Attendance Is Down for Fair’s First Week

Despite bustling midways and good weather, crowds during the first week of the Ventura County Fair are lagging behind last year’s figures by as many as 2,000 to 6,000 people a day, attendance figures show.

Fair organizers attribute the slow start to a change in grandstand entertainment scheduling, an earlier fair date and competition last weekend from Santa Barbara’s popular Fiesta celebration.

“We’re still running behind last year but . . . I’m not going to point a finger at any single element,” said fair publicist Devlin Raley. “There are a combination of factors that can cost a thousand or two in attendance any given day.”

Starting with motor sports instead of concerts in the grandstand this year is probably the biggest reason for the decline, Raley said.

Headlining musical acts traditionally have kicked off the fair, and with a grandstand capacity of 12,000 people, the concerts have helped boost overall attendance. Though held in the same venue, motor sports can accommodate just 4,000 people at each event because of the large track.

Raley said the switch was made to alleviate the logistical nightmare of having to build and tear down the dirt track and its embankments between concerts. By lumping motor sports together, ground crews look forward to fewer all-nighters, Raley said.

“It was a tremendously labor-intensive process,” he said. “It makes a lot more sense to open with motor sports and then finish with concerts.”

Fair organizers said they look forward to the numbers catching up as the concert phase continues today with the Harry James Orchestra and the New Ink Spots.

“It’s premature to say, ‘Oh . . . we’re behind last year,’ ” Raley said. “We haven’t had the opportunity to look at totally comparable days from last year. Once the [headline] concerts start, we’ll get that balance back.”

But the biggest difference in attendance figures from last year was Saturday, when the concert venue was not an issue.

Attendance on the first Saturday last year was 35,091, with the grandstand offering capacity-limited motor sports instead of a concert. But the first Saturday this year offered a musical act--Neil Sedaka--and drew 29,440 fair-goers.

This is the first year Ventura’s fair fell on the same weekend as Santa Barbara’s annual Fiesta celebration. Raley said the fair was moved up in order to avoid overlapping with some schools’ start dates and to allow exhibition winners to compete in the state fair.

In 1997, opening day--which featured a Righteous Brothers concert--drew 16,934 people. This year’s opening attendance was 14,989, with a demolition derby.

On the second day last year, there were 18,915 fair-goers and a Weird Al Yankovich concert. Attendance on the same day this year was considerably less, with 13,067, again offering more motor sports.

The gap began to close Sunday--the fair’s own Fiesta Day--when a Latino-themed grandstand concert was held, as was the case last year on Fiesta Day. There were about 1,000 fewer fair-goers in attendance Sunday than the 29,200 who attended last year.

One area where attendance increased was on the Metrolink trains servicing Seaside Park. Last year, weekend routes were started from the San Fernando Valley to the fair with stops throughout eastern Ventura County.

“We’ve seen some pretty impressive numbers this year,” said Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo.

About 5,300 people rode the rails to the fair on opening weekend last year, and ridership increased to 6,400 this year. A new night train leaving the fair at 10 p.m. was added this year, which might explain Metrolink’s growing popularity, Hidalgo said.

“We saw a considerable benefit running a later train,” he said. “People are enjoying the fact they can go to the fair in the evening when it is cooler and get the chance to see the [nightly] fireworks.”

Although overall attendance is down from last year, fair organizers said they are confident the numbers will recoup after the new entertainment schedule has time to play itself out.

“Our goal is to try to balance attendance over all 12 days, rather than just have incredible spikes on the weekends,” Raley said. “By the end of the fair, when everything comes back to a sense of comparative order, then we can truly evaluate how attendance has gone. It’s certainly not something we’re concerned about now.”

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Today at the Fair

Here’s a look at what’s happening at the Ventura County Fair today, which is Seniors & Persons With Disabilities Day:

* Free admission for guests 55 and older and those with disabilities.

* Carnival wristband: unlimited rides noon to 6 p.m. for $14

* Seaside Park opens 11 a.m.

