Free Things to Do: Explore and Volunteer Outdoors in OC

## **North Orange County**

#### **Morning Meditation**

Start the day with a guided meditation session at the Yorba Linda Public Library.

**When:** _October 25_, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

**Where:** 4852 Lakeview Ave., Yorba Linda, CA 92886

**Cost:** Free

For more details, contact the library at (714) 777-2873

#### **Halloween Crafts**

Take the kids for an afternoon of Halloween crafting at the Buena Park Library. While supplies last, attendees can make paper plate spider webs and paper bag monster puppets.

**When:** _October 25_, 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

**Where:** 7150 La Palma Ave., Buena Park CA 90620

**Cost:** Free

For more details, contact the library at (714) 826-4100

#### **Crochet**

Ages 12+ are welcome to crochet a water bottle bag at the Canyon Hills Library in Anaheim. No crochet experience is required.

**When:** _October 25_, 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

**Where:** 400 Scout Trail, Anaheim, CA 92807

**Cost:** Free

For more details, contact the library at (714) 765-6444

## **Central Orange County**

#### **Wilderness Access Day**

Mission Viejo resident Laurie Ha, 41, (right) and a friend finish hiking one of the newly opened trails at Saddleback Wilderness, part of OC Parks’ Irvine Ranch Open Space in Orange, Calif. on Satuday, April 8, 2023. (CREDIT:Jack Sundblad/VOICE OF OC)

Hike 3.3 miles of trails in the Saddleback Wilderness during a scheduled access day.

No registration is required, but access is first-come, first-served until parking capacity is reached.

**When:** _October 25_, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

**Where:** 3081 Santiago Canyon Road, Orange, CA 92869

**Cost:** Free

For more details, contact the Irvine Ranch Conservancy at info@irconservancy.org or visit letsgooutside.org

#### **Bilingual Storytime**

Children of all learning levels are welcome to a storytime in Vietnamese and English at the Fountain Valley Library.

**When:** _October 25_, 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

**Where:** 17635 Los Alamos, Fountain Valley, CA

**Cost:** Free

For more details, contact the library at (714) 962-1324

#### **Movie at the Library**

The entrance to the Costa Mesa Donald Dungan Library on April 28, 2024. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC

Enjoy a screening of the 1956 version of  “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”  at the Costa Mesa Donald Dungan Library.

**When:** _October 26_, 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

**Where:** 1855 Park Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92627

**Cost:** Free

For more details, contact the library (949) 646-8845

## **Coastal Orange County**

#### **Trail Stewardship**

Sunit Nangia from Laguna Niguel, Calif. helps collect seed at Laguna Canyon Foundation Headquarters on Oct. 5, 2024. Credit: FASHION CASTILLO, Voice of OC

Volunteer to take care of local hiking trails in the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. Volunteers will assist with clearing drains tl, pruning plants and moving dirt to restore impacted areas.

Registration is required.

**When:** _October 25_, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

**Where:** 10 Phillips St., Laguna Beach, CA 92651

**Cost:** Free

For more details, contact volunteer@lagunacanyon.org

#### **Adult Halloween Crafts**

Make a “spooky” birdhouse craft at the Dana Point Library. The program is for adults only.

**When:** _October 25_, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

**Where:** 33841 Niguel Rd., Dana Point, CA 92629

**Cost:** Free

For more details, contact the library at (949) 496-5517

#### **Visit the HB International Surfing Museum**

A mural by Donald “DJ Mac” MacDonald on the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum on May 21, 2023. The piece was originally painted in 1996. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC.

Learn about the history of surfing at the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum, a nonprofit museum located downtown.

The museum is free to enter, but donations are appreciated.

**When:** _October 25 & 26_, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

**Where:** 411 Olive Ave., Huntington Beach, Ca 92648

**Cost:** Free

For more details, contact the museum at (714) 960-3483

## **South Orange County**

#### **Outdoor Volunteering**

Marjorie Rhodes, Laguna Canyon Foundation Restoration Project Manager, stops to talk to a volunteer about the native plant seed that they are collecting in Laguna Beach, Calif. on Oct. 5, 2024. Credit: FASHION CASTILLO, Voice of OC

Spend time volunteering in Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park alongside Laguna Canyon Foundation staff. Assist with removing weeds, watering, collecting seeds and planting native species.

No experience is necessary, but registration is required.

**When:** _October 25_, 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

**Where:** _Aliso Viejo Community Park_, 150 Cedarbrook, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

**Cost:** Free

For more details, contact volunteer@lagunacanyon.org or dulce@lagunacanyon.org with any questions.

#### **Open Sewing Lab**

Teens ages 14+ and adults are welcome to the Laguna Niguel Library’s open sewing lab. Receive support and inspiration for sewing projects.

Participants are asked to register by emailing ocpl.lagunaniguel@occr.ocgov.com or by calling the library.

**When:** _October 25_, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

**Where:** 30341 Crown Valley Pkwy., Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

**Cost:** Free

For more details, contact the library at (949) 249-5252

#### **Día de Los Muertos Celebration**

Maria Martinez, Program Coordinator at Roosevelt Walker Community Center, standing in front of an altar at a free Día de Los Muertos celebration held at the center’s community garden on Nov. 1, 2023. Martinez is dressed as La Catrina, a symbolic figure rooted in Mexican culture. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC.

Celebrate Día de Los Muertos in a free community festival at the Norman Murray Center in Mission Viejo. Attendees can enjoy live mariachi music, dancing, artisan vendors, cultural food, free craft workshops and beautiful community _ofrendas_ honoring loved ones who have passed.

Día de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is celebrated by Latinos during the first two days of November in Mexico, the United States, and in other Latin American countries such as Guatemala, Ecuador, El Salvador and Bolivia.

People memorialize their loved ones by constructing altars with photographs of the deceased, food and unique offerings that relate to the person’s life.

**When:** _October 25_, 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

**Where:** _Norman P. Murray Community Center_, 24932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo, CA

**Cost:** Free

For more details, contact Carol Manley, Mission Viejo Activities Committee Event Coordinator, at (949) 338-6061 or cmanley@cityofmissionviejo.org

_If you know of a free public agency event that the Voice of OC should be aware of, send an email to etaylor@voiceofoc.org_

_For more events, please refer to the Voice of OC Calendar._

### _Related_

## Erika TaylorFormer Reporting Fellow and Photojournalist

etaylor@voiceofoc.org

Erika Taylor was a Tracy A. Wood reporting fellow and photojournalist at Voice of OC, covering transportation, libraries, culture and open space across the county.

Taylor started reporting for Voice... More by Erika Taylor

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