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What if you were planning the Orange County Fair--and then a pandemic forced you to cancel it?

For Terry Moore and the Fair's Board of Directors, the answer wound up being, "go virtual". 

"We wanted to bring a little bit of joy during this pandemic," says Terry, who is Director of Communications at the Orange County Fair and Event Center.

Accordingly, the OC Fair's staff has re-imagined the fair as a virtual event!

And it's all happening with an "opening day" on July 17h, and running through August 16th.

Costa Mesa's Orange County Fair started in 1890.  A summertime tradition, the Fair has been a part of great memories for generations.  Competitions, family activities, performances and a general sense of festivity are all elements to which Southern Californians look forward when summer arrives.

For their 2020 virtual edition, the Fair will be offering online competitions, family activities, and performances.  There's also a "Virtual Fun Run", in which you can participate anytime during the Fair dates.  And "We Care Wednesday" is still giving back to the community--to benefit Goodwill.

One difference, however, from the onsite Orange County Fair?  Events will be available online at the Fair's website, 24/7.   Here's their link for updates!

Now, if you'd like to enter one or more of the Fair's competitions--you can!  There are no entrance fees due to the virtual nature of this year's Fair.  The deadline, though, is July 6th, for entry.  And online, you'll see some creative new categories, based on our current stay-at-home status.  You could win a prize for re-creating your favorite sport at home, for example.  Or for the personal protective equipment you've designed for our essential workers.  Here's the link to the contest rules and categories.

Terry shared the story of the decision to create this year's Virtual Orange County Fair, offered a look at some of the new competition categories and previewed some of this year's virtual events.