Fair more than doubles entertainment budget...

Fair more than doubles entertainment budget

What is red, ripe and rocking?

Give up? It is the new theme for the Orange County Fair, which

plans to showcase tomatoes and popular music this summer.

The fair board voted to increase the event’s entertainment budget

from $2 million to $5 million to book top-flight concert performances

for the Pacific Amphitheatre, officials said Thursday.

Becky Bailey-Findley, the fair’s chief executive, said they wanted

a theme that would reflect the energy and diversity of the new

attractions and entertainers, as well as the traditional features

that fairgoers have come to love and expect.

The infamous Pacific Amphitheatre, which has been the bane of

nearby residents because of excessive noise, will undergo a $500,000

renovation before reopening this summer. All of its 8,500 seats will

be on sale for each concert through Ticketmaster.

The fair, which runs July 11 to Aug. 3, will continue its free

concert series in the Grandstand arena.