I went here for a private event a few weeks ago and I thought the layout was great. The space didn't feel cramped like the ones I'm used to where I live. The bathrooms were very clean and spacious. It's also definitely a plus being on the beach itself. It looked like public transportation actually drops you off directly in front. I will definitely be visiting again when in the area. read more

We had a great time at the fair this year! We parked at one of the shuttle destinations for the fair which I highly recommend utilizing their shuttle services. The street to enter for the main parking lot was closed off when we arrived to the area around 1pm on Friday. We drove to the Ventura High School destination where a shuttle (school bus) took us to the fair and dropped us off at one of the shuttle stops near the front entrance area. We purchased general admission tickets online, $15 for Child, $20 for Adult + fees, and showed the QR code from the phone at entrance. There were a lot of food/drink/snack vendors, activities, animal exhibits, live music/shows, rides and game booths that were kid and adult friendly. There were indoor areas with more vendors including artists show casing their work, school art exhibits by kids, and many products for sale. Tickets for rides/games were in the form of "credits" uploaded into a card for purchase. "Credits" for rides/games displayed ranged from 4-7 credits (that we saw) depending on the ride/game. We purchased 40 credits for $50.00 + fee. It was convenient to add more credits at the ticket booths when we wanted to play more. Our favorite souvenirs were a capybara plush, cotton candy, and a caricature! Bathrooms were located indoors (which were clean) and by the entrance. Very family friendly with fun entertainment, food, drinks to try! We will definitely come back near year! read more

Ventura County Fairgrounds - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Ventura, California

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Here's a recap of our visit to the Ventura County Fair, which was WAVES OF FUN!! It's now my favorite fair!! Stilt Walkers, Plenty of Fair Food to choose from, Beer on Tap, Petting Zoo, Pony Rides, Livestock and Junior Livestock Auction, Pig Races (loved), Rides and Games, Shop Vendors, Bingo, Mechanical Bull, Live Music and concerts. Loved Violin on Fire with Patrick Contreras and The Outlaw Mariachi, which had people up and dancing!! The foodie in me was excited to try some fair food and it did not disappoint!! My favorite foods: Monster Chicken Kabobs- so flavorful and juicy! Bacon wrapped Jalapeño Poppers are a favorite go-to. Watermelon lemonade- so refreshing Tip: get the souvenir cup for $8 and get refills for 50% off. Dubai Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls. Cinnamon Rolls are baked fresh. So ooey gooey with chocolate. I wish it had more pistachio cream. The sampler box of fudge was creamy and sweet. The Divinity was like a light homemade marshmallow. If you love beef jerky, you'll love Timbo's Beef Jerky and Beef Sticks! We couldn't leave the fair without the roasted Mexican Corn on the cob and cup. Fantastic!! Parking was $20 read more

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We drove up from LA because it was free admission for Seniors day and only 74 degrees vs. 90 degrees at home. We parked at the Pacific View Mall near Target and got on the free shuttle bus. The fair wasn't too crowded on a Tuesday afternoon and we saw a little bit of everything. We got the all beef corn dog $8 and a Bloomin' Onion with spicy sauce $12 and that was lunch. The bathrooms near the entrance/exit seemed to be the busiest. Tip for the wise: wear cruddy shoes if you are going into the barns to see the animals. We caught the shuttle back to the mall and then home. read more

Ventura County Fairgrounds - Bloomin Onion $12 and all beef corn dog $8 August 2025 - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Ventura, California

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The fair was lots of fun. Lots of food and drinks to try. Lots of activities. A must visit yearly event. The weather was perfect but parking was a nightmare. Definitely worth the trip :) read more

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The fair is definitely different from the Oxnard location, but was a nice drive out. We enjoyed h the r festivities and were down within an hour. Parking is tough if you drive out and a lot of the vendors are cash only, so come prepared. read more

