2024 OC Fair opens Friday with some new twists and lots of favorites
The 130-foot-tall La Grande Wheel XL is back, towering over the passing cars on the 55 Freeway, while below workers assembled the tracks of a new rollercoaster and unloaded mountains of stuffed animal prizes.
The OC Fair opens Friday, July 19, for a month residency in Costa Mesa and its organizers are in the final stretch of preparations for thrilling, amusing, captivating and feeding the more than 1 million visitors expected.
“I’m so happy every year to be able to put this party on for the community. It’s the biggest community gathering of the year in Orange County,” Michele Richards, CEO of the OC Fair & Events Center, said Friday. This year’s fair theme is “Always a Good Time.”
“It’s such a great opportunity for friends and family to make memories,” she added. “Especially this year, we could all really use a little bit of fun and a little bit of escape from the world around us, and the OC fair is a fantastic way to do that.”
For the thrill-chasers, the fair will have two new heart-pumping rides: the twisty-turvy Overdrive that spins at a high speed, and Heidi, a rollercoaster that takes riders up 42 feet before it quickly descends while spinning. On a more tame note, also new to the fair will be the Enchanted Castle walkthrough experience.
ALSO READ: Here are the quirky new food options coming in 2024
After making its debut last year, the Art of Music experience will be back with more iconic album cover paintings on exhibit, along with neon displays, a cocktail lounge and a pop-up record shop.
New this year will be the Orange County Sand and Sea experience, where visitors can explore a touch tank and deep dive in the ocean using VR technology.
The fair is also a place that fosters friendly competition, with dozens of blue ribbons awarded in categories of baking, woodworking, quilting and more. Bragging rights will be awarded in a new gingerbread contest this year, officials said.
And, coming back to the fair this year is the Knott’s Berry Farm boysenberry pie eating contest where carnival-goers can eat their way to free amusement park tickets.
The fair will continue to use the limited-capacity model introduced during the pandemic, so tickets have to be purchased online. Once again, transaction fees will be waived, organizers said.
With daily attendance capped at about 50,000, many days are expected to sell out – especially weekends and when there are popular concerts or events at the Pacific Amphitheatre, the Action Sports Arena or The Hangar.
“That model really works for our Orange County guests,” Richards said. “For us to be able to control the number of people who are at the fairgrounds on any given day, it makes for a much better guest experience with less crowding. The lines are shorter, and it’s just overall a better experience for everyone.”
Admission prices will remain the same as last year, but parking will increase to $15.
“We had not increased our parking rate for a while. All of our expenses have gone up,” Richards said. “But really we’re encouraging people to take alternate transportation if they can. It’s the green way to go as well, to rideshare or to take the bus, to carpool.”
The OC Fair Express will be rolling again on weekends this year, not offered since before the pandemic.
Starting Saturday, July 20, Orange County Transportation Authority buses will pick up fairgoers at four locations around the county and make a beeline for the fairgrounds – for $4 a round trip and free for children.
The bus service will run 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturdays and Sundays, picking up about every 30 minutes from the ARTIC station in Anaheim, the Fullerton Park-and-Ride, the Goldenwest Transportation Center in Huntington Beach and the Laguna Hills Transportation Center. For more information on times and locations, visit OCFairExpress.com.
In 2022, the Los Angeles County Fair moved its dates from September to May, making Orange County the last fair in the region following the Del Mar Fair in San Diego County.
“We actually don’t really compete with those fairs,” Richards said. “They’re completely different markets, although we do see a lot of guests from L.A. County who also love to come to the OC Fair, and a lot of people from San Diego County that come up to Orange County for the OC Fair. There’s not a competitive aspect to it. It’s just one long summer of great fairs.”
Anyone really jazzed about attending fairs can purchase the $60 Every Day Passport, which is valid even on sold-out dates.
And, for the foodie who wants to try it all, there’s the Taste Your Way Through the Fair deal offered each day. All the food booths will offer $5 samples of at least some of their foods choices until 4 p.m.
“Because there are so many foods, and we know you want to try them all,” Richards said, “this way you can try more things and you’re not filling up, and then too full to try something else.”
On top of all the new things at the fair, fan-favorites such as the All-Alaskan Pig Races, product buildings full of the latest gadgets and the midway full of carnival games will be returning.
“That’s exactly the formula. We work really hard to bring something new and different every year to the fair so that people have something special to discover, but it’s also important to bring back the traditional favorites so that people can rediscover those memories that keep bringing them back to the fair every year,” Richards said.
It’s nearly impossible, Richards said, to identify just one favorite thing at the fair.
“From our guest perspective, fan favorites, the pig race is always huge. The demolition derbies and all the great, free entertainment that we have year after year,” Richards said. “Great shopping, the wonderful exhibits, the competitive exhibits that our community enters every year to be judged at the fair. I think it would be really hard to pick one traditional favorite.”
Admission tickets are on sale now. General admission on weekdays will cost $13 and will be $15 for Fridays and the weekend. Tickets are $9 daily for seniors ages 60 and older and kids ages 6 through 13.
Fair hours will be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays. The fair is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
More information about performances, experiences and ticket sales can be found at ocfair.com.