It was good to attend the Festival! The brochure is available near the entrance. The center of the…read morebrochure contained good information: a map, a schedule for each stage, and a list of vendors. But that info was not widely available. There is room for better communication. * Approaching Parking Lot 2. As we drove east on Hornet, the sign said to keep going, but lanes were coned off to turn right on Phantom. Someone stood in the junction as if they were IPD directing traffic, but they did not direct traffic. That caused congestion as people stopped to ask them to ask for info. Next year, remove the person directing traffic and put signs BEFORE Phantom. * Entering Lot 2 took a long time and there was a long tailback on Phantom. Need signs in both lanes to state that "Parking $10 cash or card". Then we can get payment ready and keep the lines moving. While that info is on the website, not everyone checks beforehand. * Events were organized by stage. It was easy to find which event was on which stage but hard to find which stage was which. Even when we got to the stage, it was unlabeled! I checked the website for the festival and could not identify the stages. Need to label each stage. Especially important for first time visitors. * Need QR codes linking to the map. * We enjoyed the Great Park Live area. Most people approached the area and tried to walk into the exit because it was closer! A Police Explorer had to direct almost everyone to move to the entrance further along. Needs big signs "Exit Only" and "-- Entrance". * Driving out of Lot 2. No signs to the exit. We drove towards Hornet and found that exit closed off. We tried Phantom, but vehicles were coming in. Traffic exiting Lot 2 had to cut dangerously across pedestrians and cars entering from Phantom, to turn left on Corsair. Also, there were many pedestrians coming that way from the venue near closing time. Need to separate vehicle exits from pedestrian traffic. * We see a pattern. Great Park events tend to be very good but weak in communication. Events are clear to the organizer but may not be to the attendees. Attendees must deal with traffic jams, steps, wheelchairs, heat, crowds, and noise, or are managing children. Organizers should write all comms as if they are the first-time attendee.

Very over priced food, music and vendors are all low quality and mediocre. City of Irvine should do…read morea better job attacking high quality food and better entertaining activitie.

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

Beautifully done! Our community treasures the Nightmare…read moreBefore Christmas House. Today I had the wonderful opportunity conversing with the homeowner again he loves to share how he made each individual character from common items, such as washtubs, potato sacks, Water cans, etc. He mentioned that he does it for the community, especially the children. Furthermore, I found out today that as we grow closer to Christmas / winter holiday the outdoor decorations transitions/change into more of a Christmas theme (as the movie itself does) And as we get closer to December 25, he's going to put up a Christmas tree, and then the stockings! I love slowly driving by here, especially with a passenger, who's never seen the house before and is shocked at how beautifully done it is! In conclusion, we give Much thanks to the homeowner and the neighborhood for having this heartfelt display for all to enjoy !

Our family of six first learned about this truly amazing holiday spectacle right here in Orange…read moreCounty. For years we hoped to stop by, but life kept getting busy and we never quite made it--until now. On our very first visit, we were lucky enough to meet the homeowners themselves. They generously walked our four kids through each creation and section, encouraging them to ask questions and even sharing their own favorite parts of the movie that inspired it all. Watching our kids light up during that interaction made the experience even more special. What makes this display even more incredible is knowing that every single character in the yard is handcrafted by the homeowners themselves. The time, care, and love poured into this display is undeniable. A truly magical experience created by genuinely amazing people. We are so grateful we finally made the visit--and it's now a holiday memory our family will cherish.

I've been to enough similar events to have reasonable expectations and be disappointed by this…read moreevent. It was still fun, but improvements are needed to make this the great event it has the potential to be. There are so many things right about this event. It's in a unique and fun location (Tustin Hangar where they used to house blimps). There are dozens and dozens of vendors and room for even more. On paper, it sounds pretty perfect. In reality, the event space was incredibly dark and a significant portion of the lights were out for part of the night (music disappeared too, so probably a power issue). Mood lighting is great, but you shouldn't have to get your face right up to the bottles of wine or plates of food to figure out what is being offered. Some areas had better lighting than others, but they really need to get lighting everywhere. Tea light candles don't cut it. The other major issue was that so many vendors packed up and left before the first or second hour. So if you passed something earlier thinking you'd go back and try it later, too bad! Props to Fresh Brothers and Piadina for having food up until the end of the event. With an event this large, it's just not possible to do it all within an hour (at least not if you want to enjoy it), so it's terrible that some restaurants were gone before an hour had passed. If you are thinking of purchasing a ticket, let this serve as a warning so you will be prepared and not disappointed as I was. It's still a good event, but it has so much more potential.