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Love everything they do here from the Strawberry Festival to the county fair but this review is for the Oktoberfest. What a deal! $15 flights with large pours from all the delicious local breweries including Topa Topa, Tarantula, Made West, and Transmission. Then there's the huge pretzels so delicious with real cheese. For entertainment there was a yodeling lady in one place and a band in another. If you buy in advance admission was $10 or $6 for seniors and students. There's rides and face painting for the kids plus an amazing petting zoo. They also had line dancing lessons! read more

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The fair started beginning of aug and is still going on. I came here on Sunday with the family to walk around, which you can literally do in about an hour as this fair is really small. The concerts this year are free as well as a few other small shows going on around the fair. You need tickets for all rides and games. There's really only three buildings of vendors and a few in between all the fried food. Tickets are $15 a person and parking is $20 literally more than the actual ticket which I thought was ridiculous. Makes you wanna park outside of the parking lot and walk over as I saw a lot of people doing. Especially since a lot of the parking lots are free up to 4 hours. Overall it's good time with friends or family, esp if you do decide to get on any rides or play any games. I like how this year they had more local business participate as the vendors via stores (not so much the food) Note if you do have a food allergy you won't be able to eat here as you have very limited options. read more

Ventura County Fairgrounds - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Ventura, California

Also known at Seaside Park, the Ventura Country Fairgrounds is a 62 acre site used for concerts, trade shows and festivals. I came here for the annual Summer X Games which are now being hosted by this venue. The venue itself is kinda run down and could use some upgrades. But is was nice to have all of the X Games events in one place. What is nice about this location is that the San Buenaventura State Beach and the Omer Rains Bike Trail are just walking distance away. They are great places to enjoy the ocean breeze or take a bike ride. The entrance to the fairgrounds parking lot is just off highway 101. read more

Ventura County Fairgrounds - Ventura County Fairgrounds - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Ventura, California

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Went for ChopperFest and was very disappointed. They charged $10 for motorcycle parking and $15 for cars. Charging $10 a motorcycle is absolutely pathetic! The event wasn't even worth $20. The employees of the Fair Ground were rude and ignored any questions asked. Had to wait about 30-40 minutes just to get into the event and the people who bought tickets ahead of time still had to wait read more

Octoberfest 2025 - unfortunately it's misrepresented. On the pros fairgrounds is fine. Typical event food and rides. But.... the beer part is the issue. Local pours for 18.00 is suppose to give 5oz pours, actual pours 3-4 oz with very limited choices. Better off going to a brewery. Most booths aren't part of sampler tasters. Disappointing. read more

Just like every skating rink I've been to since the 90s, the Ventura County Fair has not changed. I think last time I've been to the Fair was 7 years ago, and I felt myself undergoing a feeling of deja vu as I walked amongst the games, rides, food, and entertainment, pretty much the same ones as the last time I went. I went on $1 admission day, parked in the Ventura underground parking nearby, and made the 20 minute walk to the fair. I only spent 10 minutes in line purchasing my ticket before entering the fair, and finding ways to make the day as cheap as possible. The highlights/free things included the Alaskan pig races, petting zoo, seeing the pigs, chickens, and cows, short comedy show, and looking at all the amazing photographs in the photography exhibit. Don't worry, though. There were also plenty of opportunities to spend money. You could pay for camel rides, pony rides, games, go on the carnival rides, and they had plenty of people selling cards, knifes, fudge, food, gems, jewelry, clothes, and more in various booths in and outside of the buildings. For food, I tried the elote flamin hot Cheetos in a cup for $13 - and it was pretty delicious. I stayed there for almost 3 hours, felt like I saw and did everything I wanted to do, and I got away with spending no more than $40 there for 2 people, which wasn't too bad. If you bring or are with kids, you'll probably be there longer and spend more money, but everyone will have a good time. It was a pretty fun time, and a reminder that although not much changes year to year from attending the fair, you know what you're in for and will have a good time. read more

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So fun! wind surfer was a little crazy but i loved it so much. all the food was so good but my parents disagreed but id argue that's part of the fun xD read more

