DEL MAR – What is it about the county fair? Is it the wide variety of deep-fried food? The yells at the kiddy rides? The students showing off projects? The oddly appealing ostrich races? Or giggles from fans at a reggae concert?

The San Diego County Fair was all of those and more Saturday, as tens of thousands turned out on a partly cloudy, cool day to kick off the 21-day run of the region's biggest showcase of sights, sounds and smells both familiar and new, odd and practical, smoky and hoppy.

“It's a great way to bring San Diego together,” said 16-year-old R.J. Sheperd from University City, who said the fair hasn't changed much since he came as a little kid. “There's still so much ... great stuff you only see at the fair.”

The traffic woes many feared this weekend, as the start of the fair coincided with the nearby U.S. Open golf tournament, didn't materialize. With parking banned near Torrey Pines Golf Course, golf fans used shuttle buses designed to prevent traffic snarls on Interstate 5.

Meanwhile, fair visitors came in a steady stream to the Del Mar Fairgrounds, making the midway busier as the day wore on.

Fair officials decided to capitalize on the proximity of the U.S. Open and the Olympics set for August in China, by choosing a theme of Summer of Sports. Professional and Olympic athletes will be making appearances during the course of the fair, along with numerous local sports experts.

But R.J. had other interests. He spent Saturday morning with fellow students from High Tech High at an exhibition putting radio-controlled robots through their paces, seeing how fast they could circle a course and manipulate 3-foot diameter balls.

“It's a sport for the mind,” he said.

High Tech teacher David Berggren explained the real competition was in March, when 50 teams from around the county met at the Sports Arena. Saturday was the last chance for the students to show off their engineering skills.

The robots were seemingly unaffected by the wood smoke wafting from a nearby barbecue stand or the cheering of Tim Kern of Mira Mesa and three of his buddies, hired by the fair to spread joy.

“We heard they wanted the biggest cheerleaders in San Diego,” he quipped.

At the O'Brien exhibit hall next door, Donna Cabana pitched pots and pans – “the best cookware in the world!” – and other salespeople sold hammock chairs, palapas, hot tubs, exotic plants, patio furniture and African masks.

Down the way, at the Del Mar Arena, Aurelio Velasquez and his daughters laughed as they watched what was billed as a llama “race.” The ungainly animals were running this way and that, tossing around riders in wagons they towed.

“We're loving it,” Velasquez said. “We come here every year to see the animals, do the rides and have some good carnival food.”

Other races involved ostriches – just as directionless as the llamas – and camels.

“It was pretty cool and kind of strange, which seems just about right,” said Shawn Grunberger, who came from San Francisco to spend time with Velasquez.

The man behind the races, Joe Hedrick, said the attraction is their novelty. “You never know what's going to happen,” he said.

He travels with the exotic animals to about 10 fairs a year from his home base in central Kansas. In addition to fairs, he has a petting zoo, a bed-and-breakfast and provides camels to church productions. “We do lots of Nativity work.”

This is Hedrick's second time at the county fair. The family-run menagerie leaves after a full slate of shows Sunday, which include chicken races for children.

“They just herd them, they don't ride them,” Hedrick said.

Over at the Paddock, Cauden Walding, 22, of Vista, and Brandon Cale, 26, of Oceanside, were drinking beer while waiting for the afternoon Reggae Festival to start in the grandstand.

They took the Coaster train to Solana Beach and recommended it. “No parking hassle,” Cale said. “Safe ride home.”

And, Walding said, one more benefit: “Save on gas.”

Robin Green, who comes every year, said she was surprised by the light traffic on her way in.

“I think a lot of people were afraid to come out because of the traffic,” she said. But that wasn't an issue for her. She took a shuttle from Torrey Pines High School in Carmel Valley.

Fair spokeswoman Kina Paegert said organizers wouldn't have attendance numbers until Sunday morning, but “it's probably about the same as last year,” when the fair drew 39,449 people on opening day.

She cautioned against any direct comparisons because last year opening day was a Friday and it was Dollar Day.

This year's Dollar Day – when you can get in for a buck – is Tuesday. The fair runs until July 6 and is closed Monday and June 23.

---