We can’t believe September is almost over, fall is here and we couldn’t be more excited.  We are already planning out our Halloween costumes and thinking of fun ways to have a fun and spooky time in Anaheim.  We want to share some of the fun activities we have found just down the road from The Crossing Apartments.

Saturday October 29^th from 11 AM – 7PM checkout the 2011 Anaheim Fall Festival & Parade. A full day of family friendly festivities featuring games, food, live entertainment, a children’s costume contest and trick – or – treating.  Topped off with the annual Anaheim Halloween Parade.

The Empty Grave is a thrilling haunted tour with live actors and state of the art special effects.  The Empty Grave runs from September 30^th to October 31^st and starts 7PM.  This is haunted house is not recommended for young children.

What are your plans for Halloween in Anaheim?

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

After the rousing success of last year’s event, the OC Foodie Fest is back on again this year and it’s time to start planning! This incredible event features dozens of food trucks from all over the area, serving some of the most delicious foods and snacks you will find anywhere. So mark your calendars and get ready to attend this incredible festival next month on Saturday, August 27th.

This unique fest will feature, besides all the food, live bands and entertainment, a special car show, independent vendors, dancing, art sales and charity events as well! It’s being held at Anaheim Stadium, and there will undoubtedly be thousands in attendance, so count on this being one of the biggest parties you’ll find in Anaheim.

General admission tickets are $12, or $30 for a family of four. You can also purchase exclusive VIP tickets that allow for early entry and other great additions like t-shirts and goodie bags. To make sure you get your ticket, be sure to buy online and save time as well.

Make your plans now to attend this awesome event in August, and we’ll hopefully see you there!

Photo Courtesy: stock.xchng

Getting ready to hit the links? Got the urge to go outside and enjoy a nice, relaxing round of golf? OK, maybe it’s not so relaxing if you’re swing is off… Well either way, the good news is there are so many bright, beautiful courses in the Anaheim area that will challenge you and offer you unique golfing experiences.

With so many to choose from, though, we thought you might want a little help in deciding where to go. We’ve picked out some of our favorite courses and clubs nearby, and we hope you’ll stop in sometime to any of these great places:

• Black Gold Golf: Favored by national magazine Golf Digest, this club is an absolute classic; book your tee times online!
• Coyote Hills: Highly rated country club offers picturesque holes and quiet, serene play year round
• Dad Miller: This public course is certainly challenging and offers an accessible alternative for the casual player
• Los Coyotes Country Club: Comfortable club that offers all the amenities at an affordable price

All these courses and clubs are no more than a half our drive from The Crossing, and would make a perfect weekend retreat to help you unwind from work. Give one of these fine establishments a call today and set up your tee time.

Photo Courtesy: stock.xchng

Staying fit and keeping active is an essential part of maintaining your health, and luckily there are always lots of great opportunities to make exercising a fun activity as well. Summer is an especially great time to get outside and enjoy the warm weather while getting some intense exercise.

There are plenty or races and marathons being planned all over California, and in particular there are some opportunities nearby The Crossing. So strap on those running shoes and put on your active wear and head out to some of these upcoming races and marathons:

• Villa Park Union Bank Run: This race will kick off on Saturday, June 25th with a 5k race at 7:17 a.m. and a 10k run at 7:55 a.m.  Registration is required, and costs $35.
• Summer Solstice Watermelon Run: Free watermelon for everyone that completes the race, plus prizes given out for different groups. Starts Thursday, June 23rd.
• Peters Canyon Summer Trail Run Series: Evening run through scenic park in Tustin with food and music to follow the race. Come to either the June 9th, July 7th, or August 4th race.

Each one of these great events will help you keep fit and you’ll have a lot of fun attending them, too. So get out there and stay active!

Photo Courtesy: stock.xchng

Next weekend on Saturday, June 4th there will be a charity walk/race to help raise funds to help fight Pulmonary Hypertension, a debilitating disease that affects many people across the nation.  Dubbed “Taylor’s Wish,” in honor of young Taylor Caffrey who died of Pulmonary Hypertension at the age of 4, this great cause helps to raise awareness for the disease and educate others about its effects on families.  The race will begin at 8:00 a.m. sharp on Saturday morning at 8270 E. Monte Vista Road, Anaheim Hills, CA 92808 at Sycamore Park.  Registration is required, and information on doing so can be found here.

