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

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.

Let's start with the positive -Parking was packed, but it…read morewasn't that bad. We found a good spot two blocks down from the packing house. -the people were great, the etsy vendors had amazing creations and ideas for my wedding. -lines were long inside but they didn't take long to get through, service was fast. Food was fresh. -seating for the movies was great, we brought our chairs so it made for a relaxing wait. -music was great, she had a beautiful voice Negatives -the movie started 45 minutes late, to me this was a bit of a family outing and there were a lot of kids and that can sometimes be hard to deal with a toddler being out so late. -there was a private event, not sure that's the smartest thing to do on a day you're holding your own event. Other then that, it was great, would've liked a little more vendors around to keep me occupied while waiting for the movie but other then that well done. My family and I had an amazing time! It was especially awesome to see the Disneyland fireworks going off in the background as that's my favorite thing about Disney.

We didn't stay here very long as it was excessively packed creating as one would say a "Packing…read moreHouse" in the park! The Night Market itself was alright there wasn't many vendors or much of really anything to occupy our time with. The screen they were showing Back To The Future on was relatively small and just wasn't an all around enjoyable size for the large group of people in the park. What this appeared to be was something that wasn't a too well thought out idea had they had a bigger screen we might have stayed longer than the first few minutes of the movie. The atmosphere on the other hand was killer I mean come on your in a park next to the awesomeness that is the Packing District so that was definitely a plus as was the free admission to the event. Hopefully they do this again sometime and put a bit more planning into the event as it could potently be a spectacular family friendly outing for all ages to enjoy!

Lots of interesting vendors with interesting things. Hardly any places to sit and eat, but very…read morespacious at the same time. Things are not cheap, so expect to pay a little extra compared to what you would find outside of the market.

We LOVE coming to 626 OC!!! We look forward to it all year. Great food choices. Some were better…read morethan others (I have edited my food post after a further review). Thumbs up to Cafe 949 (great lobster and garlic noodles) and MJ's Bellychon Basket for excellent lechon, Daddy's Catch for great dusted fries and lemonade, Molly Kitchen for grilled octopus, HGG Tanghulu for interesting sugar glazed fruits on a stick. Thumbs sideways for New England Seafood for lack of flavored oysters, and Bonanza Bakery and Cafe for creepy realistic animal shaped mousse cakes. Thumbs down for Kanto Filipino Street Food for chewy (not in a good way) fried chicken skin (old and rubbery probably leftovers from the previous day) and lack luster flavorless lechon. Overall 626 is an experience too good to pass up even though some foods are a disappointment. Atmosphere here is great, service is excellent! Just be choosy when making your selections. There were more to tastes we wanted to try, but our bellies and take home bag was stuffed.

I really enjoyed my time at this event. TIP: get there as soon as it opens. There were people that…read morecame a little later that did not get to try most of the food offered. This was my first time at any "TASTE OF" event and I wish I had 5 stomachs to eat all the food there and go for seconds. I wish I looked at the map prior to eating whatever was in sight because my plus one and I walked around the first floor and ate everything in sight... not knowing there was an entire upstairs of just food and drinks. Womp. Womp. Womp. Bubba Gump - Cajun shrimp & rice (YES) / deconstructed cheesecake Corner Bakery - Cookies Grasslands Meat - Ribs (okay) / brownies Joe's Crabshack - Chips with Crab dip (YES) Applebee's - Wonton chicken taco (okay) Pizza Press - Rootbeer / rootbeer float Northgate Markets - Shrimp ceviche (YES) / chicharrones & guac (YES) La Michaocana - variety of icecream Red Robin - Strawberry Lemonade House of Blues - Popcorn chicken bao buns (YES) / shrimp gumbo with cornbread (FAVE!) Roscoes - a PLATE of chicken, mac & cheese, candied yams, 1/4 of a waffle, butter & syrup (THIS WAS A MEAL! SO GOOD!) Zov's - Chicken Kabob (YES) Nothing Bundt Cakes - Bday cake & choc cake Bowlmor - Mac & cheese Karl Strauss - Pulled pork sliders Catal / Naples / La Brea - Bruschetta / Caprese shooters / steak sandwich The Catch - Poke shooters Dave & Busters - Avocado toast ...at this point I was already delirious. Plus one tried to finish whatever we got since we didn't want to waste food, eventually he gave up. Lol. We ended up watching the Journey cover band play the rest of the evening while letting our stomachs digest everything. Great event!

