You say toMAYto and I say toMAHto, but any way it's pronounced it's going to be part of the growing excitement that's reflected in the 2003 Orange County Fair theme-Red, Ripe and Rockin'.

This 111th annual Fair will be the first to last 21 days, running from July 11 through Aug. 3 and closing on Mondays. OCF has been a 17-day event since 1992, but growing attendance persuaded the Fair Board to add more days.

That's not the only new element in this year's Fair. Pacific Amphitheatre, closed since 1995, will reopen as avenue for stellar music acts as the Fair continues to upgrade its entertainment offerings with the booking of some of today's most popular performers. All seats are reserved and are being sold through Ticketmaster and at the Fair box office.

The Fair's free concert series will be hosted in the Grandstand Arena. Motorcycle races and Demolition Derby will be featured at the Arena during the Fair's first weekend, and bullriding will be featured there on the final weekend. The 6,500 seats will be filled on a first-come basis.

The Competition Handbook for Fair 2003, listing hundreds of ways for Fair enthusiasts to participate in everything from woodworking to Spam recipes, is available online at www.ocfair.com or by calling (714) 708-1553.

Many new competitions have been added this year. Some of them are pillow quilting, decorated gingerbread cookies, potted outdoor floral garden entries, drought tolerant landscapes, a host of collectibles, best-dressed tomato in the Youth Department, and the addition of rabbit, cavy, rat, hamster and beef divisions in Livestock.

For the first time, the Livestock Handbook is available online.

Entrants will be competing for cash premiums and ribbons. For many, the participation is reward enough-although last year the Orange County Fair awarded $175,000 in cash premiums. There were 14,501 separate entries.

The deadline to submit competition entry forms is May 21. Most nonperishable entries will be delivered to the Fair on June 20 and 21.