The Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa moved the berm in and stopped doing grass seating. The venue had its largest gross ever. (VT Photo)
The motto for Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa, Calif., this year was “Come & Get It,” and the public listened. It was a busy year for the OC Fair, which drew its second-highest attendance at 1,374,579, just shy of 2011’s record 1,401,267 attendees. The 2013 season ran July 12-Aug. 11.
Interim CEO Doug Lofstrom credits the success of this year’s fair in part to beautiful beach weather, but mostly to the team at OC Fair.
“I’m still a big believer that the credit needs to go to our team of people,” he said. “That point was proven this year as [former CEO] Jerome Hoban moved on to Alameda County Fair [in Pleasanton, Calif.] and I came in just 90 days before the fair.”
“The staff has done, over the past several years, a very good job and aligned the fair with some key contractors, merchants and vendors,” he added. “It was probably also the best weather in my fair career.”
The OC Fair and Event Center’s operating budget dropped nearly $2 million to $29 million, from last year’s $30.9 million. This year, the fair went through a rebranding of sorts, adding the OC Fair Foodies to the family. The Foodies included five costumed characters, such as Arturo the Churro and Cornelius Corn on the Cob, who roamed around the fairgrounds and were present in advertising. There were even plush toys of each OC Fair Foodie available, with Olivia Orange being the most popular.
Dr. Entomo’s Palace of Exotic Wonders was another new aspect of the fair this year. The exhibit focused on the history and value of insects, with Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, various tarantulas, scorpions and spiders on display. Swing It Trapeze offered a chance for fairgoers to not only see performers fly through the air, but also get a chance to try it themselves. The trapeze artists performed four shows a day, with five on weekends, and taught the basics to fairgoers.
Lofstrom called the new Dr. Entomo’s Palace of Exotic Wonders one of the stand-out exhibits of the fair, adding that every time he walked past there was a line of 50-75 people waiting.
The Centennial Farm welcomed 16 piglets that were a big hit with fairgoers. (VT Photo)
There were new culinary offerings as well. Chicken Charlie introduced Krispy Kreme Sloppy Joes, Deep-Fried Bacon-Wrapped Pickles, and Waffle Dogs. Ten Pound Buns added a new sweet choice with the Bacon Nutella Bun, and Bacon A-Fair introduced new uses for everyone’s favorite pork product, including nonalcoholic Bacon Beer, Truffle Gouda Bacon Fries, and Cheesy Bacon Bombs. The concessionaire also brought wild boar bacon exclusively to the OC Fair.
Pacific Amphitheatre presented a concert each of the 23 nights of fair. The venue, which is in the middle of a renovation, had 11 sold-out shows. Due to the renovation’s consolidation of the berm, which removed grass seating, the Pacific Amphitheatre’s capacity was reduced to 8,500 seats. Sold-out concerts included The Go-Go’s, The B-52s with X, Styx, Hunter Hayes with Sara Haze, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Weezer, The Counting Crows with The Wallflowers, ZZ Top, and three nights filled with reggae acts like Matisyahu, Steel Pulse and The Dirty Heads.
“The turnaround of the Pacific Amphitheatre started in 2009 when we looked hard at our talent offering and made sure we had something for everyone,” said Lofstrom.
According to OC Fair’s Entertainment Director Dan Gaines, this was the highest year in terms of gross ticket sales, which reached more than $5 million.
“We always have one or two shows that are just crazy good and sell really quickly, but this year it felt like it was more solid from front-to-back,” added Gaines.
He said that the renovations to Pacific Amphitheatre, specifically bringing the berm in and not selling lawn seating, has made the venue feel much more intimate.
Interim CEO Doug Lofstrom with Ray Cammack Shows' Charlene Leavitt and Tony Fiori. (VT Photo)
Though they debated increasing the ticket price to enter the fair, the board ultimately decided to keep adult entry at $11, with seniors costing $8 and kids 6-12 at $6. Instead, the fair tried to make some extra income by raising other costs.
Revenue stream increases at the OC Fair this year included parking, which rose from $7 to $10 for cars and from $14 to $20 for busses and limos. The OC Fair Express promotion, giving discounted tickets to those who rode public transportation to the fair, rose from $2 to $3 for entry, and the Rise & Shine promotion letting fairgoers in for a special price on Saturdays and Sundays during the opening hour of the fair rose from $2 to $3.
Several promotions were available for those who wanted to enter the fair at a discount, and more than 478,500 fairgoers came either for free or at discounted rates this year. Around 82,400 got free admission though the We Care Wednesday donation drives. Another popular promotion was the Super Pass, which provided admission to every day of the fair for $25-$35 dollars depending on age and how early fairgoers bought the pass. Around 12,400 guests bought the Super Pass this year.
The growth wasn’t just monetary. There were several (animal) births at the OC Fair this year. The Centennial Farm welcomed 16 piglets that guests could watch online on a live camera and see in person, and the American Petting Zoo welcomed two lambs and two pygmy goats.
Having the piglet web cam was “a special way to take our fair programming into the homes of people who hadn’t made it to the fair yet,” said Lofstrom. “We wanted to make sure our programming — and especially our exhibit and livestock program with the piglets and things like that — get into people’s homes."
According to Tony Fiori, director of Marketing at Ray Cammack Shows, the carnival at OC Fair was up this year. Top rides for younger kids included the Cobra Coaster and Goliath Slide, while older kids went for La Grande Wheel, Crazy Coaster and Wild River. The carnival gave out around 500,000 plush toys at the OC Fair alone, with the most popular being the Despicable Me minion that went home with around 25,000 fair guests.
Lofstrom said that his busiest time is actually after the fair. Phase 2 of renovations are starting at the Pacific Amphitheatre, and the board is going to start an organizational assessment that’s the precursor for finding a new CEO, though the process may take Lofstrom into another year at the fair.
Interviewed for this story: Tony Fiori, (602) 237-3333; Dan Gaines and Doug Lofstrom, (714) 708-1543