Thursday, October 27, 2022 (2:36 pm)

COSTA MESA – The OC Fair & Event Center Board of Directors has named Newton Pham as Chair and Nick Kovacevich as Vice Chair.

Pham, who previously served as Vice Chair, replaces Doug La Belle as Chair. The board voted in new leadership at its Oct. 27 meeting.

Pham is an executive vice president and head of leveraged finance at California Bank and Trust, the California division of Zions Bancorporation. Prior, he was the principal financial analyst in charge of corporate development at Mitsubishi Materials U.S.A. from 2012 to 2014, senior analyst at McGladrey Capital Markets LLC from 2007 to 2012 and equity research associate at Smith Barney, Citigroup Global Markets from 2004 to 2007. Pham is a graduate of San Diego State University. He lives in Fountain Valley and has served on the Board since 2016.

Kovacevich is the CEO of Greenlane Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of ancillary cannabis products and accessories. He is an entrepreneur who co-founded several successful businesses including KushCo Holdings, which merged with Greenlane in 2021, and BigRentz, an Irvine-based technology company. Kovacevich is a graduate of Southwest Baptist University where he captained the men’s NCAA II basketball team. He is a resident of Newport Beach and was appointed to the Board in 2020.

Exiting Chair La Belle will continue to serve on the Board of Directors.

Board officers typically serve one-year terms and are nominated for office by a committee of fellow Board members. Board members are appointed by the Governor of California and may serve more than one term.

Tuesday, October 25, 2022 (2:21 pm)

OC Fair & Event Center was awarded four top honors from the International Festival & Events Association at its annual Pinnacle Awards competition in September.

A gold award recognized the organization’s e-newsletter as the best in show. Silver awards honored OCFEC’s TV promotion and outdoor billboard and a bronze award was given for best promotional poster.

Each year IAFE recognizes the top organizations internationally in the festival and events world.

Friday, September 23, 2022 (4:20 pm)

From OC Register, Sept. 22, 2022

Best of Orange County 2022: Best fair/festival

Still going strong after 130+ years, the OC Fair is one of the area’s most anticipated events and draws more than a million people annually. Many are return visitors. No surprise there: trying to experience all the fair has to offer in a single day can be an exercise in futility.

OC Fair Communications Director Terry Moore calls the monthlong event a “much-loved summer tradition.”

“We hear wonderful stories about young families making memories just like the parents did when they were growing up,” she said. “It’s about friends seeing concerts under the stars and winning giant stuffed animals in the carnival. Most of all, it’s about being together and enjoying the fun you can only find at the fair.”

Activities include midway games, rides, the large Ferris wheel and entertainment shows at three different venues. The Action Sports Arena returned with demolition derbies, speedway races and monster trucks after being dark in 2020-21. The Hangar offered the usual tribute band favorites and the Pacific Amphitheatre’s music and comedic talent rivaled neighboring county fairs. Jackson Browne, Trevor Noah, Brett Eldredge, the Offspring, Counting Crows, Smokey Robinson, Culture Club were among this season’s performers.

Elsewhere, the fair’s visual and photographic art contest winners guarantee something stunning, while a visit to the war-themed Heroes Hall Museum and Education Center proves enlightening. The craft beer roundup, plus all the deep-fried and barbecue food are modern fair traditions.

— George A. Paul

Read the entire article: https://www.ocregister.com/2022/09/22/best-of-orange-county-2022-best-fair-festival/

Thursday, August 18, 2022 (10:09 am)

COSTA MESA – The 2022 OC Fair is a wrap and there were a whole lot of summer memories for fairgoers who wanted to “Feel the Sunshine,” the theme of this year’s Fair which ran from July 15 through Aug. 14.

Advance tickets were required again this year so daily capacity could be limited to provide a better experience for our guests, neighbors and partners. There was no increase in ticket prices again this year.

“The annual OC Fair is very special and important to the community. It gives us such pleasure to present it every year. It’s a thrill for our team to plan and produce an event that resonates with our guests throughout Southern California and beyond,” said Michele Richards, OC Fair CEO. “It’s always sad to see the annual OC Fair end each year, but rest assured our team is already working on next year’s Fair. We can’t wait to welcome back all our guests again in 2023,” said Richards.

Here’s a look at this year’s Fair by the numbers:

Preliminary figures show that 1,055,173 fairgoers came out to enjoy summer’s most-anticipated event and there were 11 sold-out days. In 2021, OC Fair attendance was 1,055,770 and there were 16 sold-out days.

10,000 competition entries from 3,068 exhibitors vied for blue-ribbons. In Home Arts, there were 399 entries, 1,292 entries in Culinary, Visual Arts had 3,754 entries and there were 4,426 entries in Horticulture. Entries were up 20 percent over 2021.

2.5 million carnival rides were enjoyed by fairgoers and their favorites were La Grande Wheel XL, Skyride and Rave Wave. The top games were Bottle Up, Big Water Race and Bank A Ball. The most-requested midway prizes were Squishmallows and Ramen Noodle stuffies.

7,990 kids took advantage of the Read and Ride program by reading books and earning carnival rides.

70,600 fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies were made from scratch at Mom’s Bakeshoppe.

16,682 hot dogs were sold by Pink’s, along with 13,754 orders of fries and 1,272 veggie dogs.

5 top food items from Biggy’s were pizza, fried Oreos, Dole Soft Serve, corn dogs and funnel cakes.

8,800 pounds of Ten Pound Buns were served up at this year’s OC Fair.

