Seaside Park is an event venue in Ventura, California, United States. The is the home of the Ventura County Fair. Trade shows, concerts, and other events are held throughout the year at the fairgrounds. The beachfront site, near the mouth of the Ventura River, also includes Surfers' Point, known for its point break that produces distinctive waves. The original were donated to the County of Ventura 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, am independent state agency.
Events and activities
Fairgrounds
The 31st District Agricultural Association is a state special-purpose district in the Division of Fairs and Expositions of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. 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 Ventura County Fair and run the Derby Club, a live via satellite horse racingoff-track wagering facility. Events are held throughout the year, including trade shows, conventions, concerts, and festivals. 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 is hosted at the fairgrounds when the fair is not in season. The Thousand Oaks shooting at the Borderline dance bar in November 2018 was a month before the last gun show 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.
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 County of Ventura, adding another later. They wanted a beautiful gateway to Ventura, where families could walk and picnic, play tennis, and enjoy family outings.
In 2011, the popular bike and pedestrian path was moved inland as part of a managed retreat project, a first of its kind in California. Initially, fair officials wanted a buried sea wall to protect the bike path that had been damaged since it was built in 1989. Surfers fiercely objected, fearing that this would destroy the point break 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.
