Ventura Stages Its Spring Celebration for Thousands

For Louise Green and her granddaughter, Autumn Traum, the California Beach Party has become a family tradition.

“This is my fourth year,” Autumn, 15, said Saturday as the pair ate lunch on the grass lining Ventura’s beach promenade.

“It’s my sixth,” said Green of Ventura between bites of crab salad. “We’ll be here tomorrow too.”

Ventura’s biggest special event of the year drew thousands of people to the 3/4-mile promenade, where the entertainment included 1950s-style rock bands, a sock hop, art exhibits, a bodybuilding competition and a surfing tournament.

For Vicki Kirby of Ventura, the main event was people-watching.

“We’re looking for some cute guys,” said Kirby, 40, as she and two friends checked out passersby from a well-positioned bench. Despite the hordes of shirtless, muscular men, the women said they were disappointed.

“We just got here, and it’s early,” Kirby added hopefully.

Perhaps the pickings were slim because so many men were at the bikini contest, which featured a half-dozen women modeling various styles of swimwear, to the whoops and hollers of an appreciative crowd.

Watching the competition from a distance, Ventura attorney Karen Anne Kurta said she didn’t think it was insulting to women.

“The way I’m built, it would be demeaning to women,” Kurta said with a laugh. “But the way they are, it’s all right.”

Kurta was one of hundreds of volunteers who help the city stage the 8-year-old spring celebration, which is always held on the last weekend in April. A new attraction this year is a classic car show, featuring more than 200 vintage automobiles.

Faye Campbell, the city’s special events coordinator, said organizers are hoping attendance rebounds after a 1992 dip, which she attributed to a decision to start charging admission. The entertainment lineup was expanded this year to feature events on three stages along the promenade, she said.

Adult general admission is $5.50 and children under age 12 are free.

Hundreds of visitors Saturday morning pointed their beach chairs toward the ocean and watched the longboard surfers compete. About 185 surfers entered the competition, which concludes today.

Link Teffeteller of Newbury Park made the first cut and was about to hit the surf for Round 2. He said the tournament draws the best amateur surfers in the state, but Saturday’s four-foot waves were a letdown.

“Hopefully they’ll get better,” he said, watching the incoming tide.

The waves may have been disappointing, but vendors were raving about the weather, which included cloudless skies and a steady breeze.

“Whoever ordered the weather gets an A,” said Gretchen Jaenicke, a jewelry maker from La Jolla who was attending her first Beach Party. She said business was brisk and the festival was “very well-organized.”

But fortune was not smiling on Sister Angela.

A psychic and palm reader, she had driven up from Van Nuys to unfold her card table at the festival, and had been relegated to a shady corner that was obscured by the Ventura Police’s D.A.R.E. anti-drug exhibit.

“Business is slow,” Sister Angela complained.

But she was encouraged by the large crowd. “I’ve done a lot of fairs, and this is about the best I’ve seen,” she said.

And the psychic foresaw a brighter future: “I think it’s going to be better in a couple of hours.”

California Beach Party Events

The California Beach Party, sponsored by the city of Ventura, continues today with entertainment, sports and other activities geared around a ‘50s and ‘60s theme.

Most of the activities will take place on the beachfront promenade between the Ventura Pier and the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Gates will open at 10 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. Admission is $5.50 for adults, $3.50 for senior citizens 55 and older, and free for children 12 and under. The fee includes admission to a classic car show at Mission Park, two blocks from the Beach Party site.

Parking is $3 at the fairgrounds and at the parking garage near the pier and $5 at the state beach. TODAY 8 a.m.--5K, 10K, one-mile walk-run 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.--Longboard surfing championships 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.--Volleyball tournament 10 a.m.--Surf music by Popular Demand 10 a.m.--Surf music by The Raybans (also at noon) 10 a.m.--’50s and ‘60s music by The Convertibles 11:30 a.m.--Juggling clown (also at 1 and 3 p.m.) 11:30 a.m.--Swimwear fashion show Noon--Magic show (also at 2:30 p.m.) 1 p.m.--Walks along the beach led by a park ranger (also at 3 p.m.) 1 p.m.--Samba and Latin music by Lula and Afro Brazil 1 p.m.--Frisbee demonstration 1 p.m.--Swing dance demonstration (also at 4 p.m.) 1:30 p.m.--Tin Pan Alley Band 2 p.m.--Surf music by Dick Dale and the Deltones 2 p.m.--’50s and ‘60s music by The Monte Carlos