In December 2011, tow trucks and community volunteers moved Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang across Costa Mesa. They left a corner house on Santa Ana Avenue and went to City Hall, as the Daily Pilot reported that week. The city put out a call for volunteers to help Jim Jordan rebuild the display. That meant a giant doll house, a faux ice skating rink and a photo booth, all reassembled in front of a government building.
Fifteen seasons later, that address is 77 Fair Drive. Directly across the street, the OC Fair & Event Center at 88 Fair Drive hosts a ticketed winter festival with an ice rink, a tube slide and a light trail that is new this year. Between Nov. 13 and Jan. 3, Fair Drive carries most of Costa Mesa's public holiday calendar. The events don't all start at once. They pile up gradually, and for one week in mid-December nearly all of them are running.
November on Fair Drive Starts Small
The season opens with a vintage market and a few mornings at the farm.
The Great Junk Hunt returns to the OC Fair & Event Center on Friday, Nov. 13, and Saturday, Nov. 14. Friday entry is $16 to $21 and Saturday is $11 to $13. Children 12 and under get in free, and parking is $15. Friday costs more, the usual pattern for a first-pick day.
Centennial Farm, the working farm on the fairgrounds, runs a short series of events through the rest of the month:
- Discovery Day, Friday, Nov. 20, 9 a.m. to noon. Admission and parking are free, but you need a reservation. Details here.
- Cowboy Candy and Balsamic-Onion Jam, Saturday, Nov. 21, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This is a food preservation workshop, and the class fee is $45. Class page.
The fairgrounds' Thursday farmers market in Lot D runs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with free admission and free parking. The OC Fair calendar lists Nov. 19, then every Thursday in December through Dec. 31. Nov. 19 also brings a separate Costa Mesa tradition a short drive away. South Coast Plaza's free tree lighting and Santa arrival starts at 7 p.m. in Town Center Park, with performances by Pacific Symphony, South Coast Repertory, Pacific Chorale and OCSA. Event details here.
Winter Fest OC Opens Thanksgiving Weekend in Lot A
On Nov. 27, the fairgrounds switch from daytime events to nighttime ones. Winter Fest OC runs in Lot A from Nov. 27, 2026, through Jan. 3, 2027. The OC Fair listing describes it as a PSQ Productions event run by an independent promoter, not by the fair itself.
The centerpiece for 2026 is a seven-zone Holiday Light Trail, which PSQ calls all-new in its October announcement. Named zones include the Peppermint Tunnel, Singing Forest, Aurora Snowfall Walk, Light Field, Grand Cove and Evergreen Tunnel.
If you went last year, the skating, mini golf and inflatables will look familiar. PSQ's 2025 release already listed ice skating, Polar Putt-Putt and inflatables. The change is in how they're packaged. Unlimited ice skating is new for 2026, either with select passes or as a separate add-on. Each session lasts 45 minutes, and skate rentals are included. The 100-by-200-foot Inflatable Land has been expanded, and the Bounce Pass now includes the nine-hole Polar Putt-Putt course. A few practical details from the festival site:
- The smallest rental skate is a Child 8, which typically fits children around age 3. Personal skates aren't allowed.
- Skate assists rent for $15 at the rink office, subject to availability.
- The Snowflake Upgrade gives express access to the Ice Tube Slide.
- Fireside Igloos seat up to 10 people and come with a private fire pit and bar.
The ticket page lists Snow Pass, Winter Pass and Platinum tiers, plus a Season Snow Pass and four-packs. Children 2 and under are free. Early-bird pricing ran through Nov. 10, and PSQ says prices can change after that date, so check the current price before you go. Parking is $15 per vehicle, and last entry is 30 minutes before closing.
