Pacific Amphitheatre

The Orange County Fair and its marquee concert venue was recognized by an international trade publication this month for its high attendance in 2010. Venues Today magazine ranked the O.C. Fair the eighth most attended fair in the U.S. and the Pacific Amphitheatre the seventh most attended venue of its size internationally in its January issue, according to a release from the OC Fair & Event Center. The 2010 fair, with the theme "The Beat Goes On," was the highest attended fair in its 120-year history with more than 1.1 million people visiting, President and Chief Executive Steve Beazley said in the release.

COSTA MESA — Cementing the beginning of what will be a multiyear, $18-million-plus project, the Orange County Fair Board on Thursday plans to reaffirm the first $4.5 million in improvements to the Pacific Amphitheatre. Though cost estimates and a concept plan were approved in September, the board will consider clarifying to the public that it is only approving the first of the four-phase project, with the later steps to be detailed along the way. Some residents raised concerns at the September meeting that they thought the entire amphitheater renovation was being approved, which the Fair Board said is incorrect.

Deirdre Newman The Pacific Amphitheatre will be rocking again next summer, and fair officials have made a number of changes to try to break even this time. Last year, to enhance the reopening of the amphitheater, fair officials lured top acts such as Bob Dylan and Duran Duran. They ended up losing about $500,000. With last summer's experience under their belt, they are focusing on spending money more efficiently and increasing ticket sales, said Steve Beazley, the fair's chief operating officer.

Submit AFTER HOURS items to the Daily Pilot, 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627; by fax to (949) 646-4170; or by calling (949) 574-4295. SPECIAL EVENTS BILL COSBY Comedian and TV legend Bill Cosby will perform at 8 p.m. July 22 at the Pacific Amphitheatre, Orange County Fair and Exposition Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. Information: (714) 740-2000, http://www.ocfair.com/ pacificamphitheatre. MUSIC REBA McENTIRE Grammy Award winner Reba McEntire will perform as part of the Pacific Amphitheatre Summer Concert Series at 8 p.m. July 11 at the Orange County Fair and Exposition Center.

Classic rock station KLOS-FM (95.5) hosts a summer concert series at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa over the weekend, showcasing performers like Deep Purple, comedian Bill Engvall and Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger, founding member of the Doors. The event kicks off tonight with Comedy Night, featuring Craig Shoemaker, Don Friesen and Engvall, star of a new TBS sitcom. Saturday night's entertainers include British rocker Paul Rodgers, Riders on the Storm and Hendrix-inspired guitarist Pat Travers.

OC Fair & Event Center 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa *** FAIR HOURS: July 13 to Aug. 12 Open Wednesday through Sunday Wednesday to Friday: noon to midnight Saturday and Sunday: 10 a.m. to midnight BOX OFFICE: The OC Fair Box Office at the Pacific Amphitheatre is at 100 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. Current Box Office Hours: Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at  www.ticketmaster.com  or by phone at (800)

The Orange County Fair has announced its 2006 summer line-up, bringing the area one of its strongest ensembles of artists to date. Topping the list is musical legend Paul Simon. Simon will be touring for his new release "Surprise" and organizers expect tickets to his July 28th concert to sell fast. Promoters for the fair's Pacific Amphitheatre also plan to book singer Michael Bolton, popular hip-hop troupe Gnarls Barkley and famed rocker Linda Ronstadt. "We reopened in 2003 and we've been able to get some pretty big names since then," organizer Jeff Wilson said.

It has been a landmark year for Young the Giant, who recently concluded their 46-date, sold-out headline tour playing to more than 70,000 people across North America. And, as the alternative rock band continues to play shows throughout the United States and Canada this spring and summer, its members — Irvine natives Francois Comtois, Sameer Gadhia, Jacob Tilley, Payam Doostzadeh and Eric Cannata — will return home to play a show at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Pacific Amphitheatre at the Orange County Fair.

