Break new fairground

By Elina Shatkin

July 31, 2008 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

He’s the Shaquille O’Neal of horses. No . . . bigger. Weighing 3,030 pounds and standing 19.5 hands high (6 feet 6 at the withers), Hercules the Giant Horse is the Yao Ming of the county fair circuit. But he doesn’t dunk or rebound; Hercules patiently stands in a makeshift barn that’s barely big enough to contain him. He blinks his massive eyelids as he calmly receives a steady stream of visitors. Parents pry their children off the railing, teenagers gawk and everyone pulls out a camera. It might be best to break out the wide-angle lens to snap a full-body shot.

You don’t need to be a 4H member to appreciate Hercules. It’s like watching the Olympics, in which it’s a joy to see anyone (or anything) who’s the best (or at least the biggest) in a class. Fortunately, Hercules comes around more than once every four years; until Aug. 3, you can visit him (for an extra $1) at the Orange County Fair.

It’s county fair season once again, when established musical acts (Fergie, Seal) and largely forgotten ones (the Scorpions) augment their revenue stream, while the rest of us gorge on deep-fried food on a stick. Booths with “games of skill” (read: chance) hold out the tantalizing possibility of winning an oversized stuffed animal. The midway offers rides that run from mild to guaranteed to make you queasy. But even for thoroughly urban Angelenos, the fair’s nostalgic appeal can be hard to resist.

The livestock pens are about as close as you can get to that Norman Rockwell image of innocence. In addition to the usual assortment of cattle, oxen, sheep, rabbits and goats, the O.C. Fair also has miniature horses, alpacas, llamas, wallabies, zebras, a Tibetan yak and a water buffalo. The most popular animal event is the pig race, though: The stands are packed with cheering spectators, and it’s easy to get carried away cheering for the hoofers.

And why not? Sure, autumn looms on the horizon. But for now it’s fair weather.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

A round-up of your local county fairs

Orange County Fair

Where: 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa

When: Noon to midnight Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to midnight Saturday and Sunday. Ends Sunday.

Price: $9 general, $7 for seniors, $5 for children ages 6-12, free for children 5 and younger

Info: (714) 740-2000; www.ocfair.com

Highlights: Tom Jones, Pat Benatar, Emmylou Harris, Fergie, Paramore

Ventura County Fair

Where: 10 W. Harbor Blvd., Ventura