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Orange County festivals to explore this summer

Aarya Halankar, Lifestyle Editor • May 3, 2025

Photo by Kathleen Vo

SUMMER FUN: Explore Orange County’s fairs and festivals throughout this break with The Gamut’s guide

As summer break advances, festivals and fairs around Orange County pop up to celebrate the arrival of the season. With the plethora of options to choose from, you may feel overwhelmed creating the perfect celebration setlist for the summer. Have no fear — introducing The Gamut with the ultimate guide to passing the time at Orange County’s best summer festivals and fairs, complete with friends, family, food, and fun.

#1: Garden Grove Strawberry Festival (May 23rd-26th)

12762 Main St, Garden Grove, CA 92840

Kick off the first days of summer right by attending a delicious (and free!) festival commemorating this beloved summer fruit with treats, concerts, and rides. Attend the opening ceremony on May 23rd at 6 p.m for the strawberry cake cutting with free strawberry shortcake provided to all attendees. The next morning, observe the parade (starting at 9th and Chapman Streets), with beloved cartoon characters, marching bands, and celebrities (including civil rights activist Sylvia Mendez and Wahoo’s Fish Tacos founder Wing Lam) promenading through Garden Grove starting at 10 a.m. Follow this up the next day by displaying your sweet style with strawberry-inspired outfits in the Strawberry Festival Fashion Contest — just remember to register online first! Another contest you can also participate in is the Redhead Roundup Contest; contestants will be judged on their red tresses with first place prizes being awarded for each category (and yes, dyed hair is a category!).

#2: The Tustin Street Fair & Chili Cook-Off (June 1)

E Main St & El Camino Real

This annual party takes place in the streets of Old Town Tustin, featuring crafters, community organizations, food and chili booths, and is the largest one-day chili cook-off in the country. For those who prefer eating to cooking, purchase a “Chili ticket” for $1 per tasting, or participate in the watermelon or jalapeño eating contests. This fair offers fun for the whole family too, including a Family Fun Zone area with kid-friendly inflatables, bounce houses, and games.

#3: The Laguna Beach Festival of Arts (July 2-Aug. 29)

650 Laguna Canyon Road Laguna Beach, CA 92651

For a more refined setting to enjoy a variety of art displays, head over to this open-air art gallery featuring 100 of Orange County’s award-winning artists. The art that is exhibited here comes in many mediums, including ceramics, glasswork, painting, and photography. Keep in mind that there is an admission fee — $7 for students and $10 general admission Monday-Thursday, and $11 for students and $15 general admission Friday-Sunday. Once you’re in, you can enjoy the various live music and special event displays on the Festival’s outdoor concert stage, while also looking around at the Junior Art Exhibition, a display of works from over 200 of Orange County’s elementary, middle, and high school students.

#4: OC Fair (July 18-Aug. 17)

88 Fair Dr, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

For any serious fairgoer, the OC Fair is a classic Orange County festival with carnival-style rides, foods, concerts, and games. The fair also goes beyond the classic attractions to include farm and garden workshops , along with competitions in various categories, including culinary arts, visual arts, and even table setting. This fair is extremely popular, so ensure to plan ahead — buy tickets ($13 general admission on Wednesday-Thursday and $15 General Admission on Friday, Saturday and Sunday) ahead of time on the website to avoid sold out fair dates.

#5: Heritage Museum of Orange County’s (HMOC) Boots & Bustles (July 19)

3101 W. Harvard St. Santa Ana, CA 92704 United States

Take a step into the past with the HMOC’s Victorian Faire. This historical festival includes live history reenactments, a vendor fair, lawn games and tea dueling, and more! Remember to find time to explore the historic 1898 Kellogg House through one of the tours offered at the fair, and stop by the various labor and handmade craft demonstrations. This event is free for HMOC members, so be sure to support this historic museum.

#5: Brea Fest (Aug. 8)

1 Civic Center Circle Brea, CA 92821

Wrap up this summer with another food-centered festival, where guests are invited to sample delicious food and beverages donated from local restaurants while listening to live music. In addition to the food displays, the Brea Fest also includes an array of artists, theater performances, and shopping. Bring your friends and family to “Kidsville,” which includes face painting, balloon animals, make-and-take crafts, a bounce house and kid-friendly foods for siblings to enjoy. Tickets are $4, and can be used for purchasing food and beverages.

The Gamut hopes that you will take the time this summer to explore Orange County’s rich culture of fairs and festivals, starting with this list. From sweet strawberry shortcake to historically accurate Victorian demonstrations, there’s something for everyone to enjoy at these summer fairs.

About the Contributors

Aarya Halankar, Lifestyle Editor

Meet Aarya Halankar! As a sophomore and first-year writer in the Gamut (who says that she IS the color green), she looks forward to being able to explore each section and contribute to the staff team. Her interest in writing and the English subject was what brought her to the Gamut in the first place, and she hopes that it’ll be the perfect opportunity for her to apply to her passions. Speaking of passions, you can find her swimming with the rest of the OA girls varsity swim team during the spring season, as she trains to improve her times as well as make it to CIF! In her free time, she enjoys crocheting (even though she hates activities that require patience), reading, volunteering, and bedrotting. She likes listening to PinkPantheress, Beabadobee, and R’n’B songs. This year, she wants to become involved in school activities and gain a stronger sense of who she wants to be in the future. A quote she lives by–taken right from her pinterest board–is, “You don’t need to be perfect. Just be better than you were yesterday.”

Kathleen Vo, Staff Artist

As if pulled by an invisible string tying her to The Gamut, freshman staff artist Kathleen returned to Oxford Academy a week after her first week at Troy High School. With a deep passion to explore art and discuss it with fellow peers with a similar interest, Kathleen is looking forward to serving on the Gamut staff — specifically to illustrating for Lifestyle articles, accompanying the colorful diction and quirky content of the section with her creative art — along with participating in OA Art Club, Red Cross, and HOSA throughout the year. Describing herself as a determined, responsible, and stubborn person, she is certainly adamant when defending her deep ongoing gacha music phase, because “to be cringe is to be free!” (As per her life motto), and when trying to explain how peanut butter and cheese go together on sandwiches (“They just do!”). When she’s not producing elaborate illustrations for The Gamut or drawing steady objects using traditional materials like oil pastel and gel pen, you can find Kathleen scrolling away at her favorite webtoon comic series by the writer Sooknkkie, running on the treadmill or lifting weights at the gym, or, as we all do, doomscrolling on social media.