Received no response from the Ventura County Fair folks when requesting a refund for a mistake of theirs: Hi, On 8/10/24 I was sold two rodeo tickets for the wrong show time. When we arrived at 2pm, we were told by the ticket attendant that the 2pm show was sold out, but that we could purchase tickets for the 6pm show. So we purchased two tickets, but when we arrived again at 6pm, we were denied entry because they were, in fact, for the 2pm show! LOL. Anyway, I guess on a matter of principal, I should receive a refund because it was the ticket attendant's (inexplicable) error. Please let me know how to receive a refund of $16.00 if possible. Thanks, --Again, crickets. read more

VENTURA County Fair- what a fantastic day! We came up from LA by train. (Make Reservations- get tix in advance for 1 hr train ride). We went on Saturday for the Rodeo... Beach Boys were coming later in the week. Limited time, plan ahead! Know that it will be crowded, dress in layers, bring a hat and water. Food is expensive and Fun. Don't count calories- just eat a funnel cake, ice cream, lemonade, hot dog, fried squares of potatoes, cotton candy or.... Many choices. Lots of rides, exhibits, crafts, AG speakers, 4-H, beloved animals: sheep, gots, pigs, cows and more animals, don't miss the Alaskan Pig Races. read more

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So we come here by car or train, the train lets you off right in front of the Venture fair grounds! We always try to get up here, cause the fair is generally the 2nd week of August ,some of the hottest days of the year! But bring a jacket or sweatshirt cause when the sun goes down it gets very cold! Great shows, crazy food choices, like deep fried Oreo, deep fried twinkies and what ever you can imagine! Live bands and live auctions sheep and pigs! Great exhibits and nothing but a day of fun! And a day to stay cool with those ocean breezes! Plenty of parking! Best bet drive so you can leave anytime! read more

Ventura County Fairgrounds - Entrance to Ventura county fair - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Ventura, California

The prices are astronomical. $5 per person minimum for the smallest kid ride. I have two girls and that means I'm paying $15 for a 5minute little fun house. $10 for a slice of pizza, $11 for a single ice cream cone. $9 for a soda. Love the fair and the atmosphere but I won't be coming back due to the crazy cost of bringing my family. read more

My husband and I went to explore some exhibits and visit with the many animals we encountered , lots of food vendors of all kind. Lots of rides and games to play with different culture music at night. Don't forget to put this on your bucket list, as there are so many things to explore. Happy August 2024 to you all. read more

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Brian's Baked Potatoes is the only vendor that my family went to that the food in the photos is not what we received. Ordered 3 carne asada fries and they were just fries and meat. No toppings at all like in the photo. I went back to ask and was told we had to tell them that we wanted toppings and they were all extra. My family went to other vendors and got what they paid for and what was in the photo. My mom's burger came with all toppings like in photo my daughter's cheesesteak came with all toppings like in the photo. False advertising. read more

I love the fair .. however I have seen it be the same for about 20 years now. I bought 2 WOW passes which is entry to the fair every day for 42 bucks each. My boyfriend and I went 6 times. I just felt as after a few years off .. the my could've revamped it. The concerts were fun . I do wish they'd do a Día De La Familia an evening. They do all concerts at night but the one Spanish concert is when the sun is at it's hottest. I was burnt so Sunburnt. Seems unfair that they can't give one night for another concert .. be it Spanish or another. It could be better. Same old exhibits. Over priced food. To be honest, I'll probably buy WoW passes again since it's more about the nostalgia of it all. read more

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This year 2022 the fair is back! Visited the fair on a Thursday 8-4-22 & it was pretty packed with lots of activities food venders shops demos concerts games & rides. Prices were reasonable but still a bit up there. Price to get in on a Thursday was $15 parking was $20 on site. Off site parking is free with shuttle Service. Large nachos were $19 but they were good. Wine was $7 large beer $12. Concerts were free! Weather was nice gets chilly at night. Have fun y'all read more

