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    Dana Point Turkey Trot

    3.8 (17 reviews)

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    Chelsea B.

    I ran the Turkey Trot for the first time in 2015 and it was wonderful! I've always wanted to do a turkey trot, but working on Disney property throughout college prevented me from doing much on holidays since I was working. But 2015 was the year I graduated and got a job that allowed me to have holidays off and I was so excited to do a Turkey Trot! I knew I wanted to do Dana Point because I had heard such great things about it and it was very reasonably priced. I got the 5K/10K combo which came out to $55 and I was ready to go! We did race day packet pickup which was no extra charge, thankfully! Plenty of races nickel and dime you with the race day packet pickup but not with Dana Point. We grabbed our bibs and shirts and headed back to the car to drop them off. The 10K was the first race to go on so we went to the start and began running! The course for the 10K and 5K are similar and pass a lot of the same points, but the 5K is obviously shorter. They were both beautiful and enjoyable courses though! Once our races were done, I noticed that they had given us 10K medals for the 5K, so I was then stuck with two 10K medals, which isn't a huge deal but it's a little bit of a disappointment. I didn't realize it until I got back to the car so I left a note on their Facebook page asking them what I can do. They told me to contact them but I didn't end up doing it because it was Thanksgiving and I eventually just never got around to it/forgot about it. It's a little annoying to have two of the exact same medals hanging on my rack but it's not a huge deal. It just would have been nice if they were passing out the correct medals to begin with. All in all, we had a wonderful time and I definitely would return! If you live in the area, check out this race on Thanksgiving and then stuff your face later!

    My mom and dad just about to cross the 5K finish line!
    Kimmy T.

    Similar to my need for turkey and pumpkin pie, my Thanksgiving Day would be seriously lacking without the Dana Point Turkey Trot! What could be more rewarding both physically and emotionally than donating $35-$55 to the OC Food Bank while burning 600+ calories alongside 15,000+ runners while dressed in a turkey hat?! Nope, the correct answer is nothing! As stated, the cost is on a sliding scale aka the earlier you sign up, the cheaper it will be, but to be fair, its all going to charity anyway so if you slack on booking, just think of the super cool medal you get and consider yourself extra virtuous. YES! That's right! You DO get a medal for this gorgeous, beach front 6-miler! You even get one for the 5K! And it is quite an impressive medal at that! You also get a t-shirt and a few freebies in your swag bag but we all know what the real prize is... that guilt-free second helping of pumpkin pie a few hours later. The Turkey Trot is by far my favorite local race. It is super flat, very clean and the views of the beach and harbor are what makes my heart flutter. The course starts at the Dana Point Mariner's Village and then does a figure eight weave 3 miles through Doheny State Beach and then 3 miles back through the harbor eventually ending back at the Dana Point Mariner's Village where you started. It is 100% asphalt and concrete but the views make up for the possibility of joint pain later. The expo is quite impressive for a small town race and there are very useful booths presenting free massages, free food or just free information about other races & services. You can pick up your bib and even register at the expo a few days before the race. It is very well organized and easy to navigate. On the course, there are plenty of directional police officers, aid personnel and HS students at each water station (one every 1.5 miles or so). They are always very enthusiastic and encouraging - a trait I love. My second favorite thing about the Turkey Trot is the COSTUMES! I am almost always impressed by the sheer variety of ways to incorporate Thanksgiving staples into a ensemble still suitable for running. I have only ever managed a Turkey headband but every year I am more and more inspired! Now for the not so fun part: the parking situation. My family buys a State Parks pass every year (which I highly recommend if you like going to State Park beaches!) so we park in Doheny for free and take the short walk to the start line as a warm up and thus I have never had to park my car 3 miles away and sprint to make it to the start on time as some of my friends have. If you are running late or don't mind paying, I would highly recommend parking in Doheny for $15 as there will ALWAYS be parking there on a Thanksgiving morning at 5am. The surrounding streets are filled with strange rules and parallel parking scares that nightmares are made of so try if you must, but I would pay $15 to avoid it even if we didn't have the State Parks pass. Finally, the race is for charity so it NEVER sells out and they accept morning day registrations so even if you wait til 7AM on Thanksgiving Day morning, you could still probably catch the 5K (if you park in Doheny!). Your kids could even do the kids fun 1-mile run at 10AM! There is absolutely no excuse to miss this event and once you do it once, I'm sure you'll want to make it a Thanksgiving Day tradition as well.

