Festival Salutes the State’s Oldest Neighborhood

As city officials prepare to update plans that will guide development in the state’s oldest neighborhood, hundreds will gather today to celebrate the district’s history.

The Los Rios Street Festival, scheduled from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., will feature walking tours, historical movies, live music, dancing and art shows.

With its shady pepper trees and narrow streets where pedestrians outnumber cars, this 220-year-old neighborhood, just steps from Mission San Juan Capistrano, is an attraction the city intends to preserve.

After completing a series of monthly community workshops, the city is gearing up to revise its Los Rios Precise Plan, a 20-year-old document guiding growth.

Some residents say current businesses will thrive if others are permitted in the area. Others want the neighborhood to remain unchanged.

A six-member Los Rios committee composed of two City Council members, two parks committee members and two planning commissioners is expected to present its findings at the City Council meeting July 7.

Information: (949) 493-4700.

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Los Rios Street Festival

1. Information booth

2. Art show

3. Folklorico dancers

4. American artists

5. Historical movies

6. Porcelain demonstrations

7. Quilt display

8. 25% discount on plants

9. YMCA spin art

10. Chamber of Commerce beer and beverage garden

11. Historical society barbeque

12. Face painting

13. Popcorn

14. Pony rides, petting zoo

15. YMCA’s ice cream stand

History tours, live music and living history characters will be provided throughout the day.