It’s Down to the Wire as Crews Work Out Final Details for Fair
Standing 110 feet high, it was definitely a big wheel, but not the traditional Ferris variety--yet.
Early on the day before the opening of the Ventura County Fair, the seats had yet to be hung.
But everything was falling into place Tuesday as hundreds worked in a last-minute push--at tasks ranging from painting signs to assembling rides--to prepare for the 17,000 people expected for today’s 11 a.m. opening.
“Right about now is when we wonder if we’re going to make it, but we always do,” said fair General Manager Michael Paluszak. “It’s down to the wire. Time to get it done, get it up, get it clean and get it ready.”
Paluszak spent the day roaming the Seaside Park fairgrounds, barking commands while nervously puffing on cigarettes.
He wasn’t concerned about chairs on the Ferris wheel--that’s the obvious stuff. He was busy worrying about details like the flowers near the Children’s Dell being too far apart.
“The big chunks have to fit, but I’m also a detail guy,” Paluszak said. “I’m into
fine-tuning.”
So is Ron Murphy, the fair’s maintenance manager, who oversees 140 employees charged with everything from landscaping to trash collection.
As Miguel Valdia finished installing footlights under a patch of freshly laid sod in front of the main gate, Murphy pointed out they were off-center. He made Valdia tear up the grass and start over.
“I know it’s important to look nice,” Valdia said, repositioning the lights. “But I hope the people appreciate what we’re doing, and like it.”
Murphy said it was important to pay attention to the nuances, even at such a late hour.
“We want things to be as perfect as possible and not look like something we just threw together,” he said. “We’re putting the time and effort into making the fair look the way it should.”
Despite the long hours and demanding precision, Murphy said his crew was not complaining.
“The maintenance people put in a lot of work, but this is what we live for,” he said. “When the fair opens, we get to show off what we can actually do.”
While most of the Los Angeles area swelters through another heat wave and temperatures in the Simi and San Fernando valleys hit triple digits, the weather for Ventura should be quite different.
Afternoon highs will be in the low to mid-70s, according to forecasters. Patchy, dense fog in the morning will burn off to mostly sunny skies by the fair’s opening.
Because the fairgrounds are literally next to the beach, Southern California’s summer heat waves are usually not felt there, said meteorologist Scott Breit of WeatherData Inc., a private forecasting service.
“That sea breeze provides some natural air conditioning,” Breit said. “You’re going to have some really nice weather.”
Fair publicist Teri Raley said she hopes the mild weather will lure overheated people from other areas of the county.
The highest opening day attendance was 17,800 in 1996, and Raley expects today’s crowd to be about as big. Last year, 16,934 visited the fair on the first day, she said.
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The bustle extended outside the fairgrounds Tuesday. At the main ticket booth, there were long lines--sometimes 50 or more people deep--waiting to purchase advance ride tickets on the last day they were available.
Marcia Lambiotte of Ventura was buying them for her two teenage sons.
“I like to look at the animals, but my sons like to go on the rides and waste their money on the games,” Lambiotte said. “But they have to waste their own money on that.”
On the midway, workers were testing and installing light bulbs, wiping down Skee Ball lanes and filling catsup dispensers.
In a little trailer, Erin Dale donned a flour-stained apron to mix 30 pounds of cream cheese frosting in a giant metal bowl.
Dale runs the cinnamon rolls trailer next to the Morgan Horse Arena.
“This is like a mobile bakery on wheels,” Dale said. “We make everything from scratch and can bake 18 rolls every five minutes.”
She spent Tuesday testing the oven and the recipe.
“I’m making a batch today to make sure everything tastes and works the way it should,” she said.
In the kiddie rides section, Bill Pion had a hammer and crowbar in hand as he laid the tracks to the Badlands Express train ride.
“It’s heavy work,” Pion said, taking a break as he rubbed his arm and wiped his brow. “But we got to keep going; it’s almost show time.”
