Fish pie, celebrity sightings and 80,000 deep-fried Oreos — a look at this year’s O.C. Fair

Now that the last corndog has been served and the last pig raced, organizers of the Orange County Fair are busy crunching numbers to quantify the activities of more than 1 million fairgoers who celebrated being "Happy Together."

OC Fair & Event Center Chief Executive Michele Richards, who oversees operation of the summertime extravaganza, on Thursday issued a report of some of the highlights of this year's fair, which featured 42 sold-out concerts, 2.3 million carnival rides and more than $250,000 paid out to students through the Junior Livestock Auction.

"It is an absolute joy for our team to bring the O.C. Fair to the community each year," Richards said. "From farm animals and agriculture to exhibits and entertainment to food and fun, the 2023 O.C. Fair was the place to be this summer — we look forward to seeing everyone again in 2024."

John Guerzon dressed as Gene Simmons from the rock band KISS for the "Art of Music" exhibit at the Orange County Fair.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Although the post-pandemic t radition of requiring advanced online registration and capping daily attendance at 45,000 visitors continued for a third year, attendance takers reported 1,048,181 people came out this summer, causing 12 of the fair's 23 days to sell out. The amount is on par with last year, when 1,055,173 attended, selling out 11 days.

OC Fair & Event Center Board Chair Newton Pham said Thursday limiting the number of visitors helped enhance the experience of those who came to the Costa Mesa fairgrounds and their ability to engage with vendors, concessionaires and exhibits.

"The Board of Directors is very pleased with the performance of this year's fair," Pham said in a statement. "By controlling our daily attendance, we have achieved a high level of per-capita spending, while greatly minimizing the impact of the fair on surrounding neighborhoods and creating a great guest experience."

In addition to the usual offering, the 2023 Orange County Fair had its share of colorful sideshows. Here's a look at some of what went down this year:

Food frenzy

A fair worker puts on his apron at Ricco's Michelaguas on opening day of the 2023 Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa in July.

(D on Leach / Staff Photographer)

Fairgoers brought their appetites to the fairgrounds this year, consuming a collective 80,000 deep-fried Oreos, 10,000 bacon-wrapped pickles, 6,000 fried Twinkies and 50,000 pounds of fries at Chicken Charlie's stands alone, OCFEC reported Thursday. Fellow food vendor Biggy's estimated it served 7 miles of foot-long corn dogs.

Something fishy

Speaking of food, one of the most interesting blue ribbons awarded at the O.C. Fair's numerous competitions was a submission by Yorba Linda resident Hana Ikuta, Stargazy Fish Pie — a scaly concoction that not only won a first-place in the savory pie division but also the "Best in Show" title among all entries in the Pies & Cheesecakes Category.

Ikuta's winning pie was one of 18,725 competition entries to be submitted by 3,784 exhibitors, according to fair organizers, a 21% increase over last year. Some 5,068 horticulture entries, 4,768 visual art contenders and 1,592 culinary creations were put before judges.

An unusual-looking entry into the O.C. Fair's Savory Pies competition, Yorba Linda resident Hana Ikuta's Stargazy Fish Pie, took home a Best in Show award in the Pies & Cheesecakes division.

(Courtesy of the OC Fair & Event Center)

A-list altercation

Visitors to the fair on July 29 might have been seeing stars, and a bit of scandal, as actress Megan Fox was apparently slammed against a barricade after her beau, musician/rapper Machine Gun Kelly, reportedly got into an altercation with a fairgoer.

The incident was recorded and made the rounds on TikTok. Neither the Orange County Sheriff's Department, nor the fair's security team had been notified of the fracas when it occurred, the Los Angeles Times reported.

A brush with fame — almost

The dust-up involving Machine Gun Kelly wasn't the only celebrity sighting at the Orange County Fair this year — or was it? Some visitors on the Midway on July 2 may have witnessed a moment of alleged fanfare created by a man believed to be Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, surrounded by men resembling a security detail. Footage of the so-called star was posted to TikTok. However, all was not as it seemed, as the man in question was later revealed to be an impostor.