The drawing power of funnel cake, fried Twinkies and a view of Costa Mesa from a Ferris wheel is being put to the test this year at the Orange County fair.
Backers of the fair, now called Orange County Super Fair, are betting visitors will come to the event like they did in better times.
“People don’t give up their traditions so easily, even in this environment,” said Steve Beazley, chief executive of Orange County Fair and Event Center, the not-for-profit company that runs the fair as well as year-round events at the state-owned fairgrounds. “I’ve had people say ‘I go the fair every year. I’m going to find a way to go this year.'”
On opening day, July 10, the fair saw 50,784 people, 20% more than opening day last year. The fair runs through Aug. 9, four days longer than last year.
General admission is $9 with carnival rides extra. A season pass costs $30.
This year, organizers expect 1.1 million fairgoers, which would be a record. Last summer, just before the fall financial meltdown, the fair drew 1.06 million people, its second highest attendance.
The record was in set in 2007 with 1.09 million visitors.
“Historically, we’ve held our own in bad times,” Beazley said. “In fact, if you look at the last documented recession in early 2000, those years were some of our best years.”
The fair’s operator needs a good year,it has struggled with declining revenue despite higher attendance. It generates revenue from the fair, other events and the Orange County Market Place swap meet.
The fairground’s projected surplus was down by $5.2 million for the six months through June versus a year earlier, Beazley said.
The drop is due in part to a swap meet lease that was renegotiated to be $3 million lower because of the economy, as well as the loss of the $500,000 Cirque du Soleil show contract to Irvine’s Great Park.
The Pacific Amphitheatre, an outdoor concert hall at the fairgrounds, finished last season with a loss of $396,000, putting the venue $1.3 million in red ink since it reopened in 2003.
Fair officials expect the Pacific Amphitheatre to break even this year.
“I wouldn’t say things are bad for us,” Beazley said. “We enjoyed at least a half-decade of growing attendance.”
This year, officials are hoping a new name and some added events will keep people interested in visiting the fair more than once.
Almost like a carnival barker, Beazley said “by adding ‘super’ to the fair’s name, we’re hoping to bring it to the next level.”
Fair officials added four days to the schedule to give people more time to attend.
“We always look at our attendance numbers,” Beazley said. “The only way to take some pressure off crowds and decrease lines was to add some dates.”
Quirky comic-musician “Weird Al” Yankovic, a longtime fair performer, has a bigger role this year.
The $2.5 million Al’s Brain project conceived in 2005 is a 10-minute, 3-D movie featuring Weird Al using the latest technology to depict a journey through the human brain.
“When the fair performs at its highest level, it’s because we’re educating while we entertain,” Beazley said.
The project is estimated to be 4% over budget for the next two years.
“Al’s Brain is an investment in the fair’s future,” Beazley said, seemingly channeling P.T. Barnum.
A theater is being built for the project, but it won’t be ready in time for this year’s fair. For now, the exhibit is housed in a tent.
The fair has big plans for the Al’s Brain project. It might be leased out to other fairs and festivals across America.
When the exhibit is done here, it’s set to go up to the Western Washington State Fair to see if it has legs, Beazley said.
“Al’s Brain was designed to go on the road and travel,” he said.
Next year, the fairgrounds plan to add an exhibit hall along with other general improvements, according to Beazley.
“We are going to do some more improvements that will be introduced in the fall,” he said.
The future of the fairgrounds is up in the air as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed selling the land to help with the state’s financial crisis.
The city of Costa Mesa opposes a sale and has threatened to block rezoning that would be required for redevelopment.
Last week, a state subcommittee recommended selling the fairgrounds to a nonprofit that would continue operations as they are.
