Friday, July 26, 2019 (12:36 pm)

When “Taps” gets played at 6 p.m. nightly at Heroes Hall during the 2019 OC Fair, there’s one man standing there who has an especially direct attachment to the song.

Mitchell Butterfield, who works at Heroes Hall during the Fair, is related to Daniel Butterfield, the Medal of Honor-winning Civil War Army general largely credited with composing the song. 

Daniel Butterfield, along with bugler Oliver Willcox Norton, wrote “Taps” as a new way to establish the military call for the end of the day. It wasn’t until after the Civil War that it became the official end-of-day call.

Nowadays, it’s most associated with being played at military funerals.

Mitchell Butterfield’s fellow workers at Heroes Hall had no idea about the connection.

“When we had the first kid who played ‘Taps,’ I went up and told him, ‘You know, my great great grandfather wrote that song,’ Butterfield said. “And (Heroes Hall Supervisor Carol Singleton) heard that and said, ‘Really?’ And then it just went from there.”

Taps has been played at Heroes Hall for the OC Fair since the military museum opened in 2017.

Mitchell Butterfield, 72, from Orange, is also an Army veteran, while his father was a Marine who was stationed at El Toro, lived in Tustin and later moved to Orange.

While Butterfield is proud of the historical connection — “I feel proud that he had something to do with it. I tell it to anyone who wants to listen” – he’s also reluctant to mention it when he introduces the playing of “Taps” at Heroes Hall.

“When I do the announcement, I don’t mention the family part of it,” he said. “It’s not relevant. It’s about the vets. It’s about the servicemen.”

During a recent night at Heroes Hall, “Taps” was played for the first time with the correct musical instrument: a bugle.

And the bugler playing it? Another OC Fair connection: Richard Grogan, a Centennial Farm volunteer as an oxen teamster.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019 (6:06 pm)

Every year, the OC Fair hosts a Barnyard Fashion Parade in which breeding animal exhibitors dress up and and parade their barnyard animals around the Livestock Show ring for fashion review and judging. 

This year’s event was on Wednesday, July 24 and the photos speak for themselves!

Photos by Mike Goulding

Sunday, July 21, 2019 (10:15 am)

One of the new features of the 2019 OC Fair is the agricultural-themed lounges set up throughout the fairgrounds.

The lounges represent four California commodities — avocados, strawberries, oranges and beef — and tie in with the Fair’s agricultural theme, “Acres of Fun.”

These photos show more details of The Avocado Pit. Grab some shade and enjoy! 🥑🥑🥑

Friday, July 19, 2019 (9:25 pm)

Have you seen our new Polynesian dance troupe, Tupua? Here’s just some of what you’ll see during their daily shows.

Tupua performs at 5:15 p.m., 7:15 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. every day at Heritage Stage in Plaza Pacifica.

The group will have a special performance for kids on Aug. 1. Come check them out and dance along! 🏝

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!

Friday, July 12, 2019 (1:30 pm)

Titan, the largest traveling booster ride in the U.S., made its California debut on Opening Day of the 2019 OC Fair. CEO Kathy Kramer helped celebrate the ride’s opening with a ribbon-cutting and 32 lucky fairgoers won the chance to be the first riders. 

Titan rockets riders 17 stories into the air experiencing 4G acceleration and speeds of up to 60 mph, making it the most spectacular ride in the carnival. Now, the tallest ride in the Fair, it is 30 feet taller than La Grande Wheel XL, and it weighs 280,000 pounds.

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.

(11:16 am)

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.

Love is in the Fair Contest Rules:

Win a red barn wedding at the 2019 OC Fair!
1. Shoot a video of you and your love at this year’s OC Fair – 1 minute or less
2. Tell us why an OC Fair barn wedding is perfect for the two of you
3. Share your video on social media and tag it #ocfairwedding
Deadline extended: Midnight July 31
Winners announced: Aug. 3 – a week before the wedding!

What’s included:

A free half-hour wedding ceremony in the Millennium Barn at OC Fair & Event Center on Aug. 10 at 1 p.m.
Fairgoers will be your guests, but we’ll save space for 20 of your friends
A stay at Pasea oceanfront resort in Huntington Beach
A special Fair wedding cake
Stilt walkers, clowns, animals, musicians and fairgoers as your special guests
An unforgettable OC Fair experience

Details:

• Entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges looking for originality, love of the OC Fair and creativity
• No OC Fair & Event Center employees or members of their immediate family may enter
• Entries are limited to one per couple
• Participants must be age 18 or older
• Winners must be willing to share their story
• Videos must be original work, shot between July 12 and July 28, 2019, at the OC Fair in Costa Mesa, CA (see contest rules for more information)
• No date or time changes allowed – the wedding will be on Aug. 10 at 1 p.m.
More info is available at ocfair.com/wedding.

Thursday, May 2, 2019 (5:50 pm)

The OC Fair is pleased to announce the 2019 Olive Oil Competition Award Winners and share the results at ocfair.com/results.

Tres Osos was named Best of Show in the Extra Virgin Olive Oil division, and Molefina was named Best of show in the Flavored Olive Oil division. 

There were 18 gold medalists and 14 silver medalists. A complete list of winners is available (pdf). 

Winners will be featured in the Culinary Arts OC Promenade building during the 2019 OC Fair. Keep an eye out for the tasting bar! 

COMING UP: May 24 is a big deadline for several competitions, including Photography, Fine Arts, Woodworking and more. For information on OC Fair’s competitions, visit ocfair.com/competitions.

Monday, April 22, 2019 (9:00 am)

Today we celebrate Earth Day 🌎❤️ 

Here are just a few simple things you can do to help protect our Earth:

🌱 Cut your shower time by 2-5 minutes
🌱 Use LED lighting
🌱 Turn off the lights when you leave a room
🌱 Put electronics in sleep mode when not in use
🌱 Recycle your plastic bottles and aluminium cans
🌱 Purchase reusable items and items made from recycled products 
🌱 Plant a vegetable garden
🌱 Carpool, use public transportation, or walk/bike whenever possible

🥤 Big news! During with the 2019 OC Fair, we will be free of plastic straws (with the exception of reusable souvenir cups and smoothies/shakes/boba straws). Our concessionaires will offer paper straws.

What are you doing to conserve?