Ventura County Fair begins today, with calendar full of family fun

Yarn knitters and wood turners, clowns and bandits, stampeding turkeys and racing pigs, and … Huey Lewis and the News? If you smell a fair in the air, you’re on target — the Ventura County Fair, at the fairgrounds in Ventura, begins today and runs through Aug. 16. This year’s theme is “Purebred and Home Grown.”

Besides the aforementioned—and the usual fair attractions a la carnival rides, food deliciously deep-fried, livestock, home-ec displays and motorsports galore—the annual event will feature an array of musical entertainment.

Besides Huey Lewis, who will play Friday evening, entertainers include Rick Springfield, David Cook with Caitlin Crosby, Gretchen Wilson, Josh Turner with Jake Owen and Clay Walker and Lee Ann Womack. These concerts are included with fair admission, though tickets for the motor-sports events cost $5 per person (children 12 and under are free).

Something that sounds especially worth the trip, in my humble opinion, is Strawberry Day on Aug. 9 in the agriculture building. There, a strawberry pie-eating contest will commence at 4 p.m. (Sign up before 1 p.m. that day at the California Strawberry Booth.)

Despite the economy, sizable crowds are expected at this year’s fair, according to a Ventura County Star article.

Among the fair’s special admission days is Dollar Day. The next one will be Aug. 12 ; the other one was today. Regular fair admission is $10 per person age 13 or older. Children ages 6 through 12,and seniors  are charged $7 each. Carnival-ride tickets are extra.

Contact: Ventura County Fair, (805) 648-3376

—Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Photo: A piglet that was part of a recent year’s petting zoo at Ventura County Fair. Credit: Los Angeles Times

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 4:51 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under California, Deals, Family & Kids, Summer, Ventura. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.