TUESDAY, AUG. 11

11 a.m.: Seaside Park Opens

All Day: Andalusian Horse Show Morgan Arena

All Day: Wildlife Awareness Day Agriculture

All Day: Weights & Measures: How to Shop Creative Living

All Day: Braille Institute Creative Living

All Day: 4-H & FFA Market Lambs & Goats Clark Pavilion

11 a.m.: Blessing of Marriage Pepsi Community Stage

11 a.m.-5 p.m.: Ventura Stamp Club: Stamp Collecting Hobbies

11 a.m.-3 p.m.: Cal Koch: Faceting Gems & Minerals

11:30 a.m.: Breeze 105.5-FM Welcomes Exotic Porker Flats Animal Encounter

11:30 a.m.: Tim the Magic Guy Children’s Dell

11:30 a.m.: Senior Dance Contest Pepsi Community With the Frank Umbro Trio Stage

11:30 a.m.: Phil Shane (Tribute Singer) Star Stage

11:30 a.m.: Duke & Dolly Dolphin Strolling

11:30 a.m.: Guide Dog Demonstrations Youth Expo

Noon: Sunkist Best Lemon Pie Contest Creative Living

Noon-6 p.m.: Spinners & Weavers: Basket Weaving Agriculture

Noon: Honor Farm Deputy Uncle Leo’s Barn

11:30 a.m.: Special Effects Makeup by Stevens Youth Expo Studios

12:30 p.m.: Steven Lord (Guitarist-Vocalist) Agriculture

12:30 p.m.: Rainbow Magic Show Children’s Dell

12:30 p.m.: Too Too Tomato Strolling

12:30 p.m.: Andalusian Horse Show Morgan Arena

12:30 p.m.: Gene West’s Wonderful Working Toys Youth Expo in Wood

1 p.m.: KKZZ-AM 1400 Welcomes Grandstand Arena The Harry James Orchestra With The New Ink Spots

1 p.m.: Phil Shane (Tribute Singer) Star Stage

1 p.m.: Frank Umbro Trio Pepsi Community Stage

1 p.m.: Guide Dog Demonstrations Youth Expo

1 p.m.: Open Junior Division Pygmy Goat Clark Pavilion

1:30 p.m.: Tim The Magic Guy Children’s Dell

1:30 p.m.: Exhibition Horse Shows Morgan Arena

1:30 p.m.: Breeze 105.5-FM Welcomes Exotic Porker Flats Animal Encounter

2 p.m.: Helene’s Jazz Liners Pepsi Community Stage

2 p.m.: Balloonacy Strolling

2 p.m.: Mime Mark Wenzel Strolling

2-5 p.m.: Ventura Stamp Club: Stamp Collecting Hobbies

2-5 p.m.: Steven Lord (Guitarist-Vocalist) Youth Expo

2-5 p.m.: Lorraine Mitchell: Bead Stringing Gems & Minerals

2:30 p.m.: Special Effects Makeup by Stevens Youth Expo Studios

2:30 p.m.: Rainbow Magic Show Children’s Dell

2:30 p.m.: Phil Shane (Tribute Singer) Star Stage

2:30 p.m.: Swinging B’s G’s Pepsi Community Stage

2:30 p.m.: Story Time With John Moore Uncle Leo’s Barn

3 p.m.: Wilson Wranglers (Country) Pepsi Community Stage

3 p.m.: Barn Talk Uncle Leo’s Barn

3 p.m.: Guide Dog Demonstrations Youth Expo

3:30 p.m.: Breeze 105.5-FM Welcomes Exotic Porker Flats Animal Encounter

3:30 p.m.: Steven Lord (Guitarist-Vocalist) Agriculture

3:30 p.m.: Moorpark Senior Center Mellowtones Star Stage

3:30 p.m.: Senior King & Queen Pageant Pepsi Community (Jr. Fair Board) Stage

3:30 p.m.: Tim the Magic Guy Children’s Dell

4 p.m.: Special Effects Makeup by Stevens Youth Expo Studios

4:30 p.m.: Tapping Tempos Pepsi Community Stage

4:30 p.m.: Too Too Tomato Children’s Dell

4:30 p.m.: Guide Dog Demonstrations Youth Expo

5 p.m.: RockStew (Rock) Pepsi Community Stage

5:30 p.m.: Breeze 105.5-FM Welcomes Exotic Porker Flats Animal Encounter

5:30 p.m.: Rainbow Magic Show Children’s Dell

6 p.m.: Steven Lord (Guitarist-Vocalist) Youth Expo

6 p.m.: Barn Talk: Ben McNary & Hank, Uncle Leo’s Barn His Racking Horse

7 p.m.: Raymond Michael’s Elvis Tribute Show Star Stage

7 p.m.: Ventura County Swing Dancers Pepsi Community Stage

7:30 p.m.: Q104.7 FM Welcomes Next Grandstand Arena

8 p.m.: Frank Umbro Trio Pepsi Community Stage

9 p.m.: Raymond Michael’s Elvis Tribute Show Star Stage

9:30 p.m.: Fireworks

10 p.m.: Exhibit & Commercial Buildings Close