Photos: It’s ‘Time for Fun’: O.C. Fair is back this summer
Long Beach youths London Powell, 11, from left, Symone Davenport, 11, Kamya Tucker, 14, react before the new Windsurf ride commences at the Orange County Fair, which opened Friday.
The Orange County Fair returned Friday for in-person fun this summer. Last year’s fair was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic — the first time since World War II that the fair was not held.
The number of carnival rides, food stands and shopping vendors at the fair, under the theme “Time for Fun,” will be reduced to provide more space for social distancing, according to a news release.
“Our team spent the last year developing health and safety procedures,” Chief Executive Michele Richards said in a video posted to Facebook. “So when you come to the O.C. Fair or any event at the O.C. Fair and Event Center, you can rest assured that that event will be as healthy and safe as possible.”
The fair continues through Aug. 15 at the Orange County Fair and Event Center, 88 Fair Drive in Costa Mesa. The hours are 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays and 10 a.m. to midnight Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
A performer from Dragon Knights Stilt Theater entertains the crowd Friday at the Orange County Fair, which returned after a year hiatus because of the pandemic.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Mackallien Blair, 6, left, and her sister Mackayla Blair, 7, of Whittier, take close-up photos of curious llamas on display by 4-H students at the Orange County Fair.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
People are flipped upside down on the G Force ride at the Orange County Fair.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Kamaiyah Bowers, 4, left, eats corn on the cob as her mother, Marie Tyler, of Corona, shares a turkey leg with Kamariah Bowers, 12, as the stuffed animals they won at the Orange County Fair surround them.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A guest at the Orange County Fair enjoys a Dole whip dessert.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
An actor from the Dragon Knights Stilt Theater gets behind the wheel of a vehicle at the Orange County Fair.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Morgan Ochalek, 9, a Lakeside 4-H student, interacts with Arthur, an alpaca, while displaying him and his brother, Prince for the public before they will be judged at the Orange County Fair.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Lili Noden, the creator of the Dragon Knights Stilt Theater, and her dog, Tica.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Ryann Garcia, 5, and Andrian Garcia, 8, of Los Alamitos, are pulled in a wagon by their parents at the Orange County Fair.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A woman rides the Wild River ride at the Orange County Fair.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
People on the Sky Ride and Ferris wheel Friday on the opening day of the Orange County Fair.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
London Powell, 11, from left, Symone Davenport, 11, Kamya Tucker, 14, react as the Windsurf takes them for a ride.
Los Angeles Times staff photographer Allen J. Schaben is an award-winning journalist capturing a wide range of images over the past 34 years. Before joining The Times, he honed his craft at the Detroit Free Press, Dallas Morning News, Wichita Eagle and Connecticut Post. Schaben earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1993.
