(Photo Courtesy of Speech and Language Development Center) From comic books to virtual reality, therapists and teachers look forward at innovations in special needs programs. Parents of special needs kids know the particulars of a home life designed to suit their child. It often involves helping their child navigate the...
(Photo Courtesy of Disneyland Resort) Disneyland Resort celebrates Disney100 with new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway ride, new Nighttime Spectaculars and more — while honoring the history of Disney. Oh, how different the country was in 1923. Just five years removed from World War I, women had just won the...
(Photo Courtesy of School of Rock) Local music instructors offer a modern twist on band camp. Bob Marley opened his classic song “Trenchtown Rock” with the words, “One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain.” He meant it was a salve against the troubles of the...
(Photo Courtesy of Adelaide Price Elementary) A group of Anaheim elementary students are learning the value of garbage — and composting. Thursday mornings are busy — even before school starts at Adelaide Price Elementary. The Recycling Club line up in their green shirts, standing with a pair of large yellow...
Holidays at Disneyland Stay local this holiday vacation season. From theme parks to boat parades, the holiday fun for families doesn’t stop. Here are some of our favorites to keep your calendar full. The fake snow is falling at scheduled times each day. The palm trees are all sparkly and...
(Photo Courtesy of Goodwill of Orange County) In a costume quandary? Pop some cash at the thrift shop down the road. Most people probably didn’t know there was an official day for it, but National Costume Swap Day is the second Saturday of October. Something many parents have already become...
(Photo Courtesy of Ralph Palumbo) An Aliso Viejo family embodies community spirit and fun with their annual Halloween display. The Stanleys’ front yard became national news in 2021. Probably because it was the only one with the pirate ship from Pirates of the Caribbean in it. Quite a way to...
(Photo Courtesy MacGillivray Freeman Films) IMAX filmmaker, activist and local Greg MacGillivray talks about his upcoming projects, the ocean and his optimism for the future. An ocean breeze gently blows through the window. Filmmaking memorabilia hang on the wall. A grandchild plays on the floor and a smile grows wide...
The Queen Bees from left to right: Lynntram Nguyen, Ashley Nguyen, Katie Nguyen, Lilian Doan A group of Westminster High School teens have developed an innovative product to help save the bees. The buzz about honey bees is not good. Declining bee populations are costing the U.S. economy billions, and...
(Photo Courtesy of Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort) Local theme parks make this summer their own with attractions both new and old enticing families ready for some fun. Amusement parks are built for bright, hot summer days. But summer nights at a park can light up, sparkle and rock-and-roll too. After two...
(Photo Courtesy of James Alvarez) A local dad turns tragedy into teaching and helps other dads become the best they can be. The worst night of James Alvarez’s life could have broken him. It could have poisoned the rest of his life. Instead, he channeled his grief into a mission...
https://youtu.be/kDPMq3XzFc8 The OC Zoo in Orange has expanded its ‘pawprint’ to house a new Large Mammal Exhibit and five large felines for families to enjoy year round. A waterfall flows through the rocky scenery of Santiago’s new digs. He’s still exploring the space, but the sound seems soothing. That, and...
© 2021 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures) Family-friendly films entice movie-goers back this summer. Families have spent little time in movie theaters since 2020. Often stuck at home, kept out of theaters or choosing to stay away the last couple of years,...
(SCFTA Studio D Summer Camps/Courtesy of Segerstrom Center for the Arts) How Special Needs Camps Adapted to a Pandemic Two years of pandemic transformed everyday normal moments in life into the annoyingly and sometimes comically difficult. We often complained. We grumbled. We worried how we would do things. Then somehow...
A former breast cancer patient turns diagnosis into dignity while helping other women. Allie Bertocchini sat in her Coto de Caza home, uncomfortably waiting for the news. That October day in 2019 was not a good one. But it was a turning point. And a chance to actually make things...
