Hi there’s two more weeks of school left, are we all okay??? Get those gifts, venmo the room mom who has her shit together, and get ready for a 3 day weekend. There’s a lottt going on so put on your swimsuits and good luck.
What’s going on here:
📌 the fridge
📅 Events this weekend
📅 Events this Monday aka a wall of links
📌 The Fridge
Garden Grove Strawberry Festival is this weekend and multiple people have emailed me about it, so it definitely feels like it's worth checking out! Also, just a heads up if you're planning on rolling through Westminster and traffic is more crazytown than usual.
It’s splash pad season - Sigler and a bunch of others are official open!!!
DID WE KNOW ABOUT THIS INFLATABLE AQUATIC PARK??? Um, byeee kids, I’m doing this one solo.
Memorial day traffic = 👎🏻. Trolley = 👍🏻 There’s a bunch of free trolleys in OC and some of them open this weekend:
📅 Stuff to do: May 23-24
North-ish OC
Saturday
🌿 City of Brea Health & Wellness Expo | Brea
🏛️ Seeds of Resilience: Barrio Americano Exhibition | Long Beach
🪼 Jelly Dreamscapes Opening Day at Aquarium of the Pacific | Long Beach
🍖 Long Beach BBQ Festival | Long Beach
⚾ Angels vs. Texas Rangers | Anaheim
🧘 Yoga at the Library | Placentia
🥁 Taiko Drumming Celebration | Placentia
Sunday
🎟️ $5 Play Day at Children's Museum of La Habra | La Habra
🪼 Jelly Dreamscapes at Aquarium of the Pacific | Long Beach
🍖 Long Beach BBQ Festival| Long Beach
🏛️ Seeds of Resilience + Cocina del Barrio | Long Beach
⚾ Angels vs. Texas Rangers | Anaheim
Central-ish OC
Saturday
🎨 MAKE: Collage Bouquets at OCMA | Costa Mesa
🎡 Scottish Fest USA| Costa Mesa
🎭 Cursed at South Coast Repertory | Costa Mesa
🎡 Garden Grove Strawberry Festival| Garden Grove
🏃 Strawberry Stomp 5K | Garden Grove
🍔 Wurst Fest at Old World HB | Huntington Beach
🎡 Main Street Magic — A Golden Afternoon | Huntington Beach
🧪 Discovery Cube — Scooby-Doo! | Santa Ana
🏛️ Chinatown Memorial Unveiling Ceremony | Santa Ana
🎨 CASA Pinwheel Project| Santa Ana
🎵 Tunes at the Dunes | Newport Beach
🇺🇸 Field of Honor at Castaways Park | Newport Beach
💦 Sigler Park Splash Pad — OPENING DAY | Westminster
Sunday
🎨 Public Tour at OCMA | Costa Mesa
🎡 Scottish Fest USA | Costa Mesa
🎡 Garden Grove Strawberry Festival | Garden Grove
🍔 Wurst Fest at Old World HB | Huntington Beach
🇺🇸 Field of Honor at Castaways Park | Newport Beach
South-ish OC
Saturday
🎨 Paint & Sip Pottery Class | Dana Point
🎉 Kick-Off to Summer Celebration | Irvine
🎨 LAM Kids Sensory Studio at Laguna Art Museum | Laguna Beach
🎨 LAM Kids Studio at Laguna Art Museum | Laguna Beach
🏝️ Rivian Kids: AANHPI Cultural Session| Laguna Beach
🎬 Rivian Presents: Big Hero 6 | Laguna Beach
🇺🇸 Field of Honor at Mission San Juan Capistrano | San Juan Capistrano
🚴 Pop-Up Pump Track | Mission Viejo
🌿 Nature Makers at Crown Valley Park | Laguna Niguel
🥾 OC Parks Family Hike: Baker Canyon | Silverado
🚶 OC Parks Jr. Ranger Adventure: Peters Canyon | Orange
🎨 OC Parks EarthCraft | OC Parks
🥾 San Onofre State Beach Junior Ranger Program | San Clemente
Sunday
🇺🇸 Northwood Memorial Candle Lighting Ceremony | Irvine
🇺🇸 Field of Honor at Mission San Juan Capistrano | San Juan Capistrano
Happening All Month
What does it mean?
📚 = library event
🍊 = recurring event
🍻/🍷 = get your drink on
🎵 = live music (for adults)
MONDAY MAY 25 BONUS FOR YOUR SANITY CUZ ILY
Ceremonies + parades
🇺🇸 Richard Nixon Library Memorial Day Program | Yorba Linda
🇺🇸 El Toro Memorial Park — 35th Annual Memorial Day Program | Lake Forest
🇺🇸 Park Semper Fi Memorial Day Remembrance | San Clemente
Festivals still going hard on Monday
🍓 Garden Grove Strawberry Festival | Garden Grove
🇺🇸 17th Annual Field of Honor at Castaways Park | Newport Beach
⛵ LA Fleet Week 2026 | San Pedro
🌊 Inflatable Aquatic Park Kickoff | Newport
🎡 Fiesta Hermosa (Closing Day) | Hermosa Beach
✌🏻 See you next week!
As always, if you have anything you want to submit (events, news, hacks, recipes), feedback or hate mail, feel free to hit reply.
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Much love and caffeine,
Frances
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Shitty Mom Guide is not liable for errors, omissions, or changes to events. Always double check your shit before you leave the house. We can’t include every event, but we do our best to curate the most interesting one-off events happening every weekend. This newsletter sometimes includes affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase (at no additional cost to you). Gotta find a way to keep this thing going!
