Despite Smaller Crowds, Officials Laud 1998 Fair

For many, Sunday was one last chance to indulge in the fatty food, fast rides and creative exhibits that lured more than 230,000 people to the Ventura County Fair this year.

But the lines and crowded midway on the fair’s 12th and final day were not enough to make up for lagging attendance--a dip of about 5% from last year. As of Sunday morning, 14,000 fewer people had entered the gates at Seaside Park compared to the last morning of the fair in 1997.

For the tens of thousands who took advantage of the fair’s last day, it was perfect weather to soak up some sun, rides and a snow cone or two.

“I came for the food, if I’m going to be honest,” said Estella Angulo of Port Hueneme.

So did Janet and George Shinn of Oxnard, who were sharing a mustard-covered corn dog in the shade of the Youth Expo pavilion. The couple said they enjoyed the fair, but almost didn’t make it this year.

“We’ve just been busy,” Janet Shinn said. “I’ve been coming over 40 years and love the atmosphere.”

Fair organizers attributed the attendance loss to a change in dates this year that put the century-old fair at the beginning of August rather than at the end of the month.

“The fair kind of snuck up on a lot of people this year,” said fair publicist Teri Raley. “Obviously, we’d love to be up, but 5% is not a significant difference. If it were 10% or 15%, I’d be hysterical. So this is not an alarming downward trend of any kind.”

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Jim Fitzgerald of Van Nuys said he only knew about the fair because he saw the fireworks when he was having dinner near the Ventura Pier a few nights ago.

“They caught my attention, and I realized the fair was going on,” Fitzgerald said. “I wanted to bring the family before it was over.”

Michael Paluszak, the fair’s general manager, said he had anticipated a possible drop in attendance numbers as people got used to the event being held earlier in the summer.

“Attendance is just one indicator of a fair’s success, and that can fluctuate as much as someone’s weight,” Paluszak said Sunday afternoon. “This is not causing me a lot of stress. Better than a quarter-million people came and had a great time.”

Raley said she sees three kinds of people who attend the fair on the last day: the die-hards, the procrastinators and what she calls “serendipity guests.”

“There are those who have been here once, twice or 11 times before and love it so much they just want to savor it again, and then the procrastinators know what they’ve been missing and make it at the last minute,” Raley said. “The serendipity guests have never been to a county fair and want to see what it’s like. And they always come back.”

Statistics from the 1997 fair show that more than nine out of every 10 patrons is a county resident. Among this year’s visitors from outside Ventura County, Diane Armstrong drove from Newport Beach to attend.

“Compared to the Orange County Fair, this is smaller, but it’s clean, cool and the people are friendly,” Armstrong said. “And the nice ocean view makes it worth the drive.”

Suzy Kavanagh, her husband, Dick, and 13-year-old son, Brandon, said they were glad they found time to travel from Simi Valley for the fair’s last day.

“This was the first time we could come, and we plan to eat our way through,” Suzy Kavanagh said with a smile.

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Besides the reduced attendance, the fair weathered its first stabbing in more then 20 years and officials had to publicly apologize for a grandstand concert in which the musical act used lewd language and one performer mooned the audience.

Police called the stabbing last Tuesday an isolated gang incident, in which three young men were attacked by unknown assailants. The altercation, which resulted in moderate injuries, occurred at the close of a concert by the hip-hop group Next, which Paluszak said broke a contractual agreement to keep their language and conduct family-appropriate.

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“We are actively taking exception to Next,” Paluszak said, adding that he has filed a complaint with the William Morris Agency, which represents the group.

Comparing the fairgrounds at Seaside Park--which hosted up to 30,000 people at a time--to a “small city,” Paluszak said that overall, the fair ran more smoothly than could be expected.

“You don’t put on an event this size without going through a few bumps, but they were relatively minor,” he said. “The fair was so good this year that in spite of the bumps, they weren’t enough to spoil the parade.”