Bovine theme pleases children

It was all about the kids at the Orange County Fair Wednesday. Well, the kids and the cows. And the kids who were dressed like cows.

Wednesday was Cowabunga Kids Day at the fair, and the livestock arena was alive with all kinds of activities geared toward bovine-loving youths.

The day began with a special treat for the first 2,007 children 12 and under: free, brown and white-spotted hats with horns and snouts.

At first, admission box office supervisor Love Hertel was uncertain about whether the day’s cow-themed activities would be well-attended, but the rate at which kids snapped up the heifer hats put her at ease.

“They’re adorable, and they went so fast,” she said of the instantly popular promotional hats. Looking around the arena at all the kids donning hats, she added, “Anytime you have a smile on a child’s face, it’s a success. But having this big of a turnout is a big relief.”

In keeping with the theme of the fair, “Cowabunga: The Year of Herefords, Surfers & Sand,” Wednesday’s festivities featured Western music playing throughout the livestock arena. Children enjoyed free carnival-style games, romped in wood shavings, threw balls at milk bottles and tossed Frisbees and rings.

There was also a station where kids learned how to make cow puppets out of a brown-paper lunch sack. The efforts of Hertel and other fair staffers put Alicia Yan, a 5 year old from Irvine, in the mood to moo.

“I like my hat and I wear it,” she said while stacking wooden blocks in the wood shavings. Picking up her handmade paper puppet, she proclaimed happily, “and I got to make a cow bag, too!”

After more than an hour of games and crafts, fair staff corralled the kids and herded them down livestock lane in a parade, complete with a pair of oxen and a rodeo clown who playfully lassoed them as they marched.

All the fun was just the ticket for Lauren Orozco of Costa Mesa, who attended the fair with her parents and four siblings in celebration of her 11th birthday.

“The parade was really fun on my birthday because I got to walk next to the big clown. And the music was really good too,” Lauren said as she and her siblings pulled on their cow hats after exiting a kiddie roller coaster in Ralphs Family Fair Way.

Fair organizers hope fairgoers are getting excited for the cattle drive that will take place at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

“They got their hats and they had fun in the parade, and now the hope is that they’ll want to come back for the real thing,” Hertel said.

To see a photo gallery of the Orange County Fair, click here.

TO DO:

Blackmarket Bakery Demonstration

California Institute of America-trained pastry chef Rachel Marie from Blackmarket Bakery in Irvine will present some of the baking tips behind her delectable cookies, cakes and tarts at 4:30 p.m. at the Home Arts & Crafts Gallery and Stage.

Glassblowing Demonstration

Crank up the heat with a highly informative glassblowing demonstration by artist Charlie Keeling. Learn how glass is made, how to shape liquid glass and how to create designs in blown glass at 1:30, 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. at Crafters Village.

Webs, Wings & Creepy Things Exhibit

Get ready for snakes, millipedes, tortoises and every creepy, crawly thing in-between. Take your picture with a snake and get a chance to hold a variety of animals that make most people’s skin crawl. All day in the Youth-in-Motion Gallery.