Irvine
A master-planned city in central Orange County.
Monday morning is Toddler Town at Pretend City. Saturday afternoon is Mehregan at Great Park Live. Oct. 10 is Global Village's 25th year at Great Park.
Upcoming
Toddler Town
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Ages 19 months to 3, with a caregiver. No older siblings. $12 a person, including members. Registration is required. The museum lists this same Monday hour on Oct. 5, Oct. 12, Oct. 19, and Oct. 26.
Family Storytime
Heritage Park Library, 14361 Yale Ave
All ages. The fall newsletter puts Heritage Park storytime on the first and third Saturdays. Oct. 3 is the first Saturday. Oct. 17 is the third. The newsletter says the series skips August.
Mehregan Festival
Great Park Live, 8000 Great Park Blvd
NIPOC calls it the Persian Festival of Love and Kindness. All ages. Live Persian music and a traditional feast. NIPOC prints 2:00 p.m. and does not print an end time or a ticket price. Great Park Live lists Oct. 3–4 and does not print a clock. The street is the city’s Great Park address. Heritage Park storytime is that morning.
Certified Farmers Market
Sun Oct 4 · 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Stonegate Elementary, 100 Honors
The city moved this market off Great Park on Nov. 10, 2024. It now runs Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Stonegate. Same clock on Oct. 11, Oct. 18, and Oct. 25. A Pretend City author visit starts at 11:00 a.m. the same day.
Meet the Author: Glenda Galván-García
Sun Oct 4 · 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Storytime from La Enchilada Completa, plus a guacamole demonstration and tasting. Included in museum admission. The page prints two times and does not print an end time. The farmers market is the same morning, at Stonegate. Mehregan at Great Park Live also lists 2:00 p.m.
Mehregan Festival
Great Park Live, 8000 Great Park Blvd
Same festival. NIPOC prints 2:00 p.m. and does not print an end. A Pretend City author visit also lists 2:30 p.m. the same day.
Toddler Town
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Same Monday hour and $12 fee. STEAM Explorers at Heritage Park is that afternoon.
STEAM Explorers
Heritage Park Library, 14361 Yale Ave
Ages 5–10. Free. The newsletter also lists this hour on Nov. 2. Katie Wheeler has the same program Tuesday, Oct. 6, and University Park has it Thursday, Nov. 5.
Baby Steps
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
For children 18 months and younger. No older siblings. $12 an adult if you are not a member. Babies in that age range are free, and members are free. Storytime at 8:45 a.m. The October listings encourage costumes. Toddlers & Tunes at the Spectrum starts at 10:00 a.m.
Toddlers & Tunes
Tue Oct 6 · 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Irvine Spectrum Center carousel, 670 Spectrum Center
Free. First Tuesday, through October. Complimentary carousel rides, games, and a DJ. A child needs an adult. Irvine Standard lists this one. Baby Steps at Pretend City ends at 9:30 a.m.
Way to Play Day
Fri Oct 9 · 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Second Friday. Free developmental, dental, vision, and speech screenings, with child-development staff on site. Spanish Storytime at University Park starts at 11:00 a.m.
Spanish Storytime
University Park Library, 4512 Sandburg Way
All ages. Songs, rhymes, and stories, with a little Spanish. First come. The library lists more dates on this series.
Family Craft Time
Sat Oct 10 · 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Heritage Park Library, 14361 Yale Ave
All ages. Free. It overlaps Global Village and a Katie Wheeler storytime, both of which start while this craft hour is still going.
Irvine Global Village Festival
Sat Oct 10 · 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Great Park, 8000 Great Park Blvd
The 25th year. Performances, food, and hands-on cultural booths. The city page does not print a ticket price. The photo is the Great Park carousel, not a festival stage.
Family Storytime
Katie Wheeler Library, 13109 Old Myford Rd
All ages. First come. This is the same morning as Heritage Park’s craft hour and the start of Global Village.
STEM Up to the Challenge
Sat Oct 10 · 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Included in museum admission. Members do not need a reservation. The page prints two times and does not print an end time. Global Village is the same day at Great Park.
Baby Steps
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Same infant morning as Oct. 6, with costumes encouraged. The farmers market at Stonegate starts at 10:00 a.m.
Certified Farmers Market
Sun Oct 11 · 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Stonegate Elementary, 100 Honors
Same Sunday market. Indigenous People’s Day at Pretend City starts at 11:00 a.m. Goosebumps Day at University Park starts at 2:00 p.m., when this market ends.
Indigenous People’s Day
Sun Oct 11 · 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Journeys to the Past, with the Segerstrom Center. Stories, songs, instruments, and objects. Included in museum admission. Two times, no end time printed.
Goosebumps Day
University Park Library, 4512 Sandburg Way
All ages. Free. Bookmark, book cover, and a mask, on a Goosebumps theme.
Toddler Town
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Same Monday hour and $12 fee.
Neurodivergent Family Halloween Night
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Sensory-friendly trick-or-treating after the museum’s regular day. Lights down, sounds off, capacity 250. Headphones, fidgets, and weighted items are there. Registration is required and opens two weeks before. The page does not print a fee. The same night returns Thu Oct. 22.
Cooking in the City
Thu Oct 15 · 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Play cooking, plus pre-made food. It is not a cooking class. Included in museum admission. Members do not need a reservation. Two times, no end time printed.
