Agreement reached for fairgrounds to host Pacific Symphony summer concerts
After an almost three-decade run in Irvine, the Pacific Symphony is set to relocate its summer concert series to the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, officials announced Thursday.
After months of talks, the two organizations have reached an initial agreement to bring the series to the Orange County fairgrounds’ Pacific Amphitheatre this year.
“We’re all very excited about this agreement,” said Michele Richards, vice president of business development at the Fair & Event Center. “It represents really the combining of two great community assets — the OC Fair and the Pacific Symphony — and we think the community will be equally as excited.”
As envisioned, the pact would be for one year, with four additional option years, Richards said at Thursday’s Fair Board meeting.
Richards said the plan is to send the agreement to the Fair Board next month to formalize the arrangement.
“We have begun to contact our patrons about this partnership, and already there’s great excitement,” Pacific Symphony President John Forsyte said Thursday. “They know the facility, they know how beautifully maintained it is and the great care that has been taken over the years to bring audiences to the Pacific Amphitheatre in a thoughtful way.”
Performances in the amphitheater would be held at 8 p.m. July 4, July 13, Aug. 19 and Sept. 9. Full details have not been unveiled.
A fifth concert is expected to be announced at a future date, according to Jean Oelrich, director of marketing and communications for the Pacific Symphony.
From 1987 until last year, the symphony held its summer series at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, which closed in October, leaving the year-round orchestra to look for another home.
Costa Mesa isn’t foreign territory for the Pacific Symphony, which often plays at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
Fair Board Chairman Nick Berardino said the concert series will provide guests with cultural exposure and educational opportunities. That’s especially important for children, he said, since funding for school-based musical programs has faltered in recent years.
“This is a great opportunity for people in the community to bring their children and appreciate this kind of music,” he said.
Some Costa Mesa residents, though, expressed reservations about the arrangement — specifically about the fireworks that will accompany the Fourth of July concert.
On Nov. 21, the fairgrounds set off fireworks as a test for a potential Pacific Symphony concert. The test drew complaints from some neighbors.
Concerns about fireworks are nothing new in the community. Each year around the Fourth of July, the city allows area groups to sell certain kinds of fireworks — those that don’t leave the ground or explode in the air — but residents say illegal fireworks are common.
“I live on the Eastside and my neighborhood is like a war zone with all the fireworks,” Beth Refakes said. “It’s very distressing to some of the elderly people, and it freaks out all the pets. So I do have some concerns about having additional fireworks.”
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
