Looking for a Fight?

Think the Hundred Years War was something? This weekend, an army of history buffs will double it. Make that several armies, which will reenact 200 years’ worth of conflict, all to celebrate the centennial of one of Orange County’s most peaceful spots--Irvine Regional Park.

The Marching Through History Exposition is just one of a slew of activities at a weekend-long wingding saluting California’s oldest operating park and hosted by the county Department of Harbors, Beaches and Parks.

The back-to-back battles and demonstrations from the American Revolution and the Civil War through World Wars I and II, however, represent the largest and most comprehensive gathering of its kind in the West, according to event coordinator Jim Sharp.

“This gives history a three-dimensional form,” said Sharp, a volunteer who has led a similar program in San Diego for several years. “It’s not just words and pictures. . . . [It’s] something you can touch and see and smell.”

Whether portraying a smoke-stained farmer in a Revolutionary War conflict or a crisply starched Gen. Patton barking out a war-bonds pitch, participants wear period uniforms and act and speak in character.

In conflict, they use reproduction weapons (shooting blanks); when the battle’s over, they retire to nearby encampments to demonstrate what life was like for soldiers of the era.

At Irvine Park, other actors, including dozens of women and children, will add to the living history lesson by demonstrating domestic arts ranging from blacksmithing to woodcarving to cooking over an open flame.

Others, portraying famous Americans including Patrick Henry and Franklin Roosevelt, will recapture chapters of American history by delivering excerpts from well-known speeches.

Both mornings will feature a Pass in Review parade by all participating units. On Saturday night, a USO-style Victory Canteen dance with a 17-piece big band will be held for the actors and the public, Sharp said.

By watching the battle scenes and speeches, visiting the encampments and talking with the many veterans who are involved in this event, visitors can be carried through virtually every chapter of America’s wartime history through World War II, Sharp said.

“We’ll have $70 million of historical memorabilia displayed here, and it’s free,” Sharp said. “It’s not Disneyland for military geeks. . . . It’s an opportunity for someone to come out and experience history with all their senses.”

Local history will be on display as well in an exhibit of historical photos. The weekend’s activities also include live entertainment, storytelling, old-fashioned games and exhibits of vintage cars and antique steam engines. The park’s usual attractions, including pony rides and a miniature railroad, will be in operation, and food and drinks will be on sale.

The public festivities will be preceded Friday evening by a celebration honoring the Irvine family. A benefit for the Discovery Museum of Orange County, the event will include the unveiling of “The Winds of Change,” a bronze statue of James Irvine II commissioned by the Irvine family.

It was James Irvine II who, on Oct. 5, 1897, sold the county the original 160 acres of oak-studded countryside in rural Santiago Canyon, known then as the Picnic Grounds. The county coughed up the grand sum of $1.

Once part of Don Teodosio Yorba’s sprawling Mexican land grant, Rancho Lomas de Santiago, the Picnic Grounds were then a popular grazing spot for settlers on holiday and hungry sheep.

In the ensuing 100 years, Orange County Park (renamed Irvine Park in 1928) would continue to host revelers, eventually growing to a 477-acre recreation site with amenities ranging from a boating pond to its own zoo (which, thanks to an early policy change, is the only place in you’ll find sheep at the park these days).

Even if you’re not on the list for the Friday night invitation-only ceremony, don’t be disappointed. The lineup on Saturday and Sunday looks pretty darned good too, and it’s a heck of a lot cheaper. (Most activities are free of charge.)

Continuous entertainment on the Centennial Stage includes country music by the Doo Wah Riders, Native American flute music by Elk Whistle, old-time tunes by the Cottonwood String Band and performances by El Mariachi Zacateras.

The Garden Stage will host members from the South Coast Storytellers Guild, trick roper and cowboy poet Kowboy Kal and the Dusty Rangers, a band of park rangers who share local history through music and story. Native American hoop dancer Terry Goedel and an Irvine duo billed as Johnny and Sally Appleseed are also featured.

James Irvine II may not have reaped a windfall from the land deal, but his donation did win his family a certain immortality. According to Harbors, Beaches and Parks manager Tim Miller, the park’s former interpretive center has been remodeled and named the Irvine Family Gallery, where visitors will be able to view a large collection of vintage photos of the Irvine family and the park’s early days.

The park will also premiere a video that will be screened in the gallery. The park’s days as a movie star also get a nod in the video. Movies filmed there include three of the popular “Topper” films from the 1930s and ‘40s.

Miller noted that much of the footage was taken from the Irvine family’s home movies and said that the video “shows what Orange County looked like before it was developed.”

BE THERE

Irvine Park Centennial Celebration, Irvine Regional Park, 1 Irvine Park Road, Orange. Stage entertainment runs 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Marching Through History Exposition activities start at 9 a.m. both days; the Victory Canteen ends at 9 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free, parking is $4. (714) 633-8074.