From Easter egg hunts to tasting events and art exhibits, there are so many amazing events in Southern California throughout April. Time to start filling up your spring social calendar with things to do in Orange County, LA, the Inland Empire, and San Diego.
April Events in Orange County
Knott's Boysenberry Festival
Select Dates March-May
12PM-8PM
knotts.com
Knott’s Berry Farm is the birthplace of the boysenberry and each spring our favorite local theme park celebrates its signature treat! The food festival features dozens of one-of-a-kind boysenberry-inspired dishes, drinks, and more, plus foot-stompin' entertainment, the Wine and Craft Brew Tasting Garden, and family fun everyone will love! From sun up to sundown, the festival offers good old fashion food, fun, and entertainment.
Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival
March 4th to April 26th
Specialty food, beverages & entertainment
disneyland.disney.go.com
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Enjoy delicious California cuisine throughout Disney California Adventure Park from pop-up kiosks. You can sip and savor delicious flavors from across the Golden State while you wander around the magical park. Buy your ticket to enjoy in the park, and kick it up a notch by nabbing a reservation for a special dinner or culinary demonstration.
Wild & Crazy Taco Night
A Southern California tradition, Wild & Crazy Taco Night helps raise money for SOS Food Pantry, a nonprofit feeding more than 235 OC families each day. Orange County’s finest chefs will be getting creative with tons of unique tacos and amazing flavors.
California Wine Festival
Held in several different locations across California throughout the year, The California Wine Festival includes wine, food, music, sea, and fun. Held in Dana Point in April, this Orange County portion of the event is broken up into two days of tastings.
Dapper Day Expo & Disney Outing
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Ever notice people dressed up particularly dapper at Disneyland? Yeah, it’s a thing. Dapper Day Expo is a free event open to the public at the Disneyland Hotel Exhibit Hall celebrating the stylish living of yesterday and today. Entertainment to round out the day includes swing dancing, big bands, and specialty cars on display. You can also catch the dapper crowds at Disneyland all weekend – it’s common for the attendees to visit the happiest place on earth decked out in their Sunday best.
Taste of Huntington Beach
One single all-inclusive price is your ticket to the Annual Taste of Huntington Beach – Featuring delectable tastes from local restaurants and catering companies. Add in unlimited sips from your favorite wineries and breweries, along with live entertainment.
April Events in the LA County
Rooftop Cinema Club
Dates throughout April
6PM-11PM
rooftopcinemaclub.com
Watch cult, classic, and new releases on the rooftops in LA. These movies are known to sell out so buy your tickets early (and start checking out the list of May moves as well!). Check out the site for a full list of April movies, held at The Drive-Up at Santa Monica Airport and Rooftop Cinema Club DTLA.
LA Beer Fest
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The annual LA Beer Fest will feature both international and domestic beers, dozens of food trucks to sample, and live entertainment. Taking place at LA Center Studios, there will be two sessions of tastings with over 80 breweries, 200 beers, 15 of LA’s best food trucks as well as live bands, Power 106 DJ, and much more.
Disney on Ice: Mickey & Friends
Ontario, Toyota Arena
disneyonice.com
Dazzling ice-skating, special effects, and unforgettable music will magically transport you and your family to your favorite Disney memories. Pre-sale tickets available starting in February!
LA Times Festival of Books
events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks
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Love the smell of books? You’re not alone. Bibliophiles are congregating to the USC campus for a two-day outdoor book fair with tons of booksellers, authors, readings, signings, and culinary demos. Tickets to conversations are free, with advance tickets available.
California Poppy Festival
Mid/late April
poppyfestival.com
If you’re a true flower child, you don’t want to miss the annual California Poppy Festival. Warm breezes replace the winter chill, jubilant laughter fills the air, and poppies burst into bloom blanketing hillsides in a sea of orange. Visit Lancaster for two days of music, art, food, and fun celebrating the state flower of California and the appearance of poppies in the Antelope Valley!
Fiesta Broadway
Last Sunday of April
fiestabroadway.la
Fiesta Broadway is L.A.’s signature Cinco de Mayo event. Fiesta Broadway, the largest Cinco de Mayo festival in the country, is held in Downtown Los Angeles along Broadway and around the streets of City Hall. 300,000+ festival attendees are expected to enjoy performances by well-known Latin American artists and authentic food from local-area vendors. Carnival-style games and rides fill out the fun!
April Events in San Diego County
Chicano Park Day
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San Diego's Latinx and Chicano residents celebrate their history, art and culture with traditional music, Aztec dance, a lowrider car show, and more at the Chicano Park Day every April. The festival is held at Chicano Park in the heart of Barrio Logan. As San Diego's oldest Mexican-American neighborhood, the park is home to the largest concentration of Chicano murals in the world with more than 80 paintings on seven acres dotted with sculpture, gardens, picnic tables, and playgrounds.
Padres Baseball
Season begins end of March/early April
www.mlb.com/padres
Baseball season marks the beginning of games in Petco Park for the Padres. Located in downtown San Diego, the Padres' state-of-the-art baseball stadium is a fun place to grab a beer and catch a game. There are also plenty of restaurants and bars in the historic Gaslamp Quarter and East Village where you can catch the game on a widescreen TV with your fellow fans.
San Diego Restaurant Week
www.sandiegorestaurantweek.com
A fairly new tradition, San Diego Restaurant Week (SDRW) bundles the yields of Spring into an 8-day edible extravaganza designed to bring new life to the restaurant community. Features over 100 restaurants offering variations of prix fixe menus at affordable prices, San Diego's Restaurant Week is the perfect way to support local restaurants and help them recover from the pandemic.
Grunion Run
March-August
www.californiabeaches.com/grunion-run-schedule
Every year, masses of grunion fish will swim onto the sandy shores at night along Southern California and anyone with a valid fishing license is allowed to come to the beach and grab as many grunions as they can! With thousands of grunion on the beaches, there is no shortage of fish to catch.
April Events in the Inland Empire
American Documentary Film Festival
Early April
americandocumentaryfilmfestival.com
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The American Documentary Film Festival (AMDOCS) is an annual showcase of films that tell real stories behind real issues and people making an impact on the world today. Buy your tickets early for showings and avoid standing in lines during the festival.
Indian Wells Arts Festival
Early April
indianwellsartsfestival.com
The Indian Wells Arts Festival is a colorful, diverse ecosystem of art with more than 200 juried artists traveling from across the nation and as far as Japan, Canada, Central and South America, the United Kingdom, Transylvania, and beyond each year to showcase their contemporary and traditional fine art and high-quality craft.
Annual Opera in the Park
Want a taste of the opera without having to shell out for your first trip? Check out the annual opera in the park at Sunrise Park in Palm Springs. This free concert of opera arias draws people from all over Southern California in a celebration of great opera music.
Coachella Music Festival
Two Weekends
Mid/Late April
coachella.com
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It’s music festival time and everyone’s favorite rock show in the desert is back. This month brings crowds of flower crown-clad music lovers to the Coachella Valley for the annual music and arts festival. Featuring dozens of artists performing back-to-back weekends, the weekend includes camping, vendors, tons of music, and party animals
Taste of Temecula Valley
temeculaeducationfoundation.org
The weekend kicks off with a VIP Dining & Concert experience on Friday and then a full day Saturday event with tastings from the best SoCal restaurants, wineries, and craft breweries. Browse booths, meet friends, and enjoy live entertainment all day.
Stagecoach Country Music Festival
Weekend After Coachella
stagecoachfestival.com
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Following the two weekends of Coachella is the whole experience just one more time – country style. More camping, a lot more beer, and swap your flower crown for your cowboy boots.
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