Seeing a star lineup at the fair

Jimmy Stroup

Along with the rides, food and midway games, the Orange County Fair

is famous for offering some of its biggest musical events of the

summer at the Pacific Amphitheatre.

This summer’s concert-series roster, which boasts big names like

Reba McEntire, Hootie and the Blowfish, Bill Cosby, the Go-Go’s,

Jessica Simpson and ZZ Top, among others, will offer fairgoers a

lineup varied enough to please most any fans.

“Every year we strive for diversity,” fair chief executive Steve

Beazley said. “We try to hit as many genres as we can to [please] as

many kinds of people as we can.”

Comedy shows and musical events of all types grace the Pacific

Amphitheatre this summer, and ticket sales are already reflecting a

huge interest in this season’s entertainment buffet.

The best-seller thus far, said 17-year-old fair worker Courtney

Belzano, is the Go-Go’s and The Motels, who play Friday, July 23.

“This year we got really lucky,” Beazley said. “This is one of the

better [lineups] we’ve ever had.”

Costa Mesa resident Richard Curiel attends the concert series

every year and already has tickets to see Bill Cosby on July 22.

“Oh, yeah. I go every year,” he said, adding that the Cosby show

wasn’t the only he was planning on catching. “I’m thinking about

seeing [Don] Henley, too.”

Performers enjoy the venue almost as much as the fans do.

“It’s a nice little place,” said Ron McNeil, who portrays John

Lennon in the Fab Four, a Beatles cover band that kicked off the

month-long concert series. “We consider it to be a great honor to be

on that stage.”

Fair Chief Executive Officer Becky Bailey-Findley, a 10-year

veteran at the helm of the Orange County Fair, sees the concerts at

the amphitheater as an “extension” of the fair and claims that the

attractions seen there are part of a plan to give fair attendants

what they want to see.

“We consciously tried to attract acts that would be of interest to

the fairgoer,” she said.

As an added bonus, all Friday-evening events over the course of

the season include fair admission in the price of the ticket.

Tickets to the shows range in price from $10 to $95, depending on

the show, and can be bought in person at the Orange County Fair or at

https://www.ticketmaster.

com.