20,000 deep-fried Oreos, 2,000 Kool-Aid chicken sandwiches, 9,000 Canadian lobster tails, 5,000 bacon-wrapped pickles and 3,000 fried avocados were served up at the Chicken Charlie’s stands throughout the fairgrounds.

One new OC Fair Foodie costumed character was introduced this year, Sunny Lemon, who posed for photos daily and paraded through the fairgrounds with the OC Fair Foodie crew.

20 piglets, five goats and four peachicks were born at Centennial Farm.

13,958 phone calls during the Fair were answered by the Guest Experience team.

44,611,100 social media impressions on OC Fair’s various profiles on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

231,736 cars were parked in general parking during this year’s event.

35 tons of organic waste was diverted from landfills, 55,000 pounds of trash was recycled and 7,500 gallons of cooking grease was repurposed by the OC Fair facilities team.

$242,967.76 was paid out to agriculture students through the Junior Livestock Auction and this year we saw the sale of 153 animals.

13,514 visitors to Heroes Hall during the Fair also had the chance to see a real Huey helicopter and to decorate 1,000 postcards for the troops.

12 concerts were sold out in The Hangar, 11 events were sold out in Action Sports Arena and so far there have been eight sold-out shows in Pacific Amphitheatre.

Concerts under the stars are continuing with these upcoming shows in Pacific Amphitheatre:
Aug. 18 – Boy George & Culture Club / Berlin
Aug. 19 – Cole Swindell / Honey County
Aug. 25 – Steve Miller Band
Aug. 28 – Ramon Ayala / Conjunto Primavera
Aug. 31 – Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo / Ann Wilson
Sept. 2 – Jackson Browne
Tickets are for sale on Ticketmaster.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank the community for supporting the OC Fair this year. We’re very proud to provide this great family event each year that means so much to so many,” said OC Fair Board Chair Doug La Belle.

Friday, July 22, 2022 (4:12 pm)

OC Fair fans have been waiting all year for the return of summer’s best party – and they know how to get the best value out of their visit. Here are some awesome things that are free with Fair admission.

For a full OC Fair schedule, visit ocfair.com, or download the 2022 OC Fair app. Advance tickets are required – no fees – and capacity is limited.

ENTERTAINMENT
Comedy hypnotist Mark Yuzuik – nightly in Plaza Pacifica
The Magic of Frank Thurston – daily in OC promenade
Roving entertainment including Dragon Knights Stilt Show, Red Light Brass Band and Ellas mariachi group (limited run) – daily throughout the fairgrounds
Community entertainment featuring local music groups, dance troops and more – daily on three stages
Tupua Polynesian dance group – nightly in Plaza Pacifica
Live music – nightly in Baja Blues
Latin music and dancing – nightly in Hussong’s Cantina
The Hangar and Action Sports Arena – performances accessible via standing room (or via paid ticket for reserved seating)
Performance of Taps – 6 p.m. nightly at Heroes Hall

ANIMALS
All-Alaskan Racing Pigs – daily in Plaza Pacifica
Animal judging and displays – daily in Livestock
Great American Petting Farm – daily near Green Gate
OC Fair’s resident animal educators including pigs, goats, cattle, chickens, rabbits, peacocks and sheep – daily at Centennial Farm

DEMONSTRATIONS
Cow milking – daily in Millennium Barn
Food preservation, chef’s tips and more – daily in OC Promenade/Culinary
Camel dairy – limited run in livestock
OC Vaulting horse acrobatics – limited run in livestock
Wine talks and pairings – daily in The Courtyard
Crafts and handmade goods – daily in Home Arts & Collections Gallery

EXHIBITS
Produce and floral competitions – daily at Centennial Farm
Woodworking, quilting, table setting, baking and more – daily in Home Arts & Collections Gallery and OC Promenade/Culinary
Cal Fresh exhibit featuring the state’s crops – daily in OC Promenade
Fine arts and visual arts competitions – daily in Visual Arts Gallery

KID STUFF
Explorium Fun on the Farm learn & play area – daily in OC Promenade
Food-related contests for kids – daily in OC Promenade
Photos with OC Fair Foodies – daily throughout the fairgrounds
Color postcards for troops & veterans – daily at Heroes Hall

For more ideas on what to do & see at the OC Fair, visit https://ocfair.com/oc-fair/things-to-do/

Things to know before you go

The Fair will be open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays (Wednesday, Thursday) and 11 a.m. to midnight weekends (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).
General admission is $12 on weekdays (Wednesday, Thursday) and $14 general admission on weekends (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Tickets for seniors 60+ and kids 6-12 are $7 all days.
Parking is $10 for cars and motorcycles and $20 for buses and limos.
Tickets are on sale now and must be purchased in advance with no fees on ocfair.com. Fairgoers should make sure to get tickets for special days and group adventures now, with limited capacity days could sell out (in 2021 17 out of 23 days sold out).
Performances in Pacific Amphitheatre, The Hangar and Action Sports Arena during fair-time include same-day Fair admission. Tickets are on sale now. For more information visit ocfair.com.
Unlimited ride carnival wristbands are back this year for $49. The one-day wristbands can be used Wednesdays and Thursdays, must be purchased or redeemed by 5 p.m. and include unlimited rides and two free games; guests can ride and play from 11 a.m. till 8 p.m.
Carnival ride and game tickets can also be bought online now and are $1.25 each. Tickets required for each ride range from two to 14 tickets and games require between two and eight tickets each. For more information on this year’s rides and games, visit our website.