On an absolute whim, hubby and I decided to go out to the Ventura County Fair 2022. I believe it's been cancelled the last 2 years, and I haven't been in 4 years. We had a wonderful time. I bought our tickets online $30 for 2 adults. The day before was $1 day, so obviously it wasn't very busy the following day. Yay for us! Not many animals there yet, they're still judging the 2 year old lady goats, so the sheep, calves and pigs haven't arrived yet. I grew up with many animals including barnyard varieties, and as a youngster won many trophies at fairs for my beautiful animals, so I enjoy that part. No horses had arrived either, so no arena events yet. We had an $11 beer and enjoyed the agriculture and horticulture exhibits, interesting how the previously lush and beautiful displays have become cactus arrangements that are respecting our drought times. We stopped by the Station Stage to enjoy live music and we shared our HUGE teriyaki chicken and vegetable skewer($20). The "Stereo Chickens" a band from Morro Bay were performing, and they were just wonderful! Good sing-along band. FUN! We rode the BIG ferris wheel which was $7 per person. Lovely views! Can't imagine going to the fair and not going on the big wheel. Just a 5 minute wait in line. Sea Breeze stage had a tap dance show called "Powerhouse" going on and we stopped for a look. They were very engaging with all the kiddos, which was cute to watch. Enjoyed $9 frozen bananas with peanuts for a sweet treat. Wandered through the Commercial buildings and opted for a bag of kettle corn to finish up our carny food feast ($9 for medium), finally checked out photography exhibit and a bit of the table setting displays before heading out. Things were really getting busy at 5:30 when we were just exiting. Great day at the fair! read more

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Had a great time at the fair! Of course it's expensive for tickets, games, drinks and food but honestly that's what I expect from the fair. Easily spent $500 year but made such fun memories and had an incredible day with my family. There's so much to do, so many vendors and so much to see! From the livestock to rollercoasters, live music and camel rides. I definitely recommend! read more

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Wow! The fair is always an amazing experience with bunch of rides, food, concerts and experience. The entry fee is $12.00 per person and infants/seniors 65+ get in free. (Infants/toddlers 0-3 years of age) this is pretty high but once you're in, it is really fun! The parking outside can be free in some areas like residential neighborhoods. The parking can be expensive as well, up to $20.00 if you get unlucky. The inside, you can go shopping, eat any type of fattening food: cotton candy, ice cream, chicken skewers, unique fries, bagels, donuts, pretzels, waffles, shakes, funnel cakes, bbq, turkey leg, gyros, burritos etc. and so much more... I didn't have a chance to go on any of the rides, but they have your typical Ferris wheel, carousel, mini coasters, magic wheels, etc. and those are bought with tickets depending on the ride, I have pictures of the prices if you want to see what they charge. I ordered a huge chicken skewer and it was pretty good with garlic fries. Expensive, but it's the experience that counts right? The concert. The Ohio players were playing and I was pumped but, it was overcrowded with the stadium completely filled and most of the seats near the front were taken as well. Overall, the weather makes everything better, Ventura has one of the best weather around in California, plus you have many different restaurants nearby. It was fun, being your lover or friend/family member and enjoy the experience! read more

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This year the Ventura County Fair made a couple changes that I was a fan of. They offered more shuttle services making it easier to avoid the parking fees. The shuttles are very quick. They also had camels this year and changed up the location of stages. I would have liked for them to add more tables near food options. Prices also increased heavily but ordering a large order of curly fries for $15 and sharing with the family is more affordable. They had a bug exhibit inside that is great for kids! read more

This is a fun place. Been going for years. But please, why the "VIP" section for concerts?? And charge way more than it has always been. Only those folks not in VC care - the privileged people. All about the money. Sad. The entire premise of a county fair is for all the people of the county. And make it affordable for them! Really bad VCF organization read more

Should allow free parking especially with cost of entry. Livestock area needs better speakers couldn't hear a word that was being said ridiculous read more

Went for a gem show. Lots of parking, $10 today. Good variety of vendors. Enjoyed our time there today. Curious, though- train station stopped there, but where could you park if you were taking train out? read more

