Man do I love this time of year.
I mean when else but during the Orange County Fair can you chow down a
hunk of deep fried potatoes with spicy cheese on top and catch a pig race
-- all during your lunch break?
I have to admit something here first. For the better part of my life,
I really had no interest in fairs. I think my mom and dad took me to the
L.A. County Fair when I was a wee tike, but that was about it.
For the last 11 years now, however, the Orange County Fair has become
a source of both amusement and curiosity to me. As a reporter and editor
for this newspaper, I've witnessed a few nostalgic fair moments.
There have been many, many good times, like covering the 100th
anniversary celebration, watching a herd of steer rumble down Costa
Mesa's public streets and getting a front-row seat to see the Brian
Setzer Orchestra.
Of course there have been some bad times, like the horse that got
electrocuted, the carnie worker suspected of molesting two girls on the
house of mirrors ride, the lightning storm that shut down operations for
hours and the unfortunate ousting of the Pink Man, after it was learned
he had been accused in the past of indecent contact with children.
All in all, the fair is a fun time and so, like I have for the past 11
years, I kept with my annual ritual of popping by this annual hoedown to
see how things are.
I wasn't too surprised.
The fair doesn't change much. Sure, they have a new theme each year,
this year's is a salute to citrus, and of course there is always a new
exhibit or a new ride -- The "I Love Lucy" exhibit is the current rave.
Still, you can count on all the old favorites like for example the
Belgian horse named Hercules who is 2,850 pounds and is 6-feet 4-inches
tall. Right next door to him is White Mountain, a gargantuan steer
weighing in at 3,450 pounds and 6-feet 8-inches tall, the equivalent of
10,000 hamburgers on the hoof.
Then there's the pig races. The Alaskan Racing Pigs to be exact. The
pigs are always there each year but I hadn't ever seen this event in
person so I joined about 300 or so spectators last week for the "pork
chop showdown."
The races are a squeal with lots of goofy references to hogs such as
this little phrase "rain or swine the sow must go on" and the invitation
to take your "pigture" with one of the racers -- my favorite of whom was
Sow Capone.
They even have a Web site, o7 http://www.pigrace.comf7 , that has
chat rooms and bulletin boards and is supposed to have photos of pig race
crowds posted soon.
