Almanac note · History and culture
The OC Fairgrounds give Costa Mesa a year-round gathering place
OC Fair & Event Center started with Orange County's early fair tradition and now works as a 130-acre public gathering place with the fair, Centennial Farm, Heroes Hall, concerts, markets, and events.
The OC Fair is the famous part, but the fairgrounds give Costa Mesa something useful all year: a big public place where the county can gather.
Orange County’s fair story reaches back to 1889, when the fair corporation formed, and 1890, when the first fair was held. The modern Costa Mesa site came later. In 1949, the state bought land from the former Santa Ana Army Air Base for a new fairground, managed by the 32nd District Agricultural Association.
That background explains why the place can feel like a mix of county fair, civic campus, concert ground, farm classroom, and neighborhood calendar. Today the OC Fair & Event Center covers about 130 acres. It includes event space, Heroes Hall, and Centennial Farm, a small working farm that keeps agriculture visible in a county many people now picture mostly through beaches, freeways, and shopping centers.
The fairgrounds are worth reading by season. Summer brings the big fair energy. Other months may bring markets, expos, concerts, farm programs, equestrian activity, or community events. It is one of those California places where the past is not hidden in a glass case. The old county-fair idea still works, just with a much wider calendar around it.
Where to see it
OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa. Look at the event calendar because the fair, farm, museum, markets, and shows run on different schedules.
Official sources
Official source trail
Reviewed July 6, 2026
California Porch explains the path. The official source is still the place to confirm the current rule, fee, form, map, deadline, or office decision.
Use the official page before you spend money, file paperwork, rely on a deadline, or change a property.
Connected places
Where it fits on the map
Open a place page for the county layer, nearby places, and other California entries tied to that local page.
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