The Fourth of July is quickly approaching which means you need to know where you can catch some local fireworks in Orange County this year, 2016. We have the list of city fireworks and events as well as all of the events going on this month in Orange County so you don’t miss a minute of summer fun. Most importantly, this month the OC Fair is coming to town!
4TH OF JULY FIREWORKS IN ORANGE COUNTY
All fireworks and events take place Monday, July 4th, 2016.
HUNTINGTON BEACH
hb4thofjuly.org
Huntington Beach Pier
325 Pacific Coast Highway
Fireworks @ 9PM
The festivities are all day in Huntington Beach beginning with a Breakfast hosted by the Kiwanis of HB, a Surf City 5K, the 112th Huntington Beach 4th of July Parade and food and entertainment all afternoon at the Pier Festival. The Pier Festival runs all weekend long from Saturday, July 2 – Monday, July 4; 10AM-9PM daily.
NEWPORT BEACH
visitnewportbeach.com
Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort
1131 Back Bay Dr
Fireworks @ 9PM
There’s a ton of Fourth of July fun going on in Newport Beach, as usual. The all day festivities on the Back Bay include live music from 4:30-9PM, a hosted bar, and food trucks. Gates open at 8Ma and it’s $50 per car. Also going on in Newport on the Peninsula is the Old Glory Boat Parade from 1PM-3PM with live music all afternoon long.
DANA POINT
http://visitdanapoint.org/
Dana Point Harbor
Dana Point, CA 92629
Fireworks @ 9PM
KSBR 88.5 provides the music simulcast for the fireworks show off the harbor, so make sure you tune it in to get the full experience. There are tons of great places to enjoy the fireworks including aboard an Ocean Institute cruise with wine, appetizers, and desserts or at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott. The resort’s Vue restaurant patio and lawn seating begins at 5PM with the famous Dana Point fireworks scheduled to begin just after dusk in the Dana Point Harbor below.
IRVINE
cityofirvine.org
Irvine High School Stadium
4321 Walnut Ave
Fireworks @ 9PM
Celebrate the red, white and blue at Concert on Green and Fireworks Festival, 3-9PM in Irvine. The family-friendly patriotic event features a color guard presentation, live musical performances, popular local food stands and trucks, and a fireworks spectacular. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and children and free for children under 2.
MISSION VIEJO
cityofmissionviejo.org
Lake Mission Viejo
22555 Olympiad Road
Fireworks @ 9PM
Mission Viejo celebrates with a street fair and fireworks to follow on Olympiad Road between Marguerite Parkway and Melinda Road. Admission is free and it’s fun for the whole family with food and game booths operated by local service organizations, local performers, dancing, and tons of fun. The day comes to a close with the fireworks over the lake – the perfect setting.
SANTA ANA
ci.santa-ana.ca.us
Centennial Park
3000 W Edinger Ave.
Fireworks @ 9PM
Held at Centennial Park, Santa Ana’s Independence Day celebration goes from 4-9:30PM. Bring your lawn chair, blanket, and picnic basket so you can stake your spot and enjoy the fun. The family fun at the park includes a kids play zone, canon exhibition, face painting, food, history walk and liberty patriots.
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO
sanjuancapistrano.org
San Juan Capistrano Sports Park
25925 Camino del Avion
Fireworks @ 9PM
From 12PM-10PM at the San Juan Capistrano Sports Park is the San Juan 4th of July celebration with a full-scale carnival. Organizations, vendors and businesses will be selling great food, wine, beer, sweet treats and goods along with exhibitors. “Family Style” will perform on the main stage at 6PM and keep the crowds entertained. The evening culminates with a Choreographed Fireworks Display at 9:00 p.m.
ANAHEIM
anaheimhillscommunitycouncil.org
Peralta Park
115 N Pinney Drive
Fireworks @ 9PM
Anaheim has a FULL day of fun including a Firecracker 5K/10K Run, pancake breakfast, Yankee Doodle Dog Show, Patriotic Parade, and Peralta Park food and music with fireworks. The 5K, breakfast, dog show and parade will all be held at Canyon High School. The entertainment and food booths go on from 3PM-8:45PM at Peralta Park with fireworks at 9PM.
LAGUNA NIGUEL
cityoffullerton.com
Laguna Niguel Regional Park
28241 La Paz Road
Fireworks @ 9PM
The Laguna Niguel Fireworks Celebration starts bright and early, kicking off with a run in the park at 6AM. Followed by a pancake breakfast, you’ll really get rocking when the concerts begin at 6PM. A live concert by Undercover Live at Crown Valley Community Park will be followed by a fireworks extravaganza at the nearby Regional Park. The fireworks show begins at 9PM, but make sure to bring flashlights and something to sit on!
FULLERTON
cityoflagunaniguel.org
Fullerton High School Stadium
Lemon St. & Berkeley Ave.