This review is for the 'concerts-in-your-car' series. They have the parking process down. If you truly want the best parking spot relative to the stage and the level ticket you purchased, you need to be there the minute they open the gates, which is usually 60-90 minutes before the scheduled show start, you will get an e-mail announcement. They do a nice job with their communication. Parking circles the stage which is placed in the middle of a giant black asphalt parking lot. When playing, the band faces one direction, so unless you are parked facing the front of the stage you get a unique and sometimes bad angle. On the upside, the stage has a large viewing screen on every side (4X) so you will get to see what is happening in some capacity. It's worth going early and tailgating because you can bring your own food and alcohol. Why not turn it into a fun event? The concert goers were generally respectful of the COVID concerns, so social distancing and masks were prevalent, they even had security walking the concert to make sure rules were being followed. I LOVE concerts and found this to be an adequate replacement, but FAR from an old school concert, it lacked the energy and fervor you get from being in a crowded, close proximity space with LOUD music. The sound was just okay. We saw Bush on Saturday, 11/21/2020. I was disappointed that the show was so short, they went on at 8pm and ended at 9:15, the crowd seemed a little shocked at the shortness of the event, I know I was. On the upside, we went with family so it was nice to get quality family time with our crew. read more

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First they heavily reduced how many fireworks they had, and now there are none. Whoever they are listening to really hates fun. Thanks. Been here 30+ years, and the fireworks were one of the highlights we looked forward to every year. read more

Small public service announcement about directions and parking for the Ventura County Fair, August 3-14, 2022, from a non-local. Parking at the fairgrounds is VERY limited (and costs $20), but there are multiple satellite parking lots (that are either FREE or $10 and have FREE shuttles to take you to the fair). I recommend you scope out the parking options on the Ventura County Fair website before you go. Google Maps will lead you to an entrance that they will not allow you to enter from. I would only use the Google Maps location if you are getting an Uber/Lyft to drop you off close to the entrance. We parked at the San Buenaventura State Beach site because it was one of the closest spots that wasn't at the fair itself. There are limited signs for "Ventura County Fair, Park and Ride". Follow those to the large lot where you see a lot of restrooms. There will be a small A-frame sign to show you were to line up for the free shuttle! We weren't sure we were in the right place, but thankfully, the shuttle bus came quickly, only about 10 minutes between shuttles! When we entered at 6pm, the parking attendant at the state beach kiosk wasn't there, but you can download the Yodel Parking App to pay for the $10 parking at that beach site. It's only a 5 minute ride to the fairgrounds. I recommend that you scope out your parking situation before you go, or you'll waste 30 minutes getting re-routed to a satellite parking lot anyway. Another option is trying to find street parking around the fair and then walking, but we saw a lot of people doing this, so I imagine parking might be difficult to find. Prices were very fair to enter. $15 per adult, and seniors above 65 years old were only $10. On the website, it says children 6-12 are $10, but at the gate, a sign said that kids 6-12 are FREE to enter as well! Check out the daily schedule! We went last Friday in order to watch the All American Rejects. It was a great concert and a great value for only $15 a ticket. A quick look at their events calendar seems to show that they have a pretty recognizable band playing at 7:30pm each night! We started off sitting in the general audience seats on the arena floor, but as the music went on and everyone started standing up, we migrated up to the stands, which got a great view of the stage still! One thing to note. Even though prices for food at county fairs are notoriously terrible, I felt that the prices were high BUT acceptable at the Ventura County Fair! Last year, at the OC fair, one turkey leg cost $25.99 at a vendor there! At the Ventura County Fair, I saw that turkey legs cost $17.93. The location of the fairgrounds are right by the ocean (which is pretty cool), so it gets very chilly and breezy/windy at night time. I recommend dressing accordingly! I hope this info helps someone! haha. I hope you have a great time! read more

Great fun. It was our first time here. A smaller country fair, In comparison to the LA county fair. All of the food stands we tried were pretty good. We stayed for the rodeo which was awesome. It is right on the beach which makes it nice and cool weather. read more

We had a blast. Everything was way over priced but we had a nice time. It's a fair right off the ocean you can't beat that. Hadn't had a good corn dog since before the pandemic. read more

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This is a great fair. Helm and Sons brought a ton of rides and dinosaurs!! And games for kids and adults. A local high school made great coffee and funnel cakes to raise money for their music program, I got 2 cups of coffee and 3 Gatorades throughout the day. Comedy Magician Gus Flamingo is hysterical, his free show is in the Youth building. Hypnotist Tina Marie is also hysterical, her show is a lot of fun to watch. There is a lot of great music for the whole fair run, several stages around the grounds, check it out. Tractor pulls for the kids. Pig and dog races for everyone. This is a great fair, it was my very first visit, I'll definitely be back. read more

For a warm sunny weather the beach breeze hitting your face is so therapeutic. It's nice but parking can be a challenging!

