Category Archives: OC Fair & Event Center

Friday, February 16, 2018 (4:35 pm)

At a public workshop held during the Sept. 28, 2017, OC Fair & Event Center Board of Directors meeting, three Master Site Plan Concepts were presented, and the Board provided feedback and direction to the MSP committee and staff.

The committee and staff were asked to review all elements of the plan and determine what was not feasible and what would require improvements or changes. There were also questions that the committee and staff were asked to answer.

The MSP committee, consultants and staff have been working to prepare a revised draft concept for the board to review at a public workshop during the April 26, 2018, Board of Directors meeting.

The board will be providing direction on the MSP concept. Once the concept has been approved by the Board of Directors, OCFEC will be hosting a public meeting to share the final MSP concept.

The staff has also been instructed by the committee to write and release a request for proposal (RFP) for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) consultant that will take the approved draft concept forward through this process.

OC Fair & Event Center continues to seek public input on the Master Site Plan, our roadmap for the future. To submit feedback, please fill out the public input form. For more information, read the Master Site Plan FAQ.

Posted in: Master Site Plan

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

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

Friday, December 15, 2017 (1:26 pm)

For the next 10 years, Cirque du Soleil will raise the Big Top of its touring productions at OC Fair & Event Center for its Orange County engagements.

There are five shows slated through 2028, the first being LUZIA, which will be performing from Feb. 21 through March 18, 2018. Tickets are now on sale at www.cirquedusoleil.com/luzia.

Cirque du Soleil and OC Fair & Event Center formalized the 10-year contract at today’s Board of Directors meeting. The Montreal-based theatrical company was last at the Fairgrounds in 2015 with KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities.

“This partnership with Cirque du Soleil gives us an amazing opportunity to bring spectacular shows to Orange County through 2028,” said Kathy Kramer, OC Fair & Event Center CEO. “We are fortunate to have the ideal space, plenty of parking and a wonderful audience that appreciates entertainment of this caliber.”

The iconic tent will be erected in the eastern portion of the Fairgrounds. This is the fifth time that Cirque du Soleil touring shows have been held at OC Fair & Event Center; each of those productions was part of an individual, single-year contract.

“The OC Fair & Event Center is an outstanding site for our Big Top touring shows as it is well-known and perfectly located in Orange County,” said Jörg Schlegel, director of tour development at Cirque du Soleil.

View video of LUZIA at https://youtu.be/anIIJ6JumZI.

Posted in: Entertainment, OC Fair & Event Center

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

Arlington Drive Improvement Project 

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.

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

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

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

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.

A: Yes.

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

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.

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.

(10:44 am)

The OC Fair Visual Arts Competition receives about 6,000 entries each year submitted by artists from Orange County and throughout Southern California. Types of art include woodworking, painting, ceramics, sculpture, photography and graphic arts.

The OC Fair is often the first exhibition experience for an artist. The thrill of being selected for exhibition and then winning an award nurtures, encourages and inspires artists, instilling confidence in their creativity.

Each year, the OC Fair purchases a few of the exhibited entries to add to the permanent collection. There are more than 150 pieces of artwork in the collection dating back to the 1970s. The collection focuses on the traditions, people, life and beautiful landscapes of our region, state and country. Most of the artists in the collection are Orange County residents.

The exhibit will be on display at the Fullerton Arboretum’s Orange County Agricultural and Nikkei Heritage Museum through Dec. 3, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, noon-4 p.m. For more information, visit fullertonarboretum.org.

To enter artwork for the 2018 Fair, go to  ocfair.com/competitions to find details in the OC Fair Visual Arts Competition Guide that will be available in April. 

Tuesday, November 14, 2017 (1:44 pm)

Meet Jan Tubbiola, a 50-year OC Fair employee!

“Where are the restrooms?”

That’s the most commonly asked question at the OC Fair – at least according to Janice Tubbiola.

And she should know. She’s been working at the Fair since 1967, when she began as an assistant supervisor in the 4-H building – and before that she was a volunteer clerk. For the past few years she has worked in the information booths at the OC Fair.

“I decided to work in the information booth because I figured if I didn’t know about something, then nobody did,” Tubbiola said.

With 50 years under her belt, she’s probably right, but at 82, she admits she’s also forgetting a few things – specifically timelines. She jokes about not always being able to remember if a certain event was last year or 10 years ago.

“We call her Miss Information,” said her youngest of five children, Mark Tubbiola. He teasingly said it could go both ways – misinformation from Miss Information.

Still, while she may not remember exactly when something happened, she sure does have a lot of stories about what has happened at the OC Fair. Her memories are made even more meaningful by the fact that Mark and his siblings have all worked at the Fair in some capacity as well, and now one of her 12 grandchildren – Nik Kieler – is on the Fair staff.