Whew! Get me an ambulance!! My belly's about to explode!!!…read more The Taste of Anaheim is an annual foodie fest, exhibiting some of the best & brightest Anaheim & the surrounding area has to offer. This year, $5 from every ticket sale went to the Anaheim White House Restoration Fund. The Anaheim White House, who's proprietor regularly contributes food to the needy, sadly went up in flames last year. However, with fundraisers such as this, hopefully the Anaheim White House will rise like the proverbial phoenix, from the ashes. I'm glad I got to the TOA early, because it quickly became claustrophobic/agoraphobic crowded, especially on the second level. The main chokepoint seemed to be the top of the escalator, where exhibitor tents formed a U, causing a big clusterfrick for most of the night. Food was aplenty & in no short supply. Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles were giving out chicken breast & 1/4 waffle plates at the beginning. That's a full meal for people right there. Club Wyndham let me try their luck spinning a prize wheel, which I won a free 7 night stay at any Wyndham property in the world, provided I attend a 90 presentation at a later date. Hey, brunch is included, so why not? For VIP's and those that won entrance to it, a space was designated as an open bar. Alcohol booths were also dispersed amongst the Anaheim Gardenwalk. For the audience's listening pleasure, bands performed on stage. You know, for when people needed to take a rest from all that gorging. Some of the businesses at the event were- Grasslands https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=SkH_77ekKpoew_xaLLow4w Nothing Bundt Cakes https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=-VjJZDY6344sf5ZXvazZmQ Ruth Chris https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=aWgiyE2Kg9pHSlR-KY0P-w https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=3OCa7efEOt00Zpmd5xf3gA PF Chang's https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=tQqTvCz2Rrv7NReVYRd7tg Slater's 50/50 always pleases me with their medium rare egg & guacamole burger https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=Mi1ajOGKfOyFrqMhTEPT3w https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=5qZAK3hr_d7JpbNfIo8vyQ Phoenix Club https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=ddp646ARqmhsklJXA_qv7w True Grits https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=V75fsTm3Dprx_UgIAJFhug Red Robin https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=KYgwk1ZJlD9Ywi6YFDFI9g Lucky Strike https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=OKgc_OXN73iVHol6YgJagQ Applebee's https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=zwvWQU8KDEcKPfiEC01Fsg Zov's https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=j0FJlzHTAFS09i70AMbsmQ Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=NaOGb3FfFXMcHsu5STcu6Q La Brea Bakery https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=EvSUFwpelUzQbUSajxhMQA Smoqued BBQ had some unctuously, ridiculously good rib tips. Fatty tips for me, please! https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=uhmolRar3iHlJqJE3i45pw McFadden's https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taste-of-anaheim-anaheim-3?select=9orew-pYrA_SJEApFxR2Uw Gratitude to the Taste of Anaheim, OC CM Nate & the Yelp crew for the comp tickets. The Taste of Anaheim was a highly pleasurable foodie event. I powered my way through all the food samplings, some on more than a couple of occasions. I now possess quite a few restaurant coupons & have in mind several places I want to visit, based on their presentation. I'm seriously in need of a diet, but as of now, I'm fat happy! Highly recommend! NOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM Excelsior!

