Jul 11, 2008 11:51 pm US/Pacific
Orange County Fair Gets Cheesy
COSTA MESA, Calif.
"Say Cheese" is the theme for the 2008 Orange County Fair, which opens Friday for a three-week run at the Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.
According to officials, the pairing of cheese and cameras will celebrate the California cheese industry and the joy of photography.
First-day crowd-pleasers include the traditional first-hour free admission, from noon to 1 p.m., to heavyweight entertainers B.B. King, Leon Russell and Mavis Staples inaugurating the Lexus Summer Concert Series at 7 p.m. in the Pacific Amphitheatre, the fair's Robin Wachner said.
A season pass will now be offered at $30 for adults and $20 for children, but daily admission is up $1 this year to $10, according to rate changes approved recently by the Orange County Fair Board.
The Action Sports Arena will host the Maloof Money Cup U.S. Skateboard Championships through Sunday.
Angela Teran, a spokeswoman for the Maloof Money Cup, said it is the biggest purse event in skateboarding history and will pit pros like Rob Dyrdek, Pierre Luc Gagnon and Jake Brown against each other.
The US Pro Street Championship, US Pro Vert Championship and the US Women's Pro Street Championship will all be on tap, while added attractions include the US Amateur Championship, a skateboarding camp, and 40,000 square feet of skate retailers and manufacturers, Wachner said.
Fair visitors can also look forward to Lucha Libra, Mexican-style wrestling; the 33rd Annual Speedway Fair Derby; X-treme Freestyle Moto-X; the 8th Annual Orange Crush Demolition Derby and the H2X Watercross Racing & Watersports stunt show.
SummerFist 2008 will feature mixed martial arts fighting competition, a debut event for the fair, and the Big Air BMX Triples, followed by the Extreme Rodeo and the traditional fair closers, Bull Riding and the Fiesta del Charro, with riders demonstrating the grace and pageantry of Mexican horsemanship and bullriding expertise, Wachner said.
The Taikoproject, an ensemble of taiko drummers, will incorporate traditional taiko styles with unconventional and innovative techniques, expanding on the Japanese tradition, Wachner said.
Peking Acrobats will also perform daily, demonstrating feats of strength, agility, flexibility and balance, Wachner said.
The fair runs through Aug. 3 and is closed on Mondays.
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