Entomologist Was Hit of the Fair--Bee-Lieve It!

The prize-winning preserves and jellies still looked tasty, but as the people shuffled by some of the 99th Orange County Fair’s championship cookies and cupcakes Sunday, their noses turned up a bit.

After all, as wonderful as these desserts may have been upon creation, they were going into their third week inside that glass case on this, the last day of the fair.

“Well, we’re going to throw them all away when it’s all over,” said Dee Cox, a fair worker in the home arts and crafts exhibit. “Some of this stuff is way too old to eat now. We judged it back on July 15, so a lot of it has gone bad.”

As the final day of the fair wound down, workers talked a lot about relaxing now that the record-breaking crowds would be leaving, but they also were girding themselves for the farewell labor of pulling down and packing up.

“It’s not as hard as putting things up, but it’s not easy either,” said Mel Jason, working his third year with rides at the fair. “Before and after, it’s just hard work. The fun part of the job is all the people you meet during the fair.”

As of 9 p.m. Sunday, the fair had drawn 636,374 visitors, surpassing last year’s complete 12-day total of 560,189. The highest daily attendance was registered Saturday, when 82,435 visitors passed through the gates. Fair spokeswoman Jill Ann Lloyd said many of those tickets were bought because of one man.

“The Bee Man had a lot to do with it,” Lloyd said, referring to entomologist Norm Gary, who did daily stunts with bees. “He was definitely a hit, and he definitely generated a lot of curiosity.”

Gary, who covers his body with more than 300,000 bees while playing the saxophone, generated enough curiosity, and publicity, to land an appearance on the Tonight Show last Friday, and some interest from Late Night with David Letterman.

“Performing at this fair has been the highlight of my entire life,” the 57-year-old UC Davis professor said after Sunday’s show. As several dozen bees circled his head, he signed autographs, answered questions and prepared to do an interview with a television crew from Japan.

“This was my first performance in front of a large crowd,” he said, “but it went so well I wouldn’t be surprised if I did it again.”