In a word: bigger

Deirdre Newman

“Red, Ripe and Rockin’” is the theme of this summer’s Orange County

Fair. The red and ripe are manifested in tomatoes, which will be

prominently featured, while the rockin’ comes courtesy of the

reopened Pacific Amphitheatre.

Concerts will feature big-name acts like Steely Dan, Crosby,

Stills and Nash, Duran Duran and Bob Dylan. Closed since 1995, the

amphitheater is the recipient of a half-million-dollar face-lift that

includes new paint, new seatbacks and new restrooms. The fair will

still offer its free concert series on 15 of the 21 nights of the

fair.

“Everything together this year has elements of both the

traditional and the new so it’s going to be quite a memorable year,”

said Becky Bailey-Findley, general manager of the fair.

There will also be a “Red, Ripe and Karaokin’” karaoke contest

every night on the Heritage Stage. Nightly winners will return the

final night to compete for a $5,000 gift certificate from Cal Spas.

Tomatoes will be abundant at Centennial Farm, which will feature

1,000 tomato plants as varied as tiny grape tomatoes to beefsteak

types that weigh two pounds or more.

The Celebrity Chef Series will showcase three stars of

television’s Food Network, starting on July 17 when celebrity chef

Alton Brown of “Good Eats” explores the tomato and the many roles it

can play in the kitchen.

If you want to feel like a tomato in a blender, you can check out

the new Tango ride, which takes riders 80 feet into the air, then

spins them and turns them upside down, before returning to solid

ground.

While the fair doesn’t offer fried, green tomatoes, there is other

fried fare to sink your teeth into like deep-fried Twinkies, Oreo

Cookies and pickle chips.

Another new feature is Art on a Stick, a visual, outdoor sculpture

competition. Entries, which will be displayed throughout the

fairgrounds, have no weight or size limitations and can be made from

any medium such as ceramic, wood, metal, neon or glass.

Other fair highlights include: Kids Day (every Tuesday); Seniors

Day (every Thursday); Rockin’ Into the Fair, July 16 -- free parking

and admission from noon to 1 p.m. -- and Rockin’ Against Hunger, July

23, noon to 5 p.m. -- free entry with five nonperishable food items

donated to Second Harvest Food Bank.

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

The fair will run three weeks this year, but will be closed

Mondays.