Tickled Pink at O.C. Fair

With a song and dance from the 1940s performed by children in their early teens at the oldest, a parade of pink characters entertained in front of the main gate of the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa on Friday to open the 106th annual Orange County Fair.

As the 65 members of the All American Boys Chorus from Costa Mesa provided the song, the Colony Dancers of Garden Grove did the dance. The chorus sang a tune from the movie “Aladdin” as well as Big Band classics. Music was provided by the Jim Christen Band and the Big Shots, the official house band of the fair, whose theme this year is “We’re in the Pink.”

“The boys work so hard that by the time they get to the stage they just have a good time,” David Albulario of Santa Ana, the musical director of the choral group, said Friday. “And today the mission was accomplished.”

Providing even more color were winners of the Pink Car contest and their classic automobiles. First-place winner was Steve Steepleton, 55, of Tustin, who won for his 1929, mint-condition Ford Sedan Delivery. The vehicle, which has a 300-horsepower Corvette engine, received its $9,000 light pink paint job 12 years ago.

“I restore cars as a hobby and my wife has put up with it, so I asked her what color to paint it,” Steepleton said.

During the singing, Pink Man--the ambassador for the 17-day fair--pedaled around the stage’s perimeter on a unicycle, tossing palm-sized sacks of cotton candy into the crowd.

“It’s great to see everybody, young and old, participate,” said Gary Hayakawa, president of the Orange County Fair Board of Directors, who is anticipating judging the hot dog eating contest. “You can’t help but feel the mood.”

While most of the 9,000 people who had attended the fair by noon were tickled pink, Carmen Ramos, 17, and Donna Madrigal, 18, both of Long Beach, were pink from exhaustion. The two Americorps volunteers were there with five other volunteers and were in charge of controlling 64 kids from the Long Beach YMCA.

As the fair started, the two were attempting to corral the youths, ages 5 to 15, into lines so they could pass out bag lunches from their coolers.

“I’m so busy,” Ramos said, flying from child to child. “It’s hard [to take care of all the children] but not that bad,” she said as one of the children kicked the lid of a cooler.

Of course, not everybody is a pink fan. Alex Hart, 9, a Long Beach resident and member of the YMCA group, said he hates pink and only came to the fair for one reason.

“I like the Ferris wheel,” he exclaimed. “I like the way it goes around and around.”

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Highlights Today at the Orange County Fair

Hours are 10 a.m. to midnight

All day

* Embroidery Artistry presented by the Embroidery Guild

* Quilting Quicks & Ques presented by Southern California Quilters

* Model Airplane Building & Flying presented by Model Aircraft Scamps

* Pygmy goats, breeding swine, potbellied pigs and breeding beef on display

* Small animals on display

10 a.m.

* Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Show (until 5 p.m.)

* Sock Hop

* Chinese Lion Assn. (until 6 p.m.)

* “Discovering the Fair” Patch Program Scavenger Hunt (until 7 p.m.)

10:15 a.m.

* Clown Show

11 a.m.

* Cherry Lemonade Drinking Contest

11:30 a.m.

* Family Sand Castles Contest

Noon

* All Alaskan Racing Pigs

* Big Bopper Bubble Gum Blowing Contest* Chinese Lion Dancers

* Ballet Folklorico Alegria/Riverside

1 p.m.

* “Not Previously Pink” Laundry Contest

* Magic Show

* Cow Chip Bingo parcels for sale (until 4 p.m.)

* Fairy Floss Eating Contest

1:30 p.m.

* All Alaskan Racing Pigs

2 p.m.

* Russell Bros. Circus

* All American Boys Chorus

* Wine Tasting Seminar: Tastes & Discussion on California Varietal Wines (until 3:30 p.m.)* Record Roll Contest* Pink Ladies Fuchsia Planting

2:30 p.m.

* Magic Show

* Family Sand Castles Contest

3 p.m.

* Pink Mashed Potatoes Sculpting

3:30 p.m.

* All Alaskan Racing Pigs

* Grandma’s Cookie Judging

4 p.m.

* Magic Show

* Russell Bros. Circus

* All American Boys Chorus

* T-Bird Putt-Off Contest

* Camille the Cow selects winner in Cow Chip Bingo

4:30 p.m.

* Dan Wiles--Slack Rope

* Coil Pot demonstration

5 p.m.

* Piggly Wiggly Rope

5:30 p.m.

* All Alaskan Racing Pigs

6 p.m.

* Magic Show

* Rockin’ Limbo

* California Cloggers Unlimited

* Ballet Folklorico Paso de Oro

6:30 p.m.

* Hypnotist Mark Yuzuik

* Clown Show

7 p.m.

* Bo Diddley with the Debby Hastings Band

* Zoot Suit Fashion Show presented by Zoot Suits in Fullerton

* Russell Bros. Circus

* Kids’ Karaoke

7:10 p.m.

* Swing Dance Lessons with Audrey Wilson

7:30 p.m.

* Speedway Racing

* Swingtime with Johnny Pink and the Big Shots

* Magic Show

* All Alaskan Racing Pigs

* Doo Wah Riders (country/variety)

8 p.m.

* Duchicela (Andes music)

8:15 p.m.

* John Peace Super Band

8:30 p.m.

* Hypnotist Mark Yuzuik

9 p.m.

* Bo Diddley with the Debby Hastings Band

* Swingtime Dance Contest with music by Johnny Pink and the Big Shots

9:30 p.m.

* Doo Wah Riders (country/variety)

10 p.m.

* John Peace Super Band

SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

10 a.m.--Youth Motorized Olympics (until 2 p.m.)

1 p.m.--”Look Who’s Blushing!” Comedy Contest sponsored by Improv Comedy Theatre

4 p.m.--Sounds of Thunder/Vintage Motorcycle Racing (until 9 p.m.)

7 and 9 p.m.--Rick Springfield

Source: Orange County Fair & Exposition Center