I made my way to the Orange County Fair on a Wednesday evening, and I definitely wasn't expecting…read moreit to be as busy as it was! I initially planned on parking on-site, but there wasn't any parking available, so I ended up at Coast Community College for $10. It was about a 5-10 minute walk to the fair, so thankfully it wasn't too bad. It took about an hour to find parking due to the traffic. This visit was strictly a mission because I came with a short list: pickle pizza, pickle Dr Pepper, and an airbrush t-shirts. The pickle pizza was one of the main reasons I came, and I had to see what all the pickle hype was about. I also couldn't leave without trying the pickle Dr Pepper. Definitely an interesting combination for anyone who loves all things pickle! I usually visit the OC Fair for the concert series, which is honestly one of my favorite parts of the fair, but I didn't catch any shows this year. Instead, I spent the evening walking around, checking out the food vendors, browsing the booths, and enjoying the overall fair atmosphere. Even on a Wednesday, be prepared for crowds, especially in the evening. Parking can also be a challenge, so I'd recommend arriving earlier or having a backup parking plan. Overall, this was more of a food-and-fun mission than my typical OC Fair concert visit, but I'm glad I made the trip!

If you're thinking about going, just do it. You'll have a…read moregreat time and you'll eat some of the best food, make friends, and possibly watch a great concert, don't forget the cool rides. You'll thank me later

This festival rocks! If you are looking for some local family friendly fun look no further. They…read morehave amazing food including authentic Mexican, Vietnamese, Filippino as well as burgers, dogs, grilled corn and funnel cakes. Rides are perfect and adult beverages available. Enjoy while listening to local live music. Costa Mesa Gem!

Baker Street Bash is the best! We all look forward to kicking off Summer at this festival. Packed…read morewith cool rides, lots of live music, great brews and bartenders at the beer garden, and best of all the food (provided by members of the parish and school) is all fresh made and awesome. They even have thai tea, blended mochas, and boba in the hot afternoon and fresh made funnel cakes for dessert each night!

OC Winter Fest unfortunately wasn't worth the hype or the price. While I appreciate that we…read moreattended on a discounted Sunday night (thank you for that), the overall experience still felt underwhelming. Admission gets you inside the gates, which is fine -- but once you're in, everything is à la carte through a mobile app, or you're expected to purchase separate "fun bundles." This felt more like a money grab than a holiday experience. I couldn't help but wonder why some of these activities weren't included with the ticket price to begin with. For example, putt-putt golf was an additional $5.25 per person, and it wasn't even a real mini golf course. It was made from wooden cornhole-style boxes with turf glued on, rebranded as an attraction you pay extra for inside the festival. There were some cute moments -- the Winterland of lights and the bubble suds that imitate snow were adorable, especially for kids. That area was probably the highlight of the event. As for the food... not great. Very greasy, carnival/fair-style food, which may work for some people, but it wasn't what I envisioned for a holiday festival. Nothing really stood out, and I wouldn't recommend coming here for the food alone. I don't write this to be negative -- just honest. For the price, I think your money could be better spent elsewhere this holiday season. OC Winter Fest may appeal to families with very young children who don't mind paying extra for each activity, but for everyone else, I'd skip it.

My son is 10 years old and asked to see snow for Christmas, so I took him to OC Winterfest as an…read moreearly present. We accidentally showed up an hour early, since it actually opens at five, not four. Parking was easy, but twelve dollars. Tickets for the three of us were a little over eighty dollars, so the night started off on the expensive side. Once inside, the lights were beautiful. There are light tunnels, decorated trees and tons of photo ops. The bubbles at the entrance look like falling snow and made for adorable pictures. His favorite part was the snow play area. He had a blast, even though he was freezing and soaked by the end. We skipped the skating rink and the inflatables since both cost extra. Most things here cost extra, so plan for add-ons. Toward the back there are carnival rides and games. I bought him the cheapest wristband for twenty dollars and he got three rides out of it. I caught a bit of the live singer on stage, which added to the atmosphere. The highlight was my son saying this is going on his list of top memories for a long time. My son loved it. My pockets did not. Helpful tip. I overheard another mom say wagons are not allowed this year, but strollers are. Overall, OC Winterfest feels like a fair dressed in Christmas lights. Go in knowing it is cute, fun and definitely not cheap, and you will enjoy it for what it is.

