COUNTYWIDE : County Fair Midway Is Taken Down

Carnival workers pulled up the stakes on midway rides and game booths at the Ventura County Fair on Monday, as officials faced with a decline in paid admissions tallied the final attendance figures.

“It was an all-right fair,” said Carlos Chavez, 34, of Bakersfield as he dismantled the Skydiver ride for transport to the next fair in Pomona.

Contestants in the fair’s various competitions turned out to claim their pets, plants, quilts, paintings and other entries.

Several concessionaires were tearing down their booths, though most had left late Sunday night after the fair’s final hour.

“Most of them live on the road and move out of here as fast as they can so they can set up in the next venue,” said Teri Raley, a fair spokeswoman.

Through 11 of the fair’s 12 days, paid attendance was running more than 9% lower than last year, a drop blamed on a weak economy and gloomy weather. Raley said attendance figures for the final day were not completely tallied Monday.

“We understand that Sunday was excellent in terms of attendance, but we don’t have the final figures yet,” she said.

The fair was more successful in at least one respect this year.

Ventura police said the traditional closing-night gang fights did not materialize this year.