Thousands flock to OC Fair
When John Kenneth got to the OC Fair & Event Center on Friday morning for opening day of the 126th annual Orange County Fair, he wasn’t sure where to go.
After all, he hadn’t been there in some 25 years. But he played hooky from work to give the summertime tradition another shot.
He left his house in Lakewood around 9 a.m. and arrived at the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa about 30 minutes later. Much to his surprise, he was first in line at the Blue Gate entrance off Fair Drive. Hours later, thousands lined up behind him for the noon opening.
“I just walked over here,” he said while sitting in a lawn chair accompanied by his daughter, Ashley Kenneth, and Matthew Walters, both of Pasadena.
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Ashley Kenneth and Walters, like many others on the warm, sunny day, were enjoying the shade of an umbrella. Walters used the morning to study medical coding, a profession that involves taking information from doctors and relaying it to insurance companies.
A few feet away, a giant crane was backing up under the Blue Gate entrance tent amid the flurry of getting things ready for the fair’s opening.
John Kenneth remarked on how Walters could drown out the noise and concentrate.
“He does real good at zeroing everything out,” he said.
Closer to the fairgrounds’ Pacific Amphitheatre, 128 summer-camp children from the Fountain Valley School District stood out by wearing matching red T-shirts. While waiting to get inside, they sat on the sidewalk, eating lunch.
Connie Ramirez, a camp coordinator with the district, said her groups have been going to the OC Fair’s opening day for the past decade.
Jewliana Fowler, 7, said she was excited to return this year. She particularly liked the slides last year.
“I was sliding down and I went so fast that I almost screamed,” Jewliana said, quickly clarifying that, indeed, she did scream.
Connor Zelinski, 10, said he loves the water log ride.
“It splashed all over me,” he recalled, waving his arms to imitate the wall of water that drenched him last year.
When fair officials opened the Blue Gate and patrons, led by John Kenneth, trickled in, they were met by members of the Fair Board and other fairgrounds staff who handed out customized bags and knickknacks, such as a pink pig pen and a foam-rubber ice cream cone.
Fair Board member Ashleigh Aitken joked with a visitor that squeezing the ice cream cones will relieve stress.
“If you’re on a scary ride, take this with you,” she said while handing over the toy.
A few feet away, members of the Fair Foodies squad — consisting of Carl the cotton candy, Olivia the orange, Arturo the churro, Cornelius the corn and Scoop the ice cream cone — posed for pictures.
Nearby were the Dragon Knights, a steampunk-inspired troupe that includes stilt-walkers who wandered about the Blue Gate entrance.
For a time, KNBC-TV meteorologist Shanna Mendiola was seen singing alongside a quartet who harmonized about the virtues of being on Channel 4.
Fair officials said about 30,000 people were expected to take advantage of the free fair admission and parking for the first hour of opening day.
The fair continues through Aug. 14.
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What: Orange County Fair
Where: OC Fair & Event Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa
When: Through Aug. 14. Noon to midnight Wednesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to midnight Saturdays and Sundays.
Cost: $12 general admission; $7 for senior citizens 60 and older and children ages 6 to 12; free for children 5 and younger
Information: ocfair.com or (714) 708-1500
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Bradley Zint, bradley.zint@latimes.com
Twitter: @BradleyZint
