Free Breakfast with Santa in Huntington Beach (2026)

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If you're looking for a fun holiday outing for the family, Huntington Beach is hosting its annual breakfast with Santa, and we're covering the $20 mission for the first 50 families of up to five. Simply comment Santa below to reserve your spot. Plus, we're gonna be talking about the smashing pumpkins that are coming to the beach, and I found a piece of Huntington Beach history in a 1950 newspaper. And we're back with another episode of Unlocking Huntington Beach. What's going on? My name is Lane Stone, and we have another good one for you today. So let's get right into it. And let's start with how to get your family in for the Breakfast with Santa put on by the city of Huntington Beach. All you have to do is comment Santa below, and you'll receive free entry for your family of up to five with the $20 admission covered. This offer is limited to the first 50 guests. So get your comments in early.

Breakfast with Santa Details: Dec. 5 at Central Park Senior Center

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Breakfast with Santa is happening Saturday, December 5th, 2026 at the Senior Center in Central Park in the park view room off of Golden West. There's going to be breakfast, holiday music, arts and crafts, bounce houses, and a chance to get a picture with Santa. And we're going to actually be doing a build your own hot chocolate station. Breakfast seatings are at 8:30, 9:30, and 10:30 a.m. And the event wraps up at 12:30. You'll need to register in advance because tickets won't be sold at the door. Kids under one can attend for free. Oh, and guess what? I'll be there snapping pics for everybody and providing printed photos right on the spot. It's a can't miss event in HB and potentially free for you. And you know what you got to do. The fact that we're already talking about Christmas is crazy, but here we are. Tis the season, and I hope to see you at breakfast

World Help Turkey Wobble: HB Thanksgiving 5K & 10K

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with Santa. Now, if you like getting outside before Thanksgiving dinner, there's a local tradition coming up that you might want to check out. The World Help Turkey Wobble is happening on Thursday, November 26th, right here in Huntington Beach. It's a Thanksgiving morning 5K and 10K walk or run along the coast. Guess what? I'm gonna do it. So see me there. But according to the organizers, it's been going on for about 15 years. What makes this one different is its fundraising mission. The event partners with World Help, a humanitarian organization that works on clean water projects around the world. According to the event organizers, 85% of the money raised goes towards drilling clean water wells. They report that the Turkey Wobble has funded 76 wells, helping provide clean water to more than 66,000 people. That's a substantial impact for a race held on Thanksgiving morning. And guess what? Maybe just clear out a little bit of stomach space for the big feast. But the event is open to walkers and runners and families with strollers are welcome. The starting area is near Pacific Coast Highway with several start times between 7 and 8 a.m. So if you want to start Thanksgiving with some fresh air, a little exercise, and an opportunity to contribute to a good cause, this is worth checking out. We'll include the registration

Darker Waves Festival 2026 Lineup & Tickets

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link below. Now let's talk about something coming to the beach a little earlier in November. Darker Ways Festival is scheduled for Saturday, November 14th at Huntington Beach City Beach. And this year's lineup includes some pretty recognizable names. You've got Morrissey, The Smashing Pumpkin, Simple Minds, Bad Religion, Adam Ant, The Psychedelic Furs, Soft Cell, and Gary Newman, among others. If you grow up listening to New Wave, Alternative Rock, or Punk, Post Punk, there's a good chance you'll recognize quite a few of these artists. The festival will feature performances across multiple stages, along with food vendors, merchandise, and different ticket options. When we check the official website, general admission tickets were listed starting at about $260. That price may change as the event gets closer. One thing to keep in mind is that this is a full-day outdoor event on the sand. So bring something warm for when the sun goes down, wear comfortable shoes, and give yourself extra time to get into the area. And for everybody who lives nearby, it's another major event to have on the calendar, especially if you're planning to drive along PCH that Saturday. We'll put the official lineup and the ticket information in the show notes below.

