GREEN ACRE : For Agriculture and Animal Life, Costa Mesa’s Centennial Farm Is the Place to Be

A couple of years ago, she was a star. Thousands flocked to get a glimpse of her, crowding three and four deep under the blistering sun. She took her celebrity in stride, bearing the reaching hands and prying eyes so calmly that sometimes--if there weren’t too many flies--she’d nod off right in the middle of an audience.

These days, Shortcake, the 600-pound (or maybe 700, but who’s counting?) Yorkshire crossbreed that won fame as the Orange County Fair’s 1989 “theme pig,” is still packing them in at the fairgrounds. And, as she lumbers into porcine middle age, her admirers keep getting younger.

Shortcake is the four-legged centerpiece of Centennial Farm, a one-acre replica of a working farm tucked away in a corner of the Costa Mesa fairgrounds. Four days a week, Shortcake and other barnyard folk help urban children learn about life on the farm during free docent-led tours. The tours also include stops in the farm’s large garden, where nearly two dozen varieties of fruits and vegetables grow.

Centennial Farm opened on the fairgrounds in 1988; tours, which run from September through May, began the year after. A favorite on the elementary school field trip circuit, the farm welcomed more than 25,000 children last year alone, said Jim Bailey, the fair’s livestock supervisor and Centennial Farm coordinator. The tours, which are led by community volunteers, are popular among children in kindergarten through second grade, but they can be adjusted to suit younger or older children too.

A glimpse at farm life can be a real eye-opener for a child who sees little more than office towers and mini-malls springing up in Orange County’s fields, Bailey said.

“We’re becoming so urbanized that kids don’t have a chance to see a cow standing in a field, or crop growing,” he said. “A lot of kids who haven’t had farm experience think carrots come from a grocery store, milk comes from a carton and water comes from a faucet. As a matter of fact, we’ve run into adults who don’t think beyond that either,” he added with a laugh.

Throughout the year, a four-member staff plants, maintains and harvests the farm’s crops, which include peanuts, radishes, carrots, asparagus, corn and strawberries. Most of the yield goes to fair employees, but a portion of it goes to area food banks and other charitable groups through the efforts of the Gleeners, a volunteer group that harvests and distributes the food left behind in local commercial farms.

For most youngsters, however, the farm’s pigs, horse, sheep, goats, cows and chickens are the main attractions. (Shortcake, by the way, will swell the population further in December with a litter of piglets.) During a recent visit, 3-year-old Christina Himes of Costa Mesa cozied up to a 12-year-old gelding named Frank, cuddled a baby chick and, after a little prodding from mother Marjorie, managed a tentative pat for the mammoth Shortcake, who, true to form, snoozed through the whole encounter.

Centennial Farm tours are available to groups of up to 30 children (small groups can be accommodated as well) and are offered Tuesday through Friday at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and noon. Reservations are required. The farm is open to the public daily between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

What: Centennial Farm Tours.

When: Every Tuesday through Friday (except major holidays).

Where: Orange County Fairgrounds, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa.

Whereabouts: Exit the San Diego (405) Freeway at Fairview Drive and drive south to Arlington Street. Turn left on Arlington and enter the fairgrounds at Gate 5.

Wherewithal: Admission is free.

Where to call: (714) 751-3247, Ext. 22.