1. Los Posados Family Festival
City: Santa Ana, CA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (714) 567-3600
Address: 2002 North Main St.
Description: This two-hour event is usually held the second Sunday of December and is a traditional Mexican celebration that follows Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. Luminaries are aglow, and music, dance, food, and art round out the celebration.
2. Temple Beth Shalom
City: Santa Ana, CA
Category: Education
Telephone: (714) 628-4600
Address: 2625 North Tustin Ave.
Description: Children explore and celebrate the Jewish culture through an array of enriching developmental programs with an emphasis on physical activity, cognitive learning, and emotional growth. Instructors foster self-esteem, curiosity, imagination, caring for others, and the ability to play independently as well as with others.
3. Mater Dei
City: Santa Ana, CA
Category: Education
Telephone: (714) 754-7711
Address: 1202 West Edinger Ave.
Description: With a student body of more than 2,100, this co-ed Catholic institution is the largest non-public school west of Chicago. While faith based, 83 percent of the students are Catholics, while the remaining 17 percent represent other denominations. In addition to an excellent academic standard, the school also promotes co-curricular or extra-curricular activities including athletics, school clubs, and performing arts. Most students reside in Orange County, but some commute from as far as Riverside and Los Angeles counties in order to attend this high-ranking school.
4. John Wayne Airport
City: Santa Ana, CA
Category: Getting Here, Getting Around
Telephone: (949) 252-5200
Address: 18601 Airport Way
Description: Thankfully, you can bypass LAX in most instances and fly directly into John Wayne Airport (SNA), Orange County’s only commercial airport and the world’s 15th busiest for takeoffs and landings. Centrally located just off the 405 Freeway in Santa Ana, abutting Newport Beach, John Wayne Airport was founded in the 1920s as a private landing strip by aviation pioneer Eddie Martin and served as a military base during World War II. In 1967, the first terminal was erected, a 22,000-square-foot facility named for Mr. Martin. The airport’s growth was slow going for the next couple of decades with not much happening other than a name change from Orange County Airport to John Wayne Airport, in honor of the late actor who resided in neighboring Newport Beach. It wasn’t until 1990 that the airport really took on a life of its own with the opening of a new 337,900-square-foot terminal replete with 14 loading bridges, four carousels, a pair of club lounges, and an array of food and gift concessions. Eventually, the original terminal was demolished.Perhaps the airport’s best asset is its location, a mere 11 miles from the Anaheim/Disneyland district and even closer to the coastal communities. With its close proximity to Laguna Beach, a community with a thriving artists’ colony, John Wayne Airport has an impressive arts program that presents museum-quality exhibitions throughout its terminal and sponsors an annual county-wide Student Art Contest and Exhibition. Among the airport’s permanent collection is The John Wayne Statue, a bronze sculpture of the Duke designed by sculptor Robert Summers, which stands 9 feet tall and is centered inside the terminal on the arrival level resting atop a two-tiered marble pedestal.
5. The Oc Pavilion
City: Santa Ana, CA
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (714) 550-0880
Address: 801 North Main St.
Description: This building, which once served as the Western Regional Headquarters for Bank of America, was transformed into a stylish destination where residents can enjoy an array of theater, live musical performances, and more. The OC Pavilion’s opulent lobby sets the stage for an extraordinary experience with its dangling chandeliers, rich leather furniture, conversational nooks, and antiques. The OC Pavilion features The Vault VIP Lounge, named for its original use as a bank vault and an ideal place to enjoy live jazz and cocktails before or after the show, and the elegant Ambrosia, offering fine dining, a private wine cellar for intimate dinners, and a convenient destination for a post-production dinner. The intimate 500-seat main theater guarantees a good view from most any vantage point and the state-of-the-art sound system is equally dynamic. Recent productions have included the classic tale of Peter Pan plus Hotel California—A Salute to the Eagles, and a two-night engagement with Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers.
6. Orange County Register
City: Santa Ana, CA
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (714) 796-7000
Address: 625 North Grand Ave.
