Veterans who once entered the Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival simply by showing military ID are now navigating a very different system — and many are asking why.Since private operator Pickering Events took over management of the festival, veteran admission has shifted to an online platform called VetTix. Instead of guaranteed entry at the gate, veterans now request tickets through the portal, pay small service fees, and in some cases enter a lottery when demand is high.One veteran wrote to NBC Palm Springs asking why access has become more complicated.“How does it go from using a military or veteran ID to enter the fair to having to go through a third party and still going through a lottery to even try and get a ticket?” the viewer asked.Fred Roggin and the NBC Palm Springs team reached out to Pickering Events, which responded quickly and in detail.The owner shared that, as an Army veteran and longtime member of VFW Post 6496 in Indio, he understands the…..