Sight, Sounds, Smells Say It’s Fair Time Again

Grim, shirtless workers pounded together the guts of the 1988 Orange County Fair Wednesday afternoon for its 10-day run in Costa Mesa that starts today.

Stuffed animal prizes were lined up in booths along the midway, and farm animals were brushed and cleaned in preparation for the several thousand visitors expected at the fair now through July 17.

“Put it back up and tear it down. Put it back up and tear it down,” said Rayne Dickey, 30, as he set up a Ferris wheel Wednesday. Dickey, who said he has been working county fairs for four years, predicted, “It’s going to turn out good here. It always has.”

As Dickey’s Ferris wheel spins, the county fair will offer a blend of attractions that seem to be found only at this traditional community event.

Where else do people pay to have their age and weight guessed while others crowd into tents to root for their favorite livestock?

If it wasn’t for the county fair, it is hard to imagine where the California tax assessor would get to put up a booth, or how the Angora Rabbit Society and American Wheelchair Sailing Association could ever be represented across the room from each other like they are in the Orange County Building.

Only at the fair do headliners such as Paul Revere and the Raiders and the Gatlin Brothers have to take a back seat to beef cattle, which are the theme of this year’s event.

And along with the usual cow-chip throwing contests and crafts fairs, there will be some attractions not likely to be found at county fairs outside California, such as the sushi demonstration, the ponytail contest and the construction of a 12-foot tall sand castle.

While the demonstrations and many of the livestock shows are free, the cotton candy, corn dogs and carnival rides are not. Also far from free are the midway games that entice players to invest handfuls of cash to win a stuffed toy by tossing a coin onto a slick plate or knocking heavy milk bottles over with a lightweight ball.

For a few dollars John Powell, 41, or Christy Jones, 19, will guess the age, weight or birth month of those who pass by their booth, giving away stuffed animals when they guess wrong.

The secret, they said, is not the fact that they get to keep the money either way, but the skill involved in estimating weight.

Powell, who has been a “guesser” for the last four years, said a person’s weight is best estimated by squeezing their elbow, and the age and birth month just come from experience and blind guessing.

“We’re not psychic,” assured Jones. “You just get used to looking at people.”

Those interested in looking at animals can follow their noses to barns and corrals at the northeast corner of the fairgrounds where poultry, goats, horses, rabbits and cattle will compete for ribbons.

Cows are judged on a variety of different attributes, including femininity, style and balance, said Frank Hillicker, 19, who brought five cows to the fair.

“You clip them and trim them,” he said. “That’s a good sign of femininity. You want them to look sharp.”

The fair is open every day until from 10 a.m. to midnight. Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for children ages 6to 12 and free for those under 5.