ORANGE COUNTY FAIR : Musical Acts Will Amplify Nostalgia

A trip to the Orange County Fair isn’t the most likely occasion for sparking memories of Woodstock and the ‘60s peace movement.

But in Richie Havens, the fair has a Woodstock veteran on its bill of entertainment this year. And if Havens reprises “Freedom,” his electrifying incantation from Woodstock, nostalgia for those days of cultural fermentation might just set in. Havens plays the fair Sunday, July 21, at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., sharing his show with Richard Elliot, the former Tower of Power saxophonist who has gone on to a contemporary jazz career.

Here’s a rundown of the fair’s “big-name” entertainment schedule (a story comparing O.C.’s annually marginal roster of acts to the higher quality line ups at other fairs in the area appears in today’s Calendar section, Page F-1):

* Thursday, July 18: “30 Years of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” This 11-act oldies revue includes ex-Monkee Mickey Dolenz, Tiny Tim, Bobby Boris Pickett, and Cannibal and the Headhunters.

* Friday, July 19: Elvin Bishop. The blues guitarist’s long, varied career includes ‘60s membership in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, ‘70s pop success with the hit, “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” and a well-regarded new album on Alligator Records, “Don’t Let the Bossman Get You Down!”

* Saturday, July 20: Little River Band. The Australian band started scoring hits in the mid-’70s with a Down Under version of the smooth California folk rock harmony typified by CS&N.;

* Sunday, July 21: Havens and Elliot.

* Monday, July 22: Donny Osmond. You couldn’t call it puppy love when the former kid star surrounded himself with steamy MTV vixens on the video for “My Love Is a Fire.” The Irvine resident has structured his comeback around such dance-pop fare.

* Tuesday, July 23: Jan & Dean. “Surf City” and “The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)” were the duo’s signature hits.

* Wednesday, July 24: The Dixie Cups, the Platters and Brian Hyland. This program of R&B; and pop crooners will likely include such oldies as “Iko Iko” and “Chapel of Love” from the New Orleans-based Dixie Cups, “The Great Pretender” from the Platters, and Hyland’s novelty song, “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini.”

* Thursday, July 25: Garry Morris. The large-voiced Texas native has moved between country, pop and theatrical performances.

* Friday, July 26: The Jets. This family dance-pop group emerged with a 1986 hit, “Crush on You.”

* Saturday, July 27: The Commodores. Lionel Richie is an alumnus of this smooth R&B; group that got hot in the ‘70s with “Three Times a Lady.”

* Sunday, July 28: Air Supply. Romantic ballad crooning is the Australian duo’s specialty.

All concerts will be at the Arlington Theater at 7 and 9 p.m. on weeknights and 5 and 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Shows are free with fair admission.