Thursday, November 11, 2021 (3:13 pm)

Heroes Hall Museum has reopened its permanent exhibit, The SAAAB Story, which chronicles the history of the Santa Ana Army Air Base. The air base’s location once included the land on which the OC Fairgrounds now sits, and Heroes Hall’s building is a renovated barracks from the base.

The exhibit first debuted when Heroes Hall opened in 2017 but has been updated with several new artifacts and memorabilia.

“The SAAAB Story is much more immersive now,” said Carol Singleton, Heroes Hall Supervisor. “It will help people better understand what the cadets went through while they were training here. Everything about the exhibit is connected to the Santa Ana Army Air Base.”

The Costa Mesa Historical Society provided a lot of the artifacts, including original posters, uniforms, cadet personal items, trophies and telegrams. Previously the exhibit featured photo reproductions but now includes original photos on display.

Other new sections include information about:

• Women, Latinos and LGBTQ service members in the military during World War II
• Letters from 8th graders who were sent to internment camps to their white classmates in Westminster
• German POWs who worked on the base picking oranges
• Tuskegee Army Air Field, which is where the Black airmen who would have trained at SAAAB were placed were it not for segregation
• Victory gardens, rationing and other campaigns led on the home front

“My favorite part is the personal stories of the cadets that graduated here,” Singleton said. “There are eight different cadet stories, each one extraordinary, and all eight went on to the war in either the South Pacific or the European theatre.”

The SAAAB Story is a permanent exhibit at Heroes Hall. Heroes Hall is open year-round, Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. The first-floor exhibit, Through Their Eyes: Artwork by Active Military and Veterans, will be on display until Jan. 20, 2022.

Monday, November 1, 2021 (10:19 am)

COSTA MESA (Nov. 1, 2021) – The OC Fair & Event Center Board of Directors has named Doug La Belle as Chair and Newton Pham as Vice Chair.

La Belle, who previously served as Vice Chair, replaces Natalie Rubalcava-Garcia as Chair. The board voted in new leadership at its Nov. 28 meeting.

La Belle is retired and most recently served as City Manager for the City of Chino Hills from 1995 until 2009. Prior to that he served as City Manager for the City of Signal Hill and began his career in local government in 1964 with the City of Garden Grove and has worked in various administrative capacities for the cities of Cerritos, Huntington Beach, La Mesa and Marysville. La Belle, pictured right, is a resident of Costa Mesa.

“I am excited to take on the reins of Board Chair again and help lead the organization as we move into 2022,” said La Belle. “I look forward to using my experience serving on the Board since 2010 to create opportunities for families, businesses and local organizations to come together to enjoy the annual OC Fair and all the year-round activities at the fairgrounds.” 

Pham has been vice president at California Bank and Trust since 2014 and was the principal financial analyst at Mitsubishi Materials U.S.A. from 2012 to 2014, senior analyst at McGladrey Capital Markets LLC from 2007 to 2012 and associate consultant at Smith Barney, Citigroup Global Markets from 2004 to 2007. Pham has served on the Board of Directors since 2016 and resides in Fountain Valley.

Exiting Chair Rubalcava-Garcia will continue to serve on the Board of Directors.

“I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as Chair of the Orange County Fair Board,” said Rubalcava-Garcia. “It is with great pleasure that I can highlight our many accomplishments this past year which included navigating the pandemic, serving as a vaccine super pod site in an effort to help get the community vaccinated, hosting a very successful in-person 2021 OC Fair, initiating a community affairs committee which is tasked with ensuring OC Fair & Event Center is engaging with the community and focused on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and launching the organization’s three-year strategic planning effort.”

The Board also recently welcomed a new director, Melahat Rafiei. She has been Secretary at the California Democratic Party since 2021. Rafiei has been Principal at Progressive Solutions Consulting since 2009 and a Co-Founder of WeCann since 2017. Rafiei was Executive Director at the Democratic Party of Orange County from 2007 to 2009 and a Board Member at the Community Action Fund from 2007 to 2013. She is a delegate for the California Democratic Party and a member of Democratic National Committee and the City of Anaheim’s Cultural and Heritage Commission. She was appointed to the Board by Governor Gavin Newsom in September.

