Amazing art at the Art Crawl Experience!

Who loves a good time? I know that I do! It’s one of the main reasons I enjoy living in Anaheim. With so much to do, it can be hard to choose which events to attend. However, the upcoming Art Crawl Experience is something that you will not want to miss!

No matter if you are an expert when it comes to artwork or if you are just someone who enjoys art every once in awhile, the Art Crawl Experience is always a memorable event for all in attendance. The spectacular art’s festival takes place on the second Saturday quarterly in the Downtown Anaheim Arts District. The next event will be on Saturday, February 11, from 6 – 10 PM. The festival will feature breathtaking works of art, delicious food and beverages, and great live entertainment!

For more information, be sure to visit the Art Crawl Experience website today!

One of the best things about living in the city of Anaheim is all of the great attractions that are offered around the city. There is no shortage of great things to see and do! If you are into amusements, Anaheim has plenty of them! If you like museums, there are plenty of them! Looking for musicals or theater shows? There are a variety right here in Anaheim!

You are sure to find something that you love in Anaheim! Here are some of the best attractions around the city, courtesy of City Town Info:

Cultural, historical, and leisure attractions include:

The Disneyland Resort, including Disneyland Park and Disney’s California Adventure Park

The Anaheim Museum

The Featherly Regional Park

The Ramon Peralta Adobe Historic Site

The Yorba Regional Park

Many others in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area

Other professional and college sports teams in and around Los Angeles

Sports teams include:

• The Angels of Anaheim, of Major League Baseball’s American League Western Division

The Ducks of Anaheim of the National Hockey League

Great NBA games are on the way!

Sports in Southern California is about to get fun again! The NBA Lockout has finally ended and the regular season is set to begin on Christmas Day! The best part is that the Lakers will be a part of the first game to kick off the season as they will visit the Kings, starting their journey to another title!

No matter if you are a Lakers, Clippers, or a fan of another team, you have to admit that it’s great to have the NBA back! Here are some of the best sports bars in Anaheim where you can catch all of the action of the new NBA Season!

JT Schmids

2610 East Katella Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92806
714/634-9200
Established in 1997 to offer Anaheim and Orange County a splendid variety of the finest and freshest Micro brews and cuisine available under one roof. J.T.’s offers cuisine from all corners of the world. The centerpiece of the kitchen is a wood burning brick oven, which generates gourmet pizza and other creations. JT Schmid’s Restaurant & Brewery is located across from the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, in close proximity to the Anaheim Convention Center and Disneyland.

National’s Sports Grill

450 N. State College
Orange, CA 92868
714/935-0300
Sports-themed restaurant serving American food. 15 beers on tap, 4 big screens, 63 TV monitors, 11 pool tables and electronic trivia game. Located across from Edison International Field, home of the Anaheim Angels. Open daily for lunch/dinner.

The Catch

1929 S. State College Blvd
Anaheim, CA 92806
714/634-1829
The Catch Seafood Grill has been Orange County’s local favorite since 1979, serving only the freshest seafood from around the world, “Certified Angus” prime rib, pastas and California’s finest wines. Now open is the unique “Club Room” for your special event. Banquet capacity: 20-300 persons. Dress: Business/casual. Child’s menu. Lunch Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Dinner Mon.-Thurs. 5-9:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 5-10 p.m. Happy hour Mon.-Fri. 3-7 p.m. All major credit cards accepted

Holiday fun at the Newport Beach Boat Parade!

Believe it or not, it’s almost time for the holidays! November has already arrived and December will be here in no time. Soon, the streets of Orange County will be decorated with beautiful lights and festive decorations. The holiday spirit won’t be restricted to the land, however! The holiday celebration will also be in full swing at the Newport Harbor during the 2011 Newport Beach Boat Parade!

The Newport Beach Boat parade is the biggest holiday event in Orange County, Los Angeles, and all of Southern California! It has been around for over 102 years, and this year’s event is sure to be one of the best! During the parade, homes, boats, yachts, docks, and more will be lit up with spectacular holiday decorations!

The parade will definitely get you in the holiday spirit, so be sure not to miss out on this great event! The parade will take place from December 14 through December 18, from 5:45 – 7:45 pm each night. For more information, call (949) 675-0551.

Wanting to explore a little more of your creative side? Looking for a great activity to get your kids involved with after school? You should try painting! It might sound a little uncommon, sure, but even Picasso had to start somewhere! Besides being incredibly fun and interactive, fine art painting can be very therapeutic and calming once you get the feel for it.

In Orange County and the surround areas, the best and easiest place to go for beginning painting lessons is Mission: Renaissance. They have facilities all over Southern California, but you can easily stop by their classrooms in Anaheim Hills to see what they’re all about. They have classes for both children and adults, so it’s easy to turn this idea into a worthwhile family activity that everyone can enjoy. Free introductory classes are available as well if you want to test it out and see if painting could be your thing.

So see what your artistic side is all about and give some painting classes a try at Mission: Renaissance. You never know, maybe there’s a talented artist inside you just waiting to be let out!

