Good morning. The airshow jets are gone, the pumpkin patches are open, and this weekend is a clean sweep of the good stuff: a 25th birthday party at the Great Park, chili on Main Street in Huntington, and 30 painters turning Laguna into a gallery. Wear layers. Bring snacks. ☕

This week in OC: The Laguna Plein Air Painting Invitational is in its 28th year, with 30 invited artists painting around town from Oct 3 to Oct 11. Laguna is the birthplace of California Impressionism, and for nine days you can watch it happen live, easel by easel. lpapa.org

In today's Buzz:

— Kevin

Irvine Global Village Festival turns 25. The City of Irvine's signature festival lands at the Great Park on Saturday, Oct 10, and this year there is an anniversary exhibit that traces the festival from its early days at Colonel Bill Barber Marine Corps Memorial Park to the Great Park today. Three stages, 46-plus music and dance performances, martial arts demos, art exhibits, a bubble zone for the little ones, and more than 30 food vendors. If you have a kid who "doesn't like trying new food," this is the day to test that theory.

Here's what to know:

Source: City of Irvine.

Worth leaving the house for (Fri Oct 9 to Sun Oct 11).

🌍 Irvine Global Village Festival (Sat Oct 10, Irvine). Our Big Thing. Free, 10am to 6pm, and the 25th anniversary exhibit is the extra reason to go. → irvinefestival.org

🌶️ Chili at the Beach (Sun Oct 11, Huntington Beach). The first three blocks of Main Street turn into a chili cook-off from 11am to 4pm, with live music and a kids zone. Taste, vote, argue with your friends about whose was best. Tasting tickets were listed at $16.15 with fees. ($) (Tickets) → ticketsignup.io

🎨 Laguna Plein Air Invitational Festival Art Show (Sun Oct 11, Laguna Beach). The finale at the Festival of Arts grounds, 650 Laguna Canyon Rd, 10am to 4pm, with free public entry. Meet the artists, watch painting demos, buy a piece. There is also a ticketed Collectors Art Party on Saturday evening, 6 to 9pm. → lpapa.org

🎃 Pumpkin Palooza (Sat Oct 10 and Sun Oct 11, Santa Ana). Discovery Cube's pumpkin festival, 10am to 5pm, with dance parties through the day. Parking is $10. See Kids. ($) → discoverycube.org

(Double-check times before you go. Events move.)

Pumpkin Palooza at Discovery Cube. Weekends in October, including Oct 10 and 11, from 10am to 5pm at 2500 N Main St, Santa Ana. Dance parties at 11, 12, 2, 3 and 4. You need a general admission ticket or a membership, and parking is $10. A sensory friendly show is set for Sunday, Oct 18 at 9:50am. → discoverycube.org

Tanaka Farms pumpkin patch, Irvine. Open through Nov 1. October hours are Friday to Sunday, 9am to 9pm, with last entry at 8pm. A pumpkin patch after dark is a different experience, and it beats the Saturday-noon crowd. → tanakafarms.com

Here's what I'm doing with my three: Global Village on Saturday morning for lunch around the world, then a pumpkin patch at night when it's cooler. Free festival, cheap evening, tired kids.

Yakitori, but make it a to-go. Torikizoku, Japan's largest yakitori chain, soft opened its first-ever TO-GO concept at the Center Street Promenade in Downtown Anaheim on Fri Oct 2. Yakitori, rice bowls and ramen in a fast-casual setup. → prweb.com

Sushi in Cypress. Sushi Blissba, a new concept from the group behind Sushi Nigiriba, was set to open Oct 1 in Cypress. → prnewswire.com

Coming soon: Punta Medano has filed for a temporary alcohol license at 3305 Newport Blvd, Suite A in Newport Beach. No opening date yet. → whatnow.com

Solera Kitchen + Wine Bar, Seal Beach (210 Main Street). Today's town gets today's table. Solera is a small neighborhood spot, 31 seats, a few blocks from the pier, with a wine list and charcuterie boards. The Orange County Business Journal says it served more than 1,200 guests in its first few weeks. The move: a pier walk, then a board and a glass on Main Street. → solerasealbeach.com

Source: OC Business Journal.

Small town, big personality, one very long pier. A few things worth knowing:

Next issue: where should we go next? Reply and vote.

The market: The Orange County Real Estate, Inc. report dated Sept 28 shows 43% of active listings taking a price cut, 5,061 active listings, and 1,771 homes pending or under contract. Translation: buyers have a little more room to negotiate than they did this summer. ocrealestateinc.com

The listing: 820 Emerald Bay, Laguna Beach. $18.5 million, 6 beds, 7 baths, about 5,875 square feet, built in 2012, listed Oct 1, with ocean, coastline and sunset views from a cul-de-sac inside the guard-gated Emerald Bay community. That works out to roughly $3,149 a square foot. Photos and details are on the listing page

Remember this? The Seal Beach Pier takes a beating.

It has been a tough century out there. The LA Times reports hurricane winds and huge breakers cut the pier in half in 1939. Waves hit it again in 1983, and the city says it was rebuilt in the 1980s after a storm destroyed two sections. Then, on May 20, 2016, a fire broke out in the old Ruby's Diner at the end of the pier, destroying the diner and damaging the pier. Through all of it, the pier is still standing, still about 1,800 feet of wood and steel reaching into the Pacific, and still the best place in the county to watch a sunset with a coffee.

Sources: LA Times, LA Times, City of Seal Beach.

What's your favorite memory at the end of that pier? Hit reply with your favorite OC memory.

That's the week. Eat something from another continent at the Great Park, vote for a chili, and take your kids to a pumpkin patch after dark.

Three tiny favors:

See you next week.

— Kevin

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