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Ahh, the holidays. A time for friends, family, shopping, decorating, and everything in between. For places in the nation with more frigid temperatures than what we have here in Orange County, the holidays might also mean bundling up by the fire as the snow falls outside. Although we don’t get much of a winter here on the west coast of California, Winter Fest OC at the Orange County Fair and Event Center brings winter right to us! All of Santa’s elves and helpers are preparing for when everyone’s favorite annual holiday tradition returns on Thursday, December 19th, and we’ve got your guide to everything you’ll want to see once the winter carnival opens its gates!
With so much to do at Winter Fest OC, it can get overwhelming! But if there’s one thing that gets added to the top of the “to-do list” while you’re there, it should most definitely be ice skating on the outdoor ice rink! What better way to get into the holiday spirit than by ice skating through a twinkling, 50 foot tall Christmas tree? Talk about a romantic date night! And if your idea of a date night is a little more thrill-seeking, you could grab an inner tube and slide down SoCal’s largest, 9 lane, 150-foot snowflake summit tubing slide!
We’ve all heard of different annual tree-lightings that happen throughout Irvine and Orange County, but at Winter Fest OC, this magical event happens every night! And it’s not just your average nightly Christmas tree lighting celebration. Truly bringing winter to us Californians, at Winter Fest OC there is fresh snow, a firework show, holiday parade, and Santa and his reindeer fly over the fairgrounds in his sleigh as the Christmas tree comes to life with color. It’s a winter experience you won’t want to miss!
Lights, lights, and more lights illuminate the entire OC Fairground. As you stroll through the park, different twinkling light displays will leave you thinking it must be some kind of holiday magic! And once you’ve walked through, under, or around all of the lights, you can head to the massive, 30 ft. ornament light fixture to snap a picture from the inside! And it’s not exactly magic, it’s simply SoCals ultimate winter wonderland, that’s all.
Given that Winter Fest OC is held at the Orange County Fairgrounds, it comes as no surprise that along with all of the unique, holiday-themed attractions, you can also enjoy the rush of the carnival rides!
Once you’ve worked up an appetite from ice skating, ice tubing down the snowflake summit, strolling through the festival of lights and riding all of the carnival rides, it’s time to indulge in the seasonal food and drinks! The Slippery Slope Ski Lodge has holiday-themed fare, hot chocolates and festive cocktails that will have you feeling the holiday cheer from the inside out!
As you can see, there is lots to do, plenty to see and yummy treats to enjoy at Winter Fest OC this year! So have a blast and share your favorite experiences with us on Facebook and Instagram. And keep following the Skyloft blog here for more local Orange County events and happenings.