For the first three weeks, the schedule matters more than the price. Winter Fest isn't open every night until Dec. 17.
| Dates | Days open | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 27–29 | Fri, Sat, Sun | Fri 5–10 p.m., Sat 4–11 p.m., Sun 4–10 p.m. |
| Dec. 3–5 | Thu, Fri, Sat | Thu 5–10 p.m., Fri 4–11 p.m., Sat 4–10 p.m. |
| Dec. 10–13 | Thu through Sun | Thu and Fri 5–10 p.m., Sat 4–11 p.m., Sun 4–10 p.m. |
| Dec. 17–Jan. 3 | Nightly | Weekdays 5–10 p.m., Sat 4–11 p.m., Sun 4–10 p.m. |
| Dec. 31 | New Year's Eve | 5 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. |
Early December stays busy during the day, too. Centennial Farm's DIY Winter Wreath class runs Saturday, Dec. 5, with sessions from 9:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3:30 p.m. The fee is $85. The Holiday Garland with Farmers Market Finds workshop follows on Saturday, Dec. 12, from 10 a.m. to noon, for $40.
Snoopy House Crosses the Street Into the Picture Dec. 11
The second half of Fair Drive's season starts at City Hall. The city's 2026 event sponsorship packet schedules Snoopy House for Dec. 11 through 18, open 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. nightly in front of Costa Mesa City Hall. It lists nightly visits from Santa, live performances, food trucks and snow sledding on weekends. The same packet puts expected attendance at 25,000 over those eight nights. The city's Snoopy House page is where final details will appear, so check it before you go.
The display itself is the reason this event feels so different from the festival across the street. According to a 2021 Daily Pilot history, it started in the mid-1960s. That's when the family of former Costa Mesa Mayor Willard Jordan put up the first hand-designed wooden figures at their Santa Ana Avenue home, as a Christmas tribute to Charles Schulz's "Peanuts." His son Jim later took it over and enlisted friends and neighbors to build new pieces and maintain the collection. In 2011, the family passed the collection to the city, which turned it into a citywide celebration with carolers, performances and Santa. Today, Parks and Community Services staff start unpacking the wooden characters and buildings weeks before opening night.
So for a single week, a set of handmade figures that began in one family's yard runs across the street from a ticketed festival whose light trail is new this year.
The Week When Everything Overlaps
Line the two schedules up and the overlap is short. Snoopy House opens Friday, Dec. 11, during one of Winter Fest's long weekends, then keeps going alone Monday through Wednesday, Dec. 14 to 16. Winter Fest returns Dec. 17 and stays open nightly from then on. So both are open on five nights: Dec. 11, 12, 13, 17 and 18.
Neighborhood displays get their own spot in that week. Costa Mesa's Holiday Lights Display Contest accepts entries from Nov. 9 through Dec. 13. Public voting runs Dec. 14 to 18, and winners will be announced at Snoopy House on Friday, Dec. 18. That means the city recognizes this year's best front yards on the last night of a display that started as a front yard.
Here's a way to use that week on Fair Drive:
- Saturday, Dec. 12: Make a garland at Centennial Farm in the morning. Come back after dark for Snoopy House, open from 5:30 p.m., and Winter Fest, open from 4 p.m.
- Monday, Dec. 14, through Wednesday, Dec. 16: Snoopy House is the only evening event on the street, and contest voting opens Monday. On Tuesday, Dec. 15, Centennial Farm also holds a free Discovery Day from 9 a.m. to noon, with reservations required.
- Thursday, Dec. 17: The Lot D farmers market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Winter Fest starts its nightly run at 5 p.m.
- Friday, Dec. 18: It's the last night of Snoopy House, contest winners are announced there, and Winter Fest is open 5 to 10 p.m. across the street.
After Dec. 18, City Hall goes back to being City Hall. Winter Fest stays open on its own through Jan. 3, with the late New Year's Eve hours as its last big night of the season.
If you're putting up lights for the Holiday Lights contest this year, or thinking about how a home near Fair Drive fits your own December, Green Group Real Estate would be glad to talk it through. Contact us anytime this season.
