OC Fair opens Friday, capping attendance for a second year

Welcome back to the Orange County Fair, which is bringing back farm animals, monster trucks, and fried food – but not the big crowds.

The OC Fair will open Friday with capped attendance, as it did last year as a safety precaution due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"I don't think we'll ever go back to unlimited attendance," OC Fair CEO Michele Richards said.

Over the past decade, the fair drew about 1.3 million visitors each year, with a record 1.4 million in 2018. In 2021, capping attendance resulted in 1,055,770 visitors to the OC Fair.

"We had such a great experience last year controlling our attendance," Richards said. "It was an excellent customer experience for our guests to have more elbow room, much smaller lines. It was a much, much better experience, and it was a great experience for our neighbors because we were not throwing as much traffic congestion and noise in surrounding neighborhoods.

Last year, the fair sold out 17 of its 23-day run. As of Tuesday, none of the OC Fair's days have sold out yet.

Admission to the OC Fair is $12 on weekdays, and $14 on weekends. Children and seniors get in for $7. To avoid arriving at the fair just to find tickets have sold out, visitors are encouraged to buy tickets online ahead of time, and there are no fees for being tickets online in advance.

The fair's hours this year will be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays and 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The fair is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and ends on Aug. 14.