Photo Courtesy: stock.xchng

Started as a season-long celebration for a German prince who was soon to be married, Oktoberfest is a tradition that dates back hundreds of years and it’s popularity is just as high as ever. It’s no wonder, either; if you built a festival around celebrating the beginning of Fall and drinking lots of beer and eating lots of food, you wouldn’t doubt it’s success, would you? Of course not!

It’s a big affair for cities all over the country even here in America, and Anaheim is no exception at all. The best place to celebrate Oktoberfest in Orange County is definitely going to be The Phoenix Club, where they’ll be having events weekend after weekend all the way into the month of October. The first big draw is of course going to be all the delicious, authentic German food and beer, but there’s more than that. Other attractions you’ll find at their weekend Oktoberfest celebrations will include dancing and live music, train and pony rides for the kids, and lots of other entertainment events for you to enjoy. It’s the biggest party of the fall, and everyone in the area is invited.

It’s free to attend, as well, and like we said they’ll be having events every weekend starting Friday, September 16th and lasting through the end of October. With such a range of dates to attend, you can go any time you’re free. So enjoy the beginning of the Fall season with Oktoberfest at The Phoenix Club in Anaheim. Cheers!

Photo Courtesy: Flickr.com

Well even though Summer is winding down fast and soon Autumn will be here, that doesn’t mean that the fun has to stop. Here in California we never want the party to end, and luckily someone’s doing a good job of keeping the good times rolling. What’re we talking about? The Orange Street Fair that’s coming up in a couple of weeks.

Slated for the perfect holiday weekend for fun, Labor Day weekend, The Orange Street Fair is going to be a festival like no other with tons of great events and sights to see. For one thing, there’s going to be lots of great bands and other entertainment acts performing throughout the weekend for you to watch. But there’s a lot more than that, including games, events for the kids, plus lots and lots of great food and cold beer for you to enjoy.

The fun gets started on Friday, September 2nd at 5 pm and lasts all weekend. The best news of all is it’s completely free to attend, so get the family together and head out to The Orange Street Fair next week and have a great time!

Photo Courtesy: Orange Street Fair Online

We told you about it last month, and now the time is almost here. That’s right, the OC Foodie Fest is just a little more than a week away, so now’s the time to be making plans! Set for Saturday, August 27th at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, this major food festival is not to be missed, as it’s sure to be one of the most exciting events in town for quite some time.

Featuring dozens of gourmet food trucks from around the area, this festival is simply a food-lovers delight. Come and try out some of the most unique and delicious foods you’ll ever taste! Besides all the food, you’ll also be entertained by a multitude of great live bands and entertainers. There’s also lots of fun activities for the kids, a fantastic car show, beer gardens, and even more. It’s the perfect way to spend a weekend to close out this summer and have one last outdoor hoorah before fall begins.

Tickets for adults to get in are just $12 and children 12 and under get in for only $6, so this is a more than affordable event for the whole family. We encourage all our residents of The Crossing in Anaheim to head out to this great fest and enjoy all the amazing food at the OC Foodie Fest!

Photo Courtesy: stock.xchng

One of the best parts of summer is getting to spend time outside grilling hot, delicious food for yourself and your family.  Everyone loves a good plate of spicy, sweet BBQ, and luckily there’s a big festival celebrating this delicious food on the way.  Only about a 20 minute drive from The Crossing, the Orange Country BBQ Festival will be on Saturday, June 11th at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.  The party gets kicked off at 11:00 a.m. and lasts into the evening until 6:00 p.m.

You can come out and be a part of all the exciting events going on.  There will be a car show, BBQ eating contests, the “Mr. BBQ” pageant, plenty of live music to enjoy, plus lots of fun activities for the kids.  And of course the main attraction: the State Championship BBQ Contest.

Show up early on Saturday morning to get registered early and pick up your tickets to make sure you get into this once a year event.  You’re sure to find plenty of good food and big fun at the Orange County BBQ Festival, so don’t miss out.

Photo Courtesy: stock.xchng

This years’ Orange County Fair (it’s in its 120th year) is sure to be a do-not-miss-or-you-might-cry event. With a “The Beat Goes On” theme and running from July 16 to August 15 Wednesday through Sunday, you can expect music, food, a carnival and lots of wonderful people and special events.

Today is definitely the day you want to start incorporating this spot into your weekly routine–it’s about 17 minutes away from The Crossing; how could you not go? Here’s more reasons why you should:

Swings at the Orange County Fair.

• Free admission to all day with free parking for the first hour (noon-1 p.m.). Parking lots open one hour before gates.
• In the Pacific Amphitheatre, a limited amount of terrace seating for The Pink Floyd Experience at 8:15 will be free (tonight!).
• Ice museum will keep you cool.
• $1 carnival rides until 7 p.m.
• $1 fair food tastings until 4 p.m.
• Check out the full schedule of Friday’s events.

You can search the OC Fair website for food by category, which seems especially useful to me.

O.K. now for the deal–a super fair coupon book. Print it out, share it and enjoy.

Are you wondering: How much will I pay to get in for all the fun?

General (13-59) $10 | Seniors (60+) $7 | Children (6-12) $5 | Children under 6 FREE every day

For good times, food, entertainment and the best of our wonderful California, the Orange County Fair is perfect for families and everyone else.