Fourth of July

Wild Goose Tavern's Sausage Party

The new Costa Mesa eatery knows its wieners

AAA's Tipsy Tow Service Available New Year's Eve

While not available in all their US markets, The Automobile Club of Southern California will be sponsoring a complimentary Tipsy Tow service New Year's Eve. Also offered on the Fourth of July, non-members can participate. The ride and vehicle tow is up to seven miles from the point of pickup for tho ... More >>

On The Line: George Valdovinos Of Embarcadero California Bistro, Part Two

Read our interview with George Valdovinos of Embarcadero California Bistro, Part One.And now, on to Part Two . . . .When you're not in the kitchen cooking, what are you doing?I am a proud new father and spend as much time as I can with my wife and new baby girl.Last song playing:Michael Buble's Ever ... More >>

Chaba Thai: Second

[Hole In the Wall] This Stanton Thai joint will use any edge to lure you from Thai Nakorn

[UPDATED with Villa Park Checkpoint, Results:] As Bombs Burst in Air on the Fourth, Smokies on the Ground Hunt for Drunk Drivers

See end of post for details on Fourth of July holiday DUI arrests, injuries and deaths so far, and a new checkpoint announced in Villa Park.ORIGINAL POST, JULY 3, 9:38 A.M.: Orange County law enforcement has big plans for the Fourth of July as it is anticipated fireworks won't be the only thing lit. ... More >>

Huntington Beach Fourth of July Parade

Downtown Huntington Beach

Sweet & Saucy, Chic Long Beach Bakery, to Expand to Crystal Cove

​Like the progression of a Mad Men episode, Cougar Country Crystal Cove Promenade is slowly evolving with its dining selections. The first US branch for Tamarind of London opened late last year. Then we welcomed Bear Flag Fish Company late last month. Apparently, the upscale plaza is becoming noto ... More >>

Taco Bell/KFC Employee Quits With a 'Fuck You' On The Marquee

Brobible​Behold, the resignation letter of champions. A shift manager at a Taco Bell/KFC hybrid in Depew, New York quit his job, but not without leaving this sweet little note for his employer.   

Rose Bakery Café Is the Dough-Right Man

This Corona del Mar spot looks yuppie, but makes doughnuts worthy of Anaheim

[UPDATED with Final Tallies:] Fourth of July Surprise! Stepped Up DUI Checkpoints and Patrols

​UPDATE, JULY 6, 10:38 A.M.: The Avoid the 38 DUI Task Force just released the final numbers from the holiday weekend past's three sobriety checkpoints and multiple DUI saturation patrols countywide.From 12:01 a.m. Friday through midnight Monday, officers representing 38 county law enforcement age ... More >>

Planking Fail by Katy Perry; Other Celebs Show Her How its Done

​ Katy Perry tweeted a picture of her planking on a yacht on the Fourth of July. Except she was doing it wrong (legs and head down, hands by your side!) and subsequently got a lot of flak for it on the Interwebz. To show her how its done, we complied a list of celebrities who can plank right, and ... More >>

Five Non-Standard (But Tasty) Picnic Foods for Your Fourth of July Weekend

Flickr user sandraregina​Summer. Outdoors. Sunshine. Warmth. Picnics...The best picnic foods are those that can be prepared easily, transported well and eaten easily (and at room temperature). We've never understood why mayonnaise-laden potato salad ends up in picnics, or why people would want to ... More >>

Hootenanny

Oak Ranch

Chuck Boogie Trio

Commonwealth Lounge

July 4 Spectacular: Elvis Lives

Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

Bruxie: Lobster Waffles for Fourth of July

"Yo Dawg, I heard you like lobster so I put a lobster on your lobster roll..."​What's a more American dish than lobster and waffles? Actually, lots of things. But that's how the house of Belgian waffles in Old Towne Orange rolls on this Fourth of July. It's Bruxie's take on a lobster roll, only ... More >>

[UPDATED with 1 Stinkin' DUI Arrest:] Costa Mesa Police Hold Sobriety Checkpoint, Promise More

​UPDATE, JUNE 14, 3:03 P.M.: The Costa Mesa Police Department reports that 1,467 vehicles passed through the checkpoint it set up at the undisclosed intersection of Bear and Baker streets Monday night, 858 vehicles were screened, three drivers were given field sobriety tests . . . . . . and only o ... More >>

Dreading the Noise

[Hey, You!] Old woman, no call the cops!

