OC Fair, Costa Mesa, Calif. (Photo by OC Fair and Event Center)
Kathy Kramer joined the OC Fair team in Costa Mesa, Calif., in January and spent her first fair watching and learning. Though attendance for the fair’s 125th anniversary dipped slightly due to rain on the fair’s kickoff and a heat wave the closing weekend, increased carnival numbers and fairgoer participation in promotions showed that guests were engaged and ready to spend money.
On trend with last year, attendance once again dipped by about 3 percent to 1,301,445, down from 1,336,167. Though attendance took a hit, Kramer said that revenue and per caps were up, including the concessions gross, though final numbers aren’t yet available. Specific concessionaires have shared some figures.
Chicken Charlie's sold 26 Caviar Twinkies for $125 each as part of the 125th anniversary celebration, with proceeds benefiting the Children’s Hospital of Orange County. He also sold 11,000 Krispy Kreme Triple Donut Cheeseburgers. Bacon-A-Fair sold more than 420,000 pieces of bacon, be it chicken-fried or wrapped around other food products. Biggys Meat Market sold 2,500 pounds of Bacon-Wrapped Pork Belly skewers wrapped in 1.25 miles of thick-cut honey bacon (a favorite of Ray Cammack Shows’ Dominic Palmieri), but healthy fare also fared well, with 600 gluten-free burgers ordered. Country Fair Cinnamon Rolls served about 4,500 pounds of cinnamon roll powder, 1,500 pounds of butter, 1,800 pounds of cinnamon sugar, 300 pounds of walnuts and 1,400 pounds of cream cheese frosting.
Admission prices had changed in 2014, increasing adult admission by $1 for a $12 ticket and blending senior and youth admission prices for a $7-figure. The prices remained steady for this year’s event.
Carnival provider Ray Cammack Shows was up in all sectors, despite the attendance dip. Games were up 4 percent over last year’s $5,957,308, while ride sales also increased by 4 percent over 2014’s $8,201,868. Food revenues were up even further with a 7-percent increase. RCS added the Galaxy Roller Coaster at the OC Fair this year for approximately 70 rides on the midway.
“It’s such a great feeling to have those obstacles, like weather, staff changes, or whatever it is, and just pick up and go right on through it successfully,” said RCS’ Chris Lopez.
He added that the reconfiguration of the Pacific Amphitheatre, now with an on-grounds entrance and egress, may have played a role in the company’s success.
“With the new PacAmp entrance the flow of traffic coming out of there into Kid Land was a big help,” he said, adding that some marketplace tents were also repositioned. “Knowing all of that, we would place rides where we thought we needed help to draw traffic to areas that might have been a little low before.”
The purpose of the Pacific Amphitheatre lobby experience was to create connectivity to the fairgrounds and, based on the numbers, the $13.8-million renovation seems to be serving its purpose. Of the three entrance points to the venue, the entrance that is on the fairgrounds accounted for an average of 50 percent of the attendance.
The lineup at the Pacific Amphitheatre for the 2015 Toyota Summer Concert Series featured 24 shows — one more than the 2014 season — however, the scheduled performance by Willie Nelson and Alison Krauss was canceled at the last minute due to weather and won’t be rescheduled. Ticketholders are able to receive refunds at the point of purchase.
Ten shows sold out, up from seven sellouts last year, including Gabriel Iglesias, Iration/Common Kings, The Band Perry/Annie McQueen, Steve Miller Band, The Offspring/The Interrupters (returning from the previous year), Three Dog Night/Jefferson Starship, Huey Lewis & The News, Chris Young/Danielle Bradbery, The B-52s/The English Beat, and Steel Pulse/The Wailers. Steve Miller Band brought the most attendees with his July 24th concert, with 7,983 concertgoers for a gross of $383,488. Gabriel Iglesias, who performed July 17, had the highest-grossing show with ticket sales reaching $395,419. The 23 shows grossed a total of $5,362,043, a more than 15-percent increase from last year’s gross of $4,639,846. All concerts were promoted in-house.
The 2015 concert season at The Hangar at the OC Fair also featured 10 sold-out shows, including tributes to Fleetwood Mac (Rumours), Oingo Boingo (Dead Man’s Party), Depeche Mode (Strangelove), Queen (Queen Nation), Pink Floyd (a return appearance by Which One’s Pink), the Eagles (Hotel California), Journey (Journey Unauthorized) and Led Zeppelin (Zeppelin Live), as well as a performance by Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez.
