Weather, Bands Help County Fair Set Attendance Record

Ventura County Fair vendors packed up the last corndog stand Monday afternoon, after a 12-day run that drew a record number of revelers.

Nearly 292,400 people came through the gates of Ventura’s Seaside Park, topping last year’s attendance record by 5.5%, fair spokeswoman Terri Raley said.

“I think it fit with people’s needs this year,” she said. “People are enjoying a resurgence of personal contact and celebration of community. I think we’re all looking a little closer to home.”

Good weather and a long list of performers--from local musicians to big-name acts--also helped, Raley said.

Grammy winner Los Tigres del Norte on Aug. 4 drew one of this year’s largest single-day crowds, she said, followed by the band Sugar Ray, which played the following day.

“All of the concerts were very well received,” Raley said. “I wish I knew what the formula was for this year, because I’d replicate it for next year.”

The 2002 fair included a few new midway attractions--the most popular being a bungee jump, which Raley said will return next year.

There was also a new rule that drew some controversy: Anything considered gang attire was banned. The policy identified 27 local groups as criminal street gangs, including the Hells Angels and the rival Mongols motorcycle clubs.

Nine members of the local Hells Angels chapter--decked out in black leather vests emblazoned with their winged-skull insignia--were denied entry to the fair on opening day, but no other challenges to the policy occurred, Raley said.

Ventura Police Lt. Bryan Roberts said authorities patrolling the fair reported no violent crimes and no significant arrests. “It was a very safe year at the fair once again,” he said.

Although Sunday was the final day of the fair, Monday was far from quiet. Vendors and carnival operators spent the morning packing up rides and booths, and residents who had competed in various exhibits picked up their entries.

Fair board members also strolled the grounds, taking notes and already starting the planning for next summer. Raley, however, said she avoids Seaside Park the day after the fair.

“It’s kind of like the party’s over,” she said. “And when you like it a lot, it makes you sad.”