Category Archives: Latest news about the fairgrounds

  • Tuesday, February 6, 2018 (10:00 am)

    Arlington Drive Improvement Project update

    Here is an update on the Arlington Drive Improvement Project, from the City of Costa Mesa:

    Public Services is well underway with the Arlington Drive Improvements Project.  The project is about 33% complete and the main storm drain and all storm drain laterals are completed. 

    The new vegetated bioswale is currently being graded and the new southerly curb will be installed by Feb. 9. Additionally, restricted traffic control measures are currently in place, but vehicular access eastbound past the Davis Magnet School will be restored by Feb. 16.

    Finally, a new concrete multipurpose trail along the south side of Arlington Drive and roadside beautification including new landscaping and water efficient irrigation systems will be constructed by June 2018.

    For more of the latest news on Costa Mesa, read this week’s City Hall Snapshot.

     

    Posted in: Latest about the fairgrounds

  • Wednesday, November 15, 2017 (3:44 pm)

    What’s happening along Arlington Drive?

    Arlington Drive Improvement Project 

    Here is an update from the City of Costa Mesa:

    As construction begins on new Arlington Drive Improvement Project, Public Services announced that grading, roadway and storm drain construction is scheduled to started Nov. 27 and will continue through March 15, 2018, closing the south half of Arlington Drive from Gate 5 at OC Fair & Event Center /west end of TeWinkle Park to Newport Boulevard.

    Only westbound traffic will be allowed in this area, but two-way traffic on Arlington Drive between Fairview Road and Davis Magnet School will be maintained.

    Residents are asked to please take a detour around the project site and use alternate routes for eastbound travel. City staff appreciates the public’s patience and cooperation while the project is under construction.

    Read our Q & A

    Q: What is going on with the construction on Arlington Drive, along the perimeter of OC Fair & Event Center?

    A: The City of Costa Mesa Public Works Department is putting in a new storm drain system and improvements to the roadway and the land on the south side of Arlington Drive.

    Q: Do these improvements include a sidewalk next to the Fairgrounds?

    A: Yes. There will be a concrete multipurpose trail and new landscaping, including a new bio swale.

    Q: What is a bio swale?

    A: It is a system that removes silt and debris from runoff water using drainage inlets and vegetation. This keeps water from heavy rains from overburdening storm drains.

    Q: How long will the trail be?

    A: It will run from Fairview Road to Newport Boulevard and the bio swale runs from gate 7 at the fairgrounds to Newport Boulevard.

    Q: Who can use the trail?

    A: The trail will be open to the public and can be used for walking and biking.

    Q: Will there be trees again along Arlington Drive?

    A: Yes. There will be new landscaping, including trees next to the Fairgrounds perimeter, between the trail and the bio swale and next to the street.

    Q: Will water-efficient irrigation systems be installed for the landscaping?

    A: Yes.

    Q: When will the project be done?

    A: Construction is anticipated to be completed in March 2018. The OC Fair opens July 13.

    Q: Why is this project being done?

    A: According to the city, the current bio swale and roadway conditions had deteriorated and the drainage systems were not handling the capacity needed to keep the area properly drained.

    Q: Who is actually doing this work?

    A: This is a City of Costa Mesa project. The Orange County Water District has completed the work to relocate its main distribution line. The City of Costa Mesa has contracted with Sully-Miller Contracting and Kabarra Engineering to do the rest of the work on the project including the new underground storm drain, trail, road improvements and landscaping.

  • Thursday, October 12, 2017 (11:42 am)

    Animals safely evacuated to Fairgrounds during Canyon Fire 2

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    OC Fair & Event Center is a designated large animal rescue facility and we had a plan in case of emergency, but we could not have assisted the animals evacuated from the Canyon Fire 2 area without the help of amazing volunteers, nonprofits and local businesses.

    We housed 127 horses, six pigs, six goats, six mini-horses/ponies, three tortoises, two sheep and one steer. We appreciate all who donated feed, stalls and even food to keep our volunteers fortified.

    Fair staff quickly moved into action after the Fairgrounds was activated as an evacuation center. Temporary stalls were erected in the Action Sports Arena, show ring and in our livestock area. Key personnel were designated to handle processing the animal intake and to help owners get their animals settled in. During the week, staff members were on hand 24 hours a day to assist with the care of the evacuated animals and to make sure owners’ needs were met.

