Tuesday, September 10, 2019 (10:21 am)

There’s going to be a hoedown at Centennial Farm and the community is invited to join in to celebrate 30 years of agriculture education and fun.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019 (11:39 am)

Centennial Farm is turning 30! Join us for a community BBQ celebration.

The Centennial Farm 30^th Anniversary Community BBQ and Hoedown is a family-friendly event with food, entertainment, games, farm tours and more for adults and children. The event will be held at Centennial Farm, the year-round working farm at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa.

All are welcome to celebrate 30 years of agriculture education provided to the community through after-school programs, garden and food preservation classes, Jr. Farmer Tours, field trips and the annual OC Fair.

When: Saturday, Oct. 5, 2-6 p.m.

How much: Tickets are $25 through Oct. 4 and $30 at the door.  Get tickets now.

Saturday, August 10, 2019 (10:45 am)

When: Saturday, Aug. 10, at 1 p.m.

Where: In front of Millennium Barn during the OC Fair

The winning couple of our Love is in the Fair wedding contest have been chosen and they’ll say “I do” in front of 20 of their guests — plus the entire OC Fair! The wedding will take place at 1 p.m. on Aug. 10 and will include the ceremony, special entertainers and an unforgettable OC Fair experience.

Meet the couple!

Names: Leslie Leong and Michael Nguyen

Professions: Leslie is a veterinary assistant/nursing student; Michael is a behavior analyst for children with autism 

How/when did you meet?

“In 2002, we met online in a music chat room, where Michael was trying to promote his high school band. We were internet friends for a long time. We didn’t meet in person until college. We lost touch for awhile but reconnected through social media and started dating four years ago.”

What do you like to do as a couple?

Camping, traveling, visiting national parks and laughing uncontrollably. 

Tell us about your engagement.

Michael: “I had several plans since January of this year, but our vacation plans kept getting cancelled for various reasons. On July 1, the day before our 4th anniversary, I decided I didn’t want to keep postponing it because it didn’t matter if we were on a mountain or by the ocean, as long as we were together. I cooked her dinner. Afterward, I let her “open her anniversary gift” early. Leslie collects rocks and crystals, so I hid the ring inside of a geode. After a short engagement, we finally got to take a short camping vacation. When we got reception, we learned we had won the contest!”

Why is the OC Fair special to the two of you?

“Our anniversary is July, so the OC Fair was one of the first public places we attended as a couple. We’ve been every year since 2015.”

What was it like trying to pull this all together in just a week? 

Michael: Vows are “til death do us part” and we managed to not kill each other. 

Leslie: It’s been stressful trying to get everything put together in a week, there’s so much to do and so many phone calls to make!

What do your friends and families think of this unusual wedding?

“Our family is more traditional so they think we’re crazy. Our friends say it’s a perfect fit.”

Wednesday, July 31, 2019 (3:25 pm)

A baby calf and baby piglets were recently born at Centennial Farm during the 2019 OC Fair.

On Tuesday, July 23, a baby calf was born and currently can be seen in the Century Barn in the Centennial Farm area.

On Wednesday, July 31, a Yorkshire mix sow  gave birth to several piglets. The mother will get a day to rest and get used to the little piglets before all will be on display at Centennial Farm.

Thursday, July 18, 2019 (12:15 pm)

We know you’re taking selfies. We see you with the clowns and in front of the rides, taking selfies with friends and loved ones. And we want you to win something for them!

From now through July 28, we’re hosting an OC Fair Selfie Scavenger Hunt! Below are zoomed-in photos of 10 different selfie spots throughout the fairgrounds. Find the spot, snap a selfie, and upload the image at contest.app.do/selfie-2615393. You get one entry per image – so if you find all 10, that’s 10 chances!

Now the prize: On July 29, we’ll randomly pick three winners to come on back to the OC Fair for its final week of the summer – on us! Each winner will get 4 tickets, 2 ride vouchers (good for 3 rides each!) and $20 in food vouchers. 

Let’s see those smiling selfies!! Enter on Facebook!

Tuesday, July 2, 2019 (2:48 pm)

Love is in the Fair! We know that couples love the OC Fair. It’s an amazing date-night destination, the best spot for a memorable first kiss and a magical place to get engaged.

