A cornucopia in Costa Mesa’s backyard

Who could resist All Alaskan Racing Pigs, “the swiftest of the

swine”?

Porky not your pleasure? How about barnyard-animal fashion or

homemade beer?

It’s that time again. The 112th Orange County Fair is in business

until Aug. 1, bringing all things quirky, sublime, musical,

historical, botanical, agricultural and viticultural to a fairground

of 150 acres with a budget of $24.4 million. That’s pretty hefty

growth for an event that dates back to 1890 with some horse races in

Santa Ana and small, community, week-long celebrations in 1949 in

Costa Mesa.

It’s a tribute to its organizers that the event has stood the test

of time, particularly in an era of video games, computers, beefed-up

theme parks, sports events and other local attractions and

distractions that might make the fair’s livestock competitions and

worm displays seem rather mediocre.

But in fact, people seem more interested than ever in what the

eagerly awaited Costa Mesa summer fair has to offer. Last year, for

instance, 881,596 people visited the fair. That was the

second-highest attendance year in the event’s history and the

fourth-highest attendance among 12 of the state’s top fairs,

according the fair’s media guide. The Los Angeles County Fair was

tops at 1.3 million.

Somehow, through it all, the fair has managed to stay true to its

mission of offering educational and recreational things to see and do

while promoting California’s agricultural heritage with exhibits and

competitions.

Perhaps that heritage has appeal to us because, in an age of

looking at computer and television screens much of the time, we see

at the fair what many of us rarely see live in the flesh, right off

the stem or just out of the vat. Consider some of this year’s

offerings: the maternity livestock barn; the Crafters Village, full

of artisans; a commercial wine competition; a community floral design

contest; an outdoor sculpture; and the Millennium Barn, which shows

how world hunger is being combated by providing livestock to

impoverished families.

And how could the fair go wrong with everything from a hypnotist

and something called Grampa’s Grass Band to belly dancing and a

touring dance troupe of Russian orphans? That’s not to mention the

carnival rides and attractions catering to children, along with the

40 game booths. Of course, the fair hasn’t gotten away with not

changing with the times, or at least not remembering them: Last year,

a reunited Duran Duran performed. This year, The Go-Go’s are

performing, and Hootie’s on stage with the Blowfish.

Sounds like quite a “Vacation,” even if only for an afternoon.