Fireworks @ 9PM
The Fullerton 4th Festival begins at 5PM, followed up by a terrific fireworks show. Throughout the day, there will be live music by Deke Dickerson and the Ecofonic and other entertainers at the Fullerton High School Stadium at the corner of Lemon St. and Berkeley Ave. This old-fashioned 4th of July festival will feature entertainment, family fun games as well as food booths and of course, fireworks at 9PM.
SAN CLEMENTE
san-clemente.org
Parque Del Mar (Pier)
622 Avenida Del Mar
Fireworks @ 9PM
There will be partying in the streets all day long plus festivities and fireworks at the San Clemente Pier to celebrate Independence Day. Enjoy game booths and live shows as well as the sparkling display of lights at 9PM. Every year features new and exciting displays, so expect crowds.
MORE EVENTS THIS JULY…
SAWDUST ART & CRAFT FESTIVAL
Source: Flickr
Now – Sunday, August 28th
sawdustartfestival.org
You know it’s officially summertime when the Sawdust Art Festival grounds fill with the fine art and craft of over 200 local Laguna Beach artists. Enjoy live entertainment, art demonstrations, and outdoor cafes set in the cool eucalyptus grove. Art enthusiasts, collectors, and novice artists have come to the Sawdust since our beginning in 1966 for a mix of fine art and craft. Medias include hand-blown and fused glass, painting, jewelry, surf art, ceramics, clothing and textiles, wood and metal sculpture, scrimshaw, photography, and so much more.
OC PARKS SUMMER CONCERT SERIES
Thursday, June 30th – Thursday, September 1st
Thursday nights, 6PM-8PM
ocparks.com
Admission and parking is free for the OC parks Summer Concert Series with 10 free shows across the county. Here’s the July line-up.
Craig Regional Park | Fullerton
Date: Thursday, June 30th
Artist: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy with Kris Bradley
Tri-City Regional Park | Placentia
Date: Thursday, July 7th
Artist: Diamond Is Forever! with Vic Lazar
Mason Regional Park | Irvine
Date: Thursday, July 14th
Artist: Phil Shane with Hawkline Monster
Date: Thursday, July 21st
Artist: Flashback Heart Attack with Well Hung Heart
Mile Square Regional Park | Fountain Valley
Date: Thursday, July 28th
Artist: Grizfolk with Robert John and the Wreck
RED, WHITE & LUAU – LOCALE OC JULY RELEASE PARTY
Friday, July 1st
6PM-9PM
eventbrite.com
Locale Magazine’s 6th annual Red, White and LUAU is going on this July 1st with hula and fire dancers, specialty cocktails and delicious food. Earlybird and presale tickets are sold out, tickets week of are $25 and $30 at the door. Held at the Newport Dunes, the festival will feature restaurant samplings from tons of local eateries like A&O Kitchen + Bar, Modern Pop, The Rye Truck, Pizza 90, Fresh Brothers and so much more.
PAGEANT OF THE MASTERS
Image: Flickr
Thursday, July 7th – Wednesday, August 31st
foapom.com
The Pageant of the Masters is an imaginative recreation of historic art scenes with live people painted to fit the part. The Festival Art show brings local and international works to be out on display in a social scene. Set in Laguna Beach just down the road from the Sawdust festival, this is a one of a kind show recently voted one of the top five art festivals in the nation by USA Today readers.
NEW SWAN SHAKESPEAR FESTIVAL
Friday, July 8th – Sunday, August 31st
newswanshakespeare.com
The New Swan Shakespeare Festival is performed outdoors in an intimate, mini-Elizabethan theater in-the-round, at the UC Irvine campus. This season the New Swan will be putting on several performances of Hamlet and As You Like It. Also performing are bands for Music Mondays: Shakespeare’s Fool (Shakespeare in song) on July 25th; Mariachi Las Colibri II (all-female mariachi band) on August 1st and Mozart Monday III (New Swan string quartet) on August 15th.
WOOGIE WEEKEND
Friday, July 8th – Sunday, July 10th
woogiewknd.com
The Woogie returns home to Silverado for an intimate and vibe-filled 3-day long celebration – Woogie Weekend! Held at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado, California, this music festival includes camping, yoga sessions on Friday at sunset and Saturday and Sunday at Sunrise, food, vendors and of course great music all weekend long. Check out the website for ticket info and the full line-up of performers.
EID FESTIVAL
Saturday, July 9th – Sunday, July 10th
12PM-10PM
eidfestival.net
Eid Festival is Anaheim’s community celebration of Eid-al-Fitr, a colorful Muslim holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan – the holy month of fasting. Held at the Promenade in Downtown, the festival aims to unite and celebrate the Muslim community of SoCal through live entertainment, delicious food vendors, carnival rides and more. The event is free and welcomes all cultures and ages! To enter the kids talent show, register online.
