Ring up all of your jack-loving besties and find those pals obsessed with pumpkins: Two popular Orange County patches are making their debuts in the days just ahead.
Both the Irvine Park Railroad Pumpkin Patch and Tanaka Farms open for the season on Sept. 12, with outdoorsy activities, autumn-inspired photo spots, and other diversions that tell us the season is almost here (if the toasty temperatures say otherwise).
Tanaka Farms, located in Irvine, will be open daily through Nov. 1. That is “weather-permitting,” of course, and admission begins at $23 for guests who are 3 and up.
Pumpkins are not included in the entry price, but if you’d like to leave with one or two or 20? They’re going for $1.39 per pound.
The animals of the Barnyard Educational Exhibit are a delightful draw, as are the wagon rides, which are, oh yes, “unlimited” boy oh boy.
Important to know before you go? Weekend parking passes, beginning Friday afternoon, are required and available for purchase on the site.
Just a scoot and a hop and a 25-minute drive to the north is Irvine Park Railroad, another patch-tastic place for families to fall-it-up over the next several weeks.
Reservations will be required on select weekends and cost $16-$22.
There are several free days coming up, with a bevy of free weekdays and a couple of free-entry weekends, including during the Great Pumpkin Weigh-off on Sept. 19.
There is a fee to park at Irvine Regional Park; price information is on the attraction’s site.
Wholesome activities for the tots are available for purchase; think train rides, carnival games, and John Deere Racers.
And a one-day-only festival, an event that is free, is gracing the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana on Sept. 13 starting at 11 a.m. and wrapping at 3 o’clock.
It’s the Asian Mid-Autumn Festival, a gorgeous gathering that will spotlight a tea ceremony, traditional dance, Kung Fu demonstrations, and activities for younger guests.
Moon cake samples will also be available (while they last, of course).
This annual celebration is taking place at a few locations around the historic museum, including the Key Courtyard.