1st-Day Crowds Flip for the Fair

Twelve-year-old Tim McGarry and 13-year-old Jon Coster were among the first in line for the Ventura County Fair when the gates opened Wednesday, raring to spend their chore money on the hurtling roller coaster and press-your-luck games.

And how long had they been waiting?

“Oh, about 365 days,” said Tim’s mom, Sheila Smith of Oxnard.

Those days of waiting added up to excitement that was almost palpable as pent-up anticipation turned into all-out fair energy at the cutting of the red ribbon at exactly 11 a.m.

The crowds spilled into Seaside Park and what had been a quiet ghost town a week ago turned into a bustling city of fair devotees--on the lookout for deep-fried corn dogs, twisty thrills and a menagerie of fuzzy animals.

Also near the front of the line were Mike and Christina Stewart.

“Someone from the family has always been here” at the head of the line on opening day, Mike Stewart said. “It’s just our tradition. Besides, we’re impatient. We need to be first.”

The first place the Stewarts headed was the rides, for a spin on the Zipper--a contraption like a Ferris wheel-gone-mad, a slamming, rattling gut-buster of a ride.

Despite a trip on the new--and reputedly terror-inspiring--Inverter, the classic Zipper is the standard by which all others should be compared, said 14-year-old Jenna Potts, an old hand who expected to hit every ride, even the kiddie ones, with her friends.

The newcomer Inverter with the shiny bells and whistles just didn’t measure up to the old reliable.

“This one should go faster,” Jenna said of the Inverter, which spins like a pinwheel while turning riders upside-down and sending them plunging toward the ground. “I like loops and corkscrews. This isn’t that scary.”

Even so, it made Jenna of Ventura her friends and a couple of grown men scream.

In a calmer part of the fair, 8-year-old David Heurung marched into the Gem & Mineral Building to learn how his Lego space station fared in competition. He found it adorned with a shiny pink fourth-place ribbon.

The fair is a family affair for the Heurungs of Ventura. Next, David and his mom, Jamar, will enter their green beans and sweet peas in competition. Meanwhile, David’s dad, Wayne, is vrooming his ’69 Camaro through the night-time stock car races.

“We’ve closed shop today,” said Jamar Heurung, who helps run the family’s air compressor repair business. ‘We always like to be out here on the first day, to go to the car racing and find out if we won anything.”

Satisfied with his Lego success, David was hoping to head for the fair’s “humongous slide--it’s taller than this building,” he said.

Amy Myers and Leann Corbett, both 16-year-old Camarillo residents, have been coming to the fair since their ages were in single digits, and they still appreciate the sights, sounds and smells.

The two piled into a photo booth and made kissy-faces at the camera to remember their latest trip. And, as old pros, they were prepared for anything.

“We always want to be a part of the excitement as early as possible, and we’ve had fair strategies in the past,” Amy said of their plans for which ride, which food and which games offered the optimal experience. “This year, we’re doing it freestyle.”

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Today at the Fair

Here’s a look at what’s happening at the Ventura County Fair today, which is Pepsi Family Day.

$10 family admission for two adults (13+) and all of their children 12 & younger.

Carnival wristband: unlimited rides noon to 6 p.m. for $14.

AT & T Wireless Services presents the Ventura County Fair & Seaside Park Museum in the Gem & Mineral Building 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The schedule is subject to change.

Seaside Park opens 11 a.m.

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WEDNESDAY, AUG. 4

11 a.m.

Andalusian Horse Show (to 4:30 p.m.) Morgan Arena

Gene West’s Wonderful Working Wood Toys Youth Expo

11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Egg Art--Cookie Kelleher Gems & Minerals

Intro to rock hounding--Dave Champion& Minerals Enameling--Floy Myers Gems & Minerals Faceting--Cal Koch Gems & Minerals

11:30 a.m.

Picasso’s Place Art Center (to 6 p.m.) Children’s Dell

Noon

Guitarist-vocalist Stephen Lord Youth Expo

Puppets & Players Little Theater Children’s Dell

BC Character Strolling

Duke & Dolly Dolphin (to 6 p.m.) Strolling

12:30 p.m.

Traveling Game Show Strolling

1 p.m.

BC Character Strolling

2 p.m.

JFB Lemon Juice Drinking Contest Children’s Dell

Puppets & Players Little Theater Children’s Dell

Sing along with Stephen Lord Agriculture & Natural

Resources Story time Uncle Leo’s Barn

Traveling Game Show Strolling

BC Character Strolling

Balloonacy Strolling

2:30 p.m.

Magician Terry Godfrey Pepsi Seabreeze Stage

BC Character Strolling

3 p.m.

Chumash Stories--Jane Canton, VCMHA Uncle Leo’s Barn

Andalusian Horse Show (to 4:30 p.m.) Morgan Arena

3-7 p.m.

Lapidary--W. Ehlers Gems & Minerals

Egg Art--Cookie Kelleher Gems & Minerals

Enameling--Floy Myers Gems & Minerals

3:30 p.m.

Traveling Game Show Strolling

Balloonacy Children’s Dell

Magician Terry Godfrey Strolling

BC Character Strolling

4

Puppets & Players Little Theater Children’s Dell

Guitarist-vocalist Stephen Lord Youth Expo

4:30 p.m.

Magician Terry Godfrey Pepsi Seabreeze Stage

BC Character Strolling

Balloonacy Strolling

5 p.m.

BC Character Strolling

5:30 p.m.

Magician Terry Godfrey Children’s Dell

Balloonacy Strolling

Pepsi Awards Pepsi Seabreeze Stage

6 p.m.

Sing along with Stephen Lord Agriculture & Natural Resources

6:30 p.m.

Pam Rossi Dancers Pepsi Seabreeze Stage

BC Character Strolling

7 p.m.

KOCP 95.9 FM “The Octopus” & KVTA- AM 1520 welcome you to VRA Street

Stock & Pony Stock Car and CDCRA

Dwarf Car Racing plus a Demolition Derby Arena

Raised on Radio--The Tribute Show Ventura Co. Star Stage

8 p.m.

Santa Clara Valley Square Dancers Pepsi Seabreeze Stage

9 p.m.

Raised on Radio--The Tribute Show Ventura Co. Star Stage

9:30 p.m.

Fireworks

10 p.m.

All buildings close