Brew Heavens: The Orange International Street Fair

The Orange International Street Fair is one of my favorite events of the whole year. Every Labor day weekend, the Orange Circle (the "Plaza") is closed down to traffic as well as one block in each direction. The streets are divided by international themes where you can find food, drinks, and entertainment relating to that particular theme.

So many options, where to start first??

My favorite entertainment at the fair is listening to The American Wake play Irish rock on Irish street. They go on every evening and play until 9pm and they really put on a good show. My favorite food at the fair is typically the gyros from Greek street. There is so much delicious food available at the fair, though, so its hard to go wrong depending on what your mood is.

And my favorite place to get beer at the fair is at Rod's Liquor. Rod's is one block west of the circle, at the corner of Chapman and Olive. It is a regular liquor store but, unlike most other stores at the circle, it is open during the street fair. They set up an assembly line that allows you to enter the liquor store, pick out your favorite beer, wine, malt beverage, etc, pay at the register, then take it to the folks outside to open it and pour it in a cup for you. Once it is in the cup you are free to stroll around with your drink. Rod's has a pretty solid selection of craft beer and the prices are very reasonable. Better yet, its right next to the gyros. So grab yourself a beer and a gyro and take in the awesomeness that is the street fair.

Rod's at night. It will look a little different during the fair, with lines wrapped around and tarps set up, but look for their sign if you're having trouble finding it.

One bit of advice for those who have never been there. The street fair can get ridiculously crowded. My suggestion is to go early to get a lot of the exploring done while it is not too crowded yet, then camp out in one area (for example, Irish street to hear The American Wake) once it gets more crowded.