Holiday Fun-cation
Get your fix of holiday fun locally — at theme parks, theaters and more. You can almost set your watch for the falling snow. At many of our favorite places…
Join the Festivities
With rides, games and mouth-watering foods galore, OC has the best carnivals, fairs, and festivals that the whole family will enjoy year-round.
Editor's Picks
Recent Articles
Halloween Spooktaculars
Have a scary good time at all the fun Halloween events and pumpkin patches in and around Orange County.
Take a Holiday Fun-cation!
Stay local and booked with these festivities. Experience snowfall at Disneyland or Knott’s Berry Farm and warm sunlight while you skate on the ice.
Pumpkins and Halloween Spooktaculars
Keep your October full of Halloween festivities with this guide to pumpkin patches and spooky fun. Have some Halloween family fun both indoors and outdoors.
Summer Fun Guide
(Photo Courtesy of OC Fair & Event Center) Looking for places to go and things to do this summer? We got you covered. Summer of 2021 is unleashing a world of fun in Orange County. Knott’s Berry Farm has reopened to celebrate 100 years. Disneyland Resort is back with Disney California Adventure Park’s whole new hero-filled land: Avengers Campus. And Legoland has returned with a land of its own: The Lego Movie World. “This is going to be the largest assembly of these heroes any place, anytime, anywhere,” said Disney Parks Live Entertainment Executive Creative Director Dan Fields in a...
Editor’s Picks: December 2019
PICK OF THE MONTH: Knott’s Merry FarmSaturday, December 1 - Monday, January 6The fun of Knott’s Merry Farm is now underway and continues through Jan. 5 with all its usual merriment and some new additions, too. This year, the park debuts a new holiday-themed production at the Calico Mine Stage called “Home for the Holidays” to enchant park-goers with traditional Christmas tunes, performers, festive lights, dancing toys and dazzling snow, all happening on the most ambitious stage ever created at Knott’s. Of course, some of the Merry Farm favorites are back, including the “Merry Christmas Snoopy!” ice show at the...
Editor’s Picks: September 2019
PICK OF THE MONTH Parenting OC’s Learn & Grow Expo Saturday, October 5 This health, education and special needs expo gives families the opportunity to connect with more than 60 exhibitors that focus on healthy living. These are experts in the community that can offer parents valuable tools, experience and wisdom to help them raise kids that are healthy in body and mind. The event includes free health screenings, nutrition and fitness demos and family activities, including face painting, balloon art and strolling entertainment. Also, for kids who can climb, dash, hop, roll and slide faster than any other kid,...
Editor’s Picks: August 2019
PICK OF THE MONTHVans U.S. Open of SurfingJuly 27 - August 5 For the past 60 years the US Open has stood as one of the world’s top surfing events. Over the years, however, it has evolved to include world-class BMX and skateboard competitions as well.Some new additions this year are the Vans Showdown, Vans Rebel Jam, Vans Vert Demos, Duct Tape Festival and Vans Street Market. The Vans Showdown is an invite-only street jam skate competition, featuring trick contests and cash prizes. The Vans Rebel Jam is an invite-only BMX street contest. The Vans Vert Demos showcase high-flying action...
Editor’s Picks: July 2019
PICK OF THE MONTH Wednesday - Sunday, July 12 - August 11 You can explore “Acres of Fun” (that’s also this year’s theme) at the OC Fair. From carnival rides to rodeos; animal competitions to Moto-X racing; acrobats to karaoke—everyone will have many things to enjoy. And don’t forget all the sweet and savory (and sometimes just strange) foods to try! The musical lineup is an event all its own. This year the entertainment summer lineup features 81 performances across the three venues, Pacific Amphitheatre, The Hangar and Action Sports Arena. Pacific Amphitheatre will kick off its summer concert season...
Editor’s Picks: March 2019
PICK OF THE MONTH 48th Annual Dana Point Festival of Whales March 2-3, 9-10 This whale-sized festival crams an incredible number of events into two weekends at Dana Point Harbor during the gray whale’s annual winter migratory ritual. The Festival of Whales Parade kicks off the festivities on Saturday, March 2 at 10 a.m. Attendees can view the parade from the side of Pacific Coast Highway between Selva Road and Street of the Golden Lantern, where they can enjoy the parade featuring giant helium balloons, community organizations and more. The sand sculpting competition, the clam chowder cook-off, the Diamond Dig,...