Awesome event! They had tons of food and drinks and this was all inside of the Tustin Hangar. I've…read moreheard of the building several times but have never had the chance to actually go inside. It is my understanding that they used to house blimps inside of this building. Such a unique and interesting venue! I was very surprised with how organized this food festival actually was. I've been to a few food walks/festivals and they've always been so cluttered. They did an amazing job with organization. As soon as you enter they had several workers handing out wine glasses with the cutest Tustin Food and Wine logo on it. This would be your glass for most, if not all, of the tastings. Each vendor provided water for you to rinse out your glass with before a new taste. Most of the food was to the right side of the room and the alcohol to the left side of the room. Although it is titled a food and wine festival, they had such a wide variety of food and alcohol. They were serving everything from wine and beer to sake bombs and shots of bourbon. As for food vendors they had plenty of options. They were serving poke, clam chowder, indian food, and so much more. Expect to be full 15 minutes in. The only critique I truly have for this event is the lighting. I think they were going for a darker ambiance but it was very difficult to read the vendors signs or even see what they were serving. It was so hard to take any photos or videos. All in all, it was a great event. I could definitely see myself coming back next year. If you get a chance to go, come with an empty stomach and comfortable shoes.

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.

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 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 first Great Park Artisan Food & Arts Festival, hopefully not the last! This was fun and…read moreinformative and hopefully becomes a regular yearly event. The weather was cooperative and was a beautiful sun-shiney Ca day. We brought pup with us so we really didn't get to see any of the "arts" section, but hopefully others enjoyed that. The staff at OC Great Park were friendly and helpful and Chief was welcomed everywhere. Upon arriving you are greeted, given a program with schedule of events and where they are at, and a goodie bag that had some food samples (peanut butter, fruit strip, pretzel crisps, body cream and an entire 4 pack of Sambazon acai berry energy drink). Inside the Hangar, there were numerous demonstrations from various chefs, seating was provided and there were tables with chairs to sit at and eat items from all the various vendors, food trucks and restaurants that were on hand. We got a 1/4 broasted chicken with garlic roasted potatoes for $6 and relaxed and ate in the coolness of the Hangar, which Chief appreciated. Not sure of the name of the place, but that chicken and the potatoes was not only delicious, but incredibly cheap for the quality and how much you got. The chicken was so tender and flavorful. While we were eating and relaxing, we caught the tail end of a salad making demonstration and it was interesting. Outside the Hangar there were food trucks to the right and vendors and restaurants to the left. At the end of the big grassy area the Artisan Stage had various demonstrations and we saw the chocolate making and the cheese making. Interesting, but I think I'll leave that to the professionals. :) Samples were passed around, I don't believe they were prepared for the crowds, as there was definitely not enough. Hubby and I both got to try raw chocolate before it is made/processed, including the cocoa bean, that was a first. We didn't get to try the cheese and we missed the bread making demonstration. Outside the Hangar and to the left of Artisan Stage was the Farm and Food Lab Stage and they actually had a tent blocking out the heat of the sun, great idea! That was very crowded and had numerous demonstrations of jams/jellies from your garden, bee keeping, cooking from he garden, chickens and eggs in the morning and a presentation of Aquaponics, future of farming. For the food trucks, at least 5-6 of them and we finally got to try The Lime Truck, awesomeness! The restaurants: Duke's Huntington Beach, 118 Degrees, *Xanh Bistro, Haven Gastropub, Taco Asylum and Clay Oven, and others. Duke's was smart (in my opinion) and was walking around passing out samples! Take note other restaurants, people love free stuff! Because we got to try a free sample, we ended up buying 2 dessert items on our way out to take home for later. My husband also bought freshly filled vanilla custard cream puffs from Mochilato dessert boutique, and they had 10% off cards for future use and were working in conjunction with Koba tofu grill and korean bbq, who also had 10% off coupons for future visits. Looking forward to going there. All in all a fun-filled, sun-filled, food-filled great day! Chief loved the food, loved the walking, loved the shade and really loved all the attention he got, especially from some young girls who wouldn't leave him alone.

Wonderful first annual event, but would like to see more artisan food vendors instead of…read morerestaurants. More shade canopies for the demonstration areas as it was way too hot and sunny to sit outside and watch demos. I expected to see more artisan vendors actually having their products available for sale, but the restaurants represented, did offer items for purchase. Vendors like OC Produce were on hand, giving the festival a fun, farmers' market atmosphere. Wonderful Crispy Chicken Skin Tacos from Taco Maria and huge top sirloin steak on fries from Barcelona on the Go. At the end of the day, each guest received a goodie bag of samples on the way out: a 4-pack of Samazon Acai Berry Lo-Cal Energy Drink, Shave Secret (shave cream/lotion replacement), Planters Creamy Peanut Butter, SunRype Wildberry 100% Fruit Strip, Zeasorb Antifungal Treatment, $500 gift card for RedStar Worldwide, and Pretzel Crisps. What a great way to end an educational and entertaining day. Hopefully, next year, even more artisan food vendors will be at the Artisan Food and Arts Festival!