This was a pretty fun event - not cheap, but fun. The ticket booths at the entrance were really…read moredisorganized and slow. We could not figure out why it was taking so long for each customer. Then, supervisor dude in pig hat started to sell admission tickets, cash only, on the side of the lines and that was awesome!! So apparently the ticket booths were slow because of credit card transactions or just customer indecision about what to buy? We heard supervisor pig hat dude talking to his staff at the end of the days about ideas for next year on how to alleviate the congestion, so hopefully it will run more smoothly! $10.00 admission just gets you in the door, then $10.00 for 5 BBQ tastes and $10.00 for 5 Beer tastes. The highlight for me was Three Men & A Smoker - they had delicious bacon wrapped meatballs and this super smokey corn souffle! My other favorite was Que'n & Brew'n and their Moink Balls - also bacon wrapped meatballs! If there were any other bacon wrapped meatballs at that festival, they would have also been my favorite! I'm monotonous and boring, I know. I felt bad for customers coming late in the day because the Beer area was totally depleted and out of samples. But there were still booths with BBQ! Definitely a fun time with live music and lots of happy tummies!

I've watched the OC BBQ Festival grow over the last few years, and it's been fun to participate --…read moreeither as a visitor or as a judge. The competition has always drawn local teams from around the area, from 20 teams in its inception to a whopping 70 teams this year. In years past, there was just the car show and a few vendors. For this year, they really increased the amount of entertainment and family fun activities. That's probably part of the reason why the admission price was raised, but all of the proceeds go to charity. If the event organizers are reading, I would suggest having some sort of an "early-bird" admission price, starting at $10 and gradually raising the price as things get closer to the event. At a lower price point, you could bring in a lot more people through the gates, that's for sure.

The Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade is one of the most iconic traditions around the holidays in…read moreOrange County. I know the coastal cities in California all have their own variation of this experience, but the Newport Beach one is the closest one to me and the one that I have taken family who visit for Christmas. When you book boat tours during this season, keep in mind to pick a tour after sunset. You'll see that the 5-8pm times are slightly more affordable because those tours will see the decorated houses along the water but the best time to see the boat parade would be taking a 8pm or 8:30pm tour. You have to check in with your tour company an hour prior, and the lines form quickly so you might even want to come earlier than that. Whatever time your tour is I recommend arriving 2 hours earlier because it takes a while to find parking. We arrived 90 minutes prior to our tour time and barely made it, and we even split up. My niece and nephew went to get our wristbands and got in line while my cousin and I circled around for over an hour for parking. The line began to move to board as soon as we got there. In retrospect I would have driven down there even sooner to have dinner in the area so we wouldn't have to stress so much about being late. The tour boat we were on had snacks and beverages, both alcoholic and nonalcohilic, for purchase. We got a window seat and was able to see all of the beautifully decorated boats of all sizes. Some of these people get super creative. Some pick a theme. Some just put on a lot of lights. It's hard to describe but it's such a wonderful feeling of feeling the joys of the holidays. I uploaded a few pictures, but I promise my pictures don't do the experience justice. Great for family and spectators of all ages. Just be patient and come early to ensure your optimal experience. Being early also ensures you get a good window seat on the boat. This is definitely one of the unique attractions when spending Christmas time in California.

I've been to other boat parades in California and the Newport Beach one is my favorite (and one of…read morethe most renowned) While it's fun to be in a boat for the boat parade, I truly believe the best view is from the shore! We try to go every year and the best time I've had is getting one of the coveted restaurant reservations and being able to sit by the window of a restaurant and eat a great meal and watch the boat parade go by from the warmth and comfort of inside one of the many restaurants that line the harbor. Another option is just to bundle up (although this year it wasn't that cold on a few days) and find parking and then watch it from the shore. That is the free option and since the boat parade is really good at publishing their schedule you can time your visit to when the parade will pass by that location. I love seeing all the creatively (and some professionally!) decorated lit up boats! My kids really enjoy it too and we always take hot chocolate and make it a fun family holiday activity!

