Free in OC – Things to do in and around Orange County

The place to be on Fridays this fall is Oak Tree at Santa Anita. Patrons will receive FREE General Admission on Fridays, as well as FREE Box Seats, while supplies last.

That’s not all! Oak Tree will also have $1 specials on Hot Dogs, Beer, Soda, Popcorn and Coffee. Now with a 2:00 PM post time, its the best time to come to Oak Tree at Santa Anita and start your weekend off right at the Great Race Place.

*Excludes Breeders’ Cup Friday, November 6.

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Oktoberfest German Celebration

Get out the lederhosen, dirndl and beer stein for a good time with an Oom-pah band from Germany. Beautiful bar maids, scrumptious strudels, and imported draft beers, plus lots of liqueurs to wet the whistle, and plenty of dancing (chicken dance is a must).

Event is free and starts at 7:00 pm.

Location: Old World German Village’s German Restaurant, Center Ave.
Huntington Beach, CA.

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The Brea Jazz Festival offers free jazz music on Friday night, October 2nd, starting at 6:00 pm.

Seating is limited, free, and based on first come-first serve.

The Main Stage is located at the east end of the Birch. There are many restaurants in the area.

You can bring your own chair if you don’t mind carrying it from your car.

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Green Port Fest is the Port of Long Beach’s annual open house. It’s a chance to educate the community about the port’s vital role in the economy and ground-breaking environmental programs.

There will be more than 70 booths and exhibits, children’s activities, entertainment, food, boat and rail tours and much more. The best part is that the Fest is FREE!

Some of the activities featured at the festival will be a children’s playground with face painting, eyes under the sea - spotlighting underwater robots, big machines-checking out the yard hostlers that move the heavy containers under the sea and what lives in the harbor spotlighting the wildlife that calls the Port of Long Beach home.

The Long Beach Green Port Fest will be held on Saturday, October 3rd from 1oAM to 3PM. Green Port Fest is held at the Port Administration Building, but there is no on-site parking. Instead, park at the Long Beach Convention Center and hop on one of the free shuttles.

For more information and directions, visit http://www.polb.com/community/portfest/default.asp

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Starbucks VIA^™ Taste Challenge

Starbucks Coffee Companyis launching its breakthrough Starbucks VIA™ Ready Brew at all U.S. locations.

From Oct. 2 - 5, Starbucks invites customers to join the Starbucks VIA™ Ready Brew Taste Challenge at their favorite U.S. Starbucks location. Participants can taste Colombia Starbucks VIA™ next to fresh-brewed Pike Place™ Roast and challenge themselves to guess which one is Starbucks VIA™. Starbucks VIA™ Taste Challenge participants will receive coupon for a complimentary Tall brewed coffee on their next visit as well as an offer for $1 off a Starbucks VIA™ Ready Brew purchase.

If you go to Starbucks, take advantage of this while you are there this week!

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On Sunday, October 4th, the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana is sponsoring an Italian festival, including romantic music by the Sicilian Band, traditional dances by the Gypsy Folk Ensemble and more. This festival is sponsored by  Target First Free Sundays and the Italian Arts Council.

Families can learn how to play bocce ball and eat Italian food.

Bowers Museum
2002 N. Main Street
Santa Ana, CA

For more information,call (714) 567-3600 or visit http://bowers.org/

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“Jim and Marla’s Black-and-White Film Festival”

Admission is free!  Popcorn is free, too!

Oct. 2:  “A Raisin in the Sun” (1961), starring Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee
Oct. 16:  “12 Angry Men” (1957), starring Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb and E.G. Marshall
Oct. 23:  “Them” (1954), starring James Whitmore
Oct. 30:  “Psycho” (1960), starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh
Nov. 20:  “Marty” (1955), starring Ernest Borgnine

Screenings will be held on the Attallah Piazza in front of Leatherby Libraries.  Parking is available for the public in the Lastinger Structure under the football stadium, with easy elevator access near the piazza – parking is $3 for four hours.  All movies begin at 8 p.m.  In case of inclement weather, screenings will be moved to the Irvine Lecture Hall on campus.

There is seating but it’s on concrete steps, so maybe you want to either bring a cushion or our own chair. A blanket is also recommended.

For more information or for a map / directions, visit www.chapman.edu/map/

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The Orange County Children’s Book Festival is designed specifically for children of all ages. This family-fun festival attracts more than 20,000 visitors who will be entertained and delighted by authors, illustrators, booksellers, animals, storytellers, costumed characters, train rides, crafts, food and entertainment and much, much more.

Admission and parking are free.

LOCATION:
Orange Coast College
2701 Fairview Road
Costa Mesa

For more information, call (714) 838-4528

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Get a free young adult book on Fridays

Take a look at this website! They give out free books to young adults on Fridays! If you have one, or you know one, perhaps you want to check it out:

Click here:  http://www.freebookfriday.com/

Here’s the site geared toward teens: http://teens.freebookfriday.com/

Here’s information from their website:

It’s simple. Every Friday, we give away free books!

That’s right. Each week, we feature a new author with an exclusive author interview podcast or written Q&A and host a drawing to win free signed copies of his/her book.

All you have to do to enter to win each week is sign up using the entry form on the left sidebar. Winners are chosen at random and posted on the site every Friday morning. Hence the name, “Free Book Friday!”

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Through November, a special series of gardening workshops wil explore how you can start and grow a vegetable garden that will produce for you between now and spring.

The workshops will be held 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays at the Farm & Food Lab at the Great Park.

Both enrollment and parking are free.

The workshops are led by certified experts and deal with topics such as gardening in small spaces, gardening when you’re short on time, growing your own herbs, growing for Christmas crafts and more.

Growing your own herbs is easy and will save you a bundle compared to buying them in the grocery store.

Here’s a map to the location

Click here to go to the Grow It Now: Cool Season Vegetables at the Great Park website

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