The OC Fair kicks off the summer around the 3rd week of July. This year they will be open July 17- August 16, and celebrating 125 years with one big party.
This year my favorite band, Spandau Ballet, was playing at the OC Fair on July 29, so I went with Lee Anne. Included with the concert was admission to the OC Fair, so we left work early and got to the Fair around 3:00 pm.
Fortunately for us, I purchased VIP parking, which came in handy as the place was packed! Cars were lined up everywhere, and those who parked inside the fairgrounds were parked in the far corners. The VIP lot was right next to the concert venue, and I was able to park in the first spot.
The actual entrance was around the corner, about a 3 minute walk from my car. Lee Anne isn’t a big carnival person, and neither am I, so we started with the animals at the Centennial Park area. Lucky for us, it was just at feeding time, and the animals were enjoying their lunch/ dinner by the time we arrived.
Tucked away in the corner of the area are the pigs, and the newest piglets. Last year the pregnant pig didn’t give birth to her litter until a month after the Fair. This year, Hazel had just given birth to her litter the day before, and here are the 1 day piglets:
After leaving the animal area, we wandered around the gardens and into the Honey area, where they had a display of baby chicks, which you can touch (but not pick up).
We didn’t want to leave that air conditioned area, but we had to. So we wandered around the various tents, checking out the typical craft items until we came upon this year’s newest attraction: the Ice Museum. We were told the line was about 20-30 minutes long, but since the line was covered (and we were hot from the humidity), we decided it was better to wait in the queue than wander around looking at craft items.
The line did move quickly and inside was like stepping inside a meat locker. It was indeed cold, and we were there for about 3-5 minutes. There were ice carvings of various things, with colored lights to enhance the features. It was a nice, cool experience.
After the Ice Museum, we decided to walk around and find something to eat, as it was getting closer to show time. Being so hot and humid, I really didn’t have an appetite, and Lee Anne didn’t want something that could upset her stomach. She was in the mood for a burger, while I decided on ribs over fried food, and settled on the barbecue.
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| Wow, fried, fried, fried! |
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| This year’s big gimmick |
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| The Rib Basket: 3 ribs, plus a Texas toast $8.00 |
After a messy dinner, we went inside the Visual Art pavilion to find a bathroom to wash our hands. Lee Anne’s friend had a submitted a painting, and it won an award. As we were walking out of the ladies’ room, she found it.
We killed a lot of time at the Visual Arts pavilion and then checked out the pavilion that had the consumer products like pots, sheets, jerky, clothing and such. Finally we decided to head to the concert at 6:45 pm (showtime was 7:30) to just relax in our seats.
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| View from our seats |
The seats I had at the Wiltern were much closer, but these seats were still very good (not to mention cheaper than LA). Unfortunately, I would later find out there’s a tall guy 2 rows in front who stood for majority of the concert.
Richard Blade opened up the show at roughly 7:45, and warmed up the crowd with 80’s trivia. At the end of the trivia, one of the answers was The Promise by the group When in Rome. Suddenly some man in sunglasses and in a suit appeared, making his way toward the stage. Richard exclaimed it was Clive Farrington, the former lead singer of When in Rome! He sang a few chords of The Promise and the crowd cheered.
I am not sure when Spandau Ballet took the stage, but we didn’t end the concert until after 10:00 pm, but I imagine it was at least a 90-minute show, with a 2 song encore.
It was pretty much like the Wiltern. Even the laugh and jokes from lead singer Tony Hadley was on cue. The one difference is since the OC Fair is a larger venue, Tony and guitarist Gary Kemp did play a song out in the upper middle part of the audience, providing a closer view for those in the “cheap seats”. Then they made their way to the side of the venue, and back on stage.
We were surprised at how many men were in attendance. The people to my right was a man and his 16-year old daughter, who got her dad the tickets for his birthday. Back in high school, guys would not be caught dead listening to Spandau Ballet, or at least acknowledge they listened to this Glamour 80s rock band. Well I guess at 40-something, its “who cares” and enjoy the show.
It was a great show, and I would love to see them again. The show was pretty much the same, but they still rock.
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| Listening to Chant No. ! |
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| Final song: Gold |
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