Teen Campfire Stories
Bommer Canyon Preserve
Ages 13 and up. Treats and stories outside. Registration is on yourirvine.org. The newsletter does not print a street number, so this page does not add one.
Family Storytime
Heritage Park Library, 14361 Yale Ave
All ages. Third Saturday of the month, same clock as Oct. 3.
Certified Farmers Market
Sun Oct 18 · 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Stonegate Elementary, 100 Honors
Same Sunday market. The author visit at Pretend City starts at 11:00 a.m.
Meet the Author: Carter and Kathryn Lim
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Storytime for Copy Cadie. Books for sale and signing afterward. The page prints 11:00 a.m. and does not print an end time. The farmers market is the same morning.
Toddler Town
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Same Monday hour and $12 fee. Preschool storytime at Katie Wheeler is later that morning. Pajama storytime at University Park is that evening.
Preschool Storytime
Mon Oct 19 · 11:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Katie Wheeler Library, 13109 Old Myford Rd
Ages 3–5, with a caregiver. Stories, songs, and movement. First come. The same hour is on the calendar for Mon Oct. 26.
Pajama Storytime
University Park Library, 4512 Sandburg Way
All ages. Free. The newsletter also lists Nov. 9 at this library, same clock.
We Read Wednesday
Wed Oct 21 · 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Littles and grandparents read together, with mentors from Empowering Readers OC. The page prints this one date.
Neurodivergent Family Halloween Night
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Same sensory-friendly trick-or-treat night as Oct. 13. Registration required. No fee printed.
Monster Splash
A City of Irvine aquatics center
Obstacle course, dive boards, trick-or-treat booths, and face painting. Presale through Oct. 18 is $12 for ages 17 and younger. At the door it is $15. Adults are free. Tickets are on yourirvine.org.
The 2026 city listing does not name the pool. Last year’s Monster Splash was at William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center, 4601 Walnut Ave, and ran 1:00–5:00 p.m. This page does not treat that as this year’s address.
Ektaa Diwali Fest
Great Park Live, 8000 Great Park Blvd
The Ektaa Center and the city. It starts at the same hour as Monster Splash and runs much later. The city page does not print a ticket price.
Certified Farmers Market
Sun Oct 25 · 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Stonegate Elementary, 100 Honors
Same Sunday market. Costume Week at Pretend City uses 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. that day.
Costume Week
Sun Oct 25–Thu Oct 29 · 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Come in costume. Storytimes, music, and Halloween play, included in museum admission. The listing runs through Oct. 29. The same calendar also marks the museum closed on Mon Oct. 26 and Tue Oct. 27, and it still lists Toddler Town on Oct. 26. Check the day before you go.
Toddler Town
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
The Monday listing is still on the calendar, at the usual $12. A separate listing marks the museum closed this day. Preschool storytime at Katie Wheeler is at 11:30 a.m. either way.
Preschool Storytime
Mon Oct 26 · 11:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Katie Wheeler Library, 13109 Old Myford Rd
Ages 3–5, with a caregiver. Same hour as Oct. 19.
Halloween’s Eve
Fri Oct 30 · 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Dancing, a puppet show, and trick-or-treating at 10:30 a.m., noon, and 2:00 p.m. The Spooky Silent Disco at Irvine Spectrum is that evening.
Spooky Silent Disco
Irvine Spectrum Center, 670 Spectrum Center
Free. Headphones are first come. Irvine Standard calls the usual silent disco a Saturday night, and this date a Friday special. No reservation is required. An RSVP does not hold a headset.
Spooky Storytime
Heritage Park Library, 14361 Yale Ave
All ages. Free. One hour, longer than the usual Saturday storytime. Pretend City’s instrument morning starts at 11:00 a.m.
Meet the Instrument
Sat Oct 31 · 11:00 a.m., then 12:00–2:00 p.m.
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Halloween music with the Philharmonic Society of Orange County at 11:00 a.m. Mini-pumpkin decorating from noon to 2:00 p.m. A Mad Science experiment at 2:30 p.m. Included in museum admission. Costumes are welcome. The page says there is no trick-or-treating at this one.
Certified Farmers Market
Sun Nov 1 · 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Stonegate Elementary, 100 Honors
Same Sunday market. Día de los Muertos at Heritage Park Library uses the same morning, 10:00 a.m. to noon. Pretend City’s own Día program starts at 11:00 a.m.
Día de los Muertos
Sun Nov 1 · 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Heritage Park Library, 14361 Yale Ave
All ages. Free. Crafts, games, and music. It starts with the farmers market and ends two hours before the market does.
Día de los Muertos in the City
Sun Nov 1 · 11:00 a.m., 12:00–2:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m.
Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble
Flower Songs Music at 11:00 a.m., sugar-skull decorating from noon to 2:00 p.m., and folklorico at 2:30 p.m. Included in museum admission. The library celebration is the same morning, at Heritage Park.
Illuminate Irvine
Palm Court Arts Complex, 8000 Great Park Blvd
Tree lighting, live music, crafts, and photo stops. Destination Irvine says the light display then continues daily from dusk to 9:00 p.m. It does not print a last night. Great Park Live’s near-term list did not include this date.
Know something fun in Irvine? Suggest an event.