celebrate the golden anniversary, two new events were added.

The Festival of Choirs, which consisted of eight San Fernando Valley church choirs, proved so popular that it would probably be repeated next year, Coons said.

The Festival of the Horse, presented by George Chatigny, was an educational show that detailed the history of the animal and offered information about various breeds.

Coons believes the most important aspect of the fair was that it was “a wonderful opportunity for us to make a positive impact on our youth.”