With the Commercial and Home Wine Competitions now just fading memories, the 2018 OC Fair is fast approaching, and the OCWS is geared up to run our most important fundraising effort of the year—The Courtyard at the OC Fair. This year’s Fair theme is “Free Your Inner Farmer,” and the Fair runs Wednesdays through Sundays, beginning on Friday, July 13 and concluding on Sunday, August 12. The Fair was attended by over 1,400,000 people last year, so The Courtyard clearly provides us with a perfect venue for reaching lots of people with our mission of wine education.

In exchange for running the OC Fair’s wine competitions, the Orange County Fair and Events Center affords us the opportunity to run The Courtyard and realize the income therefrom. In addition to the income received from The Courtyard funding the wine competitions, it also provides funds for our year round overhead and, by way of donations, for our Scholarship Program. So, it is of utmost importance to the organization that The Courtyard be a huge success! It takes over 300 OCWS volunteers to man The Courtyard during the Fair. Whether you are a new volunteer or a seasoned veteran at The Courtyard, this is your opportunity to support the fundraising efforts of the Orange County Wine Society.

In addition to hosting The Courtyard during the OC Fair, some of the most knowledgeable and experienced OCWS members will be conducting wine seminars on Saturdays and Sundays. Check out the seminar schedule on the OCWS website and come learn something new about wines and wine pairings that you may not know you don’t already know.

So, if you seek fun, don’t miss coming out and freeing your inner farmer with wine fun at the Fair! I look forward to seeing you there.

– Fran Gitsham, President