    A huge thank you goes out to Star Milling Company, Kruse Feed & Supply, Inc., Laughing Pony Rescue, Midway City Feed Store, Feed Barn Costa Mesa, Hitching Post, Vons, Stater Bros., Carl’s Jr., L.A. on Cloud9, OC Fairgrounds Equestrian Center, the City of San Juan Capistrano’s Large Animal Response Team and the numerous individual volunteers who donated their time and effort. We had help feeding and watering the evacuated animals, walking horses, cleaning stalls and assisting with intake and check-out processes.

    Join us in thanking these groups, businesses and individuals for their time and donations. And best wishes to the animals as they head home.

    Read more about the evacuation and the wonderful people who helped:

    Daily Pilot: Animals evacuated from O.C. wildfire find a temporary home at the fairgrounds

    OC Register: Canyon Fire 2: Fairgrounds or Noah’s Ark? OC Fair becomes safe haven for displaced animals

     

  • Wednesday, August 16, 2017 (2:23 pm)

    Agricultural Workers Memorial unveiling is Aug. 25

    On Aug. 25, OC Fair & Event Center will officially unveil Table of Dignity, the newly renovated agricultural workers memorial. The public art piece commemorates the contributions of agricultural workers to the growth and prosperity of Orange County.

    The memorial was designed as a restful place for guests to gather and celebrate the beauty and abundance created by those who have worked in the fields and on the farms of Orange County.

    The memorial is comprised of three key design elements: two large-scale entry portals made of rammed earth (creating the impression of free-standing walls), a central sculptural table made of a large boulder and a single-cut tree slab (designed to commemorate agricultural workers’ contributions of food on our tables), and a perimeter bench constructed of large timber surrounding the landscape. A grape arbor stretching above the memorial is growing to create a shady place for visitors to pause and reflect.

    New additions to the memorial include plaques explaining the meaning and intention of the Table of Dignity and the names of OC Fair board members recognizing their dedication to the project. The arbor and additional seating have been added to the original design and the rammed earth walls have been renovated and stabilized.

    The unveiling of the memorial will be held on Aug. 25 at 10 a.m. at the east end of Centennial Farm. Admission is free. Please RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/table-of-dignity-unveiling-tickets-36801894457.

  • Wednesday, May 10, 2017 (3:29 pm)

    CEO’s corner March

    Kathy Kramer: Looking toward the Fair

    Our 2016 OC Fair television commercial not only caught the eye of our Fairgoers, won the prestigious ADDY award given by the American Advertising Federation. It’s a great honor to be recognized in the first level of a three-tiered national contest with over 40,000 entries, so congratulations team on that accolade.

    Our bill SB741 just passed the requirement to being print for 30 days prior to being heard for the policy committee. Gonsalves & Sons continue to work with key stakeholders for support of this bill.

    Staff is in full production mode focusing on delivering Imaginology, which happens in less than 30 days, and the OC Fair, which opens in exactly 113 days.

    I’d like to share some highlights of how our summer concert series is  shaping up for this OC Fair. We have 14 shows already on sale, including two pre-fair performances, Gabriel Iglesias, aka, Fluffy, and Steve Miller Band performing with Peter Frampton are racing towards a sellout. Kenny Loggins and the B-52s featured in the Pacific Symphony are selling very well. We have a 12 percent increase in the number of concert tickets sold year-to-date over 2016, and a 30 percent increase in gross revenue year-to-date over 2016.

    One of our goals for this year’s OC Fair was to expand the Hispanic programming. I’m excited to share a couple of new initiatives to 10 support this goal. We added another performance, Mariachis Sol de Mexico on August 6. There now will be two performances in The Hangar, one at 1:30 p.m. and the other at 6:30 p.m. Sol, for short, has been performing here for the past seven years, and they generally sell out. So we felt this was a perfect opportunity to expand this entertainment.

    Another new initiative this year is the 19 partnership with the organizers of the Mariachi Youth Nationals and Summer Institute. This event brings around 150 to 175 mariachi students from around the world, and I do mean “around the world,” if you go to their website, quite impressed with the countries that are interested, they come together with some of the best professional mariachis in the country.

    This year the winners from the competition have been invited to perform on stage August 6th with Sol. The organizers of the Youth Mariachi Nationals and Summer Institute are thrilled to have their students be part of the OC Fair. We are going to continue to work with them to develop 8 additional programming next year to include having 9 their competition here on that Saturday before. 10 So we are very excited about that partnership and 11 connecting with them.