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NEWS > LOCAL


Fair spirits up, attendance down
Oct 6, 2008
 By Colin McConville

Photo by: Nick Lovejoy, Staff Photographer
HOLLISTER

Although hindered by Saturday weather and a nearly 20 percent drop in attendance, the San Benito County Fair still featured many events and exciting things to see and do.

To start things off, a Professional Bull Riders event took place at Bolado Park on Thursday as a precursor to the fair and had a "pretty good turn out," said fair CEO Kelley Ferreira.

But even with an good turnout for the bull riding and decent weather on Friday and Sunday, Ferreira said that paid attendance was down by nearly 4,000 people compared with last year.

"(On) Saturday, the weather really hit us hard," he said. "The truck pull switch from 7 p.m. to 3 p.m. worked well, but once it started sprinkling, people left." He added that there was a good crowd Sunday.

For the 16,643 people who did attend, they saw a variety of different exhibits. Rose Ortiz, chairwoman of the Fine Arts Department, appreciated the variety of artists that show up each year.

"(It's) always a good experience to see new artists, recurring artists ... high school artists," said Ortiz, adding that there was quite a bit of art from the local schools.

Livestock Superintendent Rodney Bianchi applauded the atmosphere at the fair.

"It's a nice, small-town county fair."

He also said the quality of animals displayed by showers at the fair is exceptional.

"Judges from the (San Joaquin) Valley are surprised with the quality of depth," he said.

What many consider the fair's highlight - the livestock auction, featuring animals up for resale or processing - took place Saturday. Donations for livestock were taken as well.

Another exhibit at the fair again this year were the guinea pig shows. It featured around 130 guinea pigs at the two open shows as well as a youth competition. Russell Lash is a member of the Golden State Cavy Breeders Association and a ramrod for the guinea pig shows.

"We have been holding shows at the San Benito County Fair for about 10 years to 12 years, usually in combination with 4-H," he said, noting how the relative popularity of the show has been about the same over the years.

With many different departments and exhibits, the fair relies almost solely on volunteers. Bianchi commended the work of fair volunteers, as it's "run totally by volunteers," he said. "It couldn't be done without the volunteers."

Bianchi added that volunteers with the livestock department are working nearly 365 days a year for the fair. Co-chair for the Quilting and Textiles Department Suzie Crump, also expressed similar feelings about the volunteers.

"'Without you, there'd be no fair," she said. "I truly believe that."

Crump and her daughter, Lisa Guerra, were this year's recipient of the fair's blue ribbon award, which recognizes excellence in commitment to the fair.

Even with lower numbers this year and the issues with the weather, Ferreira said that "most everyone, including food vendors, were happy."

Colin McConville
Colin McConville is a reporter with the Hollister Free Lance. You can reach him by email or at (831) 637-5566.

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