Jakob Smith/ The Collegian

For residents who live near the Big Fresno Fair, one of the most competitive neighborhood businesses is back.

Since parking at the fairgrounds can be sparse, and expensive, renting out lawn space as parking spots for fair-goers is a time-honored tradition. And for the people who live within walking distance to the fair, it can be a much more profitable sidewalk business than a lemonade stand.

On Friday afternoon, it was evident that the more successful makeshift businesses were the houses closest to the fairgrounds.

One house, less than 50 yards away from the livestock barn, had a particularly large turnout.

“It was even more packed on opening day,â€Â said 17-year-old Yolanda Bernal.

Yolanda and her 20-year-old brother, Pablo Bernal, had a full yard on Friday afternoon. They managed to fit 16 cars between the front and back yards of their parents̢۪ house.

On a day like Friday, they predicted that between 30-40 cars would park at their house.

Pablo said business varied depending on what events were happening.

“It always gets busy when they do the Ag shows,â€Â Pablo said.

The concerts also bring good crowds, according to Pablo.

While the closest houses get more traffic, people living blocks away aren̢۪t necessarily excluded from exploiting their yards for cash.

Roman Gonzalez said he has been letting people park in his yard during the fair for a decade.

“My next-door neighbor used to tell me I should, so I tried it,â€Â Gonzalez said.

Although he said he only averages seven cars a day, Gonzalez thinks any money is better than no money.

Like several of his neighbors, Gonzalez said the price of parking spots depends on what the competition is doing. On this particular day, he charged $4 per spot.

The Bernals were charging either $5 or $10, depending on the length of time the car stayed parked. They said they have lowered prices since last year.

While some people may feel skeptical about leaving their car parked at a stranger̢۪s house, the Bernals didn̢۪t seem to have any trouble getting people to trust them. Out of the 16 people whose cars were parked at their house at that time, they said five actually left their car keys.

This way, the Bernals said they could move the cars around in order to accommodate more customers.

Pablo also said that with the bleak economy, it seemed like more people were offering lawn parking this year.

Gonzalez, however, said it is a popular tradition regardless of the economy.

“Some of it has to do with the recession,â€Â Gonzalez said, “but a lot of people have been doing it for years.â€Â