Obama to hold town hall at fair

President Obama will be at the Orange County Fair and Events Center in Costa Mesa on Wednesday for a town hall meeting, the White House announced Monday morning.

It will be his first visit to Orange County since being elected president.

The speech at the fairgrounds will be at 4 p.m. in Building 12 and it is free and open to the public. Tickets will be given away at the fairgrounds on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 10 a.m. today, and fair officials are preparing for long lines.

A flood of phone calls from area residents hoping to get tickets has been received by fairgrounds staff. People can line up as early as they want, said fairgrounds spokeswoman Robin Wachner.

“People can come now if they want. We’re ready for them,” Wachner said Monday afternoon.

Although the number of tickets available has not yet been announced, the venue where Obama plans to speak can accommodate roughly 3,000 people. Those who wait in line will be able to get up to two tickets per adult and one ticket per child younger than 16.

“It’s a town hall so it’s more intimate than a normal speech, but we’re not releasing the number of tickets available,” said White House spokeswoman Johanna Maska.

Obama is not the first big-name politician to pay a visit to the fairgrounds. President Bill Clinton spoke there during his first term, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also gave an address in the past few years.

“It’s always exciting [to host famous guests]. I think it shows the diversity of the fairgrounds,” Wachner said.

Security will be tight Wednesday and the White House is advising guests to limit personal items in order to expedite the security-checking procedure.

Anthony Monkiewicz, who owns Anthony’s Pure Water Systems across Newport Boulevard from the fairgrounds, and his General Manager Don DeThomas said they have been watching helicopters with the “United States of America” insignia across the sides fly overhead into the fairgrounds and land.

“It’s pretty wild,” Monkiewicz said.

Airforce One will arrive in Long Beach on Wednesday morning and the president will give the speech in Costa Mesa later that day. He will continue up north to Pomona where he plans on touring the Edison International Vehicle Electrics Plant on Thursday, according to the agenda, but the public will not be invited.

Those wishing to get tickets for the town hall at the fairgrounds should enter through Gate 1 (the main entrance on Fair Drive across from City Hall) or Gate 10 (off Newport Boulevard) and park in Lot A.

IF YOU GO

 Tickets will be given away starting at 10 a.m. today at the OC Fair and Events Center.

 People can line up as early as they want.

 Enter through Gate 1 or Gate 10 and park in Lot A, the main lot across from City Hall.

 Each person older than 16 can pick up two tickets, and each person younger than 16 can pick up one.

 The town hall meeting is at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Reporter ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected].