Plant Fest at Tanaka Farms - Spring 2019 Edition this Sunday

One of my favorite events is Plant Fest, held a few times a year at Tanaka Farms. It is a wonderful gathering of vegan food and product vendors, plus cooking demos, yoga, farm tours, games and crafts for the kiddos, and such a fun vibe! I love going and shopping all the vendors, grabbing some great food, watching some cooking demos and just hanging out with good friends.

I'm thrilled that Plant Fest is returning on Sunday, March 31st from 10 AM to 4 PM. There is plenty of free parking and it is a real treat to spend the day on a working farm right in Orange County! Admission to the farm is $4 and allows you access to wander the farm and attend Plant Fest. Plus, a portion of all sales will be donated to an animal sanctuary that will be chosen by the vendors. Check out the incredible vendors below!

Boot Hill Home Haunt and Yard Display

Boot Hill is a home haunt and yard display in Irvine, California that is open select Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights leading up to Halloween. It is in its 19th year of keeping the Halloween spirit alive and is put together with spooky love every year by the homeowners. It features an Old-West theme, with the facade of a home and the front yard transformed into an Old West town and cemetery, and the ghost of Jedediah Smith roaming the ghoulish grounds!

Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch 2018

One of my Halloween traditions is to visit my local pumpkin patch at Tanaka Farms in Irvine, California. I love attending events at Tanaka Farms, which is a real working farm and so fun to visit. Their pumpkin patch is a real one, where pumpkins are actually grown and you can wander down the rows of pumpkins, visit a corn maze, and even pick your own fruits and veggies on the farm! They also have wagon rides and games. The pumpkin patch is absolutely gourd-geous - they have everything from itty bitty pumpkins to huge giants.

Like last year (check out my visit from last year), Tanaka Farms has officially licensed Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters to host their pumpkin patch. Photo ops abound with character cut-outs and it is certainly fun to see the cutesy Sanrio characters throughout the farm. There are also hay bales, scarecrows, a sunflower maze, their famous pile of pumpkins, and so many other amazing treats in store at Tanaka Farms.

Check out my photos from this year's visit below:

Strawberry Jam Tours at Tanaka Farms

Tanaka Farms is one of my favorite places in Orange County - not only is their pumpkin patch the best (they actually grow their own pumpkins), but they also host the fantastic Plant Fest every season featuring a fun assortment of vegan food and vendors (see past visits to their pumpkin patch and Plant Fests HERE!). Not only that, but they have pick-your-own veggies and fruits and farm tours as well. For the next two Thursdays and Fridays, they will be hosting Farm to Table Strawberry Jam Tours!

Tanaka Farms has some ripe, juicy, and delicious late-season strawberries waiting to be picked! This tour will include a wagon ride out to the strawberry fields, where you can enjoy the sunshine and pick berries. After choosing the sweetest strawberries, you'll head back to the farm where you will learn how to the berries into a delicious strawberry freezer jam! At the end of your strawberry jam-making adventures, you'll get to take home a jar of jam along with a basket of luscious, sun-kissed strawberries.

The tours will be held this Thursday, July 19th and Friday, July 20th, as well as next Thursday, July 26th and Friday, July 27th. All tours start at 10:30 AM and are $18 per person.

To RSVP for the event and buy tickets, visit the Facebook event page!

Kick Off Summer With Plant Fest at Tanaka Farms

Plant Fest returns to Tanaka Farms in Irvine, California this weekend for two days of vegan food and fun! Parking and admission are both free, and the event will be held Saturday, June 2nd and Sunday, June 3rd, 2018 from 10AM to 3PM. It is the perfect way to kick off summer, with vegan vendors, food trucks, cooking demonstrations, special speakers, all on a working farm!

Over 20 vendors will be there selling both vegan food and cruelty-free merchandise. Check out the list of food trucks, vendors, and schedule of events below:

Plant Fest at Tanaka Farms This Weekend

This weekend Saturday, September 23rd and Sunday, September 24th, Tanaka Farms in Irvine, California will host its first ever Plant Fest featuring vegan food trucks, cooking demonstrations, speakers, cruelty-free vendors, fresh fruit and veggies, live music, and farm tours. Tanaka Farms has partnered with SoCal VegFest to host this event as a fundraiser for the Animal Protection and Rescue League (APRL) - a 501c(3) organization. More below!

Hangar Bar at Whole Foods Market in Tustin, CA

Hangar Bar's vegan Cauliflower Nachos and Beast Burger with fries!

Whole Foods Market at The District in Tustin, California just got a major overhaul that included the additions of a brand new Mendocino Farms and Hangar Bar inside the store! This is the Whole Foods I frequent the most, so I am ecstatic to have two new restaurants inside the store that offer lots of vegan options! Now I can grab a bite before shopping, because we all know shopping hungry at Whole Foods just leads to trouble.

I've already had Mendocino Farms, so I decided to try some of the vegan options at Hangar Bar, which of course also has a full bar serving lots of beer on tap as well as specialty drinks. Since I'm not much of a drinker, I went straight for the food! I was surprised at how many vegan options they did offer, each of which was clearly marked with a green circle with the world "vegan" inside it (just be careful since the vegetarian options are also marked with a green circle - the only difference is that they say "veg").

Last Pumpkin Patch Visit

My favorite pumpkin patch, Tanaka Farms, announced that they would be open the day after Halloween for one last hurrah (and to try to find good homes for all their leftover pumpkins - you could buy a wheelbarrow full for only $10!). So after work yesterday I hopped on my broomstick and flew over to enjoy another hour or so in one of my favorite places, the pumpkin patch.

It was a beautiful fall day, with cool (well, cool for SoCal) temps, a nice breeze rustling the corn stalks, and bright blue skies contrasting against the orange of the remaining pumpkins. The pumpkin fields were pretty sparse, as all of the pumpkin vines had been pulled up and a few pumpkins were smashed and rotting, with the faint smell of stinky-sweet pumpkin rot hanging in the air, but I was ecstatic to be back in the pumpkin patch for what felt like an extra bonus round of Halloween! There were only a few families here and there along with a few workers in the fields, but for the most part it was quiet and beautiful. It felt like the perfect way to say goodbye to Halloween. 

Here are some photos I took of my last pumpkin patch visit of 2016:

Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch 2016 Visit

One of my Halloween traditions is to visit our local pumpkin patch at least once every season! With the weather here in Orange County never quite reaching ideal fall temperatures (we're usually still stuck in the 70s and 80s) and no real autumn foliage to enjoy, visiting the pumpkin patch is one of the few nature-y things I can do in SoCal that manages to invoke that special Halloween feeling!

Restaurant Review: Poqet Donuts in Irvine, CA

Vegan Donuts from Poqet

Poqet Donuts (Poqet is pronounced "pocket") recently opened up in Irvine, California, and to my delight I learned they had several vegan donut options available! Poqet Donuts is kind of a "build your own" donut place, like Donut Friend in Los Angeles. Like Donut Friend, they also have many donuts already prepared. Unlike Donut Friend, the majority of their donuts are not vegan (boo), however they do offer two vegan donuts at this time - a Samoa flavor and a Strawberry flavor (woo hoo!).

Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch

Per October tradition, I visited the Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch in early October. It was a relatively warm Saturday morning when I arrived, and all the pumpkins were still covered in dew from the night before. Pumpkin patches are my favorite, and this is the only "real" pumpkin patch in the area where they grow their own pumpkins (well, this year they had a bunch of pumpkins trucked in as well - the drought no doubt affected this year's crop) and other veggies/fruits. Here are some pics I took at the pumpkin patch:

31 Days of Halloween: Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch 2014

One of my annual Halloween traditions is hitting up the pumpkin patch, and my most favorite one I've been to in Orange County is located just about 10 minutes from me in Irvine! If you've followed me for a while, you probably will recognize the Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch as one of my most favorite places to be.

I visited the pumpkin patch about a month ago (on opening day back in September), but still wanted to share some photos with you of this gorgeous gourd garden! I wish I could visit in the middle of the night on Halloween (I still can't believe it is only two days away!) and wait for the Great Pumpkin!

31 Days of Halloween: Halloween 2014 Events in Orange County

There are lots of eerie events and activities going on this month in Orange County that are sure to get you in the Halloween spirit! There seems to be something for everyone, from scary mazes for adults and teens, to kid-friendly pumpkin patches, to jaw-dropping Halloween displays everyone can enjoy!

I've compiled a handy list of some of the haunting happenings in Orange County and also listed a few events that will occur beyond OC since they were just too good to leave out! You can check out my list below, though please note this isn't an all-inclusive list of all Halloween events. If you have a favorite event I've left out, please let me know in the comments!

Anaheim's Halloween Parade

Join in the fun with Anaheim's Halloween parade on October 25th, 2014, which has been celebrating the season since 1924! Fantastic floats, a Miss Fall Festival competition, and lots of Halloween activities at the end of the parade route round out this fun tradition! This is a free event to attend, but any activities, games, etc. are extra.

Irvine Park Railroad Pumpkin Patch 2014

Happy first day of fall! And what's better than kicking off the first day of the most wonderful season than with a visit to the pumpkin patch? Nothing, that's what!

I visited the Irvine Park Railroad Pumpkin Patch, the first pumpkin patch to open near me, yesterday! It is located in the Irvine Regional Park on the foothills between Irvine and Orange. Not only was it a perfect way to kick off autumn, but the weather was gloriously gloomy to boot!

Vegan Options at Berkeley Dog in Irvine

UPDATE: Unfortunately, this restaurant has closed. 

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

Attention UCI and Orange County vegans! Berkeley Dog, located on the UCI campus near Trader Joe's and Veggie Grill, has two vegan sausage options! I'm not sure how long these have been available, but after visiting the location with some non-vegans a few weeks ago, I was ecstatic to see "veggie dogs" on the menu.

31 Days of Halloween: Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch

One of my most favorite places is the Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch in Irvine, California. I love the fact that it is a real working farm and you can actually pick your own pumpkins from the rows upon glorious rows of orange (and white and green) gourds that line its hillsides. It holds a very special place in my heart, and so of course one of my Halloween traditions is to visit it at least once every autumn! I generally try to go opening weekend, which is what I did this year.

Here are some photos from the patch this year:

 So. Many. Pumpkins!

31 Days of Halloween: A Visit to the Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch

One of my favorite Halloween traditions is a visit to our wonderful local pumpkin patch at Tanaka Farms! Tanaka Farms grows their own pumpkins and is one of those rare "pick-your-own" pumpkin patches where you can choose your perfect pumpkin right off the vine! Best of all, they are located just about 15 minutes from me in Irvine, California.

I try to make it to Tanaka Farms on the opening weekend of their pumpkin patch every year, with 2012 being no different. Mister Spooky and I were there bright and early their opening weekend to walk among the rows and rows of dewy pumpkins.

Check out my photos of the pumpkin patch below:

Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch 2012

Mister Skellington Scarecrow

 I love sitting on top of the big pile o' pumpkins!

 A beautiful day for pumpkin picking

 Monster-sized pumpkins!

 He who walks between the rows

 Hello scarecrow!

 Heaven is a pumpkin patch

 A very happy Spooky Vegan

 I loved the twisty vine on this pumpkin!

 Until next year, Tanaka Farms!

31 Days of Halloween: A Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

One of my absolutely favorite places in the world is the pumpkin patch! Every first weekend of October I head to opening of Tanaka Farms pumpkin patch in Irvine, CA. It's a vibrant working farm in the otherwise drab suburbia of Orange County (where I reside). They are open year-round, and besides their annual pumpkin patch they also feature lots of other events, including their summer watermelon tours!

Last weekend, Mister Spooky and I took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch at Tanaka Farms, and though it was a little warm we had a fabulous time! The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and fields upon fields of pumpkins lay before us! What could be more grand?

 

And if you are in the SoCal area, I highly encourage you to check out the lovely Tanaka Farms! Plus, parking and entry are free! Check out their website for more!

Do you have a favorite pumpkin patch?

31 Days of Halloween: Pumpkin Patch Visit

One of my absolute favorite activities during the Halloween season is visiting the local pumpkin patch! The pumpkin patch has to be one of my favorite places on Earth, and if I could live there I totally would!

I don't like just any dinky pumpkin patch (though even small strip mall pumpkin patches bring an instant smile to my face), but one that actually grows their own pumpkins and lets you pick them from the vine. My local, go-to pumpkin patch is working farm Tanaka Farms in Irvine, California!

We made our first annual visit at the end of September; check out my pics below!

Yay! So exciting!

I pick this one!

Funny scarecrows!

Every which way leads you to the pumpkin patch!

Tiger pumpkins!

Pretty squash!

My new best friend =)

Pumpkin Queen!

My carved pumpkin!