This year was my 4th year attending White Wonderland. NYE is my favorite day of the year, and even…read morethough WW is a small and simple "rave", I have a great time every year. Trance music is one of my favorites, and WW highlights it. They used to have 2 stages but last year and this year they cut it down to 1. I don't mind 1 stage because I never have to decide which DJ I want to see. But on the flip side, you better be happy with the whole lineup! Ticket prices ranged from $120-150 depending on how early you bought them. I might just be dreaming, but I feel like the rave prices of $60-70 like back in the day would be a lot more fair for a 1 stage event. This is a 21+ event, which I love. The crowd is much more relaxed and responsible than you find at other massives. The decor was a bit lacking for how large of a space they had to work with. I loved the abundance of confetti and streamers that they shot out throughout the night. The Wishing Tree when you enter is a gorgeous photo op, and a cute idea to pen down your goals and wishes for the new year. Coat check is available but I don't find a need for it now that they have moved the line inside. I want to get my money's worth so I arrive close to 7 when doors open. Check-in has always been quick and painless. There are 3 tiers, ID check, security check, and ticket check. My friends and I went to the front very close to the stage and were able to remain there the whole night. We were not squished for the most part and as people from our group exited to the sides they were able to get back to us easily. I didn't realize how far back the crowd went until I left at the end of the night! We were lucky to be in the front. When I go to events I don't move around much, so I can't comment on bathroom or water lines. They had water vendors walking through the crowd at the front of the stage so you don't have to leave if you don't want to. Water from those vendors cost $4 and there was a water refill station near the back. I love that the event is so local so that for once I don't have to drive all the way out to the NOS Center or LA. Getting a hotel within walking distance is the best idea since cabs and Ubers can take a while to book. DON'T BE A PARTY POOPER. WEAR ALL WHITE. And have fun :)

I've completed the trifecta of Insomniac "Wonderland" events and I've got to say it was one of the…read morebest things I've done this year. Go dance your tush off to amazing music, surrounded by beautiful and weird people, and melt your face off to a ridiculous light show. What better way to ring in the New Year than in a puddle on the floor of the Anaheim Convention Center? EVENT LOCATION I loved bringing the party to Anaheim rather than San Bernardino for NYE. It's indoors, which means a lot on a chilly December night! It's also closer to home for me. The big minus here is that the Anaheim Convention Center fills up with 10,000+ people on the same night that its neighbor, Disneyland, has its busiest day of the year. Getting in and out probably took me an hour and a half total because the streets were so backed up heading in and out of the festival. I even left early to try to beat White Wonderland traffic, and I ended up in the thick of Disneyland traffic -- so many people stayed in the Park til after 1!! GETTING IN & OUT While getting to and from the Convention Center was a challenge, getting into the Center itself was pretty much a breeze. Yes, the line was long, but it moved quickly. The single-door-open policy to get in to the center itself was questionable, as it meant the longest line outside in the cold. I luckily had a coat with me, but would much rather have gotten inside quickly, and waited longer for ID/security checks. There were so many shivering ravers and I felt so bad for them. But there were plenty of staff to direct us from the parking structure ($15, steep but better than the $20 at NOS) to the Convention Center, and I appreciated that CSC Event Staff never seemed to be far away. FOOD & DRINKS I finally got to eat some of the food! And it was incredibly average, and a little stressful in my all-white outfit. The longest line was for the sushi stand, and I was happy to recognize Rolling Sushi Van slinging their rolls at this event. If it weren't for the long line I would have snatched up some California rolls myself. I didn't drink as I was driving and really just needed water to hydrate, and that was $4 a pop. Skip the pizza, and the chicken wrap from California Grill is a hastily assembled wrap without a tortilla. MUSIC Once again, this is where Insomniac is firing on all cylinders. With only two stages this time, there were less artists than at Nocturnal or Escape, but they still had a great lineup. I was so impressed that they got some incredible names who were also double-booked on NYE! I'd heard that last year a double-booked artist no-showed as he couldn't get out of Vegas, and with 4-6 performers on their way to Oakland or San Diego after their sets this year, I was almost prepared to be disappointed. But everyone showed up, played incredible sets, and I danced until I couldn't dance or keep my eyes open any longer. Hardwell and Bingo Players were highlights, with phenomenal stints from Sebastian Ingrosso and Above & Beyond as well. If you are coming for the music, there is really no other place to be on New Year's Eve. My 2013 resolution: Complete the Insomniac circle with Electric Daisy Carnival in Vegas! See you there!!

Great community event, because its very popular. Parking is limited and tough. Downtown streets are…read moreblocked off for pedestrians and the event, so it's nice to freely roam around the streets. Each chili vendor has a different take, so go in with an open mind. I also never agree with Chili contest winners. So there lots of different types, seasonings, with or without meat. You buy tasting tickets, then use the tickets to receive a chili sample. Lines are long, so be patient. Tips I've seen from other people is to bring a muffin tin to hold all your samples. It's a great event that could use improvement, therefore I will most likely not return.