We want to give one couple that loves the OC Fair almost as much as they love each other, a one-of-a-kind opportunity to get married during the Fair. The wedding will take place Saturday, Aug. 10, at Millennium Barn with fairgoers, farm animals and clowns as special guests.

Imagine the story this lucky pair of OC Fair fans will have when someone asks about their wedding!

To enter the Love is in the Fair contest, couples must shoot a one-minute video showing why they are the perfect pair to get married at the OC Fair, post it on social media and tag it #ocfairwedding. We’ll announce the winners on Aug. 3 – one week before the big day.

More info is available at ocfair.com/wedding.

Wednesday, April 17, 2019 (10:37 am)

Things will get wild at Centennial Farm when Goat Yoga returns on Saturday, May 18, giving participants the unique chance to do yoga with baby pygmy goats who like to frolic and climb on yogis.

OC Fair & Event Center is again partnering with Spectra Yoga and the Fountain Valley Cloverdales 4-H Club to offer three beginner-level sessions from 8 to 9:15 a.m., again at 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. and finally from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on the lawn in front of Centennial Farm’s Millennium Barn.

For those not ready to hit the mat with animal friends, there will be free playtime and photos with goats and the chance tour Centennial Farm.

In addition to being a viral sensation, yoga with goats has been credited with helping decrease stress and relieve the pressures of a perfect yoga practice. It’s free to come and watch.

The event will also feature a frozen fruit bar fundraiser, plus goat milk products and souvenir event T-shirts and tank tops for sale.

Space is limited for the three yoga sessions, and children who participate must be at least 9 years old and accompanied by an adult. The cost is $45 for each class, but free to observe and enjoy the farm. Participants should bring a yoga mat, towel and water.

Proceeds benefit the Fountain Valley Cloverdales 4-H Club and Centennial Farm. Tickets are available at spectrayoga.com/events.

Thursday, July 5, 2018 (2:12 pm)

Towering over guests at 16 feet tall, three gigantic murals celebrating three incredible farms will be hard to miss at each OC Fair entrance this year. Hand-painted by artist John Cerney and dubbed “Bounty of the County,” the murals focus on Orange County’s agricultural roots and truly speak to this year’s OC Fair theme, “Free Your Inner Farmer.”

The murals will introduce fairgoers to:

Tanaka Farms – Blue Gate (off Fair Drive)
Installed on Tuesday, May 29, the Tanaka Farms mural depicts Glenn Tanaka and his son, Kenny, with a special appearance by Kenny’s son, Landon, 2. Located in Irvine, Tanaka Farms is an authentic working farm established in 1940, featuring 30 acres of fruit and vegetables. For more information and tour details, visit tanakafarms.com.

Neff Ranch – Green Gate (north of Pacific Amphitheatre)
Cerney is in the process of hand-painting this second of three murals. Installation is planned for mid-June. Originally established in Yorba Linda, Neff Ranch is one of the county’s last orange growers, with a 20-acre orchard featuring 4,000 Valencia orange trees. Plus, in 2003, Neff Ranch took over a Hass avocado farm in Tustin. For more information, visit neffranch.com.

5 Bar Beef – Yellow Gate (north of the Midway)
The last of the installations, 5 Bar Beef’s mural will feature the very last cattle rancher in Orange County, Frank Fitzpatrick. This real-life cowboy has brought grass-fed beef to Southern California since 1979, and can be found at the farmers markets at Laguna Hills Mall on Fridays and Irvine’s Mariner’s Church on Saturdays. For more information, or to purchase beef online, visit 5barbeef.com.

About John Cerney

Anyone who has driven through Salinas, Calif., might recognize the larger-than-life farmers along Highway 68. Originally erected in 1995, the figures are the first in a long series by Cerney. The Salinas native has projects from California to the Midwest, including a 32-foot-wide race car in Monterey, a 16-foot-tall George Harrison in Benton, Illinois, and two different “Welcome to Roswell” alien scenes in New Mexico off Highway 285, one of which features a flying saucer with solar-powered LED lights.

This is the first time Cerney’s work has been featured in OC, though one of his murals can be found in Santa Monica. Since every project is so different, it can take anywhere from a week to several to complete each mural.

“I love painting and I’m totally committed to every (mural) I do,” Cerney said. “But I love that I’m hitting a new market in Orange County.”

