Fest exhibits readiness

Andrew Edwards

Only two days remain before the Orange County Fair opens its gates to

the thousands, who each year come for the rides, to check out the

livestock and to explore the world of fried cuisine.

The 113th Orange County Fair was still a work in progress Tuesday.

Contest entries were still on their way into the fairgrounds to be

displayed at the Home and Hobbies Stage, and only a few rides looked

ready to go. Jan Tubbiola, a 37-year fair employee, said she thinks

efforts are moving smoothly toward Friday’s opening.

“Usually ... we just collapse on the last day, when everything’s

ready,” Tubbiola said. “I think we’re OK this year.”

Tuesday, Tubbiola worked in the Home and Hobbies Stage, an

exhibition of hand-crafted Christmas decorations, home-canned foods

and baked goods. As a whole, the displays -- which include items like

homemade wine jelly -- seem locked in a bucolic time that existed

decades before the words Orange County and hip were used in the same

sentence.

“I’m fascinated each year how much talent there is in the county,”

Tubbiola said. “How much time people have for projects.”

Laura Phillips of Huntington Beach was one of the people who

brought a project to the fair. Phillips dropped off a trio of cakes

-- chocolate, pistachio and caramel apple -- to the Home and Hobbies

Stage. Her 8-year-old son Jake and 11-year-old daughter Natalie also

entered projects into competition. Jake baked brownies and Natalie

submitted a sample of poetry and a visual presentation comparing

other Orange Counties across the United States.

“Her grandfather used to live in Orange County, Virginia, and we

went to their Orange County fair. It was very different from this

one. It was all about tractors,” Phillips said.

La Grande Wheel, the large Ferris wheel visible from streets

surrounding the fairgrounds, was the first ride that workers began to

set up, fair spokeswoman Sabrina Sakaguchi said. Other rides include

the teal and orange Spinning Coaster and a spinning contraption

called Orbiter.

On the food scene, a candy stand called Carmelot, was set up on

the blacktop, and a display of smiling tortilla chips swimming in a

bowl of guacamole could be found among the fair’s decorations.

The fair is scheduled to be open from Friday to July 31, excluding

Mondays. The fair is open from noon to midnight Tuesdays through

Thursday and from 10 a.m. to midnight Fridays through Sundays.

Fairgrounds are at 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. Information on fair

activities and admission costs can be accessed at

https://www.ocfair.com.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624, or contact him by e-mail at

andrew.edwards@latimes.com.