Description: The Orange County Register, for the most part, is the only act in town when it comes to extensive Orange County news coverage. It launched on November 25, 1905 as the Santa Ana Register and was published by a group of businessmen to serve the county’s 20,000 residents. In 1935, Raymond Cyrus Hoiles purchased the paper making it the flagship of his publishing empire and, 15 years later, he founded Freedom Newspapers, Inc., after acquiring seven newspapers around the country. Together with his son, Clarence, he co-published the newspaper until his death in 1970. From 1970 to 1979 Clarence and his brother Harry were co-publishers until Clarence’s son-in-law was named publisher and, eventually, Chairman of the Board for Freedom Communications. The Register, which is a more conservative paper than its liberal counterpart, the Los Angeles Times, saw some of its biggest changes during the 1980s when it began publishing in full color, changed its name to its current moniker, and won its first Pulitzer Prize for its photographic coverage of the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles. Since then, the paper has won two additional Pulitzer Prizes for reporting and also celebrated its centennial in 2005. It also publishes three magazines: Coast, Preferred Destinations, and Coast Kids. Among the paper’s notable columnists are David Whiting (outdoors), Frank Mickadeit (local issues), Jonathan Lansner (real estate/housing), and Barry Koltnow (entertainment); Nancy Luna, a business reporter for the paper, covers restaurant news in print as well as through her blog, fastfoodmaven.com, where she dishes on the local restaurant scene.
7. Santa Ana Fire Department
City: Santa Ana, CA
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (714) 647-5700
Address: 1439 South Broadway
Description: Most communities in Orange County have their own chambers of commerce, which can provide relocation and business information. The South Orange Regional County Chambers of Commerce Web site (www.socchambers.com) provides a list of chambers in the county’s south region, while the following is a list of chambers of commerce that pertain to some of the county’s key communities.
8. Bowers Museum
City: Santa Ana, CA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (714) 567-3600
Address: 2002 North Main St.
Description: Situated near downtown Santa Ana is Bowers Museum, an internationally celebrated institution of art and culture. The museum, founded in 1936, celebrates world cultures through their art, which explains why its permanent collection includes tribal beauty, plein air paintings from renowned California artists, Native American artifacts, and pre-Columbian art. In 2007 the museum added a new 30,000-square-foot wing, which doubled exhibit space adding two new galleries and many other amenities. The Bowers Kidseum, located on the premises, is the only cultural art-based center in Orange County with a focus on children’s art education that is fun and intriguing. Kids are exposed to artifacts and exhibits enhanced by hands-on and interactive activities including art classes, creative projects, and storytelling. Visitors to either museum should plan to lunch at Tangata, the elegant 160-seat restaurant located on the premises with wonderful al fresco dining.
9. Orange County Center For Contemporary Arts
City: Santa Ana, CA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (714) 667-1517
Address: 117 North Sycamore St.
Description: For three decades the Orange County Center for Contemporary Arts (OCCCA) has provided emerging and established artists, as well as guest artists, an environment for exploring and developing expression in the arts. This artist-operated compound is located in the Santa Ana Artist Village, and presents a variety of programs at no charge, from films and forums to first Saturday artist receptions. Exhibitions tend to be thought provoking, unconventional, and a bit edgy, which is what sets OCCCA apart from the region’s other artistic venues.
10. Heritage Museum Of Orange County
City: Santa Ana, CA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (714) 540-0404
Address: 3101 West Harvard St.
Description: Located on 12 acres punctuated with flora and citrus groves, the Heritage Museum of Orange County is like a mini compound with an historic plaza and several buildings dating from the 1890. One of these noted buildings is the 1898 Kellogg House, where three generations of native Californians lived before the Victorian gem was donated and moved to the museum grounds in 1981. Santa Ana’s last surviving freshwater marsh, a reminder of the once extensive wetlands that existed throughout lowland Orange County, is also located on the premises. Throughout the year the museum hosts a number of annual events, including the Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off in October and a Victorian Holiday Tea in December. Mind Your Manners is geared towards children ages seven to nine and is a fun etiquette class held in the dining room of the Kellogg house. It includes a proper Victorian tea party where children learn the setting of a formal table, making introductions, and using proper telephone etiquette. There is an abundance of enrichment classes for school groups, too.