The location is great and the overall experience was good. We went yesterday. We had a negative experience with ride workers on two rides. One prepared my sons for the ride, but my oldest son's arm got stuck in between the metal bars. My son called for the worker's attention, he looked and made a hand gesture like "whatever" and didn't do anything. Fortunately, my son was able to release his arm out of the jam before the ride started. Then another guy landed a metal bar on my head when trying to secure my sons, without waiting for me to get on my seat. Not even an apology. These workers seem to hate their jobs. read more

Every year I've loved the Ventura county fair! But this year they changed the layout of the concert and it's so stupid! So many people can't get into the concert which never had happened before with much bigger artists! They basically forced us to spend a extra $80 to buy vip tickets! And tickets for the fair has gone up so much! Everything is much more expensive for cheaper things. Ventura do better... read more

First time at the Ventura County Fair...small but cute. We parked a little ways away in a private lot for $10.00 and walked a couple of blocks to the entrance. $12.00 per person entrance fee and we were in. We walked among the various food places and its always a tough choice when it come to fair food. I decided to start with a spicy pickle that cost $3.50...nice, big and a little spicy...like me...haha. We moved through the various shopping and ended up buying some macaron cookies and a loaf of orange cranberry bread that I am looking to having for breakfast. On we went further and there was a lot of livestock here...people in Ventura were much more into that than at the LA County fair for sure. We watched a roping competition and it took me back to my childhood in Texas. All in all it was fun, not too big and I thought worth the trip over. read more

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Parents especially with offspring under 18 will be pleased with the Ventura County Fair: Relatively small county fair by the sea which means refreshing ocean breezes so that it is never too hot even on an August summer day. Ventura County Fair in comparison to Orange County & even more Los Angeles County is geared more to the under 21 set with huge fun zone & rides. I'm used to going to the wine tasting areas in Orange County & Los Angeles County which has even wine tasting seminars scheduled in the evenings as well as wine tasting by the long bar. Ventura has none of these adult entertainment venues for oenophiles. The floral displays at Los Angeles County are sophisticated, writ large, but Ventura's version is more folksy homey with charming, naïve plant design competition by those under 18 years of age. There is a small building dedicated to local artists and their art works displayed inside as well as sculptures of different media outside. Particularly interesting was a giant eating Godzilla in between a hamburger bun. The mechanical bull was fun to watch as many of the riders were thrown off their saddles. Food is mediocre as in any county fair. The "Wine Garden" was the only place where wine was served. Herzog Winery was featured, but run by what seemed to be employees of the fair and not by knowledgeable staff who would have been representatives of the winery. However, that didn't matter since the Pinot Gris was plonk: acidic, sour, slightly funky, flat tasting yet disagreeably sweet. Ventura County Fair is great for the kids since much of the features of this fair is geared for them for which I have no complaint. However, I found it to be a one time deal for me. Los Angeles County fair is still the better venue for more adult oriented entertainment out of the tri-county fairs that I have attended even though temperatures may exceed 100 degrees on a Santa Ana driven heat wave in Pomona. 3 Yelp stars. PS To avoid hard to find parking close to the fair as well as higher price parking of $15, go to Santa Buena Ventura State Beach parking lot which is about 2 miles south of the fair. Parking fee is $10, and there is a free shuttle. Last shuttle leaves the fair at 11pm as told by the park ranger. read more

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When guests pay the top dollar for events here, they don't expect to pay $20 for parking. Even the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion in the middle of Los Angeles charges $9 for LA Opera parking. We will not be going to future Fairground events because of this rip-off. read more