Orange County Fair attendance surpasses 1 million again

This year’s Orange County Fair, which wrapped up on Sunday, drew nearly the same number of visitors as last year.

A preliminary accounting of attendance showed that 1,055,173 visitors attended this year’s “Feel the Sunshine” fair. Eleven days of the fair were sell-outs.

Last year, the fair drew 1,055,770 visitors and had 16 sold-out shows.

OC Fair officials last year decided to limit attendance to align with efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, after the fair was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. It went so well that organizers decided to do limit attendance again this year because fairgoers said they liked having more room to move and shorter lines for events and attractions.

OC Fair CEO Michele Richards said fair organizers are not aiming to break attendance records anymore, preferring to enhance the experience for fairgoers.

Fair officials also kept ticket prices the same this year.

“The annual OC Fair is very special and important to the community,” Richards said. “It gives us such pleasure to present it every year. It’s a thrill for our team to plan and produce an event that resonates with our guests throughout Southern California and beyond. It’s always sad to see the annual OC Fair end each year, but rest assured our team is already working on next year’s fair. We can’t wait to welcome back all our guests again in 2023.”

Twelve concerts in the Hangar were sold out, and 11 events in the Action Sports Arena were also sold out. So far, eight Pacific Amphitheatre concerts have sold out, with six more to go in the summer season.

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