All proceeds from the event will go towards helping find a cure.  Everyone is encouraged to consider making donations to the Taylor’s Wish organization, and plenty of volunteers are needed for the race event if you would like to help that way, as well.  With multiple ways to help the cause, everyone can be involved at some level.  Help support this worthy cause and make a difference in the community.

Photo Source: Taylor’s Wish

Photo Courtesy: Nirodha Abeywardana at stockvault

It’s the start of summer, so that means there will of course be lots of outdoor festivals going on, and the season is starting off right with this year’s Patchwork Indie Arts and Crafts Festival.  Going on Saturday, May 29th from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., residents are invited to hang out and see all the wonderful art on display.

Featuring close to 100 individual vendor artists selling their creations, you’re sure to find something you have to take home with you.  See some of the most beautiful clothing, pottery, glassware, jewelry and other specialty-made items for you to purchase.  There will also be plenty of local restaurants offering up goodies for you to snack on.  Parents can bring the kids along and let them enjoy the unique DIY craft booth.  And we can’t forget about all the live music that will be there for you to enjoy.

With all these awesome activities going on, how could you miss out?  The Patchwork festival certainly looks like a lot of fun, so hopefully we’ll see you out there!  If you want to find out more, check out their information page here.

When I was younger, I would eat at least two oranges per day. I’ve cooled down a bit on my orange consumption since then, but I still love them. If you’re like me and can’t get enough of this fruit, you can pick your own oranges right here in Anaheim.

At Colony Park, which is located on the corner of Olive and Water Streets in the Anaheim Colony Historic District, residents may pick from one of the 18 Valencia orange trees.

The park also includes a playground, covered picnic tables and a water feature.

This information comes from the latest edition of the Anaheim magazine. Have any of our The Crossing Anaheim residents visited this park?

Photo Credit: Erazo-Fischer

Winter Jam will take place on February 19 at the Anaheim Convention Center. This hip-hop event will feature T-Pain, Waka Flocka Flame, E40 , Too Short – YG and Bobby Brackins. The show will start at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are as follows:

• $91.50
• $71.50
• $51.50

Here is the Facebook event for Winter Jam. Already, about 40 people like this event. What about you? Do you think you’ll go?

Get your tickets now from Ticketmaster. You can also visit OC Weekly for a chance to win tickets to the Winter Jam.

Hello to all our sports-loving apartment residents out there. The Anaheim Ducks hockey team will soon be back in action. Their training camp starts this weekend. Who else is excited?

When can you see them?

• first on-ice practice at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday
• a scrimmage at 10:30 a.m. after the practice
• Sunday and Monday the schedule is the same

This is a very popular event for hockey fans. Also, free merchandise will be given away.

Pre-season begins Sept. 21–the day before fall officially begins.

To see the chilly action this weekend, head to Anaheim Ice, which is located in the vicinity of The Crossing about five miles away.

Photo Credit: Elliot

We’ve got some exciting news for all residents at The Crossing: live culinary entertainment from some big name chefs will arrive for our property in August.

Aren’t you excited? If you love food, I can’t see why not. Of course, maybe you need a few more details. OK. I’ve got them for you (and will have even more specifics soon.You’ll want to bookmark this site, subscribe to the rss feed or just come back. It would make us smile!).

The Big City Chef blog recently featured Hash Brown Potato Cakes.

Maybe you’ve heard of or watched Food Network’s “Private chefs of Beverly Hills.” Well, the stars of the show–Big City Chefs–will be providing our apartment community with fun and fabulous food. They do live chef demos, wine lectures and exciting hands-on cooking classes. Go check out their website for more information and to read their blog. We’ll have dates and specifics soon.

Do you think this is a good idea? (Let us know what you think on Facebook.)

This is surely a great opportunity for food lovers–one that is unique to our wonderful California. Who knows some other good food happenings in the vicinity of The Crossing or in all of Anaheim?

Photo Credit: greg.turner