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Today at the Fair
Here’s a look at what’s happening at the Ventura County Fair today, which is Pepsi Family Day:
* $10 family admission for two adults and their children 12 & younger
* Carnival wristband: unlimited rides noon to 6 p.m. for $14
* Seaside Park opens 11 a.m.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5
11 a.m. Seaside Park Opens
All day Tri-County Amateur Horse Show Morgan Arena
11 a.m.-4 p.m. Hands-on with Gull Wings Museum Youth Expo
11 a.m.-7 p.m. Enameling with Floy Myers Gems & Minerals
11 a.m.-3 p.m. Lois Bear: Bead Stringing Gems & Minerals
11 a.m.-5 p.m. Ventura Stamp Club: Stamp Collecting Hobbies
11:30 a.m. Special Effects Makeup by Stevens Youth Expo Studios
11:30 a.m. Main Street Jazz Pepsi Community Stage
11:30 a.m. Alphabet Soup Puppeteers Children’s Dell
11:30 a.m. Breeze 105.5-FM welcomes Exotic Porker Flats
Animal Encounter Noon Duke & Dolly Dolphin Strolling
Noon BC Characters Strolling
Noon Sunday Afternoon (Contemporary Music) Star Stage
Noon Balloons & Stuff Strolling
Noon Gwyn Holm: UCCE Agriculture Uncle Leo’s Barn Literacy Team
12:30 p.m. Rainbow Magic Show Children’s Dell
12:30 p.m. Gene West’s Wonderful Working Toys Youth Expo in Wood
1 p.m. Steven Lord (guitarist-vocalist) Agriculture
1 p.m. Bubbles Strolling
1:30 p.m. Steven Lord (guitarist-vocalist) Agriculture
1:30 p.m. Breeze 105.5 FM welcomes Porker Flats Exotic Animal Encounter
1:30 p.m. Original Riders of the Purple Sage Star Stage
1:30 p.m. Special Effects Makeup by Stevens Youth Expo Studios
1:30 p.m. Senior Center Dancers Pepsi Community Stage
1:30 p.m. Balloonacy Strolling
2 p.m. Lemon Juice Drinking Contest Children’s Dell (Jr. Fair Board)
2 p.m.-7 p.m. Enameling with Floy Myers Gems & Minerals
2:30 p.m. Tri-County Amateur Horse Show Morgan Arena continues
2:30 p.m. Rainbow Magic Show Children’s Dell
2:30 p.m. Story Time with John Tarkeny Uncle Leo’s Barn
3 p.m. Steven Lord (guitarist-vocalist) Youth Expo
3-5 p.m. Ventura Stamp Club: Stamp Collecting Hobbies
3 p.m. Barn Talk Uncle Leo’s Barn
3:30 p.m. Roquemore & Kuznkowski (singing Pepsi Community comedy) Stage
3:30 p.m. Alphabet Soup Puppeteers Children’s Dell
3:30 p.m. Special Effects Make-up by Stevens Youth Expo Studios
3:30 p.m. Breeze 105.5 FM welcomes Exotic Porker Flats Animal Encounter
4-6 p.m. Camarillo High School Drama Dept. Youth Expo
4:30 p.m. Roquemore & Kuznkowski (singing Pepsi Community comedy) Stage
5 p.m. Alphabet Soup Puppeteers Children’s Dell
5:30 p.m. Rainbow Magic Show Children’s Dell
5:30 p.m. Breeze 105.5 FM welcomes Porker Flats Exotic Animal Encounter
5:30 p.m. Hypnotist Susan Rosen Pepsi Community Stage
6 p.m. Pepsi Family Contest Pepsi Community Stage
6 p.m. Barn Talk: Ben McNary & Hank, Uncle Leo’s Barn his Racking Horse
6:30 p.m. Steven Lord (guitarist-vocalist) Youth Expo
7 p.m. The Octopus 95.9-FM and KTRO AM- Grandstand Arena 1520 present VRA Street Stock, Pony Stock and CDCRA Dwarf Car Racing and Demolition Derby
7 p.m. Lila McCann (Country) Star Stage
7 p.m. Roquemore & Kuznkowski (singing Pepsi Community comedy) Stage
7 p.m. Hypnotist Susan Rosen Pepsi Community Stage
8:30 p.m. Sweet Country Pepsi Community Stage
9 p.m. Lila McCann (Country) Star Stage
9:30 p.m. Fireworks 10 p.m. Buildings close