Pigs

Jeff Benson Children anxiously bumped up and down on hay bales in anticipation of Sunday's second All-Alaskan Racing Pig tournament, their parents quietly roasting in the sun at Pig Meadows. Then the catchy pig-racing jamboree music droned out all the white noise. In the air-conditioned pig trailer at the Orange County Fair, it was a different story. All sorts of snorts and squeals and oinks and grunts weren't audible for anyone sitting beyond the first section, but they were there.

COSTA MESA ? It was a blazing summer day at the Orange County Fair, and the crowd cheered and whistled in anticipation. Soapy Smith, the star racer of the afternoon, was about to attempt a daring feat on the track: jumping one hurdle, then another one twice as high. To heighten dramatic tension, the announcer told the crowd to build its applause gradually ? just a little before the first hurdle, then pandemonium before the second one. The runner neared the starting line, and the announcer led the crowd in a countdown: "Three ?

COSTA MESA - Families packed the stands and children clutching stuffed animals lined the track. Everyone was clapping along to Queen's "We Will Rock You" as the competitors took the stage at the Orange County Fair. Small, pink and standing on four legs, Sourdough Jack, Yukon and Kobuk positioned themselves for the race, but Soapy Smith had other ideas. Jumping the track's small fence, Soapy Smith ran straight to the finish line, showing why he and was named after the infamous Alaskan con artist.

The Alaskan Pig Races at the Orange County Fair draws a crowd every year. Cute pigs leaping over hurdles and the sheer determination on their faces to get the prize at the end of the race always produces a good photo. It seems that nothing can deter the pigs from crossing the finish line. But this year, the pigs actually did an about-face and headed in the opposite direction; drawing boos from the crowd and disbelief from the race announcer. How did this happen?

Andrew Glazer FAIRGROUNDS -- They lined up at the starting gate and waited for the pistol to pop. Race fans leaned forward, holding their tickets, cheering. "And they're off," the announcer called. Right out of the gate, they were snout and snout. Fans cheered more, calling out the names of their favorite pigs. "Go Hammy Sowsa!" yelled one young race fan in the back of the bleachers who flailed his arms, urging the 35-pound porker as it kicked up sawdust on the 130-foot track.

Lisa Epping of Mission Viejo brings her son, Gunnar, to the Orange County Fair at least twice a year. And each time, they make the All Alaskan Pig Races their first stop. "I like the pig races because every year the pigs do something funny, like take a shortcut," said Gunnar Epping, 7. It's not just fairgoers who enjoy the racing pigs. The Alaskan pig races have been a crowd favorite up and down the West Coast since they began racing 20 years ago. Five times a day, Darren Noll and assistant Steve Seneca put on a four-race series with eight pigs.

Deirdre Newman If you have a penchant for parrots, an interest in iguanas or a fixation on felines, you might want to check out the Pet Expo at the Orange County Fairgrounds this weekend. The expo returns to Costa Mesa and Orange County after a few decades in Riverside County. The expo showcases myriad animals and attractions, including a Science Safari Bug Show, American racing pigeons and Valentine's Performing Pigs. The purpose of the three-day extravaganza is to promote responsible pet ownership, said Corrine Hanley, the event's spokeswoman.

The 14th Annual America's Family Pet Expo will be presented at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa during the weekend of April 4 through 6. Approximately 85,000 people are expected to attend the popular event. America's Family Pet Expo is produced and managed by the World Wide Pet Supply Association -- a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting responsible pet ownership. More than 1,000 animals including dogs, cats, fish, llamas, pot bellied pigs, goats, alpacas, tortoises, turtles, reptiles, rodents, horses, rabbits and bugs will be exhibited.

One of many records I'm not proud of is my nonconnection with the Orange County Fair. I've lived in Newport-Mesa for 48 years without ever attending the fair. But all that changed last Tuesday. It just seemed time. I'm not against fairs. For many years I enjoyed the annual street fair in Columbia City, Ind., where my family spent summers while we rented our house in Corona del Mar. Fair Day was a big event in rural Indiana, and I never missed it. The only clue it offers to my avoidance of our county fair was my steadfast refusal to join my kids on the Ferris wheel.

