It's a different year, for just about everything and everyone, including those talented locals who love to submit their work to the contest categories of the OC Fair.
The 2020 Costa Mesa event was canceled, but it has popped up online in virtual form, giving at-home fans a line-up of fair-themed videos, content, and activities, as well as the chance to try their creative hands in a number of submit-from-afar contests.
The winners of those virtual contests were recently announced, and while several traditional county fair categories were present, including Home Arts, Livestock, and Photography, so was a section called "These Times," a nod to how life is being lived in the time of the coronavirus pandemic.
A few of the winning submissions can be found pictured below, but you can see them all, in their colorful, imaginative, and detail-rich glory, on the OC Fair Virtual Contest Winners page.
11 photos
1/11
Dreamscape Village Entryway by Jaycee Clark Category: D (13) Fine Art: 2D work Award: Top Three
2/11
Don't Fret! Flowers Make Any Day Better by Ayla Qureshi Category: H (30) Photography: Return to Nature Award: Top Three
3/11
Missing You by Kyra Brummitt Category: H (31) Photography: Any Item Award: Top Three
4/11
Filet Crochet Rose Centerpiece Doily by Brianna Shepherd Category: F (21) Home Arts: Fiber Arts (Needlework) Award: Top Three
5/11
Colossal Artichoke by Mary Cilva Category: E (19) Garden & Floral: Largest Fruit or Vegetable Award: Top Three
6/11
Pandemic #4 by Grace Yoon Category: H (28) Photography: Empty Streets Award: Top Three
7/11
Forbidden Luminescence in Manhattan Beach by Evelyn Schmitt Category: D (12) Fine Art: Reflections Award: Top Three
8/11
Starry Night Mosaic by Anna Miranda Category: F (23) Home Arts: Handcrafts Award: Top Three
9/11
Sweet Mama Coco by Yanett Ortiz Category: C (9) Culinary: Home Sweet Home Award: Top Three, People's Choice (tie)
10/11
Topsy Turvy Garden by Lorrie Duran-Salyer Category: E (15) Garden & Floral: Flowers Award: Top Three
11/11
Working on the Railroad by Carey Hamel Category: B (7) Collections: Any theme Award: Top Three