For Orange County Fairgoers, entering one of the multitude of competitions is part of the joy of the OC Fair, and this year was no exception with 14,879 entries, culminating in 8,223 total ribbons awarded.
Costa Mesa led the way with the most entries, with 1,970 total, followed by Huntington Beach (1,132), Fullerton (940), Irvine (868) and Buena Park (593). All of Orange County’s 34 cities (plus unincorporated areas) had at least one resident enter an OC Fair competition.
Several Orange County residents went above and beyond, placing first, second or third not just once or twice but several times. Top winner again this year was Joseph Strubbe of Costa Mesa, who raked in a whopping 237 awards to add to his collection (he won 240 in 2018).
Other top award-getters: Dorothy Birsic of Fullerton received 126 awards, Kyle Walsh of Irvine received 58 awards, Alice Lesnikoff of Costa Mesa received 57 awards, Jon Dietz of Tustin received 53 awards, Kathy Monge of Santa Ana received 53 awards, Kathy Fowler of Newport Beach received 42 awards, Eiji Nakamura of Mission Viejo received 37 awards, Thomas Probert of Costa Mesa received 34 awards and Colin Woodward of Santa Ana received 30 awards.
New to the OC Fair this year: Recipients of the 2019 Renaissance Award, which is given to the person with the highest awards acquired from across different departments.
Strubbe won in the adult category, receiving 94 first, 83 second and 60 third-place awards, as well as Best of Show and several Division Winners. The youth recipient, Monica Pal, 15, won more than 35 ribbons, as well as Best of Show, Division Winner, Best of Class and Most Creative.
Listed below are Anaheim’s winners (47 total winning entries):
First place winners (adult):
-Dominique Chuatrakul (Division Winner), Amateur Ceramics-Wheel Thrown Ceramics
-Bill Churchill, Wood Carving/Sculpture-Human Form
-Katy Duckworth (Division Winner), Sewing: Clothing-Costume or Period Clothing
-Correen Lacounte, Week 1: Largest Item-Largest Beet
-Debbie Lefever (Division Winner), Black & White Photos-Animals, Sea Life, Insects, Color Photos: Animals-Wildlife, Zoo Animals
-Carl Maas, Models-Kit-Plastic
-Lori Mass, Traditional Icing Cake-Wedding of Formal Design, (Division Winner), Traditional Icing Cake-Other, Non-Formal Design
-Kevin Matz, Week 3: Largest Item-Largest Tomato, Week 4: Largest Item-Largest Tomato, Week 5: Specimen Produce-Tomatoes (3)
-Cassia Mcgee, Scrapbooking-Art Shadow Box
-Mike Neice, Wood Beer-Specialty Wood-Aged Beer
-Sandra Nelipovich (Division Winner), Professional Graphic Art-Mixed Media/Collage
-Marie Nussle, Chocolate Confections-Fudge, with Other Flavors or Ingredients
-Orange County Quilters Guild (Judges Award), Bed Quilts: Larger than Twin-Group Quilts, 2 or more people
-Cathy Phillips (Theme Award), Paper Art-3-Dimensional-Paper Mache, Week 1: Dry Arrange-Wreath, Week 1: Silk Arrange-Bounty of Orange County, (Division Winner), Week 1: Silk Arrange-OC Fair Theme: “Acres of Fun!”
-Paula Purpura, Wire Wrapping-Body of Work (3-10 items)
-Kyle Putzier (Division Winner), Miniatures-Scratch Built-Vehicle
-Susan Reinstein, Polymer Clay-all other items
-LiLing Shiao (Division Winner/Judges Award), Paper Art-2-Dimensional-Wall Art
-Sharon Stefan, Week 5: Specimen Produce-Grapefruit (2)
-Bonnie Veerrell, Week 1: Specimen Produce-Oranges (3)
-Kurt Yunker, Week 4: Specimen Produce-Papaya (1)
-Katey Davis, Week 5: Professional Arrange-Retails Under $40 theme
Blue-ribbon winners (youth):
-Joseph Cruz, Needlework (ages 9-12)-any item
-Gillian Fleming, Photo (ages 13-15)-Black & White Photos
-Seyun Hwangbo, Painting (ages 9-12)-any item
-Lauren Kim (Best of Show/Division Winner), Drawing (ages 9-12)-any item
-Caitlyn Konecne, Photo (ages 13-15)-Color Photos-Places & Things
-Abby Lee, Drawing (ages 9-12)-any item
-Stella Lee, Fine Art (ages 13-15)-Painting
-Angela Lim, Fine Art (ages 13-15)-Drawing
-Faith Murray, Photo (ages 13-15)-Black & White Photos
-Ashlyn-Nichole Petropulos, Poster Art (ages 5-8)
-Isabella Porretta (Best of Class), Poster Art (ages 9-12)
-Maximus Ramirez (Most Creative), Poster Art (ages 9-12), Painting (ages 9-12)-any item
-Jack Ramirez (Best of Class), Kids Photography (ages 9-12)-Color Image
-Audreanna Valdovinos, Needlework (ages 9-12)-any item, Needlework (ages 9-12)-any item
-Allison Yun, Drawing (ages 9-12)-any item
-Tessa Sanchez, Photo (ages 13-15)-Color Photos-People, Animals
Additional winners: 36 second place, 27 third place, 23 red ribbons, 1 white ribbon.
