A Fair Mix of Old and New

From computer chips to cow chips, new merges with old at this year’s Ventura County Fair.

Opening Wednesday at Seaside Park, the fair will have all the perennial favorites--from thrill rides to cotton candy--but organizers have also planned some new events and exhibits.

“People will be startled,”’ said fair publicist Teri Raley. “When you’ve been to the fair every year and know where the fish tacos and cinnamon rolls are, and generally expect to know what you’ll see, it’s nice to be able to go in and say, ‘Wow.’ ”

The biggest changes will be in the exhibit halls. Some, like the youth and floriculture exhibits, have been overhauled.

“We told them to throw out the book and re-create their departments,” Raley said. “It’s going to be sensational.”

The new Youth Expo will feature a state-of-the-art Internet technology center, with World Wide Web sites displayed on two 60-inch monitors. There will also be a hair-raising static-electricity experience and demonstrations by Hollywood makeup artists sharing some of the tricks of their trade.

The floriculture hall has been redesigned to offer a panoramic view of the 35,000 square feet of landscaping in the building. The gardens will change throughout the fair’s two-week run: roses and arrangements to start, followed by cactuses, bonsai and tropicals. Later, the dahlias move in along with more potted plants and cut flowers.

The agriculture and natural resources exhibit will present the Beagle Brigade: a pack of dogs trained to sniff out produce pests, including the dreaded medfly.

Creative Living will offer six cooking contests, ranging from best meal prepared under 20 minutes for less than $10 to tastiest vegetarian entree.

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Even the popular horse shows have been jazzed up, featuring the equine equivalent of a beauty pageant in which horses from around the world will be trotted around by handlers dressed in costume from the breed’s country of origin.

And as usual, the fair also embraces the offbeat. The hobbies exhibit will include varied collections, ranging from Pez candy dispensers to Civil War shell casings.

“It’s amazing what people will collect,” Raley said. “If you can think of it, there is probably an exhibit at the fair.”

More than 6,000 entries were submitted this year, which creates intense activity in the days leading up to the fair as organizers set up displays.

“All of sudden you have to figure out where to put 800 afghans,” Raley said.

But the fair is more than rides and exhibits. Musical entertainment will include Neil Sedaka, the Village People and Raymond Michael, a Graceland-authorized Elvis impersonator. Rodeos and motor sports, such as demolition derby and dwarf car racing, also are scheduled.

CBS producers from Bill Cosby’s “Kids Say the Darndest Things” will interview and tape children at the fair for possible appearances on the TV show. Tryouts will be Aug. 7-9 and Aug. 14-16 near the Youth Expo exhibit.

Fireworks will also be featured every night at 9:30. For the best view, Michael Paluszak, general manager of the fair, suggests taking a ride on the giant Ferris wheel during the show.

Paluszak said more people will get to watch the displays this year, with Metrolink offering a final 10 p.m. train departing for Oxnard, Moorpark, Simi Valley and Chatsworth. Last year, more than 10,000 fair-goers used Metrolink, which stops in front of Seaside Park.

Paluszak also said moving the fair date up a week helped exhibitors. Last year, with some schools starting classes earlier, a group of junior livestock show exhibitors were scheduled to return to school before the fair ended in late August.

“Kids can’t be missing school,” Raley said. “And exhibitions are such a fundamental element of the fair.”

The change was also made to accommodate exhibitors who wanted to compete in the Cal Expo state fair, which often overlapped with Ventura’s event, Raley said. Winners of Ventura’s best-of-show categories will no longer have to wait until the following year to compete statewide.

“It makes a difference if you’re exhibiting livestock or perishable goods,” Raley said. “Waiting a year doesn’t matter if it’s a quilt, but a pig might not last that long.”

Despite recent heat waves, Ventura fair-goers can expect temperatures in the mid-70s the first week, said meteorologist Kevin Stenson of WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times.

“Considering the fair is right on the beach, you can expect low clouds and fog in the early morning, with sunny afternoons,” Stenson said. “And the temperature is usually cooler than farther inland.”

Raley said the weather will probably help attendance at the fair, which reached 270,000 last year.

“I hope it stays nice and warm [elsewhere], since we’re the coolest spot in the area,” Raley said.

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Despite beach-goers from the San Fernando Valley and elsewhere in Los Angeles heading to Ventura’s coast in recent weekends, Raley expects most of the fair-goers to be from Ventura County. Last year, 93% of the attendees were from the county, she said.

Organizers do not advertise much outside Ventura County, since the venue is not big enough to accommodate crowds from all over Southern California. The grandstand arena, where live bands perform, holds only 10,000 people and the rodeos and car-racing shows have room for just 4,500.

“We could draw the people in, but if everyone came, it would be too crowded to have any fun,” Raley said.

The fair will aim to keep an old-time feel while celebrating new technology.

The Web site for fair-goers who want to get a taste from home is https://www.seasidepark.org.

Meanwhile, there’s the old-fashioned cow-chip tossing contest. But even that has something new: This year, the event has added a division for accuracy.

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Special Events

Grandstand

Wed. 7 p.m.: Dwarf car racing and demolition derby.

Thu. 7 p.m.: Midget racing and demolition derby.

Fri. 7:30 p.m.: Tracy Byrd with guest star Gil Grand

Sat. 7:30 p.m.: Neil Sedaka

Sun. Aug. 9, 3 p.m.: Fiesta concert with Los Huracanes del Norte and Banda Los Recoditos

Mon. Aug. 10, 7:30 p.m.: the Doobie Brothers.

Tue. Aug. 11, 1 p.m.: The Harry James Orchestra and The Ink Spots

Tue. Aug. 11, 7:30 p.m.: Next

Wed. Aug. 12, 7:30 p.m.: Village People

Thu. Aug. 13, 7:30 p.m.: Sawyer Brown

Fri. Aug. 14, 7 p.m.: Rodeo

Sat. Aug. 15, 2 and 7 p.m.: Rodeo

Sun. Aug. 16, 2 and 7 p.m.: Rodeo with special “Salute to Mexico”

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The Star Stage

Wed. Aug 5, 7 and 9 p.m.: Lila McCann

Thu. Aug. 6, 7 and 9 p.m.: Pablo Cruise

Sat. Aug. 8, 6 p.m.: Gospel Music Night

Sun. Aug. 9, 7 and 9 p.m.: Susie Luchsinger

Tue. Aug. 11, 7 and 9 p.m.: Raymond Michael as Elvis

Fri. Aug. 14, 7 and 9 p.m.: Ty Herndon

Sat. Aug. 15, 7 and 9 p.m.: Bill HaleyIs Comets with Al Rappa

Sun. Aug. 16, 7 and 9 p.m.: Johnny couterfit