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    Review Highlights - Dana Point Turkey Trot

    The finishers medal was so cute and probably my favorite medal I've received for completing a race to date.

    Mentioned in 4 reviews

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    Doheny Blues Festival

    Doheny Blues Festival

    2.7
    (37 reviews)
    1.6 mi

    With the caveat of needing more blues acts than any other type of music, it is a fun event and you…read morecan't beat the location.

    I have been to the Doheny Blues Festival several years and every year I have enjoyed it completely!…read more It's basically just a chill day/weekend to sit on a chair, lay on a blanket or walk around. There are 2 stages of music, food booths, vendor booths and a great view of the beach and surrounding Dana Point. Seems the weather has always cooperated each year that I've attended (and if it didn't, I enjoyed the day so much that I've forgotten!) I love that you've got an event card to just keep on yourself and so not worry about money. Parking is awful if you come late, thank goodness for taxis ($5/person to drop you off closer to the main entrance... and $5/person to drop you off at your car door). A few years I've stayed at a motel/hotel during the event... THAT is the way to do it! Whether headliners are big names or not, the music never fails. Because of this festival I've become fans of some musicians and bands that I may never have heard of otherwise. Blues is amazing when heard live!! I'll always go back the the Blues Festival... made great friends, heard great music and had a great time every time! CHEERS!!!

    Photos
    The Backporch Stage @ The Doheny Blues Festival May 2019 @ Sea Terrace Park In Dana Point CA.
    The Backporch Stage @ The Doheny Blues Festival May 2019 @ Sea Terrace Park In Dana Point CA.
    Take a picture under the Sign @ The Doheny Blues Festival 2018 in Dana Point
    Take a picture under the Sign @ The Doheny Blues Festival 2018 in Dana Point
    Merchandise Booths  @ The Doheny Blues Festival May 2019 @ Sea Terrace Park In Dana Point CA.

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    Merchandise Booths @ The Doheny Blues Festival May 2019 @ Sea Terrace Park In Dana Point CA.
    Halloween Half Marathon & 5k/10k