(Casa Romantica dance instructor Kylie Travis says she saw kids bounce back from the effects of 2020 during their summer music and dance camps/ Photo Courtesy of Casa Romantica) Considering pandemic-induced mental health concerns in children, summer camp might be just what they need. A major 2021 analysis in the...
(Photo Courtesy of Santa Ana Unified School District) OC superintendents look back, look ahead at 2021-2022 school year. Putting the weirdest school year in the nation’s history behind them, Orange County’s 2021/2022 school year remains a work-in-progress for staff, students and parents. At nearly the halfway point, things aren’t yet...
We bring you the best of the best in Orange County food, fun for families, education and a host of services you won’t want to miss — selected by our readers. By Magda Hernandez, Jessica Peralta and Shawn Price Editor's Choice Awards Winners 2021 Featured in the October Issue...
(Photo by Jacob Larson) A local teen gives back to his community in a very unique way come the Halloween season … and it involves pirates. People will drive an hour just to tour Jacob Larson’s front yard. Every October, its glowing green mist and maritime horror story lights up...
Best Faith-Based K-12 School The Hebrew Academy Orange County The private school has been providing education for Orange County students for more than 50 years. Children from preschool through 12th grade engage in general and Judaic studies in a challenging but nurturing environment. The curriculum includes STEAM, project-based learning, cutting-edge...
(Photo Courtesy of Boomers) Best Amusement Park/Family Fun Center Boomers! Irvine On a mission to unleash fun, Boomers has been the readers’ favorite for more than a decade. The locations in Irvine and Fountain Valley offer miniature golf, Go Karts, rides, Lazer Tag, climbing walls, batting cages and arcade games,...
Best Cosmetic Surgeon Terry Dubrow, M.D. Dr. Terry Dubrow was known in Southern California for his cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery long before TV cameras made him famous nationwide. You might recognize him from shows such as “The Swan,” ”Botched” and “Real Housewives of Orange County.” Dr. Dubrow’s passion is...
(Photo Courtesy of Gymboree Play & Music) Best Mommy & Me Gymboree Play & Music Gymboree Play & Music is out to build confident learners in a safe, fun atmosphere. The 45-minute classes cater to babies through preschoolers with opportunities to explore, play and learn new physical and social skills....
(Photo Courtesy of Lyceum Village) Best After-School Program Lyceum Village Lyceum Village is offering help for parents of kids in kindergarten through eighth grade with their individualized academic management plans. The kids not only do their homework, but can take part in exciting extracurricular activities, including music, sports, fitness and...
(Photo Courtesy of Mission Viejo Girls Softball) Best Girls Softball League Mission Viejo Girls Softball Mission Viejo Girls Softball is a USA-affiliated Junior Olympic fast-pitch softball league. It’s one of Orange County’s premier recreational leagues that puts instilling good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty and courage at the center of their program....
(Photo Courtesy of Bionerds) How STEM programs survived and continue to thrive in public schools and throughout the county. The massive, nationwide experiment that was the 2020-2021 school year is now essentially over. Whether parents, teachers or students liked it or not, every student got a taste of being home...
Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday honoring those loved ones who have passed on. Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican holiday celebrated Oct. 31 through Nov. 2. It honors the souls of deceased relatives through offerings of food and other items, celebration, costumes and...
Local nurse becomes a patient and a mother in the midst of COVID-19. Becoming a working mom is hard enough. Being a nurse is hard enough. Life during the pandemic has been hard enough. Melissa Leite pulled off something like the modern mom hat trick, giving birth to twins at...
OC Girl Scouts help create dialogue between local police departments and the Muslim community. Trust is a big issue. And there just wasn’t enough of it toward local police in the Anaheim and Cypress communities three Girl Scouts lived in. One side not knowing much about the other leads to...
Illustration from Vecteezy.com George Floyd’s death in May set in motion protests so large and powerful — even international in scope — that the sound of marching, charging feet has at least temporarily drowned out our anxiety about a deadly global pandemic. History teaches us that history rarely happens in...