Board officers typically serve one-year terms and are nominated for office by a committee of fellow Board members.

Wednesday, October 13, 2021 (10:30 am)

A new exhibit at Heroes Hall opens today, Oct. 13, showcasing the artwork of 24 local veterans and active U.S. service members.

Through Their Eyes: Artwork by Active Military and Veterans will be the featured exhibit at the museum now through January 20, 2022.

New museum hours: Heroes Hall is now open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.

Heroes Hall Museum is dedicated to honoring Orange County’s service members and providing a place where they can tell their stories. For this new exhibit, military service members have expressed their individual experiences through a variety of mediums including sculpture, photography, painting, carving and woodworking.

“It has been such a pleasure meeting the artists and hearing the stories behind their artwork,” said Carol Singleton, Heroes Hall Museum Supervisor. “Several of the veterans in this show turned to art as a means to heal both emotional and physical wounds. We are privileged and honored to bring this extraordinary exhibit to the community.”

Through Their Eyes was underwritten by the Heroes Hall Veterans Foundation. The judges were Dave Barton, Fatemeh Burnes and Denton Knapp.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Winning pieces are pictured below, and details about each of the artists are available on the Heroes Hall section of ocfair.com.

First Place: David Vargo for “Unlikely Path” (pictured above)

Vargo is an art professor at Laguna College of Art and Design, and has painted illustrations for companies like Blizzard Entertainment, Arch Enemy Comics, Lucasfilm and Wizards of the Coast.

“My love of the mysterious combined with my passion for the figure has led to a long-term art affair with imaginative realism,” Vargo said.

Second Place: Giovanni Berdejo for “Hope”

Berdejo is a photographer and author, and has taught photography workshops for student veterans at Chapman University.

Third Place: Ed Bowen for “Entrenchment”

Bowen is a Vietnam War veteran whose art is part of the Army’s war art collection and is displayed in various government facilities including the Pentagon and the Smithsonian.

Artists in juried show:

Kurt Bayless, U.S. Navy, Huntington Beach
Giovanni Berdejo, U.S. Army, Fountain Valley
Ed Bowen, U.S. Army, Corona Del Mar
George Davis, U.S. Marine Corps, Rancho Santa Margarita
Hanh Dinh, U.S. Marine Corps, Garden Grove
Reginald Green, U.S. Navy, San Diego
Linda Hicks, U.S. Air Force, Westminster
Charlie Hunt, U.S. Army, Huntington Beach
Sean Lenahan, U.S. Navy, Costa Mesa
Phyllis Miller, U.S. Navy, Santa Monica
Kimberly Millett, U.S. Army, Newport Beach
Darrow Minor, U.S. Navy, Long Beach
Cody Reed, U.S. Navy, Long Beach
Arthur Rivera, U.S. Navy, Anaheim
Abraham Romero, U.S. Army, San Diego
Casey Rydjeski, U.S. Army, Fountain Valley
Sandra Scott, U.S. Air Force, Yucaipa
Mario Solorzano, U.S. Army, Pomona
Bill Stewart, U.S. Air Force, Newport Beach
Gary Tegel, U.S. Navy, Costa Mesa
Paul Todd, U.S. Army, Orange
David Vargo, U.S. Marine Corps, Anaheim
George Wallims, U.S. Marine Corps, Huntington Beach

Special guest artist
Joe Pisano, U.S. Navy, San Diego

Read more about each artist at ocfair.com/heroes-hall/exhibitions/through-their-eyes-artwork-by-active-military-and-veterans/

Tuesday, October 12, 2021 (1:57 pm)

OCFEC Board of Directors will hold a board meeting today (Tuesday, October 12, 2021) at 3 p.m. to discuss strategic direction for OCFEC programming.

View agenda report

The meeting will be held in the Administration Building at OC Fair, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. 

