It’s Fair to Say They’re Ready

Goats were squealing, hens were jostled, and rabbits almost got lost in the furry flurry as hundreds of hopeful owners with animals in tow made their way Thursday to the Orange County Fair, which opens today.

By Thursday night, the new Technojump ride was in place, the concert stages were set for performers such as the Steve Miller Band; the fire-roasted corn and deep-fried Oreos were ready; and Mia Dunn’s pygmy goats were washed, brushed, trimmed and spruced.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to the fair every year for the entertainment, rides, games of all kinds and, of course, more traditional fare such as livestock contests with entries from all over Southern California.

“People come looking for their heritage,” said Jennifer Withrow, the fair’s livestock coordinator. County fairs originated around livestock, she said, and people still feel connected to that today.

Hundreds of cattle and pigs, horses, sheep and rabbits will compete this year for various titles. Dozens of hens will battle it out to see which can lay the most eggs, and rats and mice will scramble for the title of best-looking rodent. There’s even a barnyard fashion parade.

Dunn, 29, trekked from Mira Loma in Riverside County in an RV with three adults and four children and towing a trailer of 14 goats. It hadn’t been an easy day because making goats pretty, she said, isn’t a simple affair. Much like small children, she said, goats protest when being shampooed and fuss and bleat woefully when their hoofs are trimmed.

“But it’s all right,” she said, “as long as you don’t mind getting wet.”

The freshly scrubbed goats, Dunn hopes, will enable her to hold on to her grand champion title from last year. That blue ribbon just makes the effort “all worthwhile,” she added.

Today marks the start of the county’s 113th annual fair, which last year was the state’s fourth-most popular, with 923,211 in attendance.

Highlights this year include a troupe of Peking Acrobats, All Alaskan pig races and a baby zebra at the petting zoo.

Tonight’s performance by the B-52’s, the big-haired ‘80s band, which had a Top 10 hit with “Love Shack,” will launch the fair’s concert series.

Hundreds of kids in agricultural programs such as the National FFA Organization (formerly Future Farmers of America) and 4-H will vie for blue ribbons as they show their animals.

Amanda Lewis, 15 and Kelsey Madden, 18, both of Trabuco Hills High School in Mission Viejo and part of the 4-H club Trabuco Trail Blazers, have each entered two goats.

Both teens hope their goats will behave -- stand up straight, stay clean, exude charm. But they say they know it’s ultimately up to the goats.

Amanda’s goat Buddy lost time after time in previous fairs and other competitions but suddenly turned around and last year placed among the top contenders in a competition.

Their goats, like many of the animals at the fair, will eventually go home -- dusty, tired and more than a little relieved -- but some will be auctioned off to the highest bidder and slaughtered.

Mavrick, a steer whom owner Kimberly Rieg describes as “really, really hyper,” is one of those who won’t live to see another fair.

For months the Orange High School sophomore has walked him for an hour each day. Every day, she went to school to feed him grain and barley in the morning and again after school. As the fair approached, she said, she brushed him hard and often so his stiff hair would fall to one direction.

Kimberly and her three sponsors will each get a quarter of the meat from Mavrick after the fair.

“I don’t think it will bother me too much,” she said.

“But it will bother me too,” she added after a pause. “He was the first animal I ever got.”

But she’s looking forward to next year -- she wants a goat. “They’re my favorite animals. But if it doesn’t work out, I’ll definitely get another steer.”

In the rabbit and guinea pig tent, Lynn Seehaus had spent the last few days cleaning cages, attaching water bottles and making soft layers of hay.

The Redlands resident has worked at the fair a long time -- but can’t even remember how long.

This year will stand out, she said, marking the beginning of a new era with the arrival of a new Bob -- who is actually a girl.

The first Bob -- a honey-colored guinea pig -- found fame about five years ago when he was featured in a TV commercial advertising the fair.

He looked so cute peering through a sprinkler pipe, Seehaus said, that he sparked a small fan club.

“They just loved Bob’s face,” she said. “They’d come every year, and the first thing they’d do is come here and ask, ‘Where’s Bob?’ ”

But fans were saddened two years ago, Seehaus said, when Bob died at 8 -- well into guinea pig golden years.

Seehaus hopes the new Bob will also become an Orange County Fair favorite. “I hope Bob can live up to Bob’s reputation. But you never know.”

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Summer at the fair

The Orange County Fair runs today through July 31.

Admission prices*

General (13 to 59 years): $8

Seniors (60 years+): $6

Children (6 to 12 years): $4

Children (5 & younger): Free

*

Hours

Tues.- Thurs.: Noon to midnight

Fri. - Sun.: 10 a.m. to midnight

Mondays: Closed

*

Parking in fairground lots

Vehicles: $5

Buses, limousines: $10

Preferred: $10

*

Saturday and Sunday only

Free parking and shuttle service from 10 to 1 a.m. from:

- The Automobile Club of Southern California lot

- The Experian parking structure on Anton Boulevard

*

Additional information

Phone: (714) 708-3247

Website: www.ocfair.com

*(Children 12 and younger are admitted free Tuesdays. Seniors pay $4 admission Thursdays. )

*

Source: Orange County Fair and Exposition Center

Los Angeles Times

*

Today’s highlights at the O.C. Fair

Hours: 10 a.m.-midnight. Location: 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa.

Opening day. Free admission for all before 11 a.m. Free admission for all active duty military, law enforcement and firefighters plus one guest, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

More information: (714) 708-3247 or www.ocfair.com

Noon: Juggler Greg Bennick

Noon: Singer Billy Erickson

1 p.m.: Magic of Frank Thurston

2 p.m.: Momentum Dance Center

3 p.m.: The Colony of Performing Arts

4 p.m.: Cerritos College Pop Ensemble

4 p.m.: Paradise Junction Bluegrass Band

7:30 p.m.: The B-52’s / Junior Senior / Blow Up. All seats $19.99

8 p.m.: 30th Annual Speedway Fair Derby and Freestyle Motocross Jumping

9 p.m.: Hypnotist Mark Yuzuik

Source: Orange County Fair & Exposition Center

Los Angeles Times