Free fair admission granted with donations

The O.C. Fair is offering free admission — and the chance to feel good — to visitors who bring something to donate on Wednesdays.

Visitors can bring five nonperishable food items for the food drive July 18. The food will go to Second Harvest Food Bank and the Orange County Food Bank.

According to its website, Irvine-based Second Harvest Food Bank works through a network of more than 470 member charities and helps more than 240,000 people in Orange County each month.

The Orange County Food Bank’s website reports it distributes about 20 million pounds of food annually and provides food and personal-care items to more than 400 charity organizations around the county.

Visitors who bring one new or three gently used children’s books to the fair between noon and 4 p.m. on July 25 will be given free fair admission and a carnival ride.

The books will go to children at one of THINK Together’s early literacy programs. THINK Together, based in Santa Ana, has learning centers, math programs and after-school programs in Costa Mesa and several other cities statewide.

The book drive is part of the fair’s We Care Wednesday promotion. They also have food, clothing and school supply drives.

According to THINK Together, the group has collected more than 60,000 books each year.

Five gently used clothing items for Goodwill will get fairgoers in for free Aug. 1.

On Aug. 8, a school supply item valued at $5 or more can be donated. The item will go to Costa Mesa-based Share Our Selves, which provides medical, dental, social and behavioral health services for low-income and homeless people.

The fair runs through Aug. 12 and is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Admission is $11 for adults, $8 for seniors ages 60 and older, and $6 for children ages 6 to 12. Children younger than 6 are free.

For more information, visit ocfair.com or call (714) 708-1500.

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