Festival Ends on High Note as Weekend Attendance Swells : Thousand Oaks: Conejo Valley Days draws about 37,000, helped by sunny weather. But some charity groups don’t expect to register a big take when final figures are tallied.

Bright sunshine and long lines on the final day of Conejo Valley Days were a welcome sight to event organizers who had feared that the carnival would end as it began--with cold weather and light attendance.

But the flood of visitors both days this weekend prompted carnival officials to declare the charity extravaganza a success when they closed the grounds at 8 p.m. Sunday.

“We’re thrilled with how everything turned out,” said Pete Turpel, Conejo Valley Days general chairman. “It looks as though the attendance question that we had to worry about over the first couple of days has worked out in our favor.”

This was the final year that the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce sponsored the event at Conejo Creek Park in Thousand Oaks. Next year, representatives from service clubs in the area will organize the annual event.

About 23,000 visitors attended the festival Saturday, compared with 21,068 for the Saturday in 1993, said Linda Graham, funds chairwoman for the carnival. Graham estimated that 14,000 came Sunday. About 13,200 attended the last day of the festival in 1993.

At some points Sunday, cars were backed up for a mile along the Moorpark Freeway, and extra buses were needed to shuttle carnival-goers from three park-and-ride locations in the Conejo Valley.

Inside the park, people waited for half an hour to put their children on pony rides and dozens of spectators sat on the dirt at the filled-to-capacity rodeo arena.

“We were surprised at how long it took us to get in here because some friends of ours were here Friday and they said it was pretty much empty,” said Kevin Ryan, who was waiting for the pony rides with his two daughters, Karly, 5, and Kristine, 3.

“But the waiting hasn’t been a big deal,” Ryan said. “We had a good time at the rodeo because the girls loved the horses.”

The carnival grounds echoed with screams from the Mega Loop and cheers from rodeo fans. Crowds clapped and danced in front of a country music stage, and hundreds pried their children from the carnival rides when the sun began to set.

At the booths and concessions, charity groups hoped that people would arrive at the park ready to spend. And although the final receipts will not be tallied until late today, many said the carnival’s slow start hurt their chance for big profits.

“The weather really killed us,” said Richard Zwart, who helped run a table selling removable tattoos. “Last year, it was all tank tops. This year, it was long sleeves all the way--no room for tattoos.”

The Conejo Valley Rainbow Girls also blamed the cold weather of the first two days for slow sales. They operated a booth that sold soft ice cream made with frozen bananas.

“We’re really disappointed with how it all turned out,” said Fawn Vant, an adviser for the Rainbow Girls, a local youth group. “Usually it’s so hot out here that this kind of booth would do well, but not this year.”

But not all vendors left the carnival with their heads down.

At the festival’s new children’s tent, which included booths with activities ranging from puppet shows to gold panning, groups reported moderate success in the five-day event.

About 150 youngsters spent a dollar each to try their hand at finger painting, sponsored by the service club Zonta International.

Lining the interior of the booth were dozens of child masterpieces left to dry while parents took their young artists off to the bumper cars, Ferris wheel or other rides.

“On Saturday, we ran out of finger-paints, we had so much interest,” volunteer Bronwyn Key said. “I mean, we’re not talking about big bucks here, but if you think about it, we raised $150 by finger painting.”

Across the way at another booth, Laura Frazier scanned the tent for up-and-coming stars.

The instructor from an acting school in the San Fernando Valley took inquiries from hundreds of parents who wanted to know what it would take to get their kids into the movies.

“Of course I’ve had a lot of parents come up here and say, ‘Johnny has always wanted to be an actor,’ and I explain to them that it takes more than a pretty face,” Frazier said. “But I’ve seen some kids here with potential.”

Conejo Valley Days officials said they were not surprised by the success of the children’s tent, noting that they spent thousands of dollars promoting the festival’s family theme.

“Our plan right from the start was to bring this event to a point where it was really attractive to families,” said Gary Heathcote, a member of the Conejo Valley Days steering committee. “We had more for them to do this year, and it was safer than ever.”

About 30 sheriff’s deputies patrolled the grounds, responding to one gang fight and a few other disturbances during the five-day event, Ventura County Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Brown noted.

“A handful of fights that we jumped on right away was about all we had,” Brown said. “We had a real good crowd this year.”

Turpel said that he was thrilled that the last days of the festival went so smoothly and that attendance bounced back, but he left with mixed emotions as the event ended.

“I walk out on the last day with half a smile and half a tear,” Turpel said. “It’s been a challenging year and a lot of fun, and I’m a little sad to see it end.”