Boo! Happy Halloween week. 🎃
We spotted a few things that are going fast and wanted you to hear first.

📷 FREE 4WD trip to OC’s mini Grand Canyon: Ride out to The Sinks in Limestone Canyon for photo stops and sunset views on Sun, Nov 15. Spots go REALLY fast, so be ready when registration opens Oct 31 at 8 am.

🎤 Coming to The Coach House: Super Diamond is on for Mar 13 and will sell out. Plus, Engelbert Humperdinck, of “Release Me” and “After the Lovin’” fame, is on Dec 10.

🎟️ Win Don McLean tickets! Three readers will each win a pair for his Nov 8 show at The Coach House. Enter here.

New to The Scene? Welcome! Our motto is simple: the more you know, the more you’ll go. That’s what this newsletter is all about, sharing ideas big and small to make it easier (and more fun) to get out and enjoy OC.

See you out there!
Lorna & Jason

P.S. A Quick Favor!
Click the sponsor ad below. It’s an easy way to support The Scene at no cost to you. You don’t have to buy anything. We get paid when you click.
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🥃 Find the Password to South OC’s Newest Speakeasy
Shhh! The Winston’s Club debuts The Paddock, a hidden, smoke-free lounge featuring tableside cocktails. Opening night is a Roaring ’20s Halloween party. After that, it’s open every Friday & Saturday (if you have the secret code.)
Opens Fri, Oct 30 | 9 pm | The Winston’s Club, San Juan Capistrano

🛥️ Sail Into a Night of Yacht Rock
The seven-piece Yacht Groove serves up smooth ’70s and ’80s favorites, yacht soul and plenty of singalong nostalgia. Shades and captain hats encouraged.
Fri, Oct 30 | 8 pm | The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano

👻 A Candlelit Night of Halloween Music
A live string quartet performs music from Stranger Things, The Addams Family, Ghostbusters, Psycho and other spooky favorites. Save 10% with code SOUTHOC10.
Fri, Oct 30 | 8:30 pm | First United Methodist Church, Costa Mesa

🍺 Brewers Mash: Halloween Craft Beer Fest
Independent OC breweries pour unlimited tastings on the museum’s historic grounds, with live music, close-up magic, food vendors and a costume contest. Ages 21+.
Fri, Oct 30 | 6–10 pm | Heritage Museum, Santa Ana

🎬 Watch Hocus Pocus Under the Stars at Great Park Live
The Halloween favorite takes over Great Park Live's giant outdoor screens.
Fri, Oct 30 | 8 pm | Great Park Live, Irvine

🎸 CHECK FRIDAY’S LIVE MUSIC →

➡️ NEXT WEEK
Scroll down to see events happening next week and beyond.

🧙‍♀️ Witches Take Over Dana Point Harbor by Kayak and SUP
Put on your pointiest hat and paddle the harbor with a flotilla of costumed witches. Beginners welcome, gear included, preregistration strongly recommended.
Sat, Oct 31 | 9–11:30 am (check in by 10 am) | Westwind Sailing, Baby Beach, Dana Point

⚡ Spend Halloween Night With David Bowie
David Brighton’s Space Oddity recreates Bowie’s many eras with costumes, theatrical staging and a full live band.
Sat, Oct 31 | 8 pm | The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano

🍷 The Last Boorah: Halloween on the Harbor
Frisby’s last day in business at the harbor: a costume party with a DJ, costume contest, and wine, beer and bites.
Sat, Oct 31 | 5–9 pm | Frisby Cellars, Dana Point Harbor, Dana Point

👻 Halloween Party at Patsy’s Irish Pub
Get your ghoul on with a DJ, karaoke, a costume contest, a fall drink menu, and Frankenstein-inspired Jell-O shots. Halloween night also features whiskey tastings.
Sat, Oct 31 | 9 pm–1 am | Patsy’s Irish Pub, Laguna Niguel

🚗 Take a Narrated Halloween House Driving Tour
Go on a GPS-guided audio tour of all 10 award-winning Halloween homes in Mission Viejo. Follow the route and hear stories about each display as you arrive. It's 50 minutes of Halloween sightseeing, best enjoyed after dark.
Self-guided audio tour | Best after dark | Mission Viejo

🌊 A Day of Ocean & Surf Films
Dana Point Film Festival screens blocks of short films at 10 am, noon and 2 pm, followed by the swimming documentary Don’t Be Prey at 4 pm.
Sat, Oct 31 | 10 am–6 pm | Porthole Theater, Dana Hills High School, Dana Point

