Close-to-home: Soup’s on, trash is gone (or will be) and then there’s Yappy Hour
With chowder tasting, an underwater trash cleanup and a festival dedicated to animals, there’s no reason to be bored on a Southern California weekend.
Temple City
Support Temple City youth groups with every purchase you make at the 75th Camellia Festival at Temple City Park. Get dizzy on more than 15 carnival rides, chow down on funnel cake and chili cheese fries, play bingo in the beer garden, and watch dance and music performances by local groups.
When: 4 p.m. Feb. 22, 11 a.m. Feb. 23, noon Feb. 24
Cost, info: Free admission, but costs for activities vary. Family friendly. No dogs. (626) 285-2171, Ext. 4030, camelliafestival.org
Santa Catalina Island
Help remove thousands of pounds of trash from the ocean in the 38th Avalon Harbor Underwater Cleanup, organized by the USC’s Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber’s emergency support services and and the Wrigley Institute’s dive and research opportunities. Prizes will be given to divers who find the most interesting items. Not certified to scuba dive? You can still volunteer to check divers in and sort trash. Proceeds benefit the USC programs’ emergency support services and research opportunities.
When: Check in begins at 7 a.m.; divers must be checked in by 9 a.m. Feb. 23
Cost, info: $55 for pre-registered certified divers, $65 day of, $30 for non-divers. Family friendly. No dogs. (310) 510-4020
Borrego Springs
Archaeology Weekend at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park includes pottery making for kids, a display about Native American crafts and plant uses and many archaeological lessons. Saturday will be a longer day of lectures, lab tours and an ice cream social; Sunday will be a shorter day of field trips to archaeological sites.
When: 9:30 a.m. Feb. 23 and 24
Cost, info: Free. Family friendly. No dogs. (760) 767-5790
Pasadena
Young readers will receive $2 off their admission to Kidspace Children’s Museum when they come dressed as their favorite book characters for Kidspace Spirit Days. Head to Storyteller Studio at 1:30 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday to hear two authors read their new children’s books, including one tale about beetles and another about the Year of the Pig.
When: 10 a.m. Feb. 23 and 24
Cost, info: Free with museum admission. Family friendly. No dogs. (626) 449-9144
Oxnard
Celebrate the human-animal bond at Rescuecon, a weekend of animal-welfare education at the Oxnard Performing Arts and Convention Center. Do yoga with bunnies, drink coffee with cats, and craft dog beds, kitty castles and pet clothes from recycled materials. Learn from experts about how to help animals in need and even how to perform skits for your pets. All refreshments, from beverages at Yappy Hour to food-truck bites, will be plant-based. If you don’t want to buy a ticket to Rescuecon, you can still attend the event’s animal adoption fair for free.
When: 11 a.m. Feb. 23 and 24
Cost, info: $12.50 for children, $25 for adults per day or weekend bundle price. Family friendly. No dogs. (805) 486-2424, rescuecon.org
Ventura
Show up hungry to Ventura Harbor Village’s Chowder Taste, where $10 gets you soup samples from seven waterfront restaurants. Stroll between the restaurants at your own pace as you listen to live music by the Castillo Trio. When you’re all chowdered out, tour the grand Hawaiian Chieftain and Lady Washington ships, which will be docked at the harbor through March 4.
When: 11 a.m. Feb. 24
Cost, info: $10. Family friendly. Dogs permitted outdoors. (805) 477-0470
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