Travel Costa Mesa Blog
Ten Ways to Heat Up Your Summer in Costa Mesa
The joy of summer is back, and Costa Mesa is ready to welcome you for a summer full of fun in Orange County. From exciting new dining to Broadway shows to one of the biggest fairs on the West Coast, there’s just so much to see in Costa Mesa.
Great New Dining
Costa Mesa offers Orange County’s only Michelin-starred restaurants – three of them, to be
exact. A slate of new dining destinations are popping up around the city, adding to its already
robust varieties of cuisine. But that’s not all! A host of exciting new restaurant concepts have opened or are opening this summer, and the new dining continues to raise the bar as a perfect spot for an Eatcation®.
Read more about the hot new restaurants in Costa Mesa in our latest press release, including Blossoms and Brass pictured below – a European, cocktail-forward restaurant with surprising Japanese influences.
Tickets to a Show
Segerstrom Center for the Arts (SCFTA) offers not only Broadway plays and musicals, but lots of other great outdoor summer events as well. The hottest ticket of the summer will be Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, playing July 11-23, 2023. With the world’s recent loss of legendary singer Tina Turner, watching this show will be bittersweet, but an absolute must to appreciate the life and music of this phenomenal artist.
Another show coming this summer is Six, June 13-25. From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix 500 years of historical heartbreak into a celebration of 21st century girl power. For outdoor fun, be sure to check SCFTA’s calendar, including free dance events and their famous Movie Mondays free on the Plaza starting with The Lion King on July 10. Don’t forget to take a stroll through Costa Mesa’s Art Walk.
OC Fair
Costa Mesa’s biggest event of the year, the OC Fair returns July 14 – August 13 with the theme “Happy Together.” The Orange County Fair is the 9th-largest fair in the United States and dazzles visitors every year with its wide array of events, rides, carnival, fantastic food, and the biggest Ferris wheel on the West Coast. Tickets are on sale now – choose dates carefully as there are no refunds or exchanges. Fairgoers must choose a specific date due to a certain number of guests allowed per day.
Pacific Amphitheater
PacAmp concerts are one of the highlights of Costa Mesa’s summer roster, and this year’s slate of artists is an exciting one. Pacific Amphitheatre is the 3,000-seat outdoor stadium located on the OC Fair grounds, and offers months of summer concerts for music lovers of every genre. Enjoy artists like Robin Thicke, Neyo and Mario, Dwight Yoakam, Smokey Robinson and more. See PacAmp’s concert lineup here – and remember, your concert ticket purchase gets your free admission to the OC Fair as well!
Centennial Farm
Centennial Farm is a 3-acre working farm at Costa Mesa’s OC Fair & Event Center. Created to educate youth about agriculture and its importance to daily life. Centennial Farm is home to fruit and vegetable gardens, livestock, and the Millennium Barn. Two youth educational tour programs are offered, Discovery Days and Junior Farmer Tours – as well as year-round daily hours so the public can visit the farm. The Farm is well known for its Pig Cam, a live feed of the adorable Centennial Farm pigs. Check the Centennial Farm calendar for hours, and find out more about the farm’s programs here.
OCMA
With free admission to all visitors, there’s no reason to not make a visit to Orange County’s newest museum. On the Segerstrom Center for the Arts campus, the Orange County Museum of Art houses a collection of Check the OCMA calendar to see current exhibits and events happening this summer, including their monthly happy hour and pop-up talks!
Outdoor Shopping
Summer means being outside, but it doesn’t mean you have to give up your favorite pasttime of shopping the day away! Costa Mesa has multiple outdoor shopping, dining and retail environments including The LAB, pictured here. Its sister facility The CAMP is directly across Bristol Street with a crosswalk connecting the two. Both of these shopping and dining centers offer relaxing and kitschy outdoor space (even hammocks!) along with a great collection of restaurants – in fact, The LAB even has a Michelin Star restaurant, Hana re sushi. Find a brewery, sustainable shopping, wine tasting, a tattoo shop, eclectic bars and so much more – and spend the majority of your day strolling outside in the California sunshine.
Don’t miss SoCo and The OC Mix – you’ll find one of Costa Mesa’s Michelin Star restaurants here, Taco Maria – plus unique local boutique shopping. Triangle Square houses a movie theater plus wonderful outdoor dining and OC’s only nightclub, Time.
Orange County Beaches
Costa Mesa’s just minutes from some of the country’s most sought-after Orange County beaches. A short ride away from the Newport Beach and Huntington Beach crowds, Costa Mesa offers reasonable hotel rates plus incredible shopping and dining, frequently within walking distance of your hotel. Here’s some secret OC beach spots you may not know about.
Lions Park Fish Fry
A cherished favorite local event, summer brings Costa Mesa’s 76th Fish Fry & Carnival in Lions Park, 570 18th Street, Costa Mesa. This year the number of carnival rides will triple in size, as the carnival will expand onto Davis Baseball field. The Fish Fry is run by the Costa Mesa/Newport Harbor Lions Club, which has been serving the community for over 100 years.
Join in for three days of family fun June 23-25! Fish fry dinners, carnival rides, games, booths, listen to headliner bands, additional food stations, wine/beer garden, free giveaways, opportunity drawings, and more! All the money raised goes to support youth activities, sight and hearing conservation and other community needs.
Admission is FREE! Fish Dinners $15 – Food & Entertainment – Fish Dinners – Beer and Wine Garden – Carnival Rides – Games – Blues and Rock Bands – Booths – Opportunity Drawing –
Date & Time
Friday, June 23 · 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Saturday, June 24 · 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Sunday, June 25 · 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Goat Hill Junction Railroad
All aboard! A great family activity for locals and visitors, ride the model train for a 15-minute loop around Fairview Park on over 5 miles of track! Did you know Goat Hill Junction has one of the largest miniature train layouts on the West Coast? Managed by Orange County Model Engineers, club members operate over 40 gas and steam-powered model locomotives on the miniature railway. Riding Goat Hill Junction trains is great fun for both adults and kids. Free train rides every 3rd weekend of the month from 10am-3:30pm, weather permitting. Goathill Junction Railroad is located in Costa Mesa’s Fairview Park. It’s at 2520 Placentia Avenue between Adams Avenue and Victoria Street.
We know you’ll enjoy the summer in Costa Mesa! With its proximity to the beach and great OC hotel rates, Costa Mesa is your perfect home base to visit Orange County this summer.
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