OC kids weekend: November 7 to 8, 2026

AStounD: Robots + STEAM + AI

Hands-on and tech-forward, the kind of thing that sparks the "I want to build that" kid.

Birding Walk at Mile Square

An OC Parks naturalist-led birding walk around Mile Square's lakes, good for older kids who can stay quiet and look through binoculars.

DTSA First Saturday Art Walk (monthly)

Cost: Free

Lakeshore Free Craft: Mosaic Masterpiece

The reliable 20-minute win.

Cost: Free

Matilda Jr.

The Arts & Learning Conservatory stages Matilda Jr. with a youth cast at the Borland PAC. The beloved Roald Dahl story with all the songs, performed by local kids.

Cost: $25-$35

Nature Scavenger Hunt

An OC Parks nature scavenger hunt at the Upper Newport Bay, where kids hunt for plants, birds and critters along the back-bay trails.

New Season Market at Old World Village

A Frances pick. A seasonal market set in the storybook Old World Village with vendors, makers and the German-village backdrop that makes it feel like a tiny trip. Easy wandering with kids and a coffee.

Cost: Free

Oktoberfest, final weekend at Old World

It is the final weekend of Old World's Oktoberfest, and the Saturday night beer hall is the grown-up version, steins, a live band, dancing on the benches and all the Bavarian chaos. A genuinely fun night out if you can get a sitter.

Cost: Tickets

Parent & Me Music Class at Brella

Thirty minutes of songs, shakers and wiggles for the littlest ones.

Cost: Free

Repticon Reptile Expo

A full reptile expo with snakes, lizards, frogs, tarantulas and the people who love them, plus vendors selling everything from geckos to feeders to terrarium gear. Hands-on, a little wild, and catnip for the kid who wants a pet snake you keep saying no to.

Cost: $15 adult / $7 child 5-12 / under 5 free

Skill & Chill: Native American Yarn Painting

A calm, hands-on craft session where kids and grown-ups both make something to keep.

Sugar Plum Arts & Crafts Festival

The Sugar Plum Arts & Crafts Festival fills the OC Fair & Event Center with handmade vendors, holiday gifts and craft booths, a proper early-holiday-shopping haul. (This is the Sugar Plum / Castle Promotions show, not the Harvest Festival.)

Cost: Free (parking $15)

Veterans Day Celebration & Car Show

Tustin marks Veterans Day early with a celebration and a car show, classic cars lined up plus a ceremony honoring local vets. Kids get shiny cars to gawk at, grown-ups get the tribute.

Cost: Free

Viva La Vida Día de Muertos Festival

The big one. Viva La Vida is Santa Ana's 12th annual Día de Muertos street festival, filling the downtown blocks with altars, Aztec dancers, live music, art and food vendors into the night.

Cost: Free

Weaving Bracelets

Quick, satisfying, and they walk out wearing what they made.

4th Annual LBX Tree Lighting at Long Beach Exchange

Frances's own pick

Cost: Free

Community Ofrenda at Rancho Los Cerritos

A quieter, reflective take on the holiday. Rancho Los Cerritos keeps a community ofrenda up through Nov 8 where families can visit, leave a photo or a note, and walk the historic grounds.

Cost: Free

Día de los Muertos at Fullerton Museum Center

A Frances pick. The Fullerton Museum Center throws its annual Día de los Muertos evening with community altars, live performances and hands-on art in and around the museum plaza. Smaller and calmer than the Santa Ana street festival, which makes it an easier one with younger kids.

Cost: Free

Fall Craft Faire

The Yorba Linda Woman's Club runs its annual Fall Craft Faire at the Community Center, two days of handmade vendors and early holiday gifts.

Cost: Free to browse

Field of Valor Flag Display

Quiet, moving, and a real-world way to talk to kids about Veterans Day before the Wednesday holiday.

Cost: Free

Free Museum Weekend: MOLAA (Museums on Us)

MOLAA is the go-to for modern and contemporary Latin American art, and with Día de los Muertos in the air it is a timely visit.

Cost: Free w/ BofA/Merrill card + ID (Sat only)

Holiday Boutique at St. Paul's

Discovery lead, church/school craft boutique.

Cost: Free to browse

Little Women

Musical Theatre West stages Little Women the Musical at the Carpenter Center during its Nov 6–15 run.

Cost: Tickets req'd

Little Women

Musical Theatre West stages Little Women the Musical at the Carpenter Center during its Nov 6–15 run.

Cost: Tickets

Oak Canyon Weekend Walk (family program)

Registration required.

Cost: $5 per family

STEAM Fest

The Aquarium of the Pacific turns the whole place into a hands-on science, tech, engineering, art and math day with partner booths, demos and experiments layered on top of the regular aquarium. (Note: the venue is the Aquarium, not the library.)

Cost: $49.95 adult / $34.95 child (reservations req)

Youth Theatre: The Addams Family

Buena Park's youth theater takes on The Addams Family, a full kid-cast musical with the whole spooky-kooky family.

Cost: $9 (12-/55+), $11 (13-54)

Art + Nature Celebration Week

The Laguna Art Museum's Art + Nature celebration turns the museum and outdoor Laguna sites into a week of installations, talks and hands-on art tied to the natural world (running Nov 5–9). Weekend days usually have the most family-friendly programming.

Cost: see site

Astronomy Night

The Nature Reserve hosts an Astronomy Night under the dark RMV skies, telescopes out, guides pointing out planets and constellations away from city light. A memorable one for a space-loving older kid.

