Friday, September 23, 2022 (4:20 pm)

OC Fair named best fair/festival of 2022 by OC Register


From OC Register, Sept. 22, 2022

Best of Orange County 2022: Best fair/festival

Still going strong after 130+ years, the OC Fair is one of the area’s most anticipated events and draws more than a million people annually. Many are return visitors. No surprise there: trying to experience all the fair has to offer in a single day can be an exercise in futility.

OC Fair Communications Director Terry Moore calls the monthlong event a “much-loved summer tradition.”

“We hear wonderful stories about young families making memories just like the parents did when they were growing up,” she said. “It’s about friends seeing concerts under the stars and winning giant stuffed animals in the carnival. Most of all, it’s about being together and enjoying the fun you can only find at the fair.”

Activities include midway games, rides, the large Ferris wheel and entertainment shows at three different venues. The Action Sports Arena returned with demolition derbies, speedway races and monster trucks after being dark in 2020-21. The Hangar offered the usual tribute band favorites and the Pacific Amphitheatre’s music and comedic talent rivaled neighboring county fairs. Jackson Browne, Trevor Noah, Brett Eldredge, the Offspring, Counting Crows, Smokey Robinson, Culture Club were among this season’s performers.

Elsewhere, the fair’s visual and photographic art contest winners guarantee something stunning, while a visit to the war-themed Heroes Hall Museum and Education Center proves enlightening. The craft beer roundup, plus all the deep-fried and barbecue food are modern fair traditions.

— George A. Paul

Read the entire article: https://www.ocregister.com/2022/09/22/best-of-orange-county-2022-best-fair-festival/