Tubbiola remembers one of her sons working in maintenance years ago, when he sprayed a pair of his tennis shoes silver and then nailed them to a tree. Every time she walked by the tree, which was near Baja Blues, she would chuckle at the sight, until eventually someone finally took the shoes down. Tubbiola and her family made their mark on the OC Fair – both literally and figuratively.

“All their elementary school friends come and see me in the booth,” Tubbiola said.

She also has fond memories of how the Fairgrounds used to look, like when the Main Mall had grass in the middle, and the appearance of the old floral building, especially when a former boss got married inside. But she said she likes the new look of Pacific Amphitheatre, and she loves Heroes Hall.

During the 2017 OC Fair, a young man approached her booth and asked questions about Heroes Hall. She pointed to the various groups that had been stationed outside the veterans museum and mentioned recruiting. The young man was intrigued, and Tubbiola said he ended up walking straight over to the recruitment booth. She doesn’t know for sure if he enlisted, but she seemed proud to have sent him off toward a possible career in the military.

“All of her roles here have been working with the public because she loves the interaction,” said Kieler, who works at Centennial Farm. “I think she really likes the ‘fair family’ vibe, and that we all work together to put on an event for the community.”

One of Tubbiola’s favorite things about the OC Fair is the Read and Ride program offered to kids. She said she hears from parents about how great it is to get their children to read during the summer, and she enjoys seeing the looks on the kids’ faces when they are handed their prize – three free carnival rides – after turning in their book form.

After all these years, Tubbiola still lights up when she talks about the OC Fair. She likes to interact with people and enjoys being part of the staff.

And even if she isn’t on the payroll anymore, she still plans to come back every year. In fact, she’s already made a request to CEO Kathy Kramer about being issued a lifetime Super Pass.

“I think I’ve earned that,” Tubbiola said.

Wednesday, October 18, 2017 (1:35 pm)

Kathy Kramer, CEO of OC Fair & Event Center, was proud to take the stage at Samueli Theater on Oct. 17 to help honor the best, brightest and most generous members of the Orange County arts community.

Kramer joined Rick Stein, CEO of Arts Orange County, to recognize recipients of the 18th Annual OC Arts Awards, including Charlie and Ling Zhang, art patrons of the year; performer James Luna; choreographer Molly Lynch; Casa Romantica; impresario Kevin Staniec; and the musical ensemble Trio Celeste.

For more information on the OC Arts Awards, visit artsoc.org.

Kramer shared the following information with attendees and honorees at the awards ceremony:

OCFEC has been serving our community for 127 years. The arts play an important role in what we do all year long:
• We recently opened a new museum, Heroes Hall, dedicated to telling the stories of veterans.
• We just dedicated a new large-scale work of public art, Table of Dignity, honoring the important contributions of Orange County’s agricultural workers.
• We are also proud of our educational and community service work including Imaginology, our free STEAM education event, and Centennial Farm, where thousands of school children learn where their food comes from.
• In all, OC Fair & Event Center welcomes more than 3 million guests annually and hosts over 150 events each year – many of them cultural celebrations such as Tet Festival, Scottish Fest and Japan Fair. And we are excited to announce that Cirque du Soleil is making OC Fair & Event Center its Orange County home for the next 10 years.
• Of course, our annual competitions for professional, amateur and student artists have long been part of the OC Fair, as has been presenting world-class musical acts in our Pacific Amphitheatre.
• We delighted with our new partnership with Pacific Symphony in hosting its summer concert series in Pacific Amphitheatre. And are thrilled to work with Arts Orange County on a number of projects.

OC Fair & Event Center is very proud to be part of Orange County’s family of arts & culture organizations. We look forward to continuing to grow our engagement with the creative community for many years to come.

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

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

Monday, October 2, 2017 (9:00 am)

Community Forum

Be a part of OC Fair & Event Center’s Strategic 5-Year Business Planning Process

In conjunction with the 10-year Master Site Plan, OC Fair & Event Center will be launching a Strategic 5-Year Business Plan to develop our organizational goals.

We will be seeking input at two open community discussions on how OC Fair & Event Center can further support our mission of developing programs focused on community, education and agriculture.

If you’re an interested neighbor, educator, member of the agricultural community, non-profit leader or business associate, we value your input.

Join us:

Wednesday, October 18
2:30-4:30 p.m.

or

Thursday, October 19
7-9:30 p.m.

OC Fair & Event Center
Administration Building
Corner of Fairview & Arlington in Costa Mesa
(714) 708-1500

RSVPs are not required. If you’re unable to attend but would like to provide input, please email your thoughts and ideas to CommDept@ocfair.com.

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

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.