Really Long day! Really fun though! Rivers is really sweet and funny! Give Rivers his $10!read more

From the first interaction with Pam, we realized we made the right choice…read more We had family in town for Easter and were looking to show them around. Driving in Los Angeles is horrendous and since our relatives were only here for the weekend, we decided this private tour was the way to go. Our guide was prompt for pick up and pleasant all throughout the day. The information provided and their location for the Hollywood sign made the tour super worth it. If you are in town for a short period of time or you have family visiting, We Love L.A. is not the best way to go, is the only way!!!!

Captain Pam and boat ride were awesome! The weather was beautiful, great wine, snacks and amazing…read morefriends made this experience wonderful!

My friend got the 2 hour chartered Duffy boat ride on Groupon that was a great deal. You do have to…read morepay a mandatory $60 chartering fee but since the boat ride was only $80 on Groupon, it wasn't a big deal. Captain Pam was great, we also loved her co-captain Buttons (the dog). She did come over an hour late because she apparently fell back asleep lol! Luckily we weren't in much of a hurry. We appreciated her honesty hahaha. We brought a bottle of wine and some meat and cheese board in our picnic basket. We definitely had a great time. Thank you captain Pam!

This tour is amazing! I went into it not expecting to be completely full from eating since it is a…read more"tasting" of different restaurants. I think some of the reviews seem to miss that and they believe you should walk away full. My group of friends and I decided to actually have lunch at one of the places we were able to taste! They even gave us a discount because we came back after the tour! Yes it is a bit of a walk, but Christa (our guide) had sent out an email the night prior to let us know the best places to park, how much walking we were doing, etc. Overall and amazing tour and am so happy to have something like this nearby! I can not wait to take the tour again and bring a new group of friends!

My family and I got together for the first time in a very long time, and we could not have picked a…read morebetter family activity. The lovely ladies that run Flavors of Newport Beach could not be more more helpful. First, we booked last minute. Second, my sister is heavily pregnant and our guide Christa went out of her way to make sure she offered substitutions for anything my sister could not eat/drink. Our needs were graciously accommodated and that was very much appreciated. Compared to other "food tours", this tour offers less to the gourmand but much more to those that want an insider's guide to Newport Beach. The tour lasted about 4 hours and included stops for food for oatmeal, salt water taffy, ahi tuna nachos, olive oil and vinegar, calamari, and ice cream. In between, leisurely strolling to observe noteworthy Balboa Island homes and historic landmarks. I have lived in the area for 15 years and learned a lot of interesting things about Balboa Island and Balboa Peninsula. Christa is a friendly and knowledgeable guide. My out-of-town family raved about Christa and what a wonderful time they had on this tour. Points to me for picking to spend our day with Flavors of Newport Beach!!

My daughter's Polynesian dance academy performed here for their ho`ike. Dressing rooms were limited…read moreto dancers, so they had a makeshift room on the balcony. Staffing and sound was great. Quick setup and striking was challenging. Overall a great venue for a performance. A lot of parking was available. No food or drink allowed.

Went to the William & Jane Bristol Civic Auditorium for a hula show. It was our first time there,…read morebut the parking was easy and even had a parking structure right next door that was lit really bright in the evening, making it feel safe to walk to your car. The theater is small, which means every seat is a good seat. The seats are comfortable, the bathrooms were clean. Great little venue!

This was a one and done event for me. You park behind the Trader Joe's. Then they take you on a…read moreschool bus to the boat.You cruise around for about an hour, the problem I had was there was hardly any houses decorated.And the information they were saying about the houses through the speakers during the tour was extremely difficult to understand very muffled speaker system. The positive was it helped the music program for the schools.

Finally made it onto the cruise of lights this holiday season! I kept hearing about from friends…read moreand clients so I decided to take my family! The cruise of lights is put on by Orange County's Philharmonic Society. Tickets were $26 per person and the proceeds go to youth musical education programs. Not too expensive and for a good cause, I'm in! We met in a plaza, where they took you by school bus to the yacht club to get on the cruise. Everything ran so smoothly, from check in, the bus ride, and until arriving at the dock. My group, and the people in my line had come early. There was a line that later formed next to us as people trickled in later, closer to show time and even late! Yet, they all got on the boat first. My line was left getting on an already full boat with what looked like only poor seating was left. I didn't think this was really fair as we'd braved the cold for much longer. They were really trying to get a few more of us on the full boat. I tried to keep the holiday spirit but was not getting on that boat. Other in line expressed that they were not happy either and none of us wanted to get on the full boat. We were all able to get on the next boat :) It also said that there would be Christmas music and there was! It was fun, there was a live local high school band performing for us in line at the dock. Christmas music was also played on the boat. It also stated that there would be a narrated tour, but I will say it got a little awkward some bits, there were few giggles and wandering eyes. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't a description of the decorated homes like "on your right is a home decorated with white lights and red bows". I do wish more homes participated, there were even times where we were left in dark, because of how dark a certain area was! This doesn't count against Cruise of Lights though, just a thought on what to expect. Despite those little tiffs, everything was still enjoyable. Even the fog cleared up so we could see everything better. Although a little unorganized, there were many staff members directing, and all were very nice. The cruise definitely got us in the mood for Christmas! Would I do this again? I would, like I said it is inexpensive and it goes to a good cause, they mean well. I'd do it again, but with so many other Christmas events/activities available, Cruise of Lights probably won't be at the very top of my list.

