Fair visitors come back for more fun

Some Orange County fairgoers crave the giant turkey legs. Others come

back for the cheap rides and fuzzy farm animals. Whatever their

favorite things, the fair’s thousands of visitors include a number of

repeat customers.

“I think we’ve been here about five times,” said Cathleen Wall,

who was checking out some chickens and piglets with her mother and

her 2-year-old son, Johnny.

“He loves the animals. He never gets the opportunity to pet the

animals,” except at the fair, said Wall, who visited from Huntington

Beach Thursday.

It was trip No. 2 for Ami and Jim Ferrell, who were watching their

daughter, Grace, and son, James, enjoy a car-themed ride.

“We live right in Costa Mesa, so it’s nice to be part of a local

amusement,” Ami Ferrell said. The kids have tried all the rides, she

said, and their top choice is the Super Slide.

“They just won’t quit sliding,” she said.

The rides were a draw for Tracey Seburn of Fountain Valley, who

came with her mother and two children on Thursday, but the family

also had other plans.

“We’ll probably do all the animal stuff again and see the exhibits

again,” Seburn said, and they also wanted to see the Peking Acrobats

because they didn’t see the entire show the first time.

The various shows keep people coming back, fair spokesman Jeff

Willson said. Some visitors claim to have seen every show hypnotist

Mark Yuzuik puts on.

“There’s people that come every day to see both shows,” Willson

said. “That’s definitely one that draws them back in.”

Thursday was a “vacation day” at the fair for Kevin and Kristen

Alexander of Anaheim, who said this was their first year coming

without the kids. After buying some flower bulbs and sampling the

deep fried avocado, Kristen Alexander was pretty much finished at the

fair, but her husband said he planned to come back today.

“I’m going to eat everything you have here,” Kevin Alexander said.

James Moore of La Habra has only been to the fair once this year,

but he knew exactly what he wanted.

“I mostly came for one of these,” he said, gesturing with a

half-eaten giant turkey leg.

Nicole Williams of Costa Mesa was sipping a drink in the shade

with her friend, Brian Houghton of Long Beach.

She’s been to the Orange County fair before, but Thursday was

Houghton’s first visit. They saw all the animals, including the zebra

at the petting zoo, and also hit many of the exhibits.

The two weren’t planning to do any spinning, twirling or dropping

from great heights. No matter how popular the rides are with some

people, they’re not on Williams’ agenda.

“They make me sick,” she said.