What to Know
- The 2024 OC Fair sparkled from July 19 through Aug. 18
- The fair staff always shares some of its impressive numbers, including how many treats were sold, after the event concludes
- An "orchard of lemons" went into the fair's lemonade while making the cotton candy required six tons of sugar
A teaspoon of this, a tablespoon of that: When we pull out a recipe, we know we'll be dealing with amounts that have been very carefully measured.
But when it comes to the OC Fair's annual wrap-up report, which provides a look-back at the Costa Mesa event's impressive numbers, we are, on the whole, talking tons, not teaspoons.
The staff at the long-running county fair shared its 2024 sum-up on Aug. 22, a fun and sometimes jaw-dropping way to share just how large this large-scale event truly is.
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A ton of garlic was a piquant part of the popular garlic fries at Biggy's, with 1,200 pounds of Parmesan adding cheesy zest to the potatoes.
Mom's Bakeshoppe sold 111,000 chocolate chips cookies, baked from scratch, while The Snax Shack went through 3,850 pounds of popcorn kernels to make its super-fragrant, oh-so-yummy kettlecorn.
For the corndog devotees out there, the following number is nothing to shake a stick at: Big Daddy Corn Dogs used 6,000 pounds of corndog batter, "enough to fry 2.5 miles of foot-long dogs on a stick," in its savory, snack-and-stroll goodies.
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Chicken Charlie's is always a fair stand-out for its inventive foodstuffs, and in 2024 the offbeat eatery sold 2,000 Hot Honey Funnel Cake Sandwiches, not to mention 9,450 Deep-Fried Oreos, one of the booth's famous staples.
And it doesn't seem like a county fair without a certain citrus sip. The fair team reported that an "orchard of lemons" was required to create all of the lemonade sold at the fair.
Beyond the treat zone, there was adorable math afoot. Add 'em up: Seventeen piglets were born during the 2024 event and, sweet, a little peachick, too.
At Heroes Hall, some 2,370 "postcards were created to honor our active-duty military and veterans."
At Pacific Ampitheatre, 130,000 people savored a live show.
And in the fair's competitive categories? Some 16,259 entries were counted up, covering the creative gamut from paintings to quilts.
Oh yes: And there was a million-dollar winner at the California Lottery booth.
That's not the only time "million" came up in the fair's 2024 round-up: "During the run of the Fair, more than 1.13 million guests passed through the gates," revealed the staff, and a dozen days saw more than 50,000 people in attendance.
The numbers can change, is the word from Costa Mesa, but even with the smallest fluctuation the big headline is clear: Year after year, the OC Fair is a rollicking and robust festival, one that talks in tons, and even millions, when the action finally concludes.
But wait: Concerts are still rocking at Pacific Amphitheatre through Sept. 14; get the schedule and ticket information now.
