Seaside Park (commonly known as the Ventura County Fairgrounds) is an event venue in

Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city on the Southern Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist des ...

, United States. The is the home of the

Ventura County Fair The Ventura County Fair is an annual event held each August in Ventura, California, United States, at Seaside Park, commonly called the Ventura County Fairgrounds. The fair includes an agricultural show, carnival rides, food booths, and nightly c ...

Trade show A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

s, and other events are held throughout the year at the fairgrounds. The beachfront site, near the mouth of the

Ventura River The Ventura River, in western Ventura County in southern California, United States, flows from its headwaters to the Pacific Ocean. The smallest of the three major rivers in Ventura County, it flows through the steeply sloped, narrow Ventura V ...

, also includes Surfers' Point, known for its

point break ''Point Break'' is a 1991 American action crime film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by W. Peter Iliff. It stars Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The film's title refers to the surfing term " point break", wher ...

that produces distinctive waves. The original were donated to the

County of Ventura Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxna ...

by Eugene Preston Foster and Orpha Foster, who envisioned the Seaside Park as a miniature Golden Gate Park. The Fosters wanted a beautiful gateway to Ventura, where families could walk and picnic, play tennis, and enjoy family outings. Most of the site is now owned by the State of California and is managed by the 31st District Agricultural Association, an independent state agency.

Events and activities

Fairgrounds

The 31st District Agricultural Association is a state

special-purpose district Special districts (also known as special service districts, special district governments, limited purpose entities, or special-purpose districts) are independent, special-purpose governmental units that exist separately from local governments such ...

in the Division of Fairs and Expositions of the

California Department of Food and Agriculture The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is a cabinet-level agency in the government of California. Established in 1919 by the California State Legislature and signed into law by Governor William Stephens, the Department of Food ...

. The Fair Board's role is to set and approve policies for the organization. Members of the Board of Directors are appointed by the governor of California. They organize the annual

and run the Derby Club, a live via satellite horse racing off-track wagering facility. Events are held throughout the year, including

trade show A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...

s, conventions,

s, and

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

s. The year-round facility has convention facilities, demonstration halls, equestrian facilities which include an arena, and administrative offices. Although the original race track and grandstand are long gone, the

Ventura Raceway Ventura Raceway is a 1/5 mile, high-banked clay oval racetrack located at the Ventura County Fairgrounds in Ventura, California, United States. It is owned and operated by Jim Naylor, who is also the track announcer. In 2010 Jim was inducted in ...

is hosted at the fairgrounds when the fair is not in season. The

Thousand Oaks shooting On November 7, 2018, a mass shooting occurred in Thousand Oaks, California, United States, at the Borderline Bar and Grill, a country-western bar frequented by college students. Thirteen people were killed, including the perpetrator, who died of ...

at the Borderline dance bar in November 2018 was a month before the last

gun show In the United States, a gun show is an event where promoters generally rent large public venues and then rent tables for display areas for dealers of guns and related items, and charge admission for buyers. The majority of guns for sale at gun s ...

of the year at the fairgrounds. While considering the 2019 season, the board fair only approved the first two guns shows of the new year with the desire to prepare a policy before approving the three additional gun shows requested by the company that puts on them on. A state law prohibited the sale of firearms and ammunition after January 1, 2023.

Public recreation

The

Omer Rains Omer Leonard Rains (born September 25, 1941) is an American politician, lawyer, author, ecologist, and humanitarian. Introduction Elected to the California Senate as a Democrat in 1974, Rains served three terms prior to running for the Office o ...

Bike Trail lies outside the fairgrounds fence running along the beach and river levee. Connecting the San Buenaventura State Beach to the south and

Emma Wood State Beach Emma Wood State Beach is a California State Beach in Ventura, California. It is located on the Santa Barbara Channel on the west side of the Ventura River estuary and south of the railroad tracks of the Coast Line and the US Highway 101 freewa ...

to the north, the path is on the Pacific Coast Bicycle Route and also serves as an access point for

California Coastal Trail The California Coastal Trail, or CCT, is an environmental project by the California Coastal Conservancy, an organization developed to enhance coastal resources and promote access to the shore in 2001. The trail is designed to connect the enti ...

. Surfing is popular here with its

that produces distinctive waves.

History

Eugene P. and Orpha Foster envisioned a miniature Golden Gate Park since John McLaren, the designer of that park, was a family friend. They donated the original to the

, adding another later. They wanted a beautiful gateway to Ventura, where families could walk and picnic, play tennis, and enjoy family outings.

Historical uses

Around 1901, John J. Coit installed and operated a

miniature railway A ridable miniature railway (US: riding railroad or grand scale railroad) is a large scale, usually ground-level railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are often models of full-sized railway locomotives (powered by diesel or petro ...

in Seaside Park, probably with the unusual gauge of . The locomotive, which Coit had designed, was of the camelback type. After a short period of time, he relocated some of the equipment to the Long Beach and Asbury Park Railway. For many years, Babe Ruth Field occupied the area of the main parking lot and served as the home of the Ventura Braves, Ventura Yankees, and

Ventura Oilers The Ventura Oilers were a California League baseball team based in Ventura, California, USA that played from 1947 to 1953. They were affiliated with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in 1953, the Boston Braves from 1950 to 1952 a ...

professional baseball teams.

Modern projects

The bike path along the shore was refurbished in 1989. Within a couple of years that path was again eaten by waves and began to fail. Initially, fair officials wanted a buried

sea wall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservatio ...

to protect the bike path that had been damaged. Surfers fiercely objected, fearing that this would destroy the

near the Ventura River that generates the distinctive waves at Surfers' Point at Seaside Park, the city park area. Environmentalists projected reduced habitat and increased erosion rates on nearby beaches by the altered wave patterns. In 2011, the popular bike and pedestrian path was moved inland as part of a

managed retreat Managed retreat involves the purposeful, coordinated movement of people and buildings away from risks. This may involve the movement of a person, infrastructure (e.g., building or road), or community. It can occur in response to a variety of hazar ...

project, a first of its kind in California. Cobble was placed eight feet deep and covered with sand dunes that would allow the beach to act similarly to how it would under natural conditions.

In popular culture

In 1922, a horse race was filmed here for '' The Pride of Palomar'', a movie bankrolled by newspaper magnate

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

Cosmopolitan Pictures Cosmopolitan Productions, also often referred to as Cosmopolitan Pictures, was an American film company based in New York City from 1918 to 1923 and Hollywood until 1938. History Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst formed Cosmopolitan in c ...

. In 1927, ''Racing Romeo'', a saga about a young race car driver starring football great

Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and the short-lived New York Yankees ...

, used the fairground track.

References

{{Ventura, California Beaches of Southern California Buildings and structures in Ventura, California Fairgrounds in the United States Music venues in California Parks in Ventura County, California Surfing locations in California Beaches of Ventura County, California 14½ in gauge railways Managed retreat