Fall is a transitional time of the year. Sure, we don’t get the changing of the seasons you might find in other areas of the country, but you can feel the change in the air. For one thing, school is back in session, football season has kicked off, and baseball playoffs get into full swing as the holidays approach. Here in Orange County, we celebrate the season with parades, festivals, pumpkins, and haunted houses.
Check out this list of some of the most fun fall activities in Orange County, CA, and let us know if we forget any of your favorites.
1. Get Spooked With Anaheim Fall Festival and Halloween Parade
Fall welcomes a few holidays, such as Halloween and Thanksgiving. If you’re in Anaheim, come check out the Anaheim Fall Festival and Halloween Parade. Guests can enjoy everything from artists, crafts, entertainment performances, and contests.
Show everyone how festive you are by competing with others in various Halloween contests. Contests include home decorating, kiddie costumes, pet costumes, and pumpkin art. On the main stage, you’ll see everything from musical performances to magic tricks! Catch the Drive-Thru Halloween Parade on Saturday, October 24 at Center Street Promenade.
2. Pick Out Pumpkins at the ENC 46th Annual Fall Faire & Pumpkin Patch
Fall just isn’t the same without a visit to a pumpkin patch. The Environmental Nature Center (ENC) is offering the Fall Faire, Pumpkin Patch, and Fall Wine Walk in the fall. At the Fall Wine Walk, you can enjoy an afternoon of wasting fabulous high-quality wine from local wineries. It’s an excellent way to bond with your friends, spouse, family, or co-workers. You’ll walk along trails to taste wine from many wine tasting stations. You can enjoy live pop, jazz, classical, and folk songs from Velvet Bow Strings on the trail. You can even bid on unique and rare items in their silent auction. And lastly, end your walk with dessert and Kean coffee.
Swing by the ENC Pumpkin Patch to pick out pumpkins for the entire family. If you’re an ENC member, you can receive a free pumpkin! Make sure to get a few photos to remember your Halloween experience. In addition, you can enjoy some crafts and games such as “Craft Crawl” and “Story Walk.”
The Fall Wine Walk takes place on October 2, 2021, from 4 pm to 7 pm with the Fall Faire and Pumpkin Patch on October 17, 2021, from 10 am to 3 pm.
3. Kick-Off Thanksgiving With the OC Turkey Trot 5K Run
There’s nothing like burning a few (or a lot) of calories before you feast on that big turkey dinner and fresh pumpkin pie. Run up your appetite in Irvine, California, on Thursday, November 25, 2021. Starting your Thanksgiving weekend off with a run to promote good health and exercise. It can be a fun way to enjoy family bonding time as well. Get competitive and race your friends or if you’re athletic and well-conditioned, you can compete to be the best within your age division. Participants can even win awards. There will be many division awards based on your age.
4. Have the Time of Your Life at Knott’s Berry Farm Theme Park
For thrill-seekers, there’s no better way to kick off the Halloween season than with a visit to Knott’s Berry Farm theme and amusement park. It’s famous for its tasty fried chicken dinners and boysenberries. However, Knots Berry Farm also features first-class roller coasts, interactive experiences, stage shows, and other delicious food creations. There are also a few sections to the entire attraction, including the theme park, water park, and hotel.
The Knott’s Scary Farm starts from September 16 through October 31, while the Knott’s Spooky Farm goes from September 25 through October 31 only on Saturdays and Sundays. Knott’s Scary Farm is one of the most haunting and largest Halloween events with plenty of scares and thrills. It features haunted attractions, sinister shows, and mazes with over 1,000 scary creatures hiding in every corner of the park. You may even find a horrific monster sitting right next to you. Ticket prices start as low as $99.
Knott’s Spooky Farm is a Halloween event designed for kids ages 3 to 11. Kids can experience trick-or-treating in the Ghost Town where they’ll collect their favorite sweet and savory treats. Or take your children on the Timber Mountain Log Ride and see some family-friendly surprises. The farm is included in the standard park admission or season pass.
5. Take a Ghost Walk Into One of Orange County’s Haunted Houses
Are you looking to take a stroll down Orange County’s most haunted places? Haunted Orange County is home to the scariest ghost walks in California. Each ghost walk features many haunted storylines that will surely get your heart-racing. Guests get everything from ghoulish LA tragedies and to restless spirits who seek revenge on their untimely death.
The attraction features seven unique ghost walks, including Walt Disney’s Haunted Estate, Old Town Orange Ghost Walk, Santa Ana Ghost Walk, Black Star Canyon Ghost Walk, San Juan Capistrano Ghost Walk, Kellogg House, and Fullerton Ghost Walk. Most walks last between 60 to 90 minutes and cost about $24 per person. Prepare to experience a one-of-a-kind spooky experience to scratch your itch for jump scares and thrills. Book a ghost walk at Haunted Orange County today.
6. Create Your Unique Piece of Art at an Orange County Succulent Workshop
Are you looking for fun fall team-building activities? Or maybe you love gardening and would love to make your own succulents. Relieve your stress and express your artistic side with Soulful Succulents workshops.
These workshops are called “Sip n Succs,” where you’ll sip on a drink of choice like wine or cider while designing gorgeous arrangements of succulents. They sell unique house plants, tropical plants, and air plants to complement your home. On Wednesday, October 6, from 6 pm to 7:45 pm, Soulful Succulents will offer a Succulent Pumpkin workshop. This is where you use the pumpkin as the plant holder and design the succulent inside the pumpkin. The cost is $34 for a tiger pumpkin, $38 for a fairy pumpkin, and $55 for a large Cinderella pumpkin (which includes a glass of wine).
7. Indulge Yourself with World Class Food at Newport Beach Wine & Food Festival
Are you a foodie or wine connoisseur? The Newport Beach Wine-and-Food Festival is the most intimate, exclusive, and world-class epicurean lifestyle event in Orange County. At this amazing festival, guests sample delectables from Food Network stars such as Brian Malarkey, Aarti Sequeira, Duff Goldman, Aaron Sanchez, and many more. You’ll even get front row seats to celebrity chef cooking demonstrations, interactive mixology courses, and master sommelier tasting panels. Of course, there will be alcohol tastings from craft-style brews, spirits, and wines.
The festival is located at Balboa Peninsula Park on October 2nd and 3rd, 2021.
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