With the heat wave, the free Ice Museum became more popular than ever, with 143,748 fairgoers cooling off in the attraction that features 90,000 pounds of ice. More than 10,500 attendees also laced up ice skates as part of the new Fairenheit 32-degrees attraction. As part of the 125th anniversary celebration, nearly 100 fairgoers created 30-second videos in the Share Your Fair interactive exhibit talking about their favorite fair memory. The celebration also included the iconic OC Fair Cattle Drive, wherein about 100 horseback riders and 200 head of cattle rode through the streets in Costa Mesa.
Now that the July 17-Aug 16, 23-day run has wrapped, Kramer took the time to put her feet up, but something didn’t feel quite right.
“I drove in this morning and the buckets were all off the ferris wheel and it’s ‘Where did everybody go?,’” said Kramer, who added that it’s been a fantastic first experience.
What excited her most about the 2015 event were the opportunities to go “above and beyond the call of duty. There were many things that were not planned prior to opening the fair where we had the opportunity to get involved and make a difference, which is really what it’s all about.”
OC Fair made a difference for the Rott family, who had made a tradition of coming to the fair and taking a picture in the photo booth for 11 years. Kramer read an article about how, this year, the family wouldn’t be able to come because their 6-year-old daughter, Chloe, has leukemia and can’t be exposed to so many people and germs. Kramer immediately sprang into action activating the fair’s partners and on Friday, Aug.7, OC Fair opened two hours early to accommodate Chloe and her family.
“It was hundreds of people behind the scenes that made it happen,” said Kramer.
RCS went to work early, opening 12 rides and six games after the OC Fair maintenance staff came in and sanitized everything for Chloe and her more than 20 guests. The sanitized and participating rides and games were marked with balloons so that the Rott family would know where to go. Dippin’ Dots franchise owner Karen Gary opened her location early after she heard that Chloe had specifically requested the treat. Though there is some expense involved with labor and fuel costs for generators, RCS’ Lopez said that the cost hasn’t prevented the company from doing the right thing, and donations usually come in to help offset the expense. Chloe is now categorized as a ‘low risk’ leukemia patient and will continue chemotherapy for two years.
A somber but hopeful group gathered Aug.12 at 10 a.m. to participate in a Healing Service for longtime RCS employee Tony Fiori, who is battling a serious health diagnosis. The company’s Dominic Palmieri helped organize the tribute along with Australian Battered Potato’s Carmel Dyer. RCS holds an optional mass every Thursday for its employees, with those of any faith welcomed. Western Fairs Association included a moment of silent thought for Tony during its Service Member meeting at Ventura County Fair, held concurrently with the RCS service in Orange County.
The community also went above and beyond this year, embracing We Care Wednesday with 58,000 people donating 36 tons of canned food, more than 56,000 children’s books and 45,000 pounds of clothing.
Construction will continue on the grounds with the creation of Hero’s Hall, scheduled to open on Veteran’s Day. The Board allocated $1 million to get the project started and is also aided by the Hero’s Hall Veterans Foundation that community members or businesses can donate to ensure that the attraction continues indefinitely.
“It’s not going to be a museum only,” said Kramer, “it’s going to have traveling exhibits and interaction that is relevant to the audience, and it will also be placed in proximity to Centennial Farm so that when more than 1,000 children come for tours they can walk through as well.”
This year, Kramer focused on experiencing everything, a strategy that went over well with the fair’s service members.
“It was encouraging that I saw her all over the fairgrounds at all times of day, which is what every partner wants to see – that their CEO is out on the grounds looking at things,” said Palmieri. “I really like to see a fair manager, whether new or old, engaging with their members.”
Kramer doesn’t have plans for any significant operational changes for next year’s fair, instead focusing on “continuing to build on a great tradition. When I talk to my staff, it’s with the mantra ‘from good to great.’”
She believes in being very hands-on. “I wanted to experience everything and ask lots of questions. I was that perpetual four-year-old asking ‘Why? Why? Why?’ Every single day I tried to block out some time to learn and shadow.”
The staff’s level of passion, dedication and tenure stood out to Kramer as what makes the OC Fair such a great event. “It’s magical how they transform 150 acres into a city for 23 days that 1.3-million people get to come be a part of.”
Interviewed for this story: Dominic Palmieri and Chris Lopez, (602) 237-3333; Kathy Kramer, (714) 708-1543