What to Know
- The 2023 OC Fair just concluded on Aug. 13
- As is tradition, the long-running event shared some of its most impressive numbers after the fair ended
- Riders wheee'd their way through 2,300,000 carnival rides
Costa Mesa's brightest, biggest, pig-iest, treat-iest, over-the-top-iest party just concluded, which means we can now take eye-popping stock of everything that went down at the OC Fair.
Well, went down and up, of course; we are talking about carnival rides when we talk about the famous fair, and those attractions have a reputation for twirling high in the air.
As is tradition, the fair folks have shared some of their most staggering numbers, the huge amounts of goodies eaten and concerts enjoyed over the course of the month-plus festival.
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Over a million guests attended the 2023 event — 1,048,181, to be specific — and the fair saw a dozen days completely sell out. (Tickets were a get-'em-advance kind of thing.)
Competition entries were numerous, with 18,725 expressions of creativity, including quilts, paintings, and pie, going for the glory. In fact, there were over 5,000 entries in just the Horticulture category, proving that we do love to grow here in Southern California (and bake and sew and carve and whittle and crochet).
Over 2,300,000 carnival rides were twirled/whirled, and Pacific Amphitheatre saw 42 concerts sell out.
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OC Fair is known for its fanciful foods, and there was plenty to report on that fun and flavorful front: "80,000 deep-fried Oreos, 10,000 bacon-wrapped pickles, 6,000 fried Twinkies and 50,000 pounds of fries were served up at the Chicken Charlie's stands throughout the Fairgrounds," shares the fair team.
Break out the ketchup: Biggy's scooped up over 35,000 pounds of fries, too. And those foot-long corn dogs, also a Biggy's staple? Placed end-to-end, the golden goodies would stretch out over seven miles.
The Hot Cheeto Cheese Pickle Pizza was one of the buzzed-about bites in 2023, and Enzo's Pizza revealed this sweet (if sour) news: Over 500 pounds of pickles topped the talked-about treat over the course of the fair.
All of these numbers just go to show how mondo this marvel is, and if you're already missing it, don't be too blue: OC Fair has a way of announcing its newest theme, and other anticipatory tidbits, in the heart of wintertime, just when we need some sunshine most.
So keep a watch on the fair's site in the months ahead for news of the 2024 celebration, where more pickles, Oreos, and big numbers will surely roll out.
