Bringing the World Home

ORANGE — Dang it.

Here it is Aug. 28, and you still haven’t taken that round-the-world summer vacation you so richly deserve. To tide you over, though, is the 25th annual Orange International Street Fair, which goes off this weekend in downtown Orange.

The fair, beginning Friday evening with a horn blast from the Trumpeters during the opening ceremony and ending less dramatically Sunday night, will offer nine stages and dozens of food- and craft-packed booths. The Irish strains of the Fenians and the surf-rock of the Torquays will be heard on the main stage, along with other musical styles from reggae to country.

Organizers launched the first fair to mark the city’s 100th birthday.

As Orange resident and fair veteran Gail Hewitt remembers it, then-Mayor Jess Perez rallied the townsfolk to put together an old-fashioned community fling representing five ethnic groups. A little food, a little music and a few chickens (to tie in with the agricultural theme) made up the modest affair.

Hewitt, who owns O’Hara’s Pub in the Plaza district, has been involved with the fair from Day One. It has shifted from being a pure profit-making venture for local merchants and restaurateurs, she said. Now it’s a major fund-raiser for nonprofit groups within the city, as well as a smattering of others from throughout the county.

“I feel this is one of the most successful Labor Day [weekend] events in Southern California,” Hewitt raved. “People can come all day and be entertained and not spend any money.

“Mind you,” she added with a barkeeper’s savvy, “they can spend lots if they want to!”

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Volunteer Judy Sollee of Orange has been working hard to ensure that families can show the kids a good time while spending very little. She wants to see a larger, more diverse and less expensive children’s area, for example.

“Several years ago, I remember sending my daughter into the children’s village with $20,” recalled Sollee, who runs a beauty salon in the city’s plaza district. “Pretty soon, she’s back asking for more money! I told the people running it, ‘This has got to change.’ Now we try to keep everything for the kids well under the $5 range.”

Among the youth diversions planned for this year’s fair, which is expected to draw 500,000 over its three days: a petting zoo ($1, with free “wet wipes” for removing goat saliva); jewelry- and sculpture- making booths ($1 to $2) and loads of free performances, including dance troupes, storytellers, a Christian children’s play and kid-friendly pop bands. Dale Carlson, a.k.a. the Balloon Man, will not only sculpt low-cost balloon animals but also teach a free balloon-twisting class on the main stage Sunday afternoon.

As always, food--prepared and sold by about 90 community groups--will be a major attraction. Imagine the scent of good old American junk food mingling with the smells of everything from sizzling German sausages heaped with sauerkraut to grape leaves stuffed with seasoned meat. Beer, including imports from around the world, will also be available to those who can win a wristband from one of the police officers working the ID stands.

Shopping booths, numbering almost 70, will feature goods made by local craftspeople. Many of the surrounding businesses will remain open as well, though some merchants have complained in the past about the large crowds and attendant risk to their shops. The antique vendors, in particular, have been wary.

“Not everybody’s thrilled with it,” Sollee conceded. “But I think the majority just accept it and support it, especially when they understand how much it helps the nonprofit groups.

“Besides,” she added, “most of us would rather be out there enjoying ourselves. It’s really just like a big family reunion.”

BE THERE

Orange International Street Fair is open Friday 5-10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m.-10 p.m. in the Orange Plaza area, Chapman Avenue and Glassell Street. (714) 532-6260. Admission and entertainment are free; food and drink items range from $1 to $5.