Bakersfield’s Glitzy Circus of the Stars : Event: Annual business conference under a big top draws thousands who pay up to $295 to see VIPs from James Baker to Shirley MacLaine.

The Lear jets are landing, the limos are purring, the media army is dug in and the gigantic tent looms taut and ready. Here they come: Colin L. Powell, Henry A. Kissinger, James A. Baker III, two former heads of state, the three Apollo 11 astronauts, Peter Jennings, Larry King, Shirley MacLaine and--yes--a lot more.

The spectacle unfolded Saturday in--where else?--Bakersfield, home to oil wells, cotton fields--and, quite possibly, the most bizarre celebrity event in the world.

Calgary may have its Stampede, New Orleans its Mardi Gras and Capistrano its swallows. Pamplona runs its bulls and Pasadena salutes its roses.

But now this San Joaquin Valley community, long dismissed by outsiders as a hot, dusty oil town, can brag of its own unique way to attract attention.

The annual Bakersfield Business Conference, put on by a local law firm, has ballooned into a media extravaganza that draws an audience from around the country. Not that there is any mystery to booking big-name speakers--just offer cash, up to $60,000 a pop.

And one other thing: Make very sure the VIPs sign on the bottom line.

“I don’t want them to wake up one Sunday morning and say, ‘God, did I say I was going to do a tent show in Bakersfield?’ ” said George F. Martin, the lawyer who dreamed up this curious synthesis of Ringling Bros. and “Meet the Press.”

On Saturday, 12,500 enthusiastic guests paid up to $295 a pop for the pleasure of sitting inside the 148,000-square-foot tent--or “fabric building system,” in conference jargon--to munch popcorn and gaze upon a Who’s Who of media stalwarts. Outside, a Ferris wheel whirled beneath billowy white clouds, and latecomers drifted past a replica of Apollo 11 near the flag-festooned entrance.

Inside their own tent, pampered by a stream of snacks and coffee, reporters from as far away as Germany and Japan followed events on monitors and grilled the occasional guest star who drifted in.

Most steered clear: “Sam Donaldson wants to hear George Will,” conference spokeswoman Cindy Pollard told the press corps in explaining why the ABC newsman would not be visiting his counterparts. But, she added excitedly, “I just got word that Dr. Henry Kissinger is on his way over!”

Gov. Pete Wilson passed through the big tent in the morning. But in the A-list wonderland of the Bakersfield Business Conference, many did not even hear about it.

The jamboree, said Martin, 50, provides him the “satisfaction of putting on a good show,” besides meeting his broader goals of publicizing Bakersfield and his law firm, Borton, Petrini & Conron.

Indeed, show biz is in his blood: Martin once promoted rock bands on his own Frantic Records label, including such notables as Mogen David and his Grapes of Wrath (“They were from Napa,” he explained).

But the native of Olivehurst, a blue-collar community north of Sacramento, shifted his interest from rhythm and blues to contracts and torts. He studied law at UC Davis and now is managing partner of Borton, Petrini & Conron, which has 16 offices throughout the state.

Some may see his firm’s home base of Bakersfield as an uninviting sprawl of oil pumps, billboards and motels on California 99. For their part, residents may view their hometown as an underappreciated haven from the horrors of Los Angeles and urban life.

But to a growing number of stars from the lecture circuit--not to mention Las Vegas--Bakersfield is getting known as a juicy payday, a place where speakers can hold forth before a rapt audience in between comic banter and other entertainment. Some give their standard speech, others are interviewed and still others perform comic routines.

Ronald Reagan, George and Barbara Bush, Jimmy Carter and Gerald R. Ford have all played Bakersfield. Donald Trump, Lee Iacocca, Willard Scott, Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick and T. Boone Pickens Jr. showed up last year.

Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Reba McEntire, Walter Cronkite and former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt came before them.

New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo described the event as “a parade of power.” Andy Rooney confessed he couldn’t fight off the pleasure of being recognized by Ronald Reagan.

Without naming names, Martin said the most he ever paid a speaker was $60,000, with this year’s top earner netting about $50,000. The few lesser lights allowed into the tent have garnered a few thousand dollars.

But there is more to this Medialand than a desire for attention by a well-heeled law firm.

Enthusiasts describe the event as a marvel of detail; a fantasy world for grown-ups somehow conjured on 27 grassy acres at the Cal State Bakersfield campus. Planners spent more than $250,000 on temporary landscaping this year, which included 200 ficus and myrtle trees.

Need money to rent binoculars? Drop by the ATM trucked in from Bank of America for your convenience. Want a break from those speeches? Stroll over to the sports tent, where you can sip a drink and follow three college football games on 20 television monitors.

Does that spaceship near the entrance look authentic? It should: The Apollo 11 model, 10% the size of the real one, was lent by NASA. Saturday’s soiree was scheduled to climax with an interview of the lunar mission astronauts by television personality--and former Air Force flyer--David Hartman (a last minute replacement for Mike Wallace, who was not feeling well). A “fireworks spectacular” was set for the grand finale.

There were plenty of not-so-serious exchanges: Peter Jennings and Jay Leno pushing each other around on the podium; Kissinger declaring his satisfaction that the previous speaker, Texan James Baker, also had an accent, and Rich Little doing his impression of Richard Nixon. (“I’ve finally moved my jowls.”)

In fact, the speakers spent most of their time on weighty matters. Will critiqued the Clinton presidency along with much of modern society. Kissinger warned that America cannot be the global policeman. The former secretary of state expressed deep reservations about U.S. policy in Haiti, contending that our national interest there is not crucial enough to justify the loss of American lives. Jennings expressed his concern about cynicism in the news media.

“What is reality?” asked Shirley MacLaine, during her moment after Jennings and before former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

A rare snafu took place last week when residents took offense at the red, white and blue plastic liners intended for use in the trash cans. After irate citizens barraged officials with complaints about using the flag-like liners, Martin apologized and had all 700 replaced.

Normally, however, the trickiest part is coordinating the schedules of all the VIPs, he said.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev was booked elsewhere, much to Martin’s disappointment. But the attorney pointed with pride to uniting astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Mike Collins in a rare joint appearance.

“It’s like bringing the Beatles together--they just don’t do this,” Martin said.

Once upon a time, the Bakersfield Business Conference was a cozy seminar for 250 people at a local country club. Now in its 10th year, it has become a show-biz festival that draws 14,000, perhaps half from out of town, including a press contingent of 200 and scores of workers.

This year’s ticket revenues of $3.2 million will probably cover the law firm’s direct costs, Martin said. Any profit will be plowed into next year’s event.

Meanwhile, the planning goes on.

Five former heads of state are being sought for next year, and more than 7,000 tickets have been sold already. Do not circle your calendar: Preference goes to former attendees and their guests. Everyone else lands on the waiting list.

Sound like a crowd pleaser? It is, according to the International Platform Assn. of Winnetka, Ill.

The group, made up largely of booking agents and people who put on seminars, has given Bakersfield its best conference award twice. “This is one of a kind. It’s amazing. It’s off the charts,” said Luvie Owens, the group’s executive director, proclaiming that Bakersfield has set the standard for the rest of the country. “It’s like Christmas or the 4th of July.”