Orange County Fair (California)

History

The fair first took place in the year 1890 and consisted of some minor exhibits in Santa Ana and a horse race. From 1890 to 1894 the fair was run by the Orange County Community Fair Corporation, but was then taken over by the Orange County Fair Association, Inc. Early fairs mainly consisted of horse races and livestock shows, but around 1900 new carnival-like attractions were added and the fair become a yearly occurrence. The fair was located in Santa Ana, except for a brief interval after World War I, when it was moved to Huntington Beach.

Starting in 1916, the fair was managed by the Orange County Farm Bureau. An Orange County Fair Board was elected in 1925, and the fair was moved to Anaheim with the addition of a rodeo and carnival. From 1932 to 1939, the fair was located in Pomona, California as part of a combined Orange, Los Angeles, and Riverside County Fair. Following World War II the 32nd District Agricultural Association was formed by the state of California, and it took on the task of running the fair. The state purchased land from the Santa Ana Army Air Base and set some of it aside for use as a new fairgrounds. In 1949 the fair became a five-day-long event and was relocated to the old army base, which quickly became the permanent location.

The city of Costa Mesa was incorporated in 1953 with the fair residing in its boundaries. The fairgrounds' 150 acres has been the home of the fair ever since 1949 and has expanded to an annual 23 day summer event.

On April 27, 2020, for the first time in 75 years, the 2020 fair was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; since 2021, hand sanitizers were installed within the premises, to prevent this and other diseases from spreading, plus social distancing & wearing masks are being adhered to. It was also cancelled in 1917–18 & 1942–45.

Attendance

The Orange County Fair is the 9th-largest fair in the United States. Since 2021, attendance is limited to 45,000 people per day.

Climate

The Fairground in Costa Mesa has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csb), that is nearly perfect for its many outdoor activities.

Gallery

File:OC Fair swings.jpg|Swings File:OC Fair gravitron.jpg|Starship 2000 File:OC Fair zipper.jpg|The Zipper

References

References

1. "General Information".
2. "Be Part of the Fair".
3. "OC Fair & Event Center : History". Ocfair.com.
4. (July 12, 2015). "Deep-Fried Fun". [[Orange County Register]].
5. "A History of Orange County".
6. Chasen Marshall. (March 17, 2011). "Fair Games Over the OC Fairgrounds - Page 1 - News - Orange County". OC Weekly.
7. Volpe, Michael. (July 26, 2010). "Rumors of Fair's Death Are Greatly Exaggerated". [[Orange County Business Journal]].
8. (July 10, 2022). "Time to return to OC Fair". Orange County Register.
9. "Archive: Attendance and Themes".
10. (August 12, 2019). "OC Fair Marks 3rd-Best Attendance".
11. (August 13, 2018). "2018 OC Fair sets attendance records and gives back to the community".
12. (August 16, 2017). "OC Fair 2017: Attendance slightly down, but survey shows more guests satisfied". Orange County Register.
13. (August 16, 2016). "Bidding Fair-Well". Orange County Register.
14. (July 17, 2015). "OC Fair's "One Big Party" Ends With 15,000 Deep Fried Coffee Balls, $3,200 Worth Of Caviar Twinkies, 33 Sold-Out Events & 17 Piglets". Orange County Fair.
15. . (August 12, 2014). ["2014 OC Fair Welcomes More Than 1.3 Million Fairgoers Distributes 435,000 Carnival Plushes & Devours 1,600 Pounds of Watermelon"](http://ns.ocfair.com/ocf2/aboutus/Pressrelease/ViewPressRelease.asp?PRelId=596). *Orange County Fair*.
16. Martindale, Scott. (August 12–13, 2012). "OC Fair attendance down slightly to 1.3 million". [[Orange County Register]].
17. Quick, Sonya. (August 14, 2011). "Record crowds eat through the OC Fair". [[Orange County Register]].
18. Irving, Doug. (August 16, 2010). "OC Fair breaks attendance record". [[Orange County Register]].
19. Luna, Nancy. (August 9, 2009). "Visitors flock to OC Fair's finale". [[Orange County Register]].
20. "Average weather for Costa Mesa". [[The Weather Channel]].