{"id":293842,"date":"2026-04-30T21:55:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T21:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/293842\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T21:55:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T21:55:13","slug":"free-things-to-do-learn-about-oc-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/293842\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Things to Do: Learn About OC History"},"content":{"rendered":"

Consider starting your weekend this Saturday by attending the Rancho Days Fiesta<\/a> at the Heritage Hill Historical Park or by visiting Founders\u2019 Park<\/a>, where you can learn about the City of Anaheim\u2019s early history.<\/p>\n

These are 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

You can also bookmark the Voice of OC calendar 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

Rancho Days Fiesta<\/p>\n

Learn about Orange County\u2019s rancho era at the annual Rancho Days Fiesta<\/a>, hosted at the Heritage Hill Historical Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Activities and performances include: Native American and Folklorico dancing, Charro horse riding, roping demonstrations, pi\u00f1ata breaking, exhibits and ranching hands-on activities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The park\u2019s historic buildings<\/a> will also be open.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When: May 2, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 25151 Serrano Rd., Lake Forest, CA 92630-2534<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the Heritage Hill Historic Park at heritagehill@ocparks.com<\/a> or call (949) 923-2230<\/p>\n

Wilderness Access Day<\/p>\n

\"\"Yousfa Janjua (right) with her family in Black Star Canyon on Saturday, August 3, 2024. Credit: MAXIMO SANTANA, Voice of OC<\/p>\n

Explore Black Star Canyon on a wilderness access day<\/a>, an opportunity for residents to take self-guided hikes in the wilderness park.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

Where: 13333 Black Star Canyon Rd, Silverado, CA 92676<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

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

[Read: Discovering Orange County\u2019s Black Star Canyon Wilderness Park<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Wildflower Activity<\/p>\n

Grandparents are invited to the El Toro Library to create<\/a> wildflower seed pods together.<\/p>\n

No registration necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When: May 2, 11:00 a.m.. to 12:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 24672 Raymond Way, Lake Forest, CA 92630<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the library at (949) 855-8173<\/p>\n

North Orange County<\/p>\n

Founders\u2019 Park Open House<\/p>\n

Learn about the history of the City of Anaheim during a visit to Founders\u2019 Park<\/a>, where Orange County\u2019s oldest museum is located. The museum, known as the Mother Colony House<\/a>, was home to \u201cthe father of Anaheim\u201d and one of the first homes constructed during the city\u2019s founding in 1857.<\/p>\n

When: May 2, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 400 North West St., Anaheim, CA 92805<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact Founder\u2019s Park at (714) 765-1700<\/p>\n

Estate Planning Workshop<\/p>\n

Learn about estate planning during a presentation<\/a> on the topic at the Cypress Library.<\/p>\n

Refreshments will be provided by the Friends of the Library.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When: May 2, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 5331 Orange Ave., Cypress, CA 90630<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the library at (714) 826-0350<\/p>\n

Central Orange County<\/p>\n

Wellness Workshop<\/p>\n

Attend a health literacy workshop<\/a> at the Tustin Library.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When: May 2, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 345 E Main St., Tustin, CA 92780<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the library at (714) 544-7725<\/p>\n

Visit the Hilbert Museum<\/p>\n

Spend time at the Hilbert Museum of California Art<\/a>, one of the largest collections of California narrative art from from the late 19th century to present day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reservations<\/a> are required, but admission is free.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When: May 2 or 3, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 167 N. Atchison St., Orange, CA\u00a0 92866<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the museum at (714) 516-5880<\/p>\n

Coastal Orange County<\/p>\n

Study for AP Exams<\/p>\n

Teens 7th-12th grade are welcome to visit the second floor Sword Meeting Room to study<\/a> for upcoming Advanced Placement (AP) examinations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

No registration required.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When: May 2, 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where: 1000 Avocado Ave., Newport Beach, California 92660<\/p>\n

Cost: Free<\/p>\n

For more details, contact the library at (949) 717-3800<\/p>\n

Lego Club<\/p>\n

Take your kids to play with Legos<\/a> at the Laguna Beach Library.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When: May 2, 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 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) 497-1733<\/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 attending the Rancho Days Fiesta at the Heritage Hill Historical Park…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293843,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,66546,16228,4799,4800,4801,16230,2267],"class_list":["post-293842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-free-things-to-do","tag-free-things-to-do-oc","tag-free-things-to-do-this-weekend-across-oc","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\/293842","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=293842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}