'Growing the Park' Event Has Free Fun for All Ages

IRVINE, Calif., July 7 /PRNewswire/ -- With daredevil wing walkers, three live musical acts and a dazzling laser light show, the Orange County Great Park will celebrate 5 years of progress this Saturday. At Growing the Park, visitors can participate in 27 acres of activities covering five different themed areas, each focused toward a part of the Park's rich heritage and promising future.  As the Great Park enters its first phase of major construction, this free family festival incorporates many types of programs that visitors already enjoy year round.

The wide-ranging afternoon event brings together more than 40 community organizations and includes live music in three areas, a vintage air show, rarely-seen electric and plug in hybrid vehicles, military equipment, pony rides, a petting zoo, sports activities, kids' crafts, an outdoor art gallery, healthy food demonstrations and food vendors. The event wraps up with a laser light show beginning at 9 p.m.  Growing the Park is free and open to the public, and visitors are encouraged to Celebrate 5 by bringing 5 cans of food to the Park to be donated to local food banks. Don't miss the fun from 3 to 9:30 p.m., July 10 at the Great Park!

"We are excited about Growing the Park," said Larry Agran, Chair, Orange County Great Park Board of Directors.  "More than 15,000 visitors attended last year's celebration, and this year we've added to an already spectacular event.  Visitors will also have the opportunity to learn about the next phase of Park development, including new soccer fields."

Growing the Park has a little something for everyone, just like the planned 1,347-acre park, currently underway with more than 200 acres of development. With plans to complete sports fields, artists studios, community gardens, agriculture space and more within the next two years, Growing the Park brings the best Park programming into one fun-filled day.

"The theme of the Great Park is 'a park for everyone' and Growing the Park brings together all walks of life with its diversity of activities," said Irvine Mayor Sukhee Kang.  "I look forward to seeing people from throughout Southern California celebrating 5 years of the Great Park on Saturday."

Growing the Park, Celebrate 5 will have five themed areas for visitors to enjoy, each representing an aspect of the Great Park: The Back Forty, The Runway, Sky's the Limit, Great Park Gallery, and The Outfield.  

1. The Back Forty: Agriculture & Environment – Whole Foods Market will demonstrate how to make fresh summer salads using ingredients from the Great Park Farm + Food Lab.  Tierra Verde Industries will show you what the inside of your TVs and electronics look like and explain how e-recycling works. The Discovery Science Center will present hands-on children's science activities, and the OC Zoo will have insects, reptiles and other critters. New West Country band will entertain visitors as they enjoy guided farm tours and agricultural craft activities.

2. Great Park Gallery: Arts & Culture – Bring out the potential in your little artists with hands-on arts activities coordinated by Arts Orange County.  The Orange County Performing Arts Center's Italian street painters will invite families to create art on asphalt, the Philharmonic Society will highlight its Music Mobile, and the Bowers Kidseum, OC Museum of Art and Chuck Jones Center for Creativity will feature hands-on art activities.  In addition, the Orange County Performing Arts Center presents Vybration, a 6-person a capella group featuring vocals and vocal percussion.

3. The Runway: Technology & the Future – Check out the latest alternative-fuel, high-tech vehicles rarely seen in public. And when the sun goes down, get ready for the Great Park's first laser light show. The Runway is also home to great food, with five-dollar food deals from local favorites such as Chick-fil-A, Tacos & Company, Sprouts Market, Al's Bar-B-Que, Joe's Italian Ice and Pinkberry.

4. The Outfield: Sports & Recreation – Children can pick up some new soccer moves from the Los Angeles Galaxy Futboleros. Captain Fitness will award a certificate to all those kids who take on a fitness challenge to run an obstacle course and perform sit-ups and jumping jacks, and Inside the Outdoors will teach kids how to read nutrition labels.

5. Sky's the Limit: Military & Aviation – The Great Park's military history will be on display in a "museum without walls," with vintage airplanes flying overhead, then landing for an ground-level view. Last year's popular wing walkers will soar overhead this year as well.  The 2/11 Marine Battalion from Camp Pendleton will display artillery equipment, and kids can try on Marine Corps gear.  

Gates open at 2 p.m., Saturday July 10, and the event is open from 3 to 9:30 p.m. The Great Park can be accessed off the 5 freeway from either Jeffrey Road or Sand Canyon. For this special event, entrances will be available off of Sand Canyon at Trabuco Road and Marine Way. Be advised that the Great Park will be closed Thursday and Friday, July 8 and 9, to prepare for this event. The Park will also be closed Sunday July 11, the day after the event.

The Orange County Great Park and its 1,347-acre master plan is the focal point of the redevelopment of the 4,700-acre former Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro. The Great Park is currently built out to 27.5 acres and includes an iconic tethered helium balloon that rises 400 feet in the air, providing an aerial view of Park development. A $65.5 million development plan to expand the Park to 200 acres is currently underway. The plan will build out a core section of the Park for the most immediate and wide-ranging public benefit, including a sports park, agricultural area and an art and culture exhibition space. For more information, please go to www.ocgp.org.

SOURCE Orange County Great Park Corporation