Nearly 269,000 attended the 2026 Ventura County Fair, slightly more than last year, Ventura County Fairgrounds officials said.
Concert ticket sales and carnival revenue jumped significantly as revenue increased
in every fair category but the rodeo, said Fairgrounds CEO Heidi Ortiz in a wrap-up report at a fairgrounds board meeting on Aug. 25. The 12-day fair ended on Aug. 9.
People had the choice to buy VIP tickets and get better seats for grandstand shows or attend as part of their admission to the fair. People bought 3,645 VIP tickets for electronic dance music DJ Marshmello, the biggest draw of the fair. Iration, the reggae-rock band founded in the Santa Barbara area, was second with 3,550 tickets bought.
Data wasn't given on total attendance at each grandstand show but Jason Amelio, fairgrounds deputy manager, said even the slower concerts drew crowds of 8,000 people and more.
Ortiz said that for the first time in recent memory country artists didn’t do as well as some of the other artists though Jake Owen's show generated nearly 2,900 in VIP ticket sales, more than alt-rockers Bush.
Ortiz said the tallies mean electronic dance music will be part of next year’s fair.
Carnival sales jumped to $3.1 million, compared to $2.5 million last year. Ortiz cited the decision to bring in one core operator, Helms & Sons Amusements, instead of using several independent contractors as in the past. In another change, wrist bands for unlimited rides were available every day of the fair.
Ortiz also focused on the $5.7 million in concession sales, asserting that each visitor spent about $21 on food, more than 14% over last year.
“People came to the fair and ate their way through the fair,” Ortiz said.
Though attendance was only slightly higher than last year's 267,215 count, pre-fair ticket sales increased. Nearly 29,000 people attended on Aug. 3, the biggest crowd of the fair.
The fair included a three-day rodeo. Ticket sales for the shows brought in about $107,000, compared to about $127,500 last year. Ortiz said less tickets were offered for sale in an effort to keep crowds smaller and improve the experience.
The fair numbers were discussed at a contentious fair board meetingin which dozens of community residents complainedabout an Orange County company’s proposal to bring a self-contained data processing unit, a parking garage and a helicopter launch pad to the site and other fairgrounds across the state.
The positive numbers brought a change of mood to the meeting and kudos from the fairgrounds board.
"It was one of the best fairs I've ever seen," said Director Dan Long.
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura County fairgoers spent more in 2026. Here's where
