The long and short of it

Big deal.

OK, that’s not quite right.

We’re talking about a really big deal.

On the one hand, at the Orange County Fair there’s a 6-foot-6-inch horse named Hercules.

Now that’s a pretty tall order.

But when you’re in the mood for tinier fascinations, try the Bonsai exhibit and check out the little trees, some of which are hundreds of years old.

Big deal? You bet. The exhibit has been brought back to the fair by popular demand this year.

The owner of Bassin’s Bonsai Tools Etc. in Buena Park enjoys the intricate art of tree shaping so much that he took time away from his business to volunteer at the Kofu Bonsai Kai booth in the Orange County Fair on Wednesday.

He brought along supplies from his store in case fairgoers grew interested in bonsai after stopping by the Kofu Bonsai Kai booth.

“Somebody has to get these tools to the people doing bonsai,” Everett Bassin said. “Nurseries don’t carry them anymore.”

The bonsai exhibit in the Flower & Garden Gallery celebrates its sophomore year at the fair. The exhibit is on display throughout the fair this year because of its popularity in 2005.

The bonsai exhibitors manned a booth for the first five days of the 2005 fair and they were invited back when fairgoers kept asking about them.

For Jiacomo Rivero of Long Beach, the grass was truly greener, and better pruned, in his neighbor’s yards.

“In [my neighborhood] there are a lot of Japanese homes,” he said. “Their gardens were groomed so differently and it was spectacular.”

“I was just fascinated by looking at their homes.”

So, five years ago Rivero began studying the ancient art that he came to discover expressed great emotion.

The most common question asked in the bonsai display booth would have to be, “How old is that tree?” Rivero said.

The oldest tree in the bunch has been forensically tested to be between 800 to 900 years old, but the actual age of each tree is not important, Rivero said. It is how old you make it look.

“It’s about creating the illusion of age,” he said. “You want to make it look like a tree in nature, the more dramatic the better.”

Rivero’s preferred look is shaping the tree to appear as if it has been buffeted by wind on a cliff’s edge.

Demonstrations occur continuously throughout the day in the gallery tent. The group’s goal at the fair is to attract a younger crowd, Rivero said.

“Bonsai is an aging demographic,” he said. “We need to keep the art alive, keep it going strong.”

And this talk about strength leads us back to Hercules who will be on display at the fair until July 30.

The 6-foot-6-inch, 3,100-pound animal attracts scores of people daily, paying to watch the horse mostly stand around and eat hay. Hercules’ apparent lack of talent does not, however, dissuade many kids from pleading with their parents and pulling on their arms for the 50 cents it costs to witness the mammoth animal.

“Most people, mouths drop open and they call it a dinosaur or an elephant,” ticket-taker Melody Russell said.

Speaking of elephants, for only $5 kids can ride Kitty or Becky. With a combined weight of 14,000 pounds, the Asian elephants spend their day carrying those who will brave the ride in a slow loop around a course.

You can’t ride Hercules, but that does not stop most from sneaking a hand in between the bars to try to pet the horse.

“Everyone always wants to touch him,” Russell said, and no matter how many signs posted or verbal warnings given, people still try.

Kai and Kiana Okamura trekked on up from San Diego to get a look at the enormous beast. The siblings left Hercules’ tent stunned.

“It kind of looked like it was really strong,” 7-year-old Kai said. “I wouldn’t want to get in a fight with it.”

TODAY’S FAIR ATTENDANCE

Wednesday as of 6 p.m.: 24,463

Tuesday: 33,232

BEST BET AT THE FAIR

The Barnyard Fashion Parade at 6 p.m. will feature kids with their show animals, in costumes and ready to put on a one-of-a-kind performance. Parade takes place in the Livestock