by Costa Mesa Insider Editor | Aug 2, 2021 | Costa Mesa, Shopping
The former K Mart store at Harbor and Wilson is currently under going a remodel to turn the location in to a At Home home furnishings store which is due to open in October. The location was the site of the last remaining K Mart in Orange County until its close a few months ago.
The new At Home store will carry a large selection of decor items to decorate your house with items such as throw pillows, chairs and, picture frames. The planned opening date is October 27th although dates can change as we have seen with the still unopened Northgate Market across the street.
Across the street is a TJ Maxx Home Good’s store which does sell some similar products so it will be interesting to see how they compete being so close to each other. Either way the former K Mart store at this location was in decline for a long time with a limited number of employees so a brand new store hiring more employees is always a plus.
by Costa Mesa Insider Editor | Jul 30, 2021 | Concert, Park
Costa Mesa’s popular Concert In The Park returns this Saturday as a one day event after last years event was canceled because of the pandemic. The event features free musical performances as well as food trucks a beer and wine garden as well as other attractions.
The event draws big crowds so I would get there early the pre show events start at 1pm with stuff designed for families and children. At 3pm is the first of the main concerts for adults with Jasmine Fields performing current country songs as well as some classic country.
At 5pm the Tijuana Dogs hit the stage with the local Huntington Beach band playing high energy rock songs which is sure to get the crowd rocking. When you attend the concert it’s recommended you bring chairs to sit on as well as a blanket or sweater/jacket. If you want an alcoholic drink it must be purchased in the beer and wine garden as well as being consumed there.
Because of limited parking at Fairview Park alternative ways to get to the event are a good idea such as walking, ride share such as Uber or Lyft or even riding a bike as bike racks are being installed for the event.
by Costa Mesa Insider Editor | Jul 5, 2021 | Costa Mesa, OC Fair, Orange County Fairgrounds
This is the time of the year that things are made ready for the upcoming Orange County Fair as the trucks with rides, and food concessions arrive at the fairgrounds. After last years virtual OC Fair its great to see the ferris wheel as well as other attractions being set up for this years fair isn’t, quite back back to normal with limited capacity and the fact fairgoers have to go online to purchase tickets but it’s great to have the Orange County Fair back.
The usual fair fun returns starting July 16th with the carnival rides and food as well as the pig races, live music, art exhibits, contests, photo exhibits as well as the always popular Centennial Farm. If you are interested in attending you must go online to ocfair.com to purchase tickets.
Location
Orange County Fair & Event Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa (714) 708-1500
by Costa Mesa Insider Editor | Jul 1, 2021 | Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Park
Banning Ranch the 401 acres of fenced off oil production area near the mouth of the Santa Ana River future has long been discussed in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. The land apart from oil wells and equipment also has wetlands, coastal uplands as well as vernal pools.
The land stretches from Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach all the way inland to 19th Street and over the years there have been plans to put housing on part of the property as well as a resort hotel near Pacific Coast Highway.
Past plans for housing on Banning Ranch have included 1,174 houses on 67 acres with a later plan proposing 895 houses on 37 acres. Discussion on what will happen to this land has gone on for years with many groups not happy with plans to develop the land.
More recently things have looked up for residents who want the space made in to a 384 acre coastal park instead of being partially developed. One bright spot for these people was on June 15th when the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced they have granted $8 million towards the land being purchased as a park.
Now it falls the Trust for Public Land a non profit group that has an agreement with the owner of Banning Ranch to by April 2022 to purchase the land. The cost would be $97 million and hopefully they raise the money because the park would be a great resource for the nearby residents.
by Costa Mesa Insider Editor | Jun 26, 2021 | Concert, Event, Orange County Fairgrounds, Pacific Amphitheater
Bad news for fans of The Who frontman Roger Daltrey who has cancelled his August 29th concert at the Pacific Amphitheater due to uncertainty about travel restrictions from the United Kingdom to the United States because of the pandemic.
Roger Daltrey commented on social media When I booked these shows several months ago, i was confident that things would be back to normal by August. The legendary performer has said he hopes to rebook the shows in the near future.
If you have tickets to the August 29th show if you purchased through Ticketmaster you will be automatically refunded; If you purchased tickets at the OC Fair box office at the Pacific Amphitheater you can bring the tickets to the box office for a refund. Alternatively you can email pacampinfo@ocfair.com to start the refund process.
by Costa Mesa Insider Editor | May 17, 2021 | OC Fair, Pandemic
The Orange County Health Care Agency has announced that its huge vaccination site at the Orange County Fairgrounds and Event center in Costa Mesa will close on June 6th. The closing is due to a big drop in demand for vaccinations at all four of the mega vaccination sites which have seen a 75 percent drop in visitors since April.
The other mega vaccine sites closing June 6th are at the Anaheim Convention Center, Soka University and Santa Ana College the Orange County Health Care Agency will then switch to mobile units for neighborhoods or communities.