As Mountain Resort Bookings Bounce Back, Mtn. High Offers Screaming Season Pass Deal

​Yes, by most leading indicators, the U.S. economy--what's the technical word for it again? Oh yes--BLOWS! However, an, erm, un-leading indicator shows one economic sector bouncing back.Mountain destinations across the western U.S. reportedly experienced sharp increases in July occupancy and steep ... More >>

Alexis Bellino of Real Housewives Offered Tips to Keep Her Kids From Drowning

​We told you here how The Real Housewives of Orange County reality spouse Alexis Bellino and her husband nearly lost their twin baby girls to the Balboa Bay Club pool Fourth of July weekend.The Bellinos and their kids grace the July cover of OC Parenting Magazine, and one hard-hitting question thr ... More >>

Just When You Thought the Streets Were Free of DUI Checkpoints ...

​In case you saw our warning about all the DUI checkpoints and "saturation" patrols that smothered Orange County over the Fourth of July weekend and thought to yourself, "I'll just wait a weekend to get my drink on and drive," think again, Tipsy.The Fullerton and Garden Grove police departments ar ... More >>

Alexis Bellino, Real Housewives of Orange County Star, Nearly Loses Toddlers to Pool at Tony Balboa Bay Club: TMZ

​"It's all about the family Fourth of July," posts The Real Housewives of Orange County star Alexis Bellino on her Facebook page.That's followed by several exclamation points to drive home Mom of the Year's point. However, it was all about saving her family, or at least part of it, when a reporte ... More >>

Stars And Stripes And Vanilla Ice: Your 4th of July Music Roundup

Flickr user Riptheskull​Despite the hyper-patriotic ravings of Rush Limbaugh and Bill O, most Americans, whether liberal or conservative, understand the true meaning of Independence Day--or would if they didn't get so wasted every time the holiday rolled around. Yes, the 4th is a basically a natio ... More >>

Free Bike Valet Service Coming to Downtown Huntington Beach--But Not in Time for Fourth

​The city of Huntington Beach has announced it will unveil a bicycle valet service for its congested downtown during the busy summer months.Unfortunately, that free service will not begin this Fourth of July weekend--the busiest time of the year in Surf City's pier area.

BBQ, Brews and Red, White and Blues

Queen Mary

Disney’s Celebrate America: A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky

Disneyland

Boob War Fourth of July Special: 13 Original Pairs of Breasts That Made America Great

​A holiday is a great excuse to run an overused concept into the ground. That's why the Fourth of July is a perfect opportunity for a Boob War Special Edition (cue percussive theme music) that takes a historical look at the pioneering woman--and their breasts--responsible for making our country g ... More >>

OC's Famous Desegregation Case Finally Gets Its Historical Due, But One Family Feels Left Out

Five Questions with On Blast

​Long Beach (OK, technically they live in Signal Hill) quartet On Blast--multi-instrumentalist Andy Kiddoo, singer Josh Brown, guitarist Travis Raab and producer/bassist Tone Blair -- play Thursday night at Alex's Bar with Free Moral Agents and Mode and Friday night...at a bar mitzvah. After runni ... More >>

What You Missed: Shwayze, Sutra's Freedom Party and Newport Dunes

We know, we know--there's nothing more damn depressing than the end of a long holiday weekend. And it was a pretty perfect one at that: Sunshine, 80-something-degree weather, a cloudless sky. And now we're back to sunshine and 80-something-degree weather... but from behind your computer screen and y ... More >>

Slideshow: Freedom Creative Arts Fest II at eVocal

Unfortunately, I know not all of you made it out to the "Freedom Creative Arts Fest II" at eVocal this past Saturday. It was the Fourth of July, after all, and put together with pretty short notice. (The lure of driveway fireworks is a strong one.) But given that, it was still a remarkable event, br ... More >>

Full Set Times for eVocal 'Freedom Fest'

Happy 4th of July, duders! We've got the set times for today's "Freedom Creative Arts Fest" at eVocal in Costa Mesa, the venue's second-to-last show. Click on the jump!

