Scott FeinblattAs the holiday season settles in, once again, many SoCal residents quest for a place to experience a winter wonderland. On December 19, Winter Fest OC began its fifth season by transforming the OC Fair & Event Center into such a place. While it is fair to say that what constitutes a magical, winter holiday environment may vary from person to person, Winter Fest OC does provide a number of charming attributes that will fit the bill for families and youths in search of seasonal diversions. This year, Irvine Weekly had an opportunity to pop in and check out its offerings.
Photo by Scott Feinblatt
The fairground is a very fitting location for Winter Fest, as it essentially adapts the vibe of the OC Fair into a winter holiday environment. Moreover, many of the summertime fair’s attributes are present. There are carnival rides, children zones, concerts, food stands, and even barnyard animals. Some of these aspects don’t so much resonate with a winter theme as they do with a general fair / carnival feeling. Furthermore, the scope of the festival is fairly large, and while there is an endearing map of the event’s various components at the Winter Fest website, the fairground is so expansive that the placement of certain elements can seem a bit distant for folks who do not have the fortitude to fully explore the event.
As for the winter-themed aspects, there is a satisfying cross-section of them to experience. I’ll begin with the snow and ice. Naturally, these elements of the cold are not very common for SoCal folks who don’t trek up to places like Big Bear or Mt. Baldy to get in some skiing, snowboarding, hiking, etc. or who go to ice rinks. Winter Fest has several areas in which heavy coats, stocking caps, and closed-toe shoes are the appropriate garments. There is Snowflake Summit, a 150-foot long, nine-lane, ice tubing slide; there is an outdoor ice rink (extra cost applies), where guests can rent ice skates and practice the Lutz — or just skate around the rink with or without the assistance of the children-sized walkers; there are snow flurries to provide a facsimile of natural snowfall; and there is a children’s area, called Penny’s Snow Play, which includes a mini ice slide and snowy areas, where children can make snow angels, snow balls and even build their own snowman or snowwoman.
Photo by Scott Feinblatt
The central area of Winter Fest is decorated with several enormous ornamental displays. These include a couple of enormous walk-through Christmas ornaments and two very large Christmas trees — one of which is 50-foot tall and also provides a walk-through experience. There are also various Christmas and winter-themed selfie veneers, at which visitors can pose for selfie and photo ops.
The fairground’s various pavilions house specific aspects of the festival. One of them is the SoCal Dickens London Towne. When guests enter this building, they’re transported to an impressive Dickensian environment, which is especially charming due to the various performers’ and shopkeepers’ commitments to their roles as 19th century Londoners. The quality of the various period and steampunk hats, dresses and accessories is excellent, and in the center of the pavilion, there is a small stage and dance floor surrounded by a few appropriately themed food vendors. While guests take a load off by sitting at one of the tables in the area, they will be serenaded by musicians playing music appropriate to the era. Costumed characters dance to the music and also invite guests to dance with them.
Meanwhile, in The Hangar pavilion, modern live music is performed by a different band every night. A full list of the bands, which are principally tribute acts, is available at the Winter Fest website. Other areas worthy of note — but not necessarily holiday themed — are the Mexican-themed Hussong’s Cantina area, which includes its own bar, dining area and live music stage; and the Winter Fest Racing Pigs area. One of the other pavilions includes a very impressive model train and Yowie’s Sweet Shop. The display area for Yowie’s is comprised of dozens of bins of numerous types of candy, arranged in the form of a maze.
Photo by Scott Feinblatt
The final main attraction is the Festival of Lights. This area is essentially made up of an enormous collection of yard-style light displays, which guests walk through as they would an enormous garden. Apart from the animated lights which comprise the entryway tunnel to this area and the animated icicle lights around various trees, the displays are basically variously colored rope lights woven into different characters, vignettes and holiday expressions. Beware! If guests become too enchanted by the displays, they run the risk of being run down by one of the holiday train rides or by a horse-drawn carriage (each is available at an extra charge). Various other holiday and non-holiday-themed elements, including performers, interactive installations and displays permeate the environment at Winter Fest; of course, Santa Claus is among them.
While the entire event may not have a fully cohesive through-line connecting all of its elements, there are definitely very charming pockets of winter holiday wonder spread among the various themed components and plenty of all-purpose fairground elements to provide entertainment for the whole family. The event runs every day until January 5, and ticket prices range from $8 – $69. Unless otherwise noted in this article, all general admission tickets provide access to all of the above. Bonus packages include perks such as: fast lane passes, private ice rink cabanas, etc. For a complete list of the event’s attractions, hours, and ticketing options visit their website.
Winter Fest OC is located at OC Fair & Event Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, from Dec. 19 – Jan. 5. For more information, visit https://winterfestoc.com/
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting Irvine Weekly and our advertisers.