The Orange County area is chock full of these small community theaters putting on tremendous shows…read morewith great ensembles and The Gallery Theater is right near the top of my list. Although, I have only been to this theater once to this point the place really left its mark with it's charm. Many of the shows I have attended outside of a couple have mostly been comedies, so when I received an email from GoldStar for a darker, edge of your seat thriller of a show I knew this would be a great change and was just what I was looking for. That show was "Wait Until Dark" and to see this masterpiece of a show in this quaint little 50 seat theater was a great experience. Everything from the stage backdrops, the cast, the music, the tension were all absolutely on point. Having been a viewer who has never seen the film version I had no idea what to expect and was thoroughly thrilled with the presentation as a whole. I can honestly say that the place is a bit hard to find as their isn't much in the way of signage to direct you here (I drove past it the first time) but it truly is a great theater to seek out for a show. It may not look like much from the outside but it is warm and inviting once you enter the doors and the staff is friendly and makes picking up your tickets a breeze. My hat goes off to this place for having the courage to bring a play as dark and dramatic as this to this small of a stage as many of the theaters around tend to lean more toward the comedies or dramas and less toward the suspense genre of shows which is a shame. These more dramatic and dark shows are really something that is needed to help diversify the shows in the area at any given time. Although small in stature this place is big in heart and it shows in their body of work. I have missed at least one show I was interested in since my first foray but am definitely keeping my eyes peeled at the schedule for whats to come. I hope to be back sometime real soon.

Scrolling through Goldstar in search of a performance, I came across a listing for "The Double…read moreBarrel Detective Story." A play based off of a short from Mark Twain, his first attempt at writing a detective story which includes the famous character Sherlock Holmes. I love a good mystery! Anyways the point is not about the play, but about the Gallery Theater. If it wasn't for the interesting play I would have never found out about this really cute, but really secluded place! I was actually shocked when the directions said to turn into a business area, that this place would be right next door behind some businesses. I would have missed it, if they didn't place out a tiny board pointing towards the theater. The big thing I liked about the theater was its intimate and small size. I think their website described it to be a 50 seater theater, but I actually think it was a bit less than that, which meant I can see the whole stage and be up close too! For our particular play, people were literally sitting on the stage hehe It seems like a place where professional actors can come and share their skills with the public and a place where students can develop their acting abilities. So for all you theater-goer, play-loving, performance fiends out there, give this place a try and you'll fall for its quaint stage.

This is an awesome festival! I'm surprised that out of the thousands of people there, no one has…read moreyelped about it to spread the word. It's this weekend only, but in case you miss it, there's always next year. Just went today for the first time with the family and I was impressed with the scope and scale of the event. Nonstop cultural performances on the stage (music, dance), awesome food booths, island handicrafts for sale, and so much more. The cultures of Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti (Polynesia), Aotearoa (New Zealand), Guam, Northern Marianas, Marshall Islands (Micronesia), and Fiji (Melanesia) are featured at this event. This gathering of cultures is not something you run across every day! Really, you must go check it out for yourself to truly grasp what a great (and free!) event this is. No festival would be complete without food, and this one did not disappoint. I had the Tonga food plate and it was delicious. Granted, I am no expert on Tongan food since it was my first encounter with the cuisine, but it was really tasty. Maybe I'll go back tomorrow to try some of the other foods. I would have gotten more today but if you know island foods--they're not exactly light fare. What: Third Annual Pacific Islander Festival Where: In Central Park, just behind the Huntington Beach Public Library When: Saturday, 9/18/10 and Sunday, 9/19/10 from 10am to 5pm Cost: free admission and free parking!

ISLANDER LOVE. First…read moretime checking out the festival and will not be the last. It is a "picnic" style festival so bring those beach mats or lawn chairs. The festival is in the park and behind the library. There's plenty of parking but can be hard to score a space if there are other events going on in the area. Expect to see a park full of pacific islanders (hawaii, samoa, tongan, guam, tahiti, etc...) and there are a handful of food booths to get your grub. TAHITIAN PERFORMANCES were my favorite. Every islander event I've attend since I was young... tahitian were always my favorite. On another note, the men.... yah.... hmm wow. On to the food. Take note, do not eat before you come here. Eat when you get here. I learned my mistake. But i was still able to get some goodies. OTAI - this is sold at the Tongan food booth for $5. Probably the best mango beverage I've ever had in my life. It was creamy and sweet with mango meat and tiny bits of young coconut. I could drink this everyday and be happy - so delicious. PANIKEKE - this is old at the Samoan food booth for 2 for $1. It reminds me of a sweet and dense ball of dough resembling a big donut hole with a crunchy outer layer. Fried like a donut but sweeter. SHAVED ICE - this is sold at the Refreshment booth for $3. WTF!!! THIS BOOTH NEEDS HELP, its ran by little kids. You buy your ticket at another booth, walk to the booth next to it with two windows "Order Here" and another window "Pick Up". Give ticket, place order, wait in the pick-up window area FOREVER, when you get to the front they ask you for your order again, and then they make it on the spot. They make the shaved ice on the crappy side, so much syrup its too sweet to drink and they hand you a messy cup. I was wearing white and the syrup got on my clothes when they handed me the cup. It's just disorganized and you should not wait that long to get a cup of ice with syrup in it. See you next yr.

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!