{"id":134714,"date":"2026-01-15T14:35:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T14:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/134714\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T14:35:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T14:35:08","slug":"cultural-celebrations-and-family-friendly-activities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/134714\/","title":{"rendered":"Cultural Celebrations and Family-Friendly Activities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Consider starting your weekend this Saturday by taking the kids to a celebration of Lunar New Year<\/a> at the Library of the Canyons or to a family-friendly movie screening<\/a> at the La Palma Library.<\/p>\n

This is just a handful of the many free events and activities happening throughout Orange County \u2013 funded by public tax dollars.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

CHECK OUT OUR FULL CALENDAR HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

Every week, Voice of OC reporters work hard to help residents stay connected to upcoming civic events, putting locals in a position to save tax dollars and hold leaders accountable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can cut through the noise every morning by reading the free Voice of OC daily email newsletter<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n

You can also bookmark the Voice of OC calendar<\/a> to stay ahead of key civic meetings impacting your quality of life during the week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That same kind of watchdog reporting now fuels a vibrant weekend calendar, choc full of free public services and assets your tax dollars finance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are a few noteworthy free events happening this weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n

South Orange County<\/p>\n

Lunar New Year Celebration<\/p>\n

Enjoy an all-ages celebration<\/a> of Lunar New Year at the Library of the Canyons. The celebration includes a lion dance and a craft.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When: January 17, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 7531 E. Santiago Canyon Rd., Silverado, CA 92676<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the library at (949) 497-1733\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wilderness Access Day<\/p>\n

\"\"One of the trails cutting through the Red Rock Wilderness open space on Saturday, May 18, 2024. Credit: MAXIMO SANTANA, Voice of OC<\/p>\n

Explore the Red Rocks Wilderness during a self-guided access day<\/a>. Attendees will be able to hike on a trail network more than 8 miles long with a scenic overlook that offers views of the nearby Black Star Canyon Wilderness, Irvine Lake and Santiago Canyon.<\/p>\n

When: January 17, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where: Augustine Staging Area, 5524 Santiago Canyon Road, Silverado, CA<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the Irvine Ranch Conservancy at info@irconservancy.org or visit letsgooutside.org<\/p>\n

Diorama Craft<\/p>\n

Adults and teens are invited to <\/a>work on a winter diorama at the Ladera Ranch Library. All materials will be provided while supplies last.<\/p>\n

When: January 17, 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 29551 Sienna Pkwy., Ladera Ranch, CA 92694<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the library at (949) 234-5940<\/p>\n

North Orange County<\/p>\n

Meditate at the Library\u00a0<\/p>\n

Enjoy a morning meditation session<\/a> at the Yorba Linda Public Library.<\/p>\n

When: January 17, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 4852 Lakeview Ave., Yorba Linda, CA 92886<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the library at (714) 777-2873\u00a0<\/p>\n

Game Day\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The Hunt Branch Library on May 28, 2024. Given to the City of Fullerton as a gift from Norton Simon in 1962, the midcentury modern library was designed by architect William Pereira. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n

All ages are welcome to Game Day<\/a> at the Hunt Library. Play card games, social deduction games, board games and other games.<\/p>\n

When: January 17, 9:o0 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Where: 201 S. Basque Ave., Fullerton, CA 92833<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the library at (714) 738-6365\u00a0<\/p>\n

Family Movie<\/p>\n

Take the kids to a screening<\/a> of the 2025 animated movie \u201cElio<\/a>\u201d at the La Palma Library.<\/p>\n

When: January 17, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 7842 Walker St., La Palma, CA 90623<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the library at (714) 523-8585<\/p>\n

Central Orange County<\/p>\n

Families are invited to the Orange County School of the Arts for a community arts festival<\/a> designed for children between 5 and 11 years of age . The event includes interactive booths and live performances by OCSA students.<\/p>\n

Click here to register<\/a> for the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When: January 17, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 1010 N. Main St., Santa Ana, CA 92701<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact community engagement coordinator Kaitlyn Tice at kaitlyn.tice@ocsarts.net or (714) 560-0900 ext. 6204<\/p>\n

Preserve Family Photos<\/p>\n

Use hardware available at the OC Mobile Memory Lab<\/a> to digitize your photographs, documents and videos.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Call the Garden Grove Library to reserve a spot, as space is limited. Attendees must be 18-years-old, and bring their own flash drive, hard drive or plan to save their memories to the cloud.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When: January 17, 10:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 11962 Bailey St., Garden Grove, CA 92845<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the library at (714) 897-2894<\/p>\n

Play Ukulele<\/p>\n

Ages 16+ are invited to practice songs on the ukulele<\/a> at the Orange Public Library\u2019s central branch. Attendees may check out a ukulele from the library with a library card or call the Adult Reference Desk at (714) 288-2410 to place a hold on a kit.<\/p>\n

From 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., the library will host a session for beginners. All levels are welcome to the second session from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

When: January 17, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 407 E. Chapman Ave., Orange, CA 92866<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the library at (714) 288-2400<\/p>\n

Coastal Orange County<\/p>\n

Gardening Talk\u00a0<\/p>\n

Learn seed starting techniques during a talk<\/a> at the Laguna Beach Library. Attendees will hear from expert gardeners on how and when to plant seeds as well as building the best soil.<\/p>\n

When: January 17, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 363 Glenneyre St., Laguna Beach, CA 92651<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the library at (949) 497-173<\/p>\n

\u201cAround the World\u201d with Crafts<\/p>\n

On the 3rd Saturday of each month, kids are invited to the Dana Point Library to learn about other countries and work on a culturally-themed craft.<\/p>\n

When: January 17, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 33841 Niguel Rd., Dana Point, CA 92629<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the library at (949) 496-5517<\/p>\n

Teen Trivia<\/p>\n

Teenage residents are invited to a trivia<\/a> featuring topics ranging from pop culture to SAT vocabulary at the Costa Mesa Donald Dungan Library.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When: January 18, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 1855 Park Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92627<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the library at (949) 646-8845<\/p>\n

If you know of a free public agency event that the Voice of OC should be aware of, send an email to etaylor@voiceofoc.org<\/p>\n

For more events, please refer to the Voice of OC Calendar.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Consider starting your weekend this Saturday by taking the kids to a celebration of Lunar New Year at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134715,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,61032,4800,4801,16230,2267],"class_list":["post-134714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-lunar-new-year","tag-oc-parks","tag-oc-public-libraries","tag-ocpl","tag-voice-of-oc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}