Little pigs, little pigs ... let me in!" "Not by the hairs on our chinny chin chins!" "Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in!"

COSTA MESA - Families packed the stands and children clutching stuffed animals lined the track. Everyone was clapping along to Queen's "We Will Rock You" as the competitors took the stage at the Orange County Fair. Small, pink and standing on four legs, Sourdough Jack, Yukon and Kobuk positioned themselves for the race, but Soapy Smith had other ideas. Jumping the track's small fence, Soapy Smith ran straight to the finish line, showing why he and was named after the infamous Alaskan con artist.

It may be summer, but the Orange County Fair got a taste of Alaska on Wednesday during the Alaskan Pig Races. The pigs scuttled around a miniature track at the Ralph’s Family Fair Way at 3, 5, 7 and 9 p.m. “It was very exciting,” said Laurie Jacobs, who came with her kids. “The kids liked it — they rooted for Kobuck [the pig].” The event was composed of four races. Each time, four pigs took the track and the top two advanced. After two preliminary rounds, the remaining four pigs battled for the top spot in the final race.

You are such a porker. For most of us, those are not the words we long to hear. But if you were Nelly the Pig at this year’s Orange County Fair, you would smile politely and say, “Thank you.” Nelly and her fellow porcine performers, Oinky and Petunia, are the star players in the Fair’s “Think Pig! exhibit. The little porkers range in age from Nelly, at a mature 17 years old, to Oinky, who at 4 months old is brand new and still under warranty. But Nelly is the TPIC (Top-Pig-in-Charge)

Nelly the pig may soon give Babe a run for his money. Her owners call her the smartest pig in the world, and Wednesday she stole the show at the Livestock Area of the Orange County Fair. Nelly has been featured on Animal Planet, the “Today Show,” the “Late Show with David Letterman,” and various nightly news programs. Wednesday, she proved to be quite the athlete. With the aid of her catapult, she played catch with one of the audience members. She later used her snout to play golf, and to push a bowling ball into a cluster of pins.

Does he grow pinker when he’s angry, or gain super-pig strength? Who knows — but one thing’s for certain, and that is that The Incredible Pork, a racing pig at the Orange County Fair, was the swiftest swine Friday afternoon. The Incredible Pork emerged victorious after racing through two heats of four little pigs during one of the fair’s daily pig races. The little pink porkers are set behind gates, released at the same time — think of horse racing — and scurry around a half circle of hay, wood chips and hurdles in seconds to a trough of food waiting at the finish line.

Ferris wheels, roller coasters, carnival booths and petting zoos. They’re your typical attractions for any fair, and they were certainly in their usual place for Friday’s opening of the Orange County Fair, which runs until Aug. 3. But for many fairgoers, the greatest attraction was much more basic. “I think they did a great job here,” Janet Sanders of Seal Beach said. “And I do love that they have every junk food under the sun. Unlike the Democratic National Convention, you can get fried Twinkies here,” Sanders said, referring to the ban on fried foods at the Democratic National Convention this year.

When your potbellied co-host for Storytime Hour at the library cancels at the last minute, you’d better be able to come up with an entertaining alternative in a hurry. That’s what Councilman Steve Rosansky did for the tough crowd of toddlers waiting to meet the pig they’d been promised. Enter Hagrid, the “gentle giant” of a Bernese mountain dog owned by Newport Beach Police Animal Control Officer Jamie Rogers, Rosansky’s friend and co-host on the local “Pick-A-Pet” public access television show hosted by the Newport Beach Animal Shelter.

It?s National Library Week and the Newport Beach Public Library is celebrating with children?s story times, a lecture and a puppet show. Five of the seven Newport Beach council members and other city dignitaries will read kids tales, holding story time on a different day. Steve Rosansky plans on bringing a potbellied pig along this morning when he reads to toddlers. Renowned journalist Robin Wright, who covers foreign policy for the Washington Post, will give the Distinguished Speakers Lecture Friday evening.