The reimagined Santa Barbara County Fair is all set to open its gates on Friday and begin its all new eight-day split schedule. For more than 25 years, the fair has been held over a five-day period in mid-July, beginning on a Wednesday and finishing the following Sunday.

New Format and Schedule

This year, the fair will begin on Friday, July 3rd and run three days through Sunday, July 5th, then will be closed to the public on Monday, July 6th and Tuesday, July 7th, and will reopen for five more days from Wednesday July 8th through Sunday, July 12th.

According to Todd Ventura, Santa Maria Fairpark Interim CEO, the new format will add an interesting dynamic to the fair. In addition to a its new longer schedule, Ventura pointed out the fair will also feature an array of format changes and other new concepts.

In every turn at every corner something will be different, said Ventura. Nothing is in the same spot. There are buildings and things that you cannot move. Those will be in the same spots, but the programing inside them totally different in every building and in every area.

Changes and Additions

A new parking lot and additional gate entrance for the public to use have been added. The stretch of Depot Street that runs between West Stowell Road and West Morrison Avenue will be closed to traffic to ensure the safety of the fairgoers who park in the new Depot Street parking lot.

The core of what we’re doing is agriculture, said Ventura. We’re going to have a very traditional fair, a great livestock show. We have one of the best livestock shows in the nation really, and we have a great livestock auction with all of our supporters, so some of those traditions will not change and they’ll still be here.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.