Select your individual journey, when the O.C. Fair returns to Costa Mesa

If current sunny climate forecasts have you ever dreaming about summer time in January, then you might need to begin counting down the times to the 2026 Orange County Fair the place, organizers guarantee, “Your Adventure Awaits!”

Now in its 136th 12 months, the annual extravaganza will make its grand return to the Costa Mesa fairgrounds on July 17 and run via Aug. 17, celebrating the nationwide spirit of exploration and discovery throughout 23 days, Orange County Fair & Event Center officers introduced Wednesday.

This 12 months’s theme is meant to encapsulate the whole lot a contemporary truthful needs to be, with a deal with innovation, neighborhood and creating unforgettable experiences, in keeping with Michelle Capps, OCFEC’s chief enterprise improvement officer.

“‘Your Adventure Awaits’ is a motto that represents the individuality of everyone’s adventure, whether it’s food-related, rides, arts, [agriculture,] concerts — any entertainment or all of the above,” Capps instructed board members in a Dec. 18 presentation. “Creating your adventure begins when you step through our gates.”

With about 180 days nonetheless to go, truthful admission and Every Day Passports received’t go on sale till someday in early April, however tickets for live shows on the fairgrounds’ Pacific Amphitheatre and the Hangar, a part of an prolonged truthful leisure season, might be bought on-line at ocfair.com/entertainment. And keep in mind, attending a live performance that takes place on a good day comes with free admission.

Planning for this 12 months’s truthful began not too lengthy after organizers closed the e-book on final 12 months’s festivities, themed “Find Your Happy!” which drew a complete of 1,162,872 fairgoers, with eight sold-out days, in keeping with OCFEC figures.

Participants went on greater than 2.3 million carnival rides, received 436,188 plush toys and bought practically 200,000 meals samples via the $5 Taste of the Fair promotion. The leisure commerce publication Pollstar reported the fairgrounds’ Pacific Amphitheatre positioned second in venues all through the world for gross ticket gross sales in August, with $4,882,554 in gross field workplace receipts.

To sustain on this 12 months’s O.C. Fair information and occasions, go to ocfair.com.