COUNTYWIDE : Harvest Festival Moving to Anaheim
With most of its citrus groves paved years ago, Orange County doesn’t have much of a fall harvest to celebrate anymore. But that certainly doesn’t stop the annual Harvest Festival from attracting large crowds from throughout the county.
The festival, an arts and crafts marketplace combined with entertainment, ended its three-day stint at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa on Sunday but moves north to the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, Saturday and next Sunday.
The annual event features an indoor market by hundreds of contemporary and traditional artisans from around the country, as well as craft demonstrations and live entertainment.
From last Friday to about noon Sunday, about 13,000 people had attended the Costa Mesa event, which featured 220 artisans exhibiting their crafts, said Clem Moore, office manager. The much-larger Anaheim show, which features about 400 exhibitors, usually draws about 25,000 people.
The Harvest Festival has been a longstanding tradition in Anaheim, as well as other locations across the state, including Long Beach, Riverside, Pasadena and San Diego.
“This is a smaller show compared with the rest of them,” Moore said. “This is our first year in Costa Mesa, but we’ve had it in Anaheim for 10 years.”
All the arts and crafts items are handmade, and the exhibitors are required to be the actual craftsmen and women, Moore said.
Rose Flores and the Bad Boys, a longtime Southern California band, entertained the Fairgrounds crowd with their blend of traditional country, rock and Tex-Mex music at two shows each day Friday through Sunday. Next weekend the festival will sound a different note, featuring Igor’s Jazz Cowboys, the Jackstraws and Inka-Neeto.
Onstage musical entertainment will be continuous throughout each day. Strolling musicians and jugglers are also featured.
Admission to the Anaheim Convention Center, 800 W. Katella Ave., will be $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and $3 for children 6 through 12. A season pass is $20.
Hours will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
