Page 127 - 2019 Travel Guide to California

TWO SURFERS walking into
the ocean on a summer day,
opposite; Huntington Beach,
left; Renée and Henry
Segerstrom Concert Hall in
Costa Mesa, top; Newport
Beach Harbor, above.
HUNTINGTON BEACH CVB; CHRIS COSTEA; NEWPORT BEACH CVB. OPPOSITE: TKK STOCK/SHUTTERSTOCK
SPECIAL
»
EVENTS 2019
DANA POINT WHALE FESTIVAL March 2-3, 9-10, Dana Point festivalofwhales.org
SWALLOWS’ DAY PARADE AND MERCADO STREET FAIRE
March 23, San Juan Capistrano swallowsparade.com
BATTLE OF THE MARIACHIS May 18, Mission San Juan Capistrano missionsjc.com
SAWDUST ART FESTIVAL June 28-Sept. 1, Laguna Beach sawdustartfestival.org
HUNTINGTON BEACH 4TH OF JULY PARADE & FIREWORKS
July 4, Huntington Beach www.hb4thofjuly.org
PAGEANT OF THE MASTERS July 7-Aug. 31, Laguna Beach foapom.com
TALL SHIPS FESTIVAL Sept. 6-8, Dana Point Harbor tallshipsfestival.com
NEWPORT BEACH CHRISTMAS BOAT PARADE
Dec. 18-22, Newport Beach christmasboatparade.com
»
MUST
SEE,
DO
» Disneyland Resort Walt Disney would hardly
recognize his “happiest place on Earth” today. At
California Adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the
Galaxy—Mission Breakout” replaced the Tower of
Terror, and the new Pixar Pier overtook the former
Paradise Pier with an “Incredicoaster” and Pixar-
themed neighborhoods; a new Inside Out
neighborhood is due this summer. In the original park,
part of Frontierland gives way to the hotly anticipated
Star Wars Land this year, bringing such adventures as
a secret mission on the Millennium Falcon and an all-
out intergalactic battle.
› disneyland.disney.go.com
» Orange County Great Park The 1,300-acre park
slowly evolving from the former El Toro Marine Corps
Air Station is already a popular family destination. In
addition to 2017’s opening of the first phase of a 194-
acre sports park (stadium, soccer fields, tennis and
volleyball courts; baseball and softball fields to come),
200 acres already were occupied by the now-iconic
orange Great Park Balloon rising 400 feet into the air,
a hand-painted carousel, a Kids Rock play area, a
hands-on Farm + Food Lab, Palm Court Arts Complex
gallery and studios, a shaded performance plaza, and
a weekly farmers market. One of the nation’s largest
public ice facilities was scheduled to open in
December 2018.
› cityofirvine.org/orange-county-great-park
» Lot 579, Huntington Beach Just south of “Surf
City’s” downtown, steps from Huntington Beach Pier
and the city’s famous sands, the sidewalk cafés and
markets of this waterfront food hall offer a delicious
variety of towering gourmet sandwiches, fresh fish,
authentic Aussie meat pies, gelato on a stick and other
treats. Lot 579 is an anchor of Pacific City, the two-year-
old shopping, dining and entertainment complex
whose Craftsman-style bungalows pay homage to the
early oceanfront village that became Huntington
Beach. The communal space upstairs offers plenty of
seating and a killer ocean view.
› gopacificcity.com/lot-579
» Laguna Beach and Pageant of the Masters
Art literally comes to life in the unique Pageant of the
Masters, in which living actors take up positions
against painted backdrops to re-create world
masterpieces in eerie 3-D fidelity. It’s the pièce de
résistance among the festivals, workshops, galleries
and proliferation of public art in the picturesque beach
town that began life in the early 1900s as a small
artists’ colony.
› visitlagunabeach.com
› foapom.com
» Old Towne Orange Not to be missed in this
square mile of Early California homes, sporting
handsome Victorian, Craftsman, Bungalow and Spanish
architecture, is the Old Towne Orange Walking Food
Tour. The county’s oldest operating bank and soda
fountain can also be found among the locally owned
shops, galleries, fountains and pretty sidewalk cafés.
› iheartoldtowneorange.com
2019 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA 125