Guests are invited to join via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85322883030?pwd=Y3EyQ2FPYmdseDNRcy82SU8vbEpFUT09
Dial in option: 1-669-900-9128
Meeting ID: 853 2288 3030
Passcode: 718914

Friday, October 8, 2021 (4:00 pm)

(Oct. 8, 2021) From the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom –

AB 1057 enables law enforcement to seize ghost guns under gun violence or domestic violence restraining orders, SB 320 strengthens procedures ensuring the relinquishment of firearms 

AB 1191 requires analysis of crime gun data to track gun violence trends 

AB 887 allows domestic violence survivors to file restraining orders online and SB 538 enables electronic filing and remote appearances 

SB 264 prohibits the sale of guns or ammunition at Orange County Fair and Event Center

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that he has signed legislation to enhance protections for survivors of domestic violence and bolster the enforcement of California’s nation-leading gun safety laws, including measures to strengthen gun violence restraining orders and analyze crime gun data to track trends impacting communities across the state.

“California has the strongest gun safety laws in the nation, but we’re reminded every day that we can’t afford to be complacent in the fight against the gun violence epidemic in this country – we can and must do more,” said Governor Newsom. “Today’s action strengthens enforcement of our common-sense gun safety laws, helping ensure that dangerous individuals who are prohibited from possessing firearms surrender their weapons and advancing other lifesaving polices to make our communities safer.”

SB 320 requires the implementation of uniform procedures to ensure individuals who are prohibited from owning firearms due to a domestic violence restraining order relinquish their weapons. The bill also strengthens coordination between courts and law enforcement when there has been a violation of a relinquishment order. AB 1057 by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach) allows law enforcement to seize ghost guns under gun violence restraining orders and domestic violence restraining orders, expanding an important tool to protect survivors.

AB 1191 by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) requires the Department of Justice to analyze crime gun data to trace the history of firearms used in crime and identify trends, providing important insight on how these guns are trafficked. SB 264 by Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) prohibits the sale of guns or ammunition at the Orange County Fair and Event Center. Gun violence prevention experts warn that gun shows can create a venue to circumvent gun safety laws.

Increasing access to the courts, AB 887 by Assemblymember Marc Levine (D-Marin County) enables domestic violence survivors to file restraining orders and temporary restraining orders electronically, and SB 538 by Senator Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) requires courts to enable electronic filing and remote appearances for domestic violence restraining orders and gun violence restraining orders.

Expanding access to California’s address confidentiality program, Safe at Home, the Governor previously signed AB 277 by Assemblymember Suzette Valladares (R-Santa Clarita), which requires the application and related notices for the program to be available in at least five languages. AB 673 by Assemblymember Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) supports domestic violence shelter service providers by ensuring the timely distribution of grant funding administered by Cal OES.

A full list of today’s bills is below:

• AB 673 by Assemblymember Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) – Domestic violence.
• AB 887 by Assemblymember Marc Levine (D-Marin County) – Domestic violence: restraining orders.
• AB 1057 by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach) – Firearms.
• AB 1191 by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) – Firearms: tracing.
• SB 264 by Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) – Firearms: the OC Fair and Event Center.
• SB 320 by Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) – Domestic violence protective orders: possession of a firearm.
• SB 538 by Senator Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) – Domestic violence and gun violence restraining orders.

California pioneered statewide gun safety protections, approved by voters in Proposition 63, to ban possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines and require background checks to keep ammunition out of the hands of dangerous people. Since assuming office, Governor Newsom has signed multiple bills aimed at reducing gun violence, including strengthening gun violence restraining orders, regulating the sale of firearms and ammunition and accelerating the regulation of ghost guns.

The 2021 state budget includes a $200 million investment in the CalVIP program to support initiatives designed to break the cycle of violence in disproportionately impacted communities. The budget also invests $11 million to facilitate outreach,  education and training efforts related to gun violence restraining orders and $10.3 million for local law enforcement agencies to support the seizure of firearms from individuals prohibited from possessing them.

The Governor advanced a series of initiatives to support survivors of domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, including support for local service providers, a partnership with the Women’s Foundation of California to raise private funds that support domestic violence organizations and private sector partnerships to provide free accommodation and transportation to survivors fleeing violence. California has also launched “text-to-911” capability throughout the state and the 2021 state budget includes $15 million in funding for Cal OES to administer grants that support domestic and sexual violence prevention efforts.