Bella Terra Tree Lighting, Pacific City Santa Photos & Coat Drives

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I know we're still early into fall and we just talked about breakfast with Santa, but many of the holiday celebrations around town have already been announced, so let's talk about them. First up, Bellatera is hosting its tree lighting on Friday, November 20th from 4 to 7 p.m. The actual tree lighting is scheduled for 5 p.m. There's going to be performances, festive characters, photo opportunities, crafts for the kids, and a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus. It's happening in the park near Solita. Bellatera is also collecting new and gently used coats during the event to benefit Lighthouse outreach. Then down at Pacific City, they're bringing back their One More Coat at the Coast campaign that runs from October 29th through December 24th. They're partnering with One Warm Coat, and you can drop off clean, gently worn or new coats in collection boxes throughout the property. Pacific City also has Santa photos scheduled to begin November 21st, and Bellaterra has Santa photos starting November 27th. So lots of Santa helpers out there in the city of Huntington Beach. So if you want to get those family pictures done before December, you've got a couple of options. And if you've got a coat sitting in the closet that nobody wears anymore, these donation drives are a simple way to put it to good use. We'll link the event details below.

Orange County Turkey Ranches: A 1950 HB Newspaper Ad

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With Thanksgiving coming up, I started wondering where Huntington Beach families bought their holiday turkeys before there were supermarkets on practically every major street. And I found a pretty interesting piece of local history. Orange County used to have quite a few poultry farms, including turkey ranches. Local historian Chris Jepson wrote about this back in 2012, and his article includes an advertisement from the November 16th, 1950 edition of the Huntington Beach News. That's an actual Thanksgiving season newspaper advertisement from more than 75 years ago. One of the businesses he researched was Young's Turkey Ranch in Santa Ana. It opened in 1945 when George Young decided to get into the turkey business after working in printing, and the ranch became pretty successful. According to Jepson's research, Young sometimes sold as many as 10,000 turkeys around the holidays. It also supplied turkey meat to restaurants and stores throughout the year. Imagine how different Thanksgiving shopping must have been for families that could go directly to a nearby turkey ranch to buy their bird. Young's even advertised its broad-breasted oven-ready turkeys in the Los Angeles Times. But as Orange County grew, the land became more valuable for other uses. In 1959, the Young family converted seven of the ranch's 10 acres into a mobile home park. The turkey business continued for a while, but the ranch eventually closed in 1971. And stuff like that was happening all around Orange County. Agricultural land was gradually being converted into housing, shopping centers, and other development. Now Young's Turkey Ranch was in Santa Ana, not Huntington Beach, but its story gives us a good picture of the agricultural economy that surrounded Huntington Beach during this period. And

Holidays in Huntington Beach 1915 at the Newland House

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while I was researching that, I came across something else: a historical event called Holidays in Huntington Beach 1915. At first, I thought I'd found a record of a holiday celebration from 1915, more than a hundred years ago now, but it turns out that this was actually an event held in December 2015, designed to recreate parts of Huntington Beach life from a hundred years earlier. It was organized by Historic Wintersburg and the Huntington Beach Historical Society at the Newland House Museum. And this is where the story gets interesting. Because the event highlighted more than just the Newland family. It also recognized the Japanese-American farming community that helped shape early Huntington Beach. One of the featured historical displays was the Toshima Market, which served the early Wintersburg farming community. The original market sold groceries and agricultural supplies. The event also featured mochisuki with Tanaka farms. Mochisuki is the traditional Japanese practice of pounding steamed rice to make mochi, a food especially associated with New Year's celebrations. Along with the historical market display, the event included pioneer reenactments, music refreshments, and a visit from Santa. And it all took place at the Newland House, a building that was already standing in 1898. We actually just talked about the Newland property in a recent episode, so it's interesting to find another piece of history connected to that same location. What I like about this story is that it shows how much of Huntington Beach's early history came from different families and cultures. There were agricultural communities, immigrant-owned businesses, and families building their lives here long before the neighborhoods and shopping centers were even known today. And local historians were able to bring some of those stories back to life for visitors in 2015. The event wasn't an actual celebration from 1915, but as a way to help people understand what life in the area was actually like one century

Surf City Holiday Calendar Recap

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earlier. And there you have it. If you've got an old Huntington Beach photo, newspaper clipping, or a local history story you think that we should look into, please send it our way. We love this kind of stuff. Once again, my name is Lane Stone. Thank you so much for watching Unlocking Huntington Beach. I'm gonna leave you with what I do each and every week. Do it good. Huntington Beach deserves it, and we'll see you on the next one.