    Halloween Half Marathon & 5k/10k

    3.5
    (2 reviews)
    1.8 mi

    I've ran my share of 5k's, 10k's and Half Marathons over the past 2.5 years and know what to expect…read morefrom races now. Some races have been great, others decent and a few not-so-great. This morning I ran my 5th official 5k race event over my running career and it happened to be my least favorite 5k race to date. A few months ago I was on a race registering kick and came across The Halloween Half Marathon & 5k/10k Race in Dana Point. The summary of the race encouraged you to dress up for the race in your Halloween best (which I did -- rocking my Hot Pink Tutu and spooky Bat Headband) and it promised the event would provide a Tech T-Shirt, a finishers medal, and "tricks and treats" and some spooky fun along the course, which I assumed would be volunteers throughout the course in costumes to scare and cheer you on and possibly passing out candy. Since I am a self proclaimed Halloween enthusiast and it is my favorite holiday of the year, I thought this race was right up my ally and I optimistically signed up for the 10k at the time. The prices for the race were a bit steep for me at $99 for the Half Marathon, $60 for the 10k and $40 for the 5k. I figured I'd suck it up and sign up anyway, which I did. I went to the packet pickup Saturday and was highly disappointed overall with the pickup process. It was located at Road Runner Sports in Laguna Hills, which at least 3 of my other races have had packet pickups there as well. There was only two volunteers working the table on Saturday when I went and they didn't seem really prepared for the people coming to pick up their packet -- they even ran out of safety pins for the bibs! What else got me was everyone was getting a standard cotton t-shirt for the race, including the Half Marathoners. I asked why we weren't getting a tech shirt like it stated when I signed up and they responded with "I don't know" and just handed me my bag. Bummer! Race day was this morning, 10/28/12. The race started at 8am sharp, so I got to the event about 7:15am in hopes to get in race day spirit. Over the past few weeks, I've been blessed (haha) with a nice knee injury. Due to this, I downgraded myself to just running the 5k course today so I don't cause a bigger injury of the knee and also, honestly, I can't seem to run more than a mile without pain these days due to it. What struck me this morning was how SMALL this race was. Overall, there was only a combined total of about 280 people running all three races! So freakin' tiny! I honestly prefer the medium-to-big sized races so there are more of us 11-13 minute a mile runners in the crowd and I'm not the last (or one of the last) to finish. After hearing the buzz of people talking around me, it seemed like most of the runners/joggers/walkers were planning on participating in the 5k, which made me happy that I was doing the bigger race event of the day. Now onto the course. It was just....meh. The first 1.5 miles was a moderate-to-steap uphill battle, which I was not ready for AT ALL. The uphill battle majorly slowed me down and I ended up walking at least a half a mile of it and the rest was a very slow jog. I have never been so grateful to see the 5k split, where us 5k-ers turned around and got to enjoy an easier downhill run, where I picked up my pace and helped save my time. I finished with my worst 5k time to date (39:44) and with a major kink in my walk since my knee was hurting like no other when I finished. The course did have some nice scenery (ocean views, a golf course, nature, etc), but since I was in such pain most of it, I didn't even bother with enjoying my surroundings. Also, since there was so few participants, I ran most of the race without anyone really around me and I was wondering if I was going in the right direction. I like the support of fellow runners around me during a race and hearing and feeling the buzz of excitement. I didn't get that from this race. As far as the "tricks and treats" and spooky fun throughout the course....well, there was none. There was a water station and one porta potty at about mile 1.2 with some volunteers working there. But, that was it. I was really disappointed with the course due to that. I wanted spooky fun!! They also had ran out of 5k medals by the time I finished and I never received one. What the heck! Major disappointment there! The post race part was the best part for me! They were passing out the standard water and bananas, but there was also bagels with cream cheese and cupcakes as well! Sweet. There was also a mini graveyard set up and some friendly volunteers walking around. Overall, I would never run this race again and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. This is how disappointed I was with this race! Happy running!

    Loved this event. Tough, hilly course but marked very clearly with lots of volunteers on it. This…read morewas my first ever half-marathon and I thought it was awesome.

    High Profile Entertainment

    High Profile Entertainment

    5.0
    (24 reviews)
    60.6 mi

    Effren is the perfect wedding DJ. A huge part of what we appreciated most was everything *before*…read morethe day-of. It was clear from the intro call that Effren was a professional, and he gave us confidence that everything would go smoothly from the get-go. It was easy to work with him to arrange the schedule for the day, songs where we wanted them, and realistic timing. Our friends and family (let's be honest, mostly friends) had a few more off-the-wall selections that Effren both had available and incorporated into the event perfectly--all while keeping things diplomatic for the true no-play list. Indeed, day-of, Effren exudes the calm confidence of someone who has done this many, many times, and brings some much-needed zen to a chaotic day. He's a great emcee, DJ, and a person you will be glad was a part of your wedding day. Thanks Effren!

    I was nervous about finding the right DJ for my wedding, because I know the DJ/MC can make or break…read morethe energy of the event. But from from our first call to wedding day, working with Effren was absolute pleasure! His talent and genuine passion for what he does is so evident and his fun, bright energy during our calls were some of my favorite moments during wedding planning. He encouraged us select music that reflected who we were as a couple, but he made sure to let us know not to over-stress as he could work with whatever level of guidance we gave him. Many of my close friends also DJ so it was important to me that I found someone that would impress my crew - and he really delivered! He is intuitive, adaptable, knows how to read the room, and has the cool factor you want in a DJ :) His MC skills were also very on point. Everything went super smoothly. If you want to work with a real professional he's your guy. So grateful he was part of our big day!

    Photos
    High Profile Entertainment
    HPE at Venue 808
    HPE at Venue 808
    High Profile Entertainment

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    Dana Point Turkey Trot - races - Updated June 2026

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