Kids are pop stars

Marisa O’Neil

Children can overeat, get messy and make plenty of noise at the Kids

Stage at the Orange County Fair.

And it’s all OK.

Eating contests, dancing contests, hunts and all manner of fun,

like Wednesday’s Grapes or Bust contest, take place on the stage

every day in Kids Park.

“Lots of kids like to be on stage, play games and win prizes,”

Kids Park coordinator Erin Koenig said.

And even if the connection to the fair’s grape theme of “Jammin at

the Fair” is sometimes tenuous at best, it doesn’t squash the fun.

Balloons -- tied with a string to each child’s ankle -- stood in

for grapes during the Grapes or Bust contest. The goal was to burst

as many balloons without getting yours popped in the process.

The brother and sister team of 2-year-old Lillian and 4-year-old

Ashton Biddle got suited up with their balloons first. They jiggled

and shook their feet, slightly puzzled by the new accessory.

Once the contest started, it became a blur of sprinting children

and bouncing balloons trailing after them. Almost immediately, little

Lillian’s balloon got popped. She didn’t flinch.

“She has lots of older cousins,” her mother, Cynthia Biddle, said.

“Things like that don’t even phase her.”

As more and more balloons got popped, the cheers for the remaining

participants got more vociferous.

“Keep moving, Andrew!” the 5-year-old’s mother, Michelle Ramos,

called from the sidelines.

But Andrew’s balloon got popped.

When the field got down to the final four, the midday heat started

taking its toll. Energetic dashes, leaps and dodges lost their zest.

Megan Bowers, 5, even took a water break.

“I think we need to call a three-way tie,” Ramos suggested.

And so it was declared, much to everyone’s excitement.

Other fun and games set to come to the stage include

jelly-doughnut-eating contests and a search for a grape in a bowl of

ice on Fridays, grapefruit-squeezing contests on Sundays and

potato-sack tag on Tuesdays.

Most of the contests during the day are geared to children, but

the evening contests are open to adults. All participants in the

stage’s contests get green ribbons. First place winners gets blue

ribbons, second get red and third get white.

And every day kicks off with “Jam Session Dancin’.”

“All the kids get on stage and just dance,” Koenig said. “It’s a

really fun way to start the day.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.