Acres of Fun at the OC Fair!

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Acres of Fun at the OC Fair!

By Bobby Navarro

The OC Fair is back! From July 12th to August 11th, The OC Fair and Event Center is hosting “Acres of Fun” running Wednesday to Sunday in Costa Mesa. Every year the fair brings nearly 1 million visitors with entertainment, rides and food that have now become an annual meeting grounds for local families and tourists alike. We were invited by Melissa’s Produce to get a first look at the sights and sounds of the start of fair season, and wanted to share some of our finds.

THINGS TO EAT – There are some people I look at for fair food trends, that I know are constantly innovating. Chicken Charlies is a long standing fair food aficionado, breaking barriers and making waves year after year on the fair scene in Southern California. The favorites this year are not as fried as in years past, but they will still make a real foodie question themselves. Chicken Charlies has two locations, one in Midway accessible from the main Blue Gate Entrance, and the second is across from the Kids Land entrance closest to green gate. In addition to the common favorites on his menu, like the skewered chicken, many fair fiends find themselves gravitating to the things on the menu that make you squish your face. Think Triple Decker Cheeseburger with a Krispy Kreme bun!

His newest creations include an ice cream sandwich with donut buns, stuffed with fried chicken. The flavors were salty and sweet and surprisingly more delicious then you might originally think.

We also tried the new Buffalo Chicken Chimichanga, which was stuffed with Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese wrapped in a green tortilla and then topped with hot cheetos. Even though I am a sucker for interesting burritos, I knew too many bites of this hot headed buffalo chicken style was going to have me wanting to take a nap. There are many more interesting foods to find at the fair, and there are a few vendors that always have something new, so make sure to take a menu peak at vendors like Biggies, Bacon-A-Fair, and Get Fried.

THINGS TO DO – The OC Promenade is located off the main Midway between the two art exhibit hangers. The OC Promenade has always been known for its culinary programming and its visual displays. Here you can see the entries for some of the local competitions like cake making, spices and table settings. In addition to all the photo opportunities, the OC Promenade has invited some exciting people to make the space a full culinary experience. Northgate Market has some guacamole and avocado toast offerings, find yourself transported to a Parisian Patissiere complete with macaroons and chocolates, and finish with learning the art of fermentation at the kombucha counter. If that wasn’t enough, every day is filled with different kinds of culinary programming including cooking demos, culinary education panels and cooking competitions. This is a great way to kick off your fair experience, or stop by when you need to break up your day with some shade and seating.

TIPS AND TRICKS – There are tons of promotions that the fair provides to make the fair accessible to everyone. We have listed a few to make sure you are totally prepared for your fair excursion.

—OC FAIR EXPRESS: Don’t let parking take up all your fair time! Take the local OCTA for $2 ($4 round trip) to the OC Fair and get a coupon for a $4 fair ticket (valid on day of service only)

—WE CARE WEDNESDAY: Every Wednesday the OC Fair partners with local charitable organizations to provide a free entrance and single ride ticket in trade for a donation. This is a great way to teach your children about the power of helping others in need. Each Wednesday is a different donation supporting a different cause, so make sure to read the website for the most up to date information, but here is what we know.

July 24th – Noon – 3pm – Second Harvest Food Bank – Donate five canned food items.

July 31st – Noon – 3pm – Think Together – Donate 3 new or gently used children’s books.

August 7th – Noon – 3pm – Goodwill of Orange County – Donate 5 new or gently used clothing items.

—KID’S DAY: Children under 5 are always welcome free at the fair, but on Thursdays, children under 12 are all welcome for free. A great way for families of all sizes to join in the fair fun.

The fair offers many promotions to support all ages, visit the OC Fair website to plan the best time to go in the most affordable way that is best for your group. Summer isn’t the same without some deep fried food, heart pumping rides, and some good ol’ entertainment so stop on by the OC Fair!

Be sure to check out this amazing video below for more food and fun highlights from this years OC Fair!

 

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Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios

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Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios

By Erin

I love all things Halloween and for the first time ever, Sony Pictures’ classic film, Ghostbusters, is coming to “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort – bringing the most memorable scenes, characters and supernatural spirits from one of pop culture’s most iconic films to life in immersive mazes based off the 1984 classic at the nation’s premier Halloween events, starting this September.

Ghostbusters has entertained generations with its comedic yet frightening tale of four paranormal investigators on their quest to eradicate supernatural threats from creating chaos throughout New York City. As the film marks its milestone 35th anniversary, guests will have the unique opportunity to live the action and terrifying scares they have seen in the hit film when it comes to life at Universal Studios’ “Halloween Horror Nights” in Hollywood and Orlando.

In each maze, guests will follow in the footsteps of the Ghostbusters – Peter, Ray, Egon and Winston – as they venture through artfully recreated scenes from the film, including the firehouse, New York Public Library and the Temple of Gozer, as an army of ghoulish spirits, hideous specters and ectoplasm-dripping phantasms attack from every corner.  As they delve deeper into the maze, guests will come face-to-face with an array of paranormal creatures, from the voracious Slimer to the all-powerful Gozer the Gozerian and in its ultimate destructor form – the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, to brave the demonic spirits and survive the night.

