Breaking it down

COSTA MESA — It would take a lot to make Tricia Stearns skip the Orange County Fair — and she had reason enough to consider staying home this summer. Even during a blazing hot July, however, the Newport Beach resident still showed up every day to man her station.

“It was very hot,” said Stearns, who oversaw a table for the American Cancer Society in the air-conditioned Orange County Building. “It was miserable, but I didn’t miss a minute.”

Nor did many others. As temperatures climbed, the 114th annual Orange County Fair drew an overall crowd of 924,315, its third-highest turnout in history. The numbers were down, though, from the previous two years, when the fair set back-to-back records. In 2004, 963,984 customers passed through the gate, and the event topped the million mark the following year with 1,058,192 in attendance.

Even still — and keeping the weather in mind — those in charge of the fair called it a solid showing.

“This fair, to me, was probably, in terms of quality, our finest fair,” said fair CEO Becky Bailey-Findley. “There were beautiful plants and flower displays, and, of course, they thrived in this humidity. Our exhibit buildings had gone through some enhancements and renovations, and they were, of course, beautiful.

“Our joke now is this was the 114th fair in our history and it was 114 degrees. The heat did have an impact, but it doesn’t change the experience or the memories of the people who worked here.”

This year’s festival, with the theme “Flower Power, Year of the Garden,” featured a number of first-time attractions. UC Irvine lent its fuel cell exhibit, featured last year at the World’s Fair in Japan, for an American debut showing in the Orange County Building. With the Jack Black comedy “Nacho Libre” doing well at the box office, the organizers held two packed nights of Mexican-style Lucha Libre wrestling.

The Pacific Amphitheatre hosted a solid series of concerts, with Paul Simon, the Moody Blues, Cyndi Lauper and Shaggy among those headlining.

“If you look at the broad spectrum of entertainment offered in concerts and free shows, where else can you see Velvet Revolver one night and then a Russian clown show for kids?” Bailey-Findley said.

On Monday morning, the colors still shone brightly on the fairgrounds, with tents and vendor booths lining the walkways, and the Ferris wheel looming against the horizon. The teeming crowds, however, had given way to a smattering of vendors, fair officials and moving vehicles, as the fair began the process of packing itself up for another year.

“It’s good that it’s over, but it’s actually more physical work now that it’s over,” said Bruce Myers, who hails from Big Bear and has run a barbecue booth at the fair for 28 years.

Nearby, Gary Edwards, a Texas schoolteacher, packed up the switch plates that he sold at his booth over the last month. Edwards said he got a fine turnout this year, but wished the temperature had been kinder.

“You guys need to arrange a little cooler July next year,” he quipped.

Asked what had kept him returning to Orange County for the last 17 years, he replied, “It used to be the weather. Maybe it’s habit now.”