Hootenanny

Oak Canyon Ranch

Fourth of July Fireworks Dinner Cruise

Dana Wharf

Rocky Horror Picture Show

Yost Theater

To Do Orange County: July 4th

Looking for a way to celebrate Independence Day?  Take a look at the options below to ensure that you're not home alone when the fireworks are going off."I'M ON A BOAT!" 4th of July Queen Mary SpectacularThe pool opens at 11am and you can lounge, drink, and dance. Walk around the ship and check ... More >>

Lineup for 4th of July Show at eVocal Takes Shape

We've been following the story of eVocal's untimely closing all this week, and now we have some more information on what looks to be the Costa Mesa all-ages venue's second-to-last show. Dubbed "Freedom Fest," festivities are planned to go for a full 12 hours--from noon to midnight--with back-to-back ... More >>

Teabagging or Partisan Hackery?

Hey, hey, hey, the beauty of all these anti- (take your pick) -tax, -deficit, -progress tea parties was that they were truly grass-roots, free from the partisan political hackery that many believe in responsible for the country's fiscal woes in the first place. Then what to make of the Saddleback Re ... More >>

Barbershop Harmony Society’s 71st Annual International Convention and Competition

Honda Center

The Art of John Gilhooley's Weekly Portraits

Photographer John Gilhooley--whose portraits often grace the pages of OC Weekly and have also been seen in Long Beach's District Weekly, Seattle Weekly and the just-shuttered LA CityBeat--is showing some of his favorite photographs from the past year and a few big prints of "classics from previous y ... More >>

OC Faux Pas of the Millennium!!!

Setting: West Hollywood Book Fair, 'round noon, Librería Martínez booth. Protagonists: Me, Librería Martinez volunteer Jess Baudillo, and a gaggle of gals from the Mission VIejo Public Library. Scene: They had just invited me to speak at some author's festival they're proposing for next year. I ... More >>

[¡Ask a Mexican!®] More Shameless Self-Promotion (Buy Gustavo's New Book!)

The Bono - Jesse Helms connection

From our good friends at Rock & Rap Confidential: "Jesse Helms died yesterday, the Fourth of July. The LA Times front page described Helms as 'the former U.S. Senator from North Carolina who for half a century infuriated liberals with his race-baiting campaign tactics.' President Bush described H ... More >>

God Bless America, Tom & Jerry Style

While other websites post the Declaration of Independence for their 4th of July entry, we at the Weekly encourage a more palatable visual to the greatest country on earth: Tom and Jerry's Academy Award-winning Yankee Doodle Mouse. Make sure to blow up your illegal Mexican fireworks in parking lots, ... More >>

To Do Tonight 7/3: Nightlife Edition

Nightlife Edition: Because you don't have work on Friday* Peter Hook DJ Set, 9:00 p.m. Oh, for Joy (Division)! Detroit Bar 843 W. 19th St. Costa Mesa CA 92627 949-642-0600 Glam, 9:00 p.m. Break out those clear-heeled stilettos. Club Bravo 1490 S. Anaheim Blvd. Anaheim CA 92805 714-553 ... More >>

Starry 
Night

Don McLean

OC's Choice for so-called Conservative, Efficient Government

A site to ponder about OC favorite George W. Bush on this Fourth of July is here.

The Times and Me

Pick up the Los Angeles Times today and read my essay on the boneheaded Huntington Beach Fourth of July parade committee that decided to dick with Sylvia Mendez of Mendez vs. Westminster fame. Then browse through the Times' archives and find their June 17 best-seller list, in which my ¡Ask a Mexica ... More >>

'D-port! D-port! D-port!'

Illegal immigrants, legal immigrants, minutemen, and anarchist ninjas all gathered together, and the American flag was more popular than on the Fourth of July. The May Day rally and march in downtown Santa Ana drew a crowd of between 1,000 and 3,000 people, according to a police estimate. Cops on h ... More >>

Hookah Party!

Smoky flavors at Open Sesame