More about John Cerney: johncerneymurals.com

Posted in: Exhibits, OC Fair, Centennial Farm

Sunday, April 22, 2018 (2:55 pm)

Adorable bouncing baby goats and yogis took over Centennial Farm as we kicked off Orange County’s first goat yoga event on April 21.

The Goat Yoga Experience & Fun Farm Day offered a unique opportunity to be part of the latest viral sensation. It was a traditional yoga class with goat kids invited in to frolic, nuzzle and climb on class participants. We had two sessions – they sold out immediately – of 60 yoga students each.

In addition to the classes, there was a free Fun Farm Day and visitors had a great time at the goat selfie station, chick petting and Centennial Farm exploration.

Spectra Yoga of Costa Mesa teachers led the beginner-level sessions on the lawn in front of Centennial Farm’s Millennium Barn. The Fountain Valley Cloverdales 4-H Club supplied cuddly baby goats to make it a memorable experience and hosted a bake sale that featured goat products.

In addition to being a trending topic, yoga with goats has been credited with helping decrease stress and incite laughter while getting in those down dogs and cobras.

“We’re excited about introducing agriculture to the community in a unique and fun way, as well as partnering with two great Orange County organizations such as the Fountain Valley Cloverdales 4-H Club and Spectra Yoga,” said OC Fair & Event Center CEO Kathy Kramer.

See more photos from the event

Posted in: Centennial Farm

Tuesday, October 17, 2017 (3:01 pm)

On Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, Centennial Farm at OC Fair & Event Center will host The Red Barn: Fire-and-Ash Wine Dinner, a unique dining experience featuring talented chefs, special guests and, best of all, a scrumptious multi-course farm-to-fork wine dinner.

To start, the exclusive event will feature live-fire exhibition-style appetizers, sparkling wines provided by Orange County Wine Society (OCWS) and tours of the farm and garden at 6:30 p.m. The Millennium Barn doors will then open at 7:30 p.m. for a multi-course family-style wine dinner featuring California’s bountiful produce and artisan meats cooked exclusively on an open fire in ash.

The live-fire cooking style is not a new trend, but it has become more popular in the last year or so as restaurants throughout the country are swapping out gas for wood. Bon Appetit wrote in June: “It’s funny to call this return to cooking with fire a trend. If it is, it’s certainly the oldest trend in the book. And yet there is no arguing that the burning hearth has of late gripped the restaurant world, seeming to bestow the imprimatur of ‘serious chef’ on anyone who embraces it.”

Cracklin’ wrapped porchetta will be served with blistered fingerling potatoes, and a grilled, split Cornish game hen will go well with fall succotash straight from Centennial Farm’s own garden. An ash-roasted autumn squash trio will feature rosemary, garlic and honey, while lemon-wilted spinach sides beef steak Portobello.

Need more to get your mouth watering? View the entire menu at ocfair.com/redbarn.

The menu will be prepared by Executive Chef Jesse Lopez, of Spectra Food Services, and has been curated by Chef Annie Morgan, of KOCI Radio’s Pots and Pans with Jack and Annie

Honored special guest for the evening is French-American artist Guy Buffet, whose restaurant-themed art has been featured in Food Arts and Wine & Travel magazines.

Speakers for the evening include:
Michele Richards, VP of Business Development, OC Fair & Event Center
Dan Kohler, food scientist on Hallmark Channel’s “Home & Family”
Melissa Cortina, butcher and owner of Bavette Meat & Provisions
Thom Curry, owner of Temecula Olive Oil Company
Irv Wnuck, wine expert and COO, Seize the Vine Wine Brokerage

Featured local farmers, artisans and wineries include:
Melissa’s Produce
OC Baking Company
M.O.F. Chef Stéphane Tréand of The Pastry School
Angeline Vineyards
Martin Ray Vineyards
Courtney Benham Wines
Orange County Wine Society

Service provided by Buena Park Future Farmers of America, and Orange County School of the Arts Culinary Arts & Hospitality Students.

Tickets to this exclusive event are $125 per person (available on Ticketmaster), which includes dinner, wines, gratuity, tax and parking. 

Support of The Red Barn dinner provides year-round educational opportunities through Centennial Farm, Heroes Hall and Imaginology, and helps fund our community give-back programs.