Offbeat new attractions could revive fair tradition

Organizers seek attendance boost by trying a few twists

An LGBTQ-themed night, Indian Independence Day celebration and silent disco party — the 2018 Santa Clara County Fair is not your grandmother’s county fair.

But the sight of a spinning Ferris wheel, the familiar smell of funnel cakes and the reappearance of pepper steak should rekindle some visitors’ memories of the fair’s glory days as the fun gets underway Thursday.

The thematic amalgam of contemporary and old-fashioned is new executive director Abe Andrade’s idea for breathing new life into the struggling fair, the county fairgrounds’ signature annual event. His vision encompasses the features that made the fair a major draw in its heyday in the ’60s and ’70s while also welcoming the Valley’s emerging communities.

“You want to retain the old and bring in

the new,” he said. “We want to be more inviting to the various cultures and communities and I think that’s the way to grow the fair.”

Time will tell whether his vision works. According to Valerie Merklin, fair manager and the fairgrounds’ director of development, attendance last year hovered around 24,000 over the four-day period. She said because of all the new offerings, organizers are hoping to double that number this year.

“People say, ‘I don’t want to come, because it’s not the fair I remember,’ but we need everyone to start coming out… we need to grow our attendance,” Merklin said.

While the fair once drew upwards of half a million

people, in recent decades it hasn’t come close to matching Alameda County’s seemingly grander and more popular annual event. Merklin reckons it’s a combination of reasons that started with the loss of state and county funding.

The second blow landed on the fair’s reputation about three decades ago following an out-of-control brawl that turned families off and kept them away for years to come, she said. Then came attempts to redevelop the county-owned land, which resulted in the loss of structures that once housed livestock, one of the fair’s bigger draws, Merklin said.

“It was just the perfect storm of funding had dried up and some of the livestock facilities being torn down and the public had a perception that there might be safety concerns,” she said. “Those are things that take

time to recover from.”

Meanwhile, conversations about what to do with the 150-acre fairgrounds property in South San Jose have continued for nearly two decades, with some wondering whether redeveloping it into housing would be a better use of the space.

Four years ago, an effort to brainstorm potential uses for the land started in earnest again when the county sought proposals following a community outreach process that showed, despite the dismal attendance, “there’s a lot of interest in what happens to the fairgrounds,” said county Supervisor Cindy Chavez.

“For many people it’s been a part of our growing up (here),” she said. “If you grew up in the Valley, at some point you went to the fair. What I think is important about that is there’s a lot of emotional attachment to the fair itself. It’s really a

part of Santa Clara County’s DNA and whatever happens to the site, it really has to have broad public use.”

The results of the proposals request are expected to be presented to the Board of Supervisors this fall. Chavez suggested while there’s no interest by the current board in subsidizing the fairgrounds, she’d support some type of county investment.

For now, the little fair that could will return for its 74th year with multicultural programming intended to appeal to a wide range of audiences. Highlights will include “Out at the Fair,” an LGBTQ-themed familyfriendly event on Thursday that will feature square dancing and a display of AIDS quilt panels.

A miniature horse show will be held for the first time on Friday. The contest is open to participants of all ages with leased or

owned miniature horses or donkeys.

Another first for the fair is the incorporation of the Indian Independence Day, “Swades,” on Saturday. Organizers expect this event alone will draw around 10,000 people, Merklin said.

“Maybe people that are used to the traditional American county fair will get to experience that as well,” she said. “You can learn to line dance on Friday and Bollywood dance on Saturday.”

Silent disco, an event where people dance to music that they listen to on wireless headphones, will take place every night except opening night and likely will draw every millennial in sight.

Exhibits with sea lions, reptiles and ponies are sure to be popular with the little ones, while visitors of all ages can tap into their inner kid through carnival games and rides.

Concerts will be held every day of the fair, with the biggest attraction being Eddie Money, the rock ’n’ roll star behind the ’80s hit, “Take Me Home Tonight.”

But the biggest draw among all those demographics just might be the return of pepper steak. Organizers promise it’s the original recipe developed by Angelo DiPietro, who — along with his family — ran the Pepper Steak Restaurant at the fair in the ’60s. Visitors can find the popular stir-fried ChineseAmerican dish at the center of the Expo Hall food circle.

The fair kicks off at 344 Tully Road on Thursday, 1 to 10 p.m. and continues Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children and free to kids 4 and under.

For a full schedule of events, visit thefair.org.