The flowers continued to bloom all 21 days at the 2006 OC Fair despite record temperatures across Southern California. And while it was one of the hottest Fairs ever, the heat failed to deter the 924,315 fairgoers who streamed through the gates July 7 through July 30. This year's attendance represented the third highest in the Fair's 114 year history.

"Despite the heat and high fuel prices, we had over 900,000 people visit the Fair this year," said Becky Bailey-Findley, OC Fair CEO. "But it's not all about the numbers. It's about creating an event where the community can come together to experience traditional Fair favorites and new experiences. I'm proud to say that we have created another exceptional Fair, and made a significant contribution to the community."

The 2006 OC Fair was themed "Flower Power, Year of the Garden." Floral and gardening displays and exhibits could be found throughout the Fair, including a 20-foot diameter floral clock on the slope outside of the Pacific Amphitheatre. The actual clock, which came from Germany, is one of the few theme-related displays that remained after the Fair closed.

Since it tends to be several degrees cooler at the Fair than in other parts of Southern California, Fair officials offered a new "Beat the Heat" promotion, which gave customers half-off admission Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. the last two weeks of the Fair. For the eight days the promotion was offered, nearly 30,000 fairgoers visited the OC Fair website to download the half-off coupon.

"We're always looking to offer our customers good value while at the same time giving back to the community," said Bailey-Findley. "This year we accomplished both goals through the Opening Day Free Hour and our annual Canned Food and Summer Book drives."

During the Opening Day Free Hour on July 7, over 14,000 people took advantage of free admission and parking from noon to 1 p.m. At the Fair's Canned Food Drive on July 19, 15.5 tons of nonperishable food items were donated by 6,421 generous fairgoers, which will provide meals for an estimated 61,960 individuals through Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. On July 26, during the Summer Book Drive, 8,979 bookworms donated 29,649 new and used children's books to OC public elementary schools through the help of the Los Angeles Times Reading by 9 program.

Each year, the Fair features new exhibits and attractions to complement the traditional Fair offerings. For 2006, the OC Fair presented a Fuel Cell Exhibit in partnership with the National Fuel Cell Research Center at UC Irvine, which demonstrated the functionality of the fuel cell and the possible applications of the environmentally friendly energy source.

New entertainment offerings included the internationally acclaimed Russian troupe AGA-BOOM! Theatre of Physical Comedy and Circus Arts. Over 38,000 fairgoers attended performances by AGA-BOOM! Additionally, Luche Libre Mexican-style wrestling debuted to a full house at the Washington Mutual Arena on July 22 and 23.

Other 2006 OC Fair facts and figures include:

• Chicken Charlie premiered the Krispy-Kreme Chicken Sandwich half way through the Fair selling over 1,200 to daring patrons.
• OC residents were awarded 240 Blue Ribbons for prize-winning art, crafts, collections, quilts, cakes, photographs, woodcarvings and other ingenious creations.
• On the three Kids Days, 26,000 children visited the Fair for free.
• A total of 33 pigs and three goats came into the world during Fairtime.
• Fairgoers took home 300,000 carnival plush prizes as reminders of their fun-filled day at the OC Fair.
• A total of 33,824 "Unlimited Ride Wristbands" were sold for $20 each on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
• Top rides in the Main Carnival were La Grande Wheel, Hydroslide, Euroslide and the new G-Force ride.
• At the Junior Livestock Auction, 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) youth raised $260,426 on the 294 animals sold at the annual event. All proceeds benefit 4-H and FFA members.
• Over 6,200 volunteers worked 31,000 hours in preparation for and during the Fair.

Summer nights rocked for a fourth consecutive year with the Pacific Amphitheatre Summer Concert Series. Concertgoers filled the 8,500-seat venue nightly for acts such as the Steve Miller Band, Chris Isaak, Gnarls Barkley, Velvet Revolver, the All-American Rejects, and Paul Simon.

At the Washington Mutual Arena, standing-room-only crowds enjoyed the annual "Orange Crush" Demolition Derby, Lucha Libre, Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez, Bull Riding, and Fiesta del Charro. Other nights included performances by Ozomatli, the Fab Four, Jump 5, the Jonas Brothers, and LATV's "Reggaeton Night" featuring La Sinfonia, Jzabehl, and KMW.

The 2007 OC Fair will take place July 13-August 5 with the theme of "Cowabunga! The Year of Herefords, Surfers & Sand."

For more information, visit www.ocfair.com.