OC Fair & Event Center 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa *** FAIR HOURS: July 13 to Aug. 12 Open Wednesday through Sunday Wednesday to Friday: noon to midnight Saturday and Sunday: 10 a.m. to midnight BOX OFFICE: The OC Fair Box Office at the Pacific Amphitheatre is at 100 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. Current Box Office Hours: Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at  www.ticketmaster.com  or by phone at (800)

COSTA MESA - A grass-roots group wants a court order to stop the Orange County Fairgrounds from remodeling the Pacific Amphitheatre. In a lawsuit filed Jan. 20, the Orange County Fairgrounds Preservation Society, an activist group comprised of local stakeholders, accuses the Fair Board of trying to expand the theater in phases that sidestep the limitations implemented in the fairgrounds' 2003 master plan and PacAmp's environmental impact report....

COSTA MESA — Cementing the beginning of what will be a multiyear, $18-million-plus project, the Orange County Fair Board on Thursday plans to reaffirm the first $4.5 million in improvements to the Pacific Amphitheatre. Though cost estimates and a concept plan were approved in September, the board will consider clarifying to the public that it is only approving the first of the four-phase project, with the later steps to be detailed along the way. Some residents raised concerns at the September meeting that they thought the entire amphitheater renovation was being approved, which the Fair Board said is incorrect.

The Orange County Fair & Events Center will launch its own blog Friday at ocfair.com, officials announced at Thursday's Fair Board meeting. As part of a broader public outreach effort by fair officials following record-setting attendance at the summer's event, Chief Executive Steven Beazley will submit the blog's first entry. He will discuss the 2012 fair's theme, "Home Sweet Home," and how he selected it. Besides the blog, the Fair Board also plans on holding a public information night in January where residents can discuss the future of the fair, the Pacific Amphitheatre and any other questions or concerns they may have.

The Orange County Fair and its marquee concert venue was recognized by an international trade publication this month for its high attendance in 2010. Venues Today magazine ranked the O.C. Fair the eighth most attended fair in the U.S. and the Pacific Amphitheatre the seventh most attended venue of its size internationally in its January issue, according to a release from the OC Fair & Event Center. The 2010 fair, with the theme "The Beat Goes On," was the highest attended fair in its 120-year history with more than 1.1 million people visiting, President and Chief Executive Steve Beazley said in the release.

At the end of a tense three-hour public meeting Monday in Costa Mesa on the proposed sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds, Assemblyman Van Tran surprised many by vowing to carry a bill to keep the 150-acre site zoned for fair use only should the state sell it off. The meeting at City Council Chambers drew hundreds of people, from residents to horse-riding enthusiasts to politicians, who spoke out unanimously against the planned sale, which many...

Is the brain the No. 1 food source for zombies? Does it taste like chicken? Who knows? Well, maybe Weird Al Yankovic. In a 15-minute window to what learning might be like if Weird Al were a professor, kids and adults at the Orange County Fair have been bombarded with 3-D images and facts of the brain through the celebrity’s trademark-styled songs. The tent housing Weird Al’s manic lesson on the brain and all it can do looks more like the entrance to a haunted house or maze than a doorway into a science lesson.

The summer is here and if you don’t mind I would rather not do a column on the economy, gas prices or the knuckleheads in charge of the state budget. No discussion of universal health care and the death of free enterprise as we know it. Nothing about politics or that Minnesota now has a former cast member of Saturday Night Live as their senator. Although, I guess if California has the Terminator as governor, who are we to criticize? And don’t worry — no wall-to-wall coverage on Michael Jackson here.

The Orange County Fair is adding a fifth week to its summer schedule in 2009 after a unanimous vote by the Orange County Fair Board of Directors on Thursday. Most of the contractors who provide goods and services at the fair and spoke up during the morning meeting favored the proposal, saying that extending the fair would shorten lines, encourage guests to stay longer and generally improve the quality of the fair. The idea was put forward initially because the fair was drawing an average of 50,000 guests per day, roughly the attendance it was bringing in before the last expansion.