Fair Attendance Figures up 6% Over Last Year

Thanks in part to sunny, clear weather, Ventura County Fair attendance so far is up by nearly 7,000 people from 1998, officials said Monday, a recovery after last year’s early dip in visitors.

As of Sunday night, 109,027 people had visited Seaside Park, a 6% increase beyond the first five days last year, according to fair publicist Devlin Raley. The fair closes Sunday.

The 12-day event saw a 6,000-person increase on the fair’s first Friday alone, from 17,210 in 1998 to 23,235 this year. Friday’s lineup included the first concert performer of the fair, 1970s rocker Peter Frampton.

More than half of this year’s visitors came over the weekend--30,971 on Saturday and 28,402 Sunday--which made for some tight fair space, Raley said.

“On the weekends we’re about at comfortable capacity,” he said. “We would hope people would be able to come during the week, but you can always get a few more bodies in.”

Santa Barbara’s Fiesta celebration, which was blamed, in part, for smaller crowds last year, seemed to have little effect this summer, organizers said.

“If there was any effect this year it was negligible,” said Teri Raley, a fair publicist. “I think it must be a different audience. We get the families; they get the younger people.”

Big crowds were expected for Monday evening’s Beach Boys concert, which was included with fair admission.

The surge in crowds during the weekend coupled with streets, such as California and Figueroa, being closed to traffic, made getting to the fair trying. Nevertheless, security officials reported no major disturbances.

“It’s going really smooth,” said Cpl. Mike Foster of the Ventura Police Department. “A little pushing and shoving here and there, but nothing unusual.”

Devlin Raley attributed some of the increase in attendance to an awareness of Metrolink trains serving the fair, which bring visitors from as far as Chatsworth.

“I think we’re getting more people from the east county,” he said. “There’s no measurable data, but by my personal observation [east county] ridership was high.”

A total of 5,226 people rode Metrolink this past weekend, 100 more riders than the same weekend last year.

“The majority of Metrolink commuters traded in suits for shorts, and brought their kids,” said Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo.

While the fair’s main drag was packed Sunday for Fiesta Day, on Monday early visitors had plenty of elbow room.

“We come early in the day to beat the crowd,” said Julie Hoopingarner of Ventura, who brought her 14-month-old son to get a look at the critters in the petting zoo at the Children’s Dell. “The animals are fresher at the beginning of the week.”

The slower pace was a chance to rest for some vendors, who rang up busy weekend sales.

“This is just right after last night,” said Joe Sanders, who was helping to run an Indian fry bread stand. “We need a little break in the mornings.”

And even on a relatively slow Monday morning, the roasted corn stand saw a winding line forming for the hot treat.

“Business is doing great. We’re having a record year,” said Robert Fenn, who staffed the booth. “I think it’s simply because people perceive the times as being good.”

And, he suspected, a number of hungry visitors were streaming through the gates just for his buttery, roasted treat.

“I recognize guys who are getting their third ear,” said Fenn. “I tell them they should go to ‘Corn Eaters Anonymous.’ ”

Times staff writer Catherine K. Enders contributed to this story.