One of my favorite food and spirit festivals. We came sober and left full and drunk. There were…read moreso many different tastings. My favorite was affogato and vodka. The food was all really good. We came in an uber. The dock next to the yachts was pretty cool with caviar tasting. We will be back next year. Happy Yelping!

This event is super luxurious! Where else are you going to try out 90+ wines, drink $50+ Wisky,…read morefollowed by seafood tastings such as scallops, foie gras, and melt in your mouth beef dishes with live jazz playing in the background and have the opportunity to become a home version of the Top Chef? Wait there's more. The all inclusive ticket also lets you mingle with Star Chefs such as Hubert Keller, Rick Bayless, and Rick Noonen. You also get your very own Riedel wine glass for the tastings. Joseph Phelps, Pipillon, St. Supery? These aren't second labels and also if you scour carefully, there were some boutique wineries present that had stunning wines! Of course there were tons of food, love Anqi's crab dish, Driftwoods Porchetta, B candy's rainbow bright mini cake, braised beef cheeks from chef JoJo from the Honda Center, Buttercake from Mastros, Clubster roll from SlapFish....tons of rediculous good stuff! You get to lounge on oversized sofas overlooking the swirly building that of the Civic Center. There were also beer/vodka/tequila/non alcoholic drinks available. Super fun event, would HIGHLY recommend taking people who enjoy food and wine pairings to the next level.

As many know The Orange International Street Fair began in 1973 ! Ever since I can remember, I've…read morebeen attending this event. If you missed this year's, Labor Day weekend international Food, fair event, please make sure that you attend the next one. There is definitely something here for everyone, the schools, dance studios, you name it. Everything for everyone is here! I like the booth that read " meet the Orange County mayor". I didn't have any questions for him though. This year there was a wonderful area specifically designed for children. Apparently the restaurant, Canes chicken fingers, gave a lot of donations for this area. The only thing I didn't care for was the timeshare booth, they really didn't advertise what their intent was. I noticed that everybody was enjoying the food, it's just such a wonderful event! In conclusion, can't wait to go next year again, because it was really well organized, very clean, everyone seem to be polite. Parking was not an issue for us. We got there very early, and the weather was great.

Gave it a miss for a handful of years, but went back in 2024…read more But why? I like the Street Fair for the nostalgic element of my childhood: always coming here with my family. But now: so much of the food is fried, inauthentic and expensive. The only good thing might have been some of the music stages. While I'm glad we gave it another go, I think we'll miss the next few years again. 2026: 5/100

It's a traditional for VNese folks to go here either for selfies or trying to get flowers or decks…read moreor clothing for Tet. Quite fun and festive, went during the weekday daytime so less traffic and easy to shop. Got some traditional flowers and that is pretty much it. Vendors are nice and kind and friendly. A lot of vendors to choose from a bargain too if you know how, so the value can depending on how good you can bargain. I parked on next street but they do have the back mall parking lot. Overall it was festive and happens once a year plus great to support the community.

Yelp must have reminded me 50x to review this so here it is:…read more Unfortunately the Asian Garden Flower festival only happens once a year about 3 to 4 weeks before the lunar new year "TET" n ends about a week later, it's better than the NGUYEN HUE STREET Flower market IN SAIGON. Why? As I recall Nguyen hue didn't have a food court. This had a food court which took over a side street n boy was that fun, they had my favorite "banh khot fr Vung Tau" grilled lobster tail. Soups, pancakes etc.. all the yummy street food you can afford wo having to sell your house these days. The flowers were amazing orchids, gladiolus there were many juicery stands, beef jerky stores, I bought a nice fake Chanel sweater only $25 just as good as the real thing. They also sell red envelopes for "lixi" happy or lucky money, on week ends they had live music n lion dance. I love the Asian Garden mall the only indoor mall we have here. Vietnamese from 49 states came here every year n most will immediately make plan to move to this land of milk n honey, it used to be really easy to move here n so cheap too. An average home I used to sell for $140k is now $1.4 million in Little Saigon so most VN tourists will just hang out here enjoy the ambiance, the food n have to go home, even then it's so worth it to visit a home away from home.