Your weekend beyond the lanterns: a color run, a casino night for the K9s, and a free car-seat check

The weekend of September 26–27, 2026 is peak Mid-Autumn in Little Saigon — the lantern processions, the festival booths, the mooncakes. If that's your plan, our guide "Trung Thu ở Bolsa 2026" lists every lantern event in Westminster and Garden Grove. This story is about everything else: three cities' worth of food, running, and family logistics happening around the lanterns, all within a few miles of Bolsa Avenue.

Tonight: Garden Grove's tasting party on the Village Green

Start with your stomach. Foods of Garden Grove Live returns to