O.C. Fair Attendance Drops 13%

Attendance at the Orange County Fair this summer dropped nearly 13% from the previous year, a slide that officials attribute to soaring temperatures and high gas prices.

Revenue also plummeted, with parking and general admission declining 12% and concession sales sinking 11%.

Still, the 21-day fair, which ended Sunday, attracted its third-highest attendance in its history, 924,315 people.

The fair’s attendance record was set last year at 1,058,192. In 2004, 963,984 visitors streamed through the gates.

This year’s turnout failed to meet the financial and admission goals set by fair officials, who expected the numbers would surpass last year’s. But Dena Heathman, the fair’s chief financial officer, said disappointing figures wouldn’t crimp next year’s budget.

“We’re financially healthy and self-sufficient. We’ll continue to be fiscally responsible,” she said. It’s not like this year being a little less successful on a financial level will curtail spending for next year.”

Overall, the fair earned $5.2 million from admission and parking. The carnival rides, run by Ray Cammack Shows, made $4.9 million.

Concessionaires sold about $7.3 million in food, compared with $8.2 million last year and $7 million in 2004. Some of this year’s revenue came from the more than 1,200 fairgoers who tried the new Krispy Kreme chicken sandwich, which vendor Chicken Charlie created.

Ticket sale figures for the summer concert series at the 8,500-seat Pacific Amphitheatre venue have not yet been calculated, officials said, but five of the 21 shows sold out. Artists playing to a full house were Chris Isaak, the Steve Miller Band, Gnarls Barkley, the All-American Rejects and Paul Simon.

To entice people to the fairgrounds, organizers offered a “Beat the Heat” weekday discount during the last two weeks. Almost 30,000 customers downloaded the half-price coupon.

“We’re always looking to offer our customers good value while at the same time giving back to the community,” Becky Bailey-Findley, chief executive of the fair, said.

Two charitable drives were held: 15.5 tons of nonperishable food items was collected by the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County; and more than 29,500 new and used children’s books were donated to Orange County elementary schools.

Next year’s Orange County Fair will take place July 13 through Aug. 5, with the theme “Cowabunga! The Year of Herefords, Surfers & Sand.”