Orange County Fair (California)

The Orange County Fair, abbreviated as the OC Fair, is a 23-day annual fair that is held every summer at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, California. The 2024 OC Fair is from July 19 to August 18, and theme will be “Always a Good Time!”[1][2]

Orange County Fair
The midway of the Orange County Fair in 2008.
LocationOC Fair & Event Center
88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, California, United States
Coordinates33°40′0″N 117°54′4″W
StatusOperating
Opened1890, 1919, 1946, 2021
Closed1916, 1941, 2020
ThemeTBA
Operating seasonOpens mid-July, concluding mid-August.
July 19 – August 18, 2024 (23 days, closed Mondays/Tuesdays).
Attendance1 million+
WebsiteOC Fair

Fair patrollers include security guards, the Costa Mesa Police & Orange County (CA) Sheriff's Office.

History

The fair first took place in the year 1890 and consisted of some minor exhibits in Santa Ana and a horse race.[3] 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.[3]

OC Fair in 1949

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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6] Since 2021, attendance is limited to 45,000 people per day.[7]

YearAttendance
20231,048,181[8]
20221,055,173[8]
20211,055,770[8]
20200[8]
20191,393,482[9]
20181,470,636[10]
20171,334,000[11]
20161,344,996[12]
20151,301,445[13]
20141,337,167[14]
20121,300,000[15]
20111,400,280[16]
20101,135,536[17]
20091,070,061[18]
20081,062,673[18]
20071,090,653[8]
2006924,315[8]
20051,058,192[8]
2004963,984[8]
2003881,596[8]
2002898,197[8]
2001843,347[8]
2000808,810[8]
1999724,561
1998723,061
1997785,944

Climate

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

Climate data for Costa Mesa
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °F (°C) 64
(18)		 64
(18)		 64
(18)		 66
(19)		 79
(26)		 82
(28)		 85
(29)		 90
(32)		 86
(30)		 86
(30)		 68
(20)		 64
(18)		 68
(20)
Average low °F (°C) 44
(7)		 50
(10)		 51
(11)		 54
(12)		 57
(14)		 60
(16)		 63
(17)		 64
(18)		 63
(17)		 54
(12)		 42
(6)		 38
(3)		 56
(13)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 2.60
(66)		 2.54
(65)		 2.25
(57)		 .70
(18)		 .18
(4.6)		 .08
(2.0)		 .02
(0.51)		 .09
(2.3)		 .30
(7.6)		 .28
(7.1)		 1.02
(26)		 1.59
(40)		 11.65
(296)
Source: Weather Channel[19]

References
  1. "General Information". OC Fair. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  2. "Be Part of the Fair". OC Fair. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  3. "OC Fair & Event Center : History". Ocfair.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
  4. Berg, Tom (July 12, 2015). "Deep-Fried Fun". Orange County Register. pp. News 1, 4–5.
  5. Chasen Marshall (March 17, 2011). "Fair Games Over the OC Fairgrounds - Page 1 - News - Orange County". OC Weekly. Archived from the original on March 20, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
  6. Volpe, Michael (July 26, 2010). "Rumors of Fair's Death Are Greatly Exaggerated". Orange County Business Journal. 33 (30): 46.
  7. Sheets, Tess (July 10, 2022). "Time to return to OC Fair". Orange County Register. p. News 9.
  8. "Archive: Attendance and Themes". OC Fair & Event Center. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  9. "OC Fair Marks 3rd-Best Attendance". My News LA. August 12, 2019. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  10. "2018 OC Fair sets attendance records and gives back to the community". OC Fair. August 13, 2018. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  11. Casiano, Jr., Louis (August 16, 2017). "OC Fair 2017: Attendance slightly down, but survey shows more guests satisfied". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  12. Boessenkool, Antonie (August 16, 2016). "Bidding Fair-Well". Orange County Register. p. Local 1. Archived from the original on August 30, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  13. "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" (Press release). Orange County Fair. July 17, 2015. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  14. "2014 OC Fair Welcomes More Than 1.3 Million Fairgoers Distributes 435,000 Carnival Plushes & Devours 1,600 Pounds of Watermelon" (Press release). Costa Mesa, California: Orange County Fair. August 12, 2014. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  15. Martindale, Scott (August 12–13, 2012). "OC Fair attendance down slightly to 1.3 million". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  16. Quick, Sonya (August 14, 2011). "Record crowds eat through the OC Fair". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  17. Irving, Doug (August 16, 2010). "OC Fair breaks attendance record". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on August 19, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  18. Luna, Nancy (August 9, 2009). "Visitors flock to OC Fair's finale". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on August 13, 2009. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
  19. "Average weather for Costa Mesa". The Weather Channel. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2008.

Further reading
  • Epting, Chris (2015). The Orange County Fair. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press. ISBN 978-1-62619-802-9.
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