Editor’s Picks: November 2018
PICK OF THE MONTH The Mom-Made Market Saturday, November 17 - Sunday, 18th This market is truly the mother of all invention. More than 150 local mompreneurs make this holiday market a very unique shopping experience. Come out for a weekend of gift-buying, food, and fun. This event is too monumental to miss so come on out to support these moms in business. Kids can get a free photo with Santa each day from 10 am-11:30 am. The market is open on November 17 from 10 am-5 pm and 10 am-4 pm on November 18. The Hangar at the OC...
Editor’s Picks: August 2018
Pick of the Month The OC Fair Don’t let the summer pass you by without a visit to the OC Fair. With a theme of “Free Your Inner Farmer” this year, it’s the perfect time to teach your little ones more about agriculture. Wander over to Centennial Farm for photos of the adorable baby piglets and the energetic goats. Also, among the new attractions are the Selfie Pop-Up Museum and the nerve-wracking Daredevils & Wheels stunt show. And of course, there’s carnival rides and games, live performances, action sports events, agricultural demonstrations and animal competitions. You definitely don’t want to...
Fried, Fatty, Fun Fair Foods
The annual OC Fair is back at the Costa Mesa fairgrounds with an eclectic assortment of the most unique eats for the entire family to stuff their faces. Here are six of this summer’s must-tries. Spaghetti Donut No, it’s not spaghetti on top of a donut; it’s donut-shaped spaghetti. This latest food craze, which reaches far beyond the culinary laboratories of county fairs, combines the mobility of a donut with the flavor of pasta. The “donut” (which more closely resembles a bagel) is made with heavy whipping cream, mozzarella cheese and spaghetti and is topped with pesto, Alfredo or marinara...
Editor’s Picks: June 2018
Summer is a time for entertainment-filled festivals and Orange County is no exception. Throughout the month of June, there are a variety of family friendly festivals with packed scheduled full of everything from unique food and drinks, arts and crafts, dancing, live music and entertainment, kids' activities, and more. Each festival has its own theme as well, so festival goers can enjoy a new cultural experience. Choosing just from one of these exciting celebrations to highlight for this month's Editor's Pick is too difficult as each of the jam-packed festivals offer a different experience and entertainment for all ages. So...
Editor’s Picks: March 2018
PICK OF THE MONTH Dana Point Festival of Whales Saturday March 3 - Sunday March 4 Saturday March 10 - Sunday March 11 An over-whale-ming amount of fun is to be had at the 47th annual Festival of Whales in Dana Point Harbor. For two full weekends, this exciting event has a little (actually big) something for all ages – real life whales! The festival invites families to experience some of the greatest animals alive during the gray whale’s annual migratory ritual. Besides whale watching, the event also offers a gigantic list of activities, including sand sculpting competitions, a clam...
Editor’s Picks: October 2017
PICK OF THE MONTH Halloween at Disneyland October 1 to October 31 Halloween spirits will be haunting both Disneyland and California Adventure this year. Jack Skellington will prowl around the Haunted Mansion Holiday, while special spooks haunt a reimagined Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. A true crowd favorite, the Diá de los Muertos skeleton display, resides as always in Frontierland accompanied by a wild and ghoulish band. But the otherworldly fun isn’t restricted to just one park, this year. In California Adventure, Cars Land will receive an awesome new “Haul-A-Ween” makeover while seasonal surprises in the Guardian of the Galaxy ride...
Editor’s Picks: September 2017
PICK OF THE MONTH Parenting OC's Learn & Grow Expo Saturday, September 30th The first annual Learn & Grow Expo is kicking off at the Discovery Cube OC with a dash of fun for the kids. A Bubble Dash, to be exact. Kids can sign up for this multi-activity obstacle course of fitness fun and win a chance to appear on next year's Parenting OC Summer of Fun cover. But this expo isn't all just fun and games. Families can find out about all facets of healthy living, education options and special needs services at this event. More than 60...