🔔 Halloween Breathwork & Sound Bath
Dearly Departed combines breathwork, meditation and a sound bath for an evening of remembrance and honoring ancestors.
Sat, Oct 31 | 5–6:30 pm | LiveMetta Pilates and Yoga, Laguna Beach

🌴 Halloween With an Ocean View
Hotel Laguna’s private Beach Club hosts beachfront DJ sets and cocktails, with DJ Monico, Matlo and more on the lineup. “Costume chic” attire required, and there’s a 9 pm entry cutoff.
Sat, Oct 31 | 6 pm–midnight | Hotel Laguna Beach Club, Laguna Beach

🍸 Take Halloween to the Rooftop
Hive & Honey celebrates above Irvine with cocktails, a live DJ and costumes.
Sat, Oct 31 | 4 pm–1 am | Hive & Honey, Irvine

🎸 CHECK SATURDAY’S LIVE MUSIC →

🎬 Hans Zimmer by Candlelight at The Ritz-Carlton
Movie scores get the string-quartet treatment overlooking the coast, with music from Hans Zimmer’s blockbuster catalog. Save 10% with code SOUTHOC10.
Sun, Nov 1 | 6 pm | The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point

🎂 Mission San Juan Capistrano Turns 250
The Mission marks its actual 250th birthday with a special celebration, historic bell ringing and birthday cupcakes on the grounds.
Sun, Nov 1 | 10 am–2 pm | Mission San Juan Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano

💀 Día de los Muertos After Dark at the Heritage Museum
A free evening celebration with a community ofrenda (you can submit photos of loved ones and pets), live entertainment, food and vendors.
Sun, Nov 1 | 5–9 pm | Heritage Museum of Orange County, Santa Ana

🎸 Hiroshima
The Grammy-nominated jazz-fusion group returns to The Coach House with its blend of jazz, R&B and traditional Japanese instrumentation.
Sun, Nov 1 | 7 pm | The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano

🧛 Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors FINAL PERFORMANCE
Bram Stoker gets the Mel Brooks treatment in this fast, funny vampire romp packed with wordplay, quick changes, and a very dramatic Count Dracula.
Sun, Nov 1 | 2 pm | Camino Real Playhouse, San Juan Capistrano

🌼 Celebrate Día de los Muertos in Dana Point
La Plaza Park fills with live entertainment and mariachi, ofrendas, street chalk art, face painting, crafts, food and drinks.
Sun, Nov 1 | 2–7 pm | La Plaza Park, Dana Point

🎭 Hamlet From London's National Theatre
Hiran Abeysekera stars in Robert Hastie's National Theatre production, on the big screen.
Sun, Nov 1 | 3 pm | Irvine Barclay Theatre, Irvine

🎶 Choral Music Inspired by Abstract Paintings
The Laguna Beach Chamber Singers perform "Brushstrokes," set to Kim Manfredi's paintings, right in the galleries.
Sun, Nov 1 | 3 pm | Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach

🎸 CHECK SUNDAY’S LIVE MUSIC →

➡️ NEXT WEEK
Scroll down to see events happening next week and beyond.

🎟️ “American Pie” concert tickets on us? We’re giving three readers each a pair of tickets to see Don McLean at The Coach House on Nov 8. Enter to win here.

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✅ C. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

Before it was played by a ghost in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, this organ belonged to Captain Nemo aboard the Nautilus submarine in Disney's 1954 film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, starring James Mason.

The original organ was purchased for just $50! After the movie, it spent 11 years on display in Disneyland's Tomorrowland as part of a walk-through exhibit featuring actual film sets.

When that exhibit closed in 1966, Disney gave the organ another life. It was repainted, fitted with a bat-shaped music stand and new pipes, and installed in the Haunted Mansion ballroom for the attraction's 1969 opening.

More than 70 years later, that same $50 organ is still entertaining Disneyland guests, with a ghostly organist at the keys and spirits emerging from its pipes.

🥱 Boring Stuff

Publication Disclaimer: Everything included here is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. It is always best to double-check links to be sure event information hasn’t changed if you plan on attending something.

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©️ 2026 The Scene: South OC | All content and information set forth above was created by Lorna Ladd and Jason Ladd and is the intellectual property of this publication. It is protected under US copyright law, including but not limited to “The Digital Millennium Copyright Act.” Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or duplication of any material, in whole or in part, without express written authorization & consent, is strictly prohibited by law and may result in legal action. Violators will be subject to prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.