We attended the fair and chili cook-off for first time. Get there early when they open up at 11…read more The advantage of this is you can find parking and the lines to get chili tastings will not be that long. We got there at 11:30-noon and the lines to taste the chili were already very long. Be prepared as it gets very crowded. Overall, I would probably not go back. I thought it was very crowded and the chili that I tasted was not that great.

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.

When Taste of Santa Ana first opened at Main Place Mall a few years ago, it was an amazing event…read moreand experience (5 stars). There were more things to do,, unique places to eat, and cool vendors. However, these past two annual taste events have been uninspiring 2022. There were about 40 vendors. About 10 were taco vendors, 10 drink vendors, 10 mall shop vendors, and 10 random businesses. Hands down best food vendor was Gus Fried Chicken which had the longest wait. Best drinks were Native Son cocktails, Maz Coffee drinks, Cito cafes Rainy days are unexpected but we powered through and tried our best keeping dry. We wish there were more umbrellas for the general admission. Those at the VIP tent had 2 extra vendors and enjoying being dry under the tent. Would I come back to TOSA? Maybe in the future

It was a little hard to find the event on the grounds of Main Place as no signs were directing…read morewhere exactly the event was being held. We eventually found it and entered the VIP line which moved quite fast. There were a good amount of vendors with a variety of food to sample. A few vendors included a few taco trucks. After trying a few savory bites and sweet treats we concluded our favorite vendor was Gus Fried Chicken. The wait was about 10 minutes, but it was worth it. The chicken was perfectly fried and seasoned. The extreme heat of the chicken complimented the cold raindrops slowly landing on us as it was about to rain. The event and live entertainment continued despite the drastic change in the weather. We mostly spent much of our time under the VIP tent due to the rain, but enjoyed mingling with the other guests trying to stay dry, and continued listening to the live band while trying some bites located within the VIP tent. An open bar was also included for anyone attending as a VIP. The drinks were great and crafted pretty well by a small staff of bartenders working endlessly due to the rain. Thanks to the bartenders for keeping the vibe strong. We enjoyed our time at this year's event. Hopefully next time it won't be raining, but that didn't stop the Taste of Santa Ana event from being a success.

Strawberry Festival occurs every Memorial Day Weekend. We always go every day to visit the shops,…read more games and rides. Highly recommended to get the Ride All-Day wristband. It's totally worth it. Funnel cakes and fresh lemonade are our favorites. We always visit Grace Honor and bring home a butterfly with us. The staff and vendors are very nice and friendly. They love to tell us about their products and recommendations :)

This festival has been here since 1958 and founded by the Chamber of Commerce to bring the…read morecommunity together and celebrate the area's then-prolific strawberry fields. Now the festival is in its 66th year, having established itself as a major annual Memorial Day weekend event, I had been here a dozen of time both when I attended GGHS, which is right across from the festival and lived right in the other side of it. Then when I moved back w/ kid l, took him here and ran the 5k run and his afterschool did the float for the parade. It used to be fun and used to have it of strawberry sweet but gradually it became 1 or 2 vendors selling it. The fair is still great but as you get older and kids these days see not quite into the rides much, it abit sad to see the declining plus the cost is rising. It's still great to see it bring the communities near and far together for a fun long memorial weekend...this yr 2026, due to the Hazmat situation, it's very empty here on Saturday. Hopefully it will be better soon.

With over 20+ food and cool little things vendors. This place absolutely gets extremely packed…read more There were two entrances open and ample parking available. Walking into the venue and getting scanned was a breeze. Went there for Sunday and arrived an hour after opening and didn't leave until an hour before it actually closed down. As many have stated lines for the food were long and at times it was a 15 minute to a 45 minute wait. The food sold here was a taste of Japan, but a bit overpriced. I did talk to some of the vendors and they mentioned being understaffed and simply just overworked! Thank you all for setting yourself up and trying to apease the large volume of crowds that this event generated for the duration of 3 days. Being that it was the last day some of the vendors did run out of a few things that I wanted to try, however it is to be expected. If you don't mind hanging out and can tolerate the long lines and the sun heat then by all means this event is for you.

Japan fair is a must go when it comes around! Went while it was the the OC fairgrounds and had a…read moregreat time with some delicious offerings! Can't wait for next time!