TRABUCO CANYON : 2nd Acorn Festival Gets a 2nd Chance

O’Neill Regional Park will be going nuts over the acorn Saturday.

The park’s Second Annual Acorn Festival will celebrate the region’s native Coast Live Oak trees; their fruit, the acorn; and the acorn’s essential place in the local ecology.

The festival--which was rained out in October--will include presentations and exhibits on the oak, reforestation, native peoples, native plants and conservation.

Other attractions include Appalachian folk music by The Cottonwood String Band, storytelling, face painting, a petting zoo, games and prizes.

Visitors can also watch demonstrations on how the region’s original inhabitants depended on the acorn for survival.

“We’re going to show (visitors) how the Indians made mush from the acorn,” said park spokeswoman Darby Jaragosky. “The Indians around here weren’t big hunters. Their main staple was the acorn. They used it to make soup, mush and bread.”

Jaragosky said the acorn has a flavor similar to bran, though she cautioned that it’s an acquired taste. “People are welcome to try it, if they like,” she said.

Admission to the park is $2 per vehicle. Refreshments will be available, but visitors are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch. Alcohol is prohibited.

The entrance to the park is near the curve where Live Oak Canyon Road turns into Trabuco Canyon Road, east of Mission Viejo. Live Oak Canyon Road can be reached from Interstate 5 by taking El Toro Road east.