Ventura County Fair to Kick Off Its 130th Year With $1 Tickets

The corn dog and churro stands are ready. So are the stomach-churning carnival rides and the critters at Uncle Leo’s Barn, where Leo Vanoni is celebrating 50 years of setting up his barnyard exhibit, a noisy collection of pigs, goats and chickens that has entertained generations of children and adults at the Ventura County Fair.

“It never gets old,” said Vanoni, who will turn 90 later this month and has attended the fair since the 1920s. “The people are the ones who really make it. It’s a family thing, and we want to keep it that way.”

After an 11th-hour push to set up what is essentially a mini-city on the Ventura coast, the Ventura County Fair is set today to kick off its 12-day run, an annual celebration of the community’s agricultural roots mixed with fast rides, fattening food and nightly fireworks shows.

Gates open at 11 a.m. at Seaside Park in Ventura and there is much to celebrate this year. The fair is observing its 130th anniversary and will cut admission to $1 today and on Aug. 10 to reflect the early years when it cost next to nothing to attend. Next Tuesday, Vanoni will celebrate his birthday and anniversary with a cake at the barn, which has been adorned with photos and other remembrances donated by fairgoers.

The event, which drew more than 300,000 people last year, is billed as California’s “coolest fair” and the only fair on the West Coast located on the beach. Organizers hope the cool weather boosts attendance, especially as much of California sizzles because of a prolonged heat wave.

“The warmer it gets inland, the more people we’ll have jumping on the Metrolink and coming here,” said Barbara Boester-Quaid, the fair’s acting chief executive. “We want people to come, and we want them to see what Ventura County is all about.”

For many, the fair is all about honoring the county’s agricultural roots. From fruit-rich farm exhibits to the steers, goats and rabbits entered in the annual livestock competition, agriculture is making the most of the opportunity to shine.

Corey Peck, 9, of Santa Paula was among dozens of youngsters who arrived at the fairgrounds Tuesday to enter animals in the competition.

He won a blue ribbon for showmanship last year, but his rabbit, a floppy-eared bunny named Dusty, was disqualified because it was overweight. Corey brought Dusty back this year hoping for better results.

“We had to put him on a diet,” the fourth-grader said. “I think he’ll do good.”

Food vendors Mike and Lisa Schwieterman were preparing Tuesday for their first Ventura County Fair. From a gleaming white trailer at the mouth of the carnival midway, the Nevada couple will be peddling a sausage patty popularized on the fair circuit decades ago by Lisa’s father, Denny Thompson.

The couple have been following in his footsteps for two years, traveling to county fairs across the state. Their last stop was Vallejo, where temperatures hit triple digits.

“We’re just excited to be a part of this,” Mike Schwieterman said. “We’re hoping for a big turnout and lots of fun.”