Sunday, September 24, 2023 (3:30 pm)
OC Register and readers name OC Fair best fair/festival in OC
The OC Fair was voted Best Fair/festival in the 2023 Best of Orange County balloting
For many locals, a trip to the OC Fair is an essential part of any summer. There’s so much to experience that multiple visits are common, with more than a million people attending annually. OC Fair Chief Business Development Officer Joan Hamill says the event “is a place where memories are made. Families, friends, and (those) you’ve never met come to gather and celebrate together. It attracts a wide variety of people from all different walks of life.”
Besides fun rides, midway games and the Ferris wheel, fair activities include dozens of shows across three venues. The 8,200-capacity Pacific Amphitheatre, which marked its 40th anniversary in July, hosted concerts by Beck, X, Styx, Dwight Yoakam, Ziggy Marley, Cheap Trick, and others this season. Tribute bands appear at The Hangar, while the Action Sports Arena is the place for motocross, rodeos, themed demolition derbies, monster trucks and the annual craft beer roundup. Local and community entertainment also happens on other stages throughout the fairgrounds.
From funnel cakes, huge turkey legs and buttery corn on the cob to Chicken Charlie’s deep-fried delights and California Grill’s vegan/vegetarian/gluten-free options, there are all types of culinary fare. Courtyard wine seminars and tastings are offered near the food contest winners. Shopping opportunities abound. Marveling at the work of OC’s best amateur visual artists and photographers provides plenty of inspiration.
Hamill notes that some chilled water stations help reduce plastic water bottle usage and the Every Day Passport allows patrons to visit anytime.