Cost: $15 adult / $10 ages 8-17

Bob Baker Marionettes

The legendary Bob Baker Marionettes bring their hand-puppet show to Soka's Performing Arts Center, a classic, charming hour of marionettes that has delighted LA-area kids for generations.

Cost: $20+$5 adult / $7 child 10-

Celebrating Diwali

Pretend City celebrates Diwali, the festival of lights, with themed crafts, stories and activities woven through the kid-sized play city. A warm, hands-on way to mark the holiday with little ones.

Dogapalooza at Dana Point Harbor

Cost: Free

Exploration Day: Mesa Loop

An OC Parks Exploration Day on the Mesa Loop, a guided-access morning in a wilderness area that is usually gated, so you get trails most people never see.

Fall Fest at Saddleback

Big, well-run, and an easy call for a Saturday evening.

Cost: Free

Family Hike: Round Canyon

Free Museum Weekend: Laguna Art Museum (Museums on Us)

California art with a stunning coastal setting.

Cost: Free w/ BofA/Merrill card + ID

Get Fit Festival

A feel-good morning that gets everyone moving.

Cost: Free

Harvest Faire at Journey School

Journey School's annual Harvest Faire, a Waldorf-style fall festival with craft booths, games, music and old-fashioned kid activities.

Cost: Free to browse

Irvine Holiday Faire at Great Park

Frances's own pick

Cost: Free

Petite Canvas Grand Opening

A sweet reason to wander River Street.

Cost: Free

Rivian Kids: Laguna Live! Music Moves

A nice reason to be in Laguna on a Saturday afternoon.

Cost: Free

Santa's Arrival at Bass Pro Shops

The arrival is the big kickoff moment.

Cost: Free

Starr Party

An OC Parks evening stargazing program (the "Starr Party"), telescopes and guides helping families find planets and stars after dark.

Wilderness Access Day: Black Star Canyon

OC Parks opens Black Star Canyon for a Wilderness Access Day, your chance to hike (or ride, there is an equestrian option) into a normally gated canyon. No pre-registration needed for general access, just show up for the window.

$6 Movie Day

Cost: $6

Aquatic Community Day at Back Bay Science Center

The Back Bay Science Center opens its doors for a hands-on marine science day, touch tanks, lab activities and a rare look inside a working science center on the bay.

Cost: Free

Bella Beats Live Music at Bella Terra

Family Skate Night

Retro, sweaty, and a guaranteed way to wear everyone out before bed.

Cost: $40 family of 5

Free Museum Weekend: Discovery Cube OC (Museums on Us)

The Cube is the hands-on science hub kids beg to go back to, dino dig, bubbles, the shake shack.

Cost: Free w/ BofA/Merrill card + ID (Sun only)

Frozen

The historic Lido Theater screens Frozen, a big-screen showing of the one your kids already know every word to. The Lido is a gorgeous old single-screen house, which makes even a rewatch feel like an outing.

Kids Market at The District

A market where kids are the vendors, little entrepreneurs selling their own crafts, baked goods and goods at The District. Fun to browse, and quietly inspiring for your own budding small-business kid.

Cost: Free

Luchas & Lattes Vol.5 at DT Santa Ana

Cost: $20 / $30 front row

Primrose Market at Bella Terra (monthly)

Cost: Free

Repticon Reptile Expo

A full reptile expo with snakes, lizards, frogs, tarantulas and the people who love them, plus vendors selling everything from geckos to feeders to terrarium gear. Hands-on, a little wild, and catnip for the kid who wants a pet snake you keep saying no to.

Cost: $15 adult / $7 child 5-12 / under 5 free

Sunday Musicale: Webern String Quartet

Cost: Free (ages 12+, doors 2:30pm)

Anaheim Ducks vs Pittsburgh Penguins

The Ducks host Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Honda Center, a marquee opponent and a loud, high-energy NHL night. Great as a date, a guys' or girls' night, or a treat for a hockey-obsessed older kid.

Cost: Tickets

Community Chanukah Celebration (33rd Annual)

The Nixon Library hosts the 33rd annual Community Chanukah Celebration, a late-morning gathering with music, a menorah lighting and the community coming together.

Cost: Free

Eichler Collective Makers Market

Discovery lead (makers market).

Cost: Free to browse

Sensory-Friendly Sunday at the Children's Museum

The La Habra Children's Museum opens a sensory-friendly session with lowered lights and sound and a calmer pace, so kids who get overwhelmed by a busy museum can actually enjoy it. Thoughtful and low-key.

Cost: $ (low)

Youth Theatre: The Addams Family

Buena Park's youth theater takes on The Addams Family, a full kid-cast musical with the whole spooky-kooky family.

Cost: $9 (12-/55+), $11 (13-54)

Artisans Market at the Ranch

An artisans market in Aliso Viejo with handmade goods, makers and local vendors, an easy Sunday stroll-and-shop. A relaxed browse with the kids before the afternoon winds down.

Cost: Free

Boomers Family Fest

Boomers Irvine throws a Family Fest with its mini golf, go-karts, arcade and rides plus festival extras. The classic kid-birthday-party spot turned into a whole event day.

Cost: see site

The Coast Vintage Market

A big outdoor vintage market in the Laguna Hills Mall south lot, racks and tables of vintage clothing, decor and finds. More of a treasure hunt for grown-ups, but easy enough to browse with kids in tow.

Cost: Free