Universal Studios’ “Halloween Horror Nights” is the ultimate Halloween event and one of my favorites in Southern California! For more than 25 years, guests from around the world have visited “Halloween Horror Nights” to become victims inside their own horror film.  Multiple movie-quality mazes based on iconic horror television shows, films and original stories come to life season after season. And, the streets of each park’s event are transformed into highly-themed scare zones where menacing scare-actors lunge from every darkened corner.

“Halloween Horror Nights” begins Friday, September 6 in Orlando and on Friday, September 13 in Hollywood. Additional details about the events will be revealed soon. For more information about “Halloween Horror Nights” and to purchase select tickets at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort, visit www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com.

Updates on “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood are available online at Hollywood.HalloweenHorrorNights.com and on Facebook at: “Halloween Horror Nights – Hollywood,” Instagram at @HorrorNights and Twitter at @HorrorNights as Creative Director John Murdy reveals a running chronicle of exclusive information. Watch videos on Halloween Horror Nights YouTube and join the conversation using #UniversalHHN

The Incredible Cast of The Lion King

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The Incredible Cast of The Lion King

By Ella Barone

All new, Disney’s The Lion King lives up to all of the hype around it. The film is beautifully composed with jaw-dropping performances from actors and singers like Donald Glover, Beyonce, Seth Rogan, Billy Eichner and more. Recently I had the opportunity to listen to some of these talented people at the 2019 press junket that took place in Los Angeles. The cast that was there included, Donald Glover (Simba), Seth Rogan (Pumba), Billy Eichner (Timon), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Scar), Alfre Woodard (Sarabi), Keegan-Michael Key (Kamari), Florence Kasumba (Shenzi),  Eric Andre (Azizi), John Kani (Rafiki), JD McCrary (Young Simba), Shahadi Wright Joseph (Young Nala), Director Jon Favreau, Composer Hans Zimmer, and Lebo M.

We were treated to a very special performance of “The Circle of Life” before the start of the junket. Once everyone took their seats on stage, the moderator opened with a question directed at Jon Favreau. She asked him what he figured out when making the movie Jungle Book and how it helped him with this film. Favreau answered by telling her and the audience that, “these are handmade films. There is animators working on every shot, every environment that you see in the film other than actually, there’s one shot that’s a real photographic shot, but everything else is built from scratch by artists.”

Every scene you see in the masterfully created film looks as if you can reach out to the screen and be in the environment with the animals. Everything seemed incredibly real as if you were watching a film that was shot in the wild with the wild animals.

The next actor to speak was Donald Glover, and he talked about how Simba was different in this adaptation and the things he wanted to bring to the table. He told us that “I really feel that it’s good to make movies that are global and metropolitan in the sense of the citizens of the world.’

With Simba, he portrayed this philosophy. Throughout the film, there is the classic tale of The Lion King, but there are also some messages that people all over the world can take out of it.

Now to talk about the epic duo between Pumba and Timon. People wanted to know what it was like and how Rogan and Eichner accomplished the perfect chemistry for the two characters. Rogan started by telling us, “I think you can really tell that we’re playing off of each other. It’s an incredibly naturalistic feeling.’ Eichner then answered to the question by joking around and telling us, ‘Yeah. I wish I was as cute in real life as I am in the movie. The Timon they designed is so adorable.’

The two continued to joke around with each other while giving us the perfect Pumba and Timon vibe. 

Next, the press conference took the direction of the authenticity of the film by asking Dr. Kani to talk about his role as Rafiki. He talked about is his relation to Rafiki, ‘We are both over 75. So we both lived. We both walked through that forest. We both created those footpaths and intertwined with the little rabbits, and the animals go through. And we’ve seen experience life.’

One of the last questions that was asked to wrap up the press conference was to the young Shahadi. She has been a part of both the Broadway performances of The Lion King and now the all-new film, so she was asked what it was like doing both. ‘It was amazing doing both. It was such an honor doing the stage play on Broadway and also doing it in the all new Lion King. And one thing that I really saw the difference was was that on Broadway, everything is a little bit more structured.’

With that closing note, the press conference ended after a few jokes made between Seth Rogan and Jon Favreau.

Be sure to check out all of the adorable merchandise for The Lion King too. You will want it all, and you can help save real lions with every special edition plush purchase!

Lots of fun and playful Lion King shirts!

Go see this incredible cast in The Lion King out in theaters July 19, 2019. This classic retold story will take your breath away and leaving you singing the traditional songs in your head for the rest of the day.

Like THE LION KING on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyTheLionKing/

Follow THE LION KING on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DisneyLionKing

Follow THE LION KING on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/LionKing/

THE LION KING arrives in theatres everywhere on July 19th!