The Santa Barbara County Fair is back with a few changes.
After the Fourth of July, families continued their holiday weekend by visiting the Santa Barbara County fair at the Santa Maria Fairgrounds.
Yolanda Gonzalez and her family were some of the first visitors at the fair on Sunday.
“[We came for] the kids," Gonzalez said. "Just wanting to spend time with them and have them experience what we experienced as kids and get to know the community more and get them out a little bit more out of the house.”
Organizers said though it’s still familiar, they wanted to change what people could expect for this year.
Interim CEO Todd Ventura said they’re leading with two themes:
“More of everything and change," Ventura said.
Ventura said they added more rides, more vendors and more entertainment. He said adding extra days for people to visit while lowering entry prices has been something organizers have discussed for years and introducing it this year was perfect timing.
“We wanted something different at the Santa Barbara County Fair," Ventura said. "We wanted new programming in different places. So people can come and sort of re-experience and reengage with their county fair.”
Ventura said since the fair opened on Friday, there has been solid foot traffic each day.
Gonzalez said she and her family are looking forward to trying all the new rides and food the fair has to offer in a family-friendly space.
“I think it's really good," Gonzalez said. "It's really good for the kids. [It] gives them something to do. We have a lot of kids in our community and we look forward to bringing ours. Honestly, just keep them busy and keep them out of trouble.”
The fair will reopen again in just a few days, Wednesday, July 8 through Sunday, July 12.
