Timeline: A Brief History of the OC Fair
Here’s a brief history of the OC Fair, starting with its first corporation in 1889. The very first Orange County Fair was held in 1890.
| 1889 | The Orange County Community Fair Corporation was formed shortly after the founding of the County of Orange. |
| 1890 | The first Fair is held in Santa Ana. |
| 1894 | The newly formed Orange County Fair Association, Inc. takes over organizing the Fair. |
| 1907 | The Fair becomes an annual event, extended to three days and branded “Carnival of Products.” |
| 1911 | The Fair is held in Anaheim and renamed the “Anaheim Carnival.” |
| 1916-17 | The newly organized Orange County Farm Bureau takes over organizing the Fair and moves it to Huntington Beach. |
| 1920s | Various chambers of commerce and other entities take turns sponsoring the Fair which was held in different cities including temporary fairgrounds on East Fruit Street in Santa Ana and near the then Orange County Hospital in Anaheim. |
| 1925 | The first OC Fair Board of Directors is elected. A rodeo and carnival are also offered for the first time during the Fair. |
| 1930s | The Fair is held in multiple locations from Santa Ana to Pomona as part of a tri-county fair concept. |
| 1939 | The first 4-H exhibits and competitions are held. |
| 1942-47 | Due to a Federal mandate during wartime, the Fair is not held. |
| 1949 | The State of California purchases land occupied by the Santa Ana Army Air Base and earmarks some of it for a new fairground to be managed by the newly formed 32nd District Agricultural Association. |
| 1949 | The Fair is held on its new site, which is soon designated as the permanent fairgrounds. |
| 1953 | The City of Costa Mesa was incorporated and includes the Fair’s property. |
| 1966 | The grandstand arena is built. |
| 1972 | The Fair expands to 10 days. |
| 1980 | The onsite equestrian center opens. |
| 1983 | The first concerts in the newly built Pacific Amphitheatre feature Barry Manilow, The Beach Boys, Oingo Boingo and Marvin Gaye. |
| 1984 | The first Friends of the Fair Day is held for guests with special needs. |
| 1987-92 | The Fair expands to 11 days, then 12 and finally 17 days. |
| 1994 | The first OC Fair cattle drive is held down Fairview Road featuring 125 riders and 250 head of cattle. Also the Pacific Amphitheatre is closed for the first time since its opening in 1983. |
| 2001 | The Fair introduced the Orange Crush Demolition Derby. |
| 2003 | The Fair expands to 21 days and celebrates the re-opening of the Pacific Amphitheatre. |
| 2005 | The Fair breaks the million-person mark for the first time welcoming 1,058,192 guests over 21 days. |
| 2007 | The Fair features two cattle drives, one on the sandy shores of Huntington Beach and another down the streets of Costa Mesa from Fairview Park to the fairgrounds. |
| 2009 | The Fair expands to 23 days. The self-produced interactive exhibit “Al’s Brain” leaves a big impact and Motorhome Madness Demolition Derby debuts. |
| 2010 | The Hangar building debuts with its 50-foot-tall arched ceiling and aviation hangar-style design. |
| 2012 | The Fair turns the popular demolition derby pink for breast cancer awareness and the first all-female derby was called Damsels of Destruction Demolition Derby. |
| 2013 | The Pacific Amphitheatre saw its highest grossing season to date without lawn seating. The Fair also introduced the OC Fair Foodies, a collection of food-related costumed characters that roam the property delighting guests of all ages. Foodies included Olivia (orange), Cornelius (roasted corn), Arturo (churro), Carl (cotton candy), Spike (carrot), Mike (bacon-wrapped turkey leg), Dip (corn dog), Clemon (lemon), Scoop (ice cream cone) and Slim (slice of bacon). |
| 2015 | The newly built Plaza Pacifica offers direct access to the concert seating in Pacific Amphitheatre from inside the Fair. |
| 2017 | OCFEC opens its veterans museum, Heroes Hall, and Table of Dignity, an agricultural workers memorial. |
| 2018 | The current highest overall attendance record is earned with 1,470,636 fairgoers through the gates during the Fair’s 23-day run. This year also marked the highest daily attendance record reached on Saturday, July 28, with a total of 86,334 attendees at the Fair. |
| 2019 | A Vietnam-era A-4M Skyhawk aircraft is relocated from the Santa Ana Civic Center to Heroes Hall. |
| 2020 | The OC Fair is canceled for the first time since WWII due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A virtual fair took place on ocfair.com. |
| 2021 | The OC Fair requires advance ticket purchase with limited daily capacity for the first time. The Fair also sells out for the first time on July 17. |
| 2021 | A new OC Fair Foodie costumed character, Strawberry Jan, is introduced. |
| 2022 | OC Fair Board votes to adopt a new mission statement: “Creating equitable community access to agriculture, entertainment, cultural and educational experiences.” |
| 2022 | Sunny the lemon debuts as the newest OC Fair Foodie costumed character. |
| 2023 | The Serenity Walk at Heroes Hall opens with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 20. |
| 2024 | OC Fair is held for the 75th year at OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa. |
| 2024 | Centennial Farm celebrates its 35th anniversary. | 2024 | The fairgrounds’ equestrian center is reimagined as The Ranch Community Center with a new focus on public access and community programming along with equine and agriculture education. |