SEGERSTROM CENTER’S FREE MOVIE MONDAYS
Monday, July 11th – Monday, August 8th
scfta.org/movieMondays
Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa will be hosting their free summer movie series outdoors this month, Monday nights. Set-up begins at 5:30PM, with the movie starting at dusk (approximately 8 p.m.). Guests are encouraged to bring beach chairs or other easily portable seating items, snacks and picnic suppers. There will be food trucks so you can get your grub on with great movies all month long. Here’s the line-up:
July 11th – Grease | July 18th – Selena | July 25th – Elf | August 1st – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off | August 8th– Labyrinth
OC FAIR
Image: Flickr
Friday, July 15th – August 14th
Open Wednesday – Sunday
ocfair.com
The OC faire is a full month of endless fun at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Enjoy the carnival rides, games, exhibits, livestock, courtyard wine seminars, live music and entertainment and so much more all month long. Check out the list of performers at the Pacific Amphitheater with everyone from Styx, The Offspring and Boston to Train, Hunter Hayes and Ziggy Marley. There will also be several events at the action sports arena including Broncs & Bulls, Extreme Rodeo, Xtreme Freestyle Moto-X and demolition derbies.
BREW HEE HAW
Friday, July 15th – Sunday, July 17th
Session 1: Friday, 6PM-10PM
Session 2: Saturday, 12PM-4PM
Session 3: Saturday, 6PM-10PM
Session 4: Sunday, 1PM-5PM
ocbrewheehaw.com
Brew Ha Ha Productions and the OC Fair are bringing back the 3rd Annual Brew Hee Haw ‘Craft Beer Roundup ‘ on opening weekend of the OC Fair. This year will feature more than 80 craft beer selections from some of the best breweries in the Country. Attendees will enjoy unlimited 2 oz. tastes from a wide selection of styles of beers such as Pale Ales, IPA’s, Stouts, Saisons, Hefeweizens and more in a new, larger (score!) location next to Pacific Amphitheatre! With your ticket to Brew Hee Haw you’ll also get free OC Fair admission. General admission tickets are $50 presale ($60 day of) and VIP admission is $65 presale ($75 day of).
$5 DOLLAR FOOD FESTIVAL
Saturday, July 16th
12PM-7PM
fivedollarfoodfest.com
The 2016 Awesome & Delicious Tour is coming to Irvine, CA at Oak Canyon Park. The tour will bring amazing restaurants, food entrepreneurs, renowned chefs, food trucks, trailers, booth, carts and more – all just $5 per dish. The goal is to keep everything affordable and plentiful for you and your friends and family to enjoy without breaking the bank. General entry is $5. Entertainment includes free live music, dancing, DJ’s, and face painting and balloon twisting for kids.
FREEDOM COALITION FEST
Friday, July 22nd – Saturday, July 23rd
Friday: 2PM-10PM | Saturday: 8AM-10PM
freedomcoalitionfest.com
The 8th Annual Freedom Coalition Fest is a music festival with live music all weekend long including camping, food, vendors, a bike show, drawings and a kidzone. The lineup of performers includes Ry Bradley, Electra, 12 Gauge Embrace, The Anonymous and so much more. The Bike show will be held on Saturday, 23rd at 11AM.
SHAKESPEARE BY THE SEA
Throughout July and August
Various locations
shakespearebythesea.org
Free Shakespeare in the Park. This year the company will be putting on performances of Othello andCymbeline throughout Los Angeles County with a handful of shows in Orange County. Here’s the lineup of OC shows you can catch:
Saddleback College in Mission Viejo: Sat, July 16th @ 7:30PM – Othello
Saddleback College in Mission Viejo: Sun, July 17th @ 7:30PM – Cymbeline
Huntington Beach Central Park: Thurs, July 21st @ 7PM – Othello
Santa Ana Birch Park: Thurs, July 28th @ 7PM – Othello
Soka University in Aliso Viejo: Wed, August 10th @ 7PM – Cymbeline
Laguna Niguel | Crown Valley Park: Sun, August 14th @7PM – Othello
Irvine Valley College: Wed, August 17th @ 7PM – Cymbeline
VEGAN FAIRE | SUMMER NIGHTS
Saturday, July 30th
4PM-9PM
veganfaire.com
Presented by Healthy Junk, everyone’s favorite vegan restaurant in Downtown Anaheim, the Vegan Faire is a one-day festival showcasing all things about the Vegan lifestyle. Admission is free and the fun includes lifestyle goods and services with booths and workshops focusing on food, environment, local artisans and wellness.
The whole thing will be held at the Center Street Promenade in Anaheim. Schedule of events includes community classes on everything from meditation to Yoga and Henna from 4-8PM.
Thank you for reading. I hope you found this information useful.
Jeff Pittman, Realtor in Ladera Ranch – Orange County, California