11. Discover Science Center
City: Santa Ana, CA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (714) 542-2828
Address: 2500 North Main St.
Description: Conceived in 1984, but not realized until its 1998 opening, the Discover Science Center teaches children an understanding of and appreciation for science, math, and technology with more than 120 hands-on exhibits and innovative programs. A favorite of teachers and parents alike, adults and children can collaborate on creating a 19-foot-long tidal wave in the Wave Tank or dare one another to recline on a bed of 3,500 nails. How often can you walk through a tornado, experience the air’s lift in a wind tunnel, or calculate your exact outer-space weight should you ever venture to Mars, the Moon, or beyond our solar system? The Quake Zone demonstrates what causes earthquakes and even lets kids experience a 6.4 magnitude quake inside the Shake Shack. The museum is somewhat of an architectural icon for Orange County. A 10-story-high tilting solar cube, constructed from 2,636 steel tubes and 667 round balls, is positioned on one of its points and adds a bit of scientific interest for visitors.
12. Kidseum At Bowers Museum
City: Santa Ana, CA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (714) 480-1520
Address: 1802 North Main St.
Description: Just down the road from the Discovery Science Center is the Kidseum, Orange County’s only cultural art-based venue geared towards children, located on the premises of the more adult-oriented Bowers Museum. After crossing the Rainbow Bridge that leads to the museum, toddlers and preschool-age children are introduced to artifacts and exhibits through a variety of hands-on and interactive activities including art classes, creative projects, and storytelling. There are thematic areas where little hands can touch, play, and manipulate objects. The Community Room, available for birthday parties and special events, is also the setting for art classes and cultural food tastings, while the Art Lab enriches young minds through projects, such as crafting Japanese kites. An array of musical instruments is found inside the Cultural Discovery area where puppets and games add to the experience. Kids can also don costumes, hats, and footwear from around the globe and take to the stage for some uninhibited fun. A summer art camp takes place in July and August and is designed for kids 6 to 12 years of age. Families visiting the museum can enjoy lunch at Tangata, an upscale eatery with al fresco dining, or wander off the premises to the nearby Main Place Mall for more kid-friendly noshing.
13. Santa Ana Zoo At Prentice Park
City: Santa Ana, CA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (714) 835-7484
Address: 1801 East Chestnut Ave.
Description: Founded in 1952 with a purpose of instilling a love of nature through education, conservation, and recreation, the 20-acre Santa Ana Zoo is well known for its animal collection of mostly Central and South American creatures. Unlike zoos that are located in major metropolises, the Santa Ana Zoo is small and manageable with more than 250 animals to visit, a train to ride, and a carousel that takes you round and round. The Crean Family Farm is a true farmyard adventure where barnyard doors are flung open for kids to see small and large animals up close. It’s here that children get a feel for what a zookeeper does as they witness firsthand the care that goes into feeding and nurturing the animals. Amazon’s Edge is the zoo’s premier exhibit and has the feel of an authentic rainforest with gushing waterfalls and a lush island setting. This exotic region is home to howler monkeys, mallards, black-necked swans, and crested screamers. A viewing deck, cradled by tall, thick bamboo, gives the feel of being in the Brazilian jungle. It was recently used as the setting in the Disney film Old Dogs. The Bauer Jaguar Exploration Outpost is another interesting component modeled after a real exploration outpost found in the Amazon Basin. Children learn research techniques about the animals indigenous to this region as well as weather patterns and conservation efforts. The zoo also hosts a number of events, including Boo at the Zoo in October, a “merry not scary” Halloween happening, as well as a summer concert series.
14. Santa Ana Zoo At Prentice Park
City: Santa Ana, CA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (714) 835-7484
Address: 1801 East Chestnut Ave.
Description: Orange County’s only zoo rests on 20 acres boasting an impressive menagerie of animals from mostly Central and South America. In addition to its 250 inhabitants, the zoo also has a train and carousel for added amusement.