Winter Fest OC, Southern California’s largest winter festival, will return to the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa on Nov. 27 for its 12th year of operation, showcasing over 40 attractions.
“The holiday season is all about creating special moments with the people you love, and we’re excited to bring that magic to life once again,” Mark Entner, CEO of Irvine-based event production and management company PSQ Productions, said in a press release.
Since its debut in 2014, the festival has grown to become a beloved seasonal staple in Orange County, known for activities such as the 150-foot-long Snowflake Summit tubing slide, snow play zones with real snow for sledding and snowball tossing and an outdoor ice skating rink.
Other classic attractions include holiday light displays and a music-synchronized light show, meet-and-greet opportunities with Santa, nightly tree lighting and live music performances. Winter Fest OC has not yet specified any performers for this season.
Aside from the returning attractions, the event will expand this year, with three major brand-new attractions.
Among the new attractions is a seven-zone holiday light trail, which allows visitors to travel through “themed areas” like Peppermint Tunnel, Singing Forest and Aurora Snowfall Walk according to PSQ Production’s press release.
The Grand Cove will feature green and red illuminated trees, a plaza filled with ornaments, a forest of real pine trees and a starfield backdrop.
The holiday light trail and the returning attractions are included in the base Snow Pass, which is priced at an Early Bird online ticket cost of $25.99.
For locals who want to experience the festival more than once throughout the holiday season, the Season Pass is available for $47.99, which allows unlimited visits to the festival during eligible dates.
The next ticket tier up, the Winter Pass, costs $45.99 and is the most popular ticket option. It includes unlimited ice skating and Bounce Pass access to the all-new 20,000-square-foot Bounce Land and a nine-hole mini golf experience. The Winter Pass also includes the perk of priority gate entry.
The festival’s most costly ticket option is the Platinum Pass, which adds onto the Winter Pass with perks like unlimited carnival rides, brand-new VIP lounge access and Fast Pass access for the Snowflake Summit. The Platinum Pass, along with all ticket options, is currently available for purchase for $101.99 on the Winter Fest OC website.
Parking, regardless of ticket tier, is $15 per vehicle to enter the OC Fair & Event Center.
The Early Bird ticket pricing, advertised as 48% off of regular ticket price, will remain the same through Nov. 10 before being increased to in-season pricing. All Winter Fest OC passes this year are Flex passes, allowing visitors to buy the tickets without declaring the date they intend to attend. The event is also cashless, only accepting credit and debit cards as payment methods.
The festival will run from Nov. 27 through Jan. 3, 2027 on select dates and times.
Jayna Miller is a News Staff Writer. She can be reached at millerjy@uci.edu.
Edited by Brinda Popli.
Interested in becoming an intern or a contributing writer for the City News section?
Contact us at citynews@newuniversity.org!