In the midst of unrest and uncertainty, there’s also hope and inspiration. Nathan Contreras got a powerful lesson about racism in third grade. And it wasn’t from a book. One day, when he tried to defend a couple of kids new to his school and new to the country, another...
A Ladera Ranch Girl Scout troop made kits for frontline workers with wellness in mind. Making the world a better place is a challenge on a normal day. How do you make it better during a global pandemic? Troop 3743 has an answer. The Ladera Ranch Girl Scout troop would...
A Tesoro High School student turns 3D printing into a lifesaving resource for frontline workers. The effects of the pandemic took hold quickly. But as the disease sickened and killed people, shut down businesses and closed schools, the frontline workers stayed on. Even with parts of his junior year in...
An Aliso Viejo second-grader and leukemia survivor helps make a wish list for other kids fighting cancer. Bodhi Boul arrived for her first day of second grade at Oak Grove Elementary a little late. Actually, by about a month. When she arrived, the principal was waiting for her. Along with...
All-American Boys Chorus’ CEO continues giving the gift of song through the organization that gave so much to him. The All-American Boys Chorus is a lot like a song. One of those songs that has a light, catchy melody, but the lyrics carry a sly message. Below all the catchy...
An Oxford Academy teen is working to save the planet — and civics — with the help of a new fellowship. A common complaint heard lately is that schools aren’t teaching — and kids aren’t learning —civics anymore. Viren Mehta is spending this school year proving it is very much...
OC is home to some of the greatest science, tech and robotics teams in the country. Troy High School in Fullerton has created a monster. A bunch of whip-smart students has carefully and methodically built up a towering behemoth so fierce, it has dominated a nation for more than two...
Anaheim-resident Daniel Barrett is creating a way kids can give to kids in need. Daniel Barrett (pictured above) remembers his rough childhood all too well. Fortunately, he learned a few things from it and he insists it doesn’t have to be that way for every kid. While he’s not trying...
Megan Lynch just wanted to do whatever her big brother was doing. But unlike most 9-year-olds, she joined her brother in the Young Marines. She’s followed. She’s led. She’s learned and given back. She’s also National Young Marine of the Year. Now 17 years old and a sergeant major in...
We bring you the best of the best in Orange County food, fun for kids and adults, education and a host of services you won’t want to miss. Compiled by Sarah Mosqueda, Shawn Price and Jessica Peralta Best of OC Categories
From left to right, Greyson Mino, Gianna Acacio and Savanna Pablo hang out on the Ocean Institute’s brig Pilgrim in Dana Point, ready for the new school year ahead. Greyson is wearing Billabong Sundays Mini shirt ($42.95 at Jack’s Surfboards) and Quiksilver Wax Out shorts ($35 at Jack’s Surfboards) with...
Teaching growth, freedom and dignity with music, local musician Elias Toscano helps support kids of all needs. Music is in Elias Toscano’s blood. It’s like the rhythmic beat of a heart. From a young age, he understood the value of it in his own life and it’s a gift he...
Kristen Nguyen wants the community to know human trafficking happens even in Orange County. Kristen Nguyen was a sophomore at San Juan Hills High School when she met her first human trafficking victim. During a 30-minute talk by Sharon Harrison, founder of Rescue One Foundation, Harrison revealed herself to be...
Nine-year-old Ryan Hickman is an entrepreneur with a passion for the environment. Ryan Hickman’s career as a recycling prodigy began with a crunch. A bunch of them, actually. It was the crunching sound of aluminum cans and plastic bottles being compacted at the re-Planet facility near his San Juan Capistrano...
By day Cris August helps LGBTQ teens. By night he’s a paranormal detective. The theme that flows through Cris August’s life, whether in the darkness of a haunted house or a well-lit office, is about education. In daylight, he’s trying to educate potential employers on the virtues of hiring developmentally...
Our annual Readers’ Choice awards has returned for another year of taking you through the best and most unique parts of Orange County. As we’ve done before, we’ve also thrown in some Editors’ Choices to give you a sense of the greatness we see in the county. Sit back and...