Fairs Los Angeles County

Eyes closed tight, Bryan Arita bravely took a shot in his arm. No tears, not even a grimace for the 7-year-old who walked three blocks with his parents to get immunized at a health fair Saturday sponsored by the Children's Community School. The family, who immigrated from El Salvador 12 years ago, was grateful for the free care. "I think maybe we'll try to come back," said Bryan's father, Cesar Arita. His family is welcome any time.

What's it like to land in the middle of a prehistoric jungle, surrounded by dozens of sneering, snorting dinosaurs? You'll find out at the L.A. County Fair. Fairgoers will be on a mission to figure out what happened in Fairplex 7a, where a plane has crash-landed on a mysterious building. Nearby is the base camp of a scientific expedition--but no trace of the scientists. You'll see signs of dinosaurs amid blinking computer lights and upended equipment.

Ken Smith leaned over, measured the distance from his hand to the plate and, with a delicate touch, tossed a shiny quarter into the air and waited. It sailed over his previous 17 quarters and bounced off its target--a clear glass dinner plate, which sat atop a mountain of prized stuffed animals. All eyes were on the quarter as it then flipped in the air before landing in the middle of the plate, producing a collective sigh of relief from Smith and his family.

Thousands of people are expected to flock to the 61st Antelope Valley Fair and Alfalfa Festival when it opens Friday, showcasing various forms of entertainment, carnival rides and exhibits. The fair will be at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds, 155 E. Avenue I in Lancaster, and ends Sept. 6. Entertainers will include Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Beach Boys Family and Friends, John Michael Montgomery and Martina McBride, said Jim Llewellyn, a spokesman for the fair.

San Fernando Valley Fair officials met with community leaders Friday to hear their views on a proposal to relocate the fair to the Hansen Dam Equestrian Center. Members of the fair's board of directors said they want to move the annual four-day event from the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank to Hansen Dam because it is one of the last remaining rural areas in the San Fernando Valley.

In previous years, this day meant trouble. Carnies and concessionaires at the Fairplex in Pomona had precious few minutes to talk Thursday as they barbecued the roasts, lined up the frozen bananas and washed down the rides before the sun rose today, opening day, on the ephemeral megalopolis that is the Los Angeles County Fair. But the whole thing fell into place splendidly, and Howard Lindsey couldn't have been more impressed.

The Valley Fair Board of Directors, citing dissatisfaction with its present home at Burbank's Equestrian Center and lack of cooperation by other local venues, said Friday that the fair most likely will move to the Santa Clarita Valley. The nine-member board, which has been negotiating with the city of Santa Clarita, decided to make that area its first choice for a permanent relocation site, said Bob Scott, a board member. The move would not take place until at least 2000, he said.

Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren trumpeted the success of the Megan's Law CD-ROM display at the Los Angeles County Fair on Monday, citing 10 cases in which fair-goers recognized people in direct contact with children--such as youth sports coaches--as sex offenders. But Lungren's office alerted the media to these cases in a news release before alerting local law enforcement, Lungren spokesman Rob Stutzman acknowledged Monday afternoon.

Waking up on skid row one morning from a 30-year heroin- and whiskey-induced stupor that he said cost him his wife, job and home, Ken Sanders decided to put Vietnam behind him. "You get older and you start to reflect," said Sanders, 48. "Wherever I went, there I was. I couldn't run from myself." Sanders was one of several hundred men and a handful of women who attended the seventh annual Homeless Veterans Fair on Thursday.

Normally at this time of year, the publicity-minded folks at the Los Angeles County Fair are cranking out previews of the warm and fuzzy events that are the fair's staples: cookie baking contests, beekeeping exhibits, trainers of celebrity dogs. But on Tuesday, with the fair's opening less than a month away, officials found themselves looking down the other end of the public relations barrel--fending off criticism that a giant tobacco company is sponsoring some of the live musical acts.

The legacy of a modern phenomenon, "The Lord of the Dance," will intersect with a village seemingly transported here from medieval times this weekend at the 25th annual Irish Fair and Music Festival at Santa Anita Park racetrack. About 1,200 Irish step-dancers will compete on six stages and a quarter of the fair's real estate will be occupied by Tara Village, a simulated medieval hamlet brimming with historical reenactments of battles, music and crafts people.

The Valley Fair and Rodeo is open today from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Activities include: Fun & Fit Gymnastics, Accelerator Band, Have Sword Will Travel, Val Ewell & Pulse and Kool Kids perform on the Community Stage from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; The Horse Soldiers, Jericho, New Song and Homestead Country Band perform on the Country Stage from 1 to 10 p.m.; And KoKo's Big Top & House of Clowns performs in the Circus Tent from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.. The rodeo begins at 6:45 p.m.

San Fernando Valley Fair officials met with community leaders Friday to hear their views on a proposal to relocate the fair to the Hansen Dam Equestrian Center. Members of the fair's board of directors said they want to move the annual four-day event from the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank to Hansen Dam because it is one of the last remaining rural areas in the San Fernando Valley.

Ken Smith leaned over, measured the distance from his hand to the plate and, with a delicate touch, tossed a shiny quarter into the air and waited. It sailed over his previous 17 quarters and bounced off its target--a clear glass dinner plate, which sat atop a mountain of prized stuffed animals. All eyes were on the quarter as it then flipped in the air before landing in the middle of the plate, producing a collective sigh of relief from Smith and his family.

Eyes closed tight, Bryan Arita bravely took a shot in his arm. No tears, not even a grimace for the 7-year-old who walked three blocks with his parents to get immunized at a health fair Saturday sponsored by the Children's Community School. The family, who immigrated from El Salvador 12 years ago, was grateful for the free care. "I think maybe we'll try to come back," said Bryan's father, Cesar Arita. His family is welcome any time.

With a little work and care, what today is merely seedling and dirt will soon bear fruit. That was the lesson for preschoolers at San Fernando Gardens housing complex who took part Friday in "Ag in a Classroom," an educational program led by the San Fernando Valley Fair. For this particular group of children, the fruits of their labor will be strawberries. "For some of these kids, you ask them, 'Where do strawberries come from?' and they say, 'The market,' " said fair chairman David Honda.

Despite growing community support for the Hansen Dam Recreation Area as a permanent home for the San Fernando Valley Fair, the event will move to a new location this summer, a top fair official said Saturday. Budget constraints forced fair organizers to move from Hansen Dam to the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, where the fair will be held July 9 to 12, said Sal Buccieri, president of the fair's board of directors.

No vendors were selling "I Survived the Street Fair" T-shirts in Sherman Oaks on Sunday, which is just as well. The Sherman Oaks Street Fair and Carnival, which was supposed to produce monumental traffic jams and parking nightmares, turned out to be a relatively stress-free success. "This is wonderful," said 34-year-old Sherman Oaks resident Lydia Altomare, who strolled the street with her mother and two sons. "The food's great, the fair's great and the vibes are great."

Waking up on skid row one morning from a 30-year heroin- and whiskey-induced stupor that he said cost him his wife, job and home, Ken Sanders decided to put Vietnam behind him. "You get older and you start to reflect," said Sanders, 48. "Wherever I went, there I was. I couldn't run from myself." Sanders was one of several hundred men and a handful of women who attended the seventh annual Homeless Veterans Fair on Thursday.

Vaudeville and Ed Sullivan are dead, Las Vegas lounge acts have almost disappeared, and just about the only circus that comes to town has a French name and serves cappuccino at intermission. So, where can a juggler, clown, unicycle rider, balloon animal artist and contortionist still find work? Welcome to a niche of show business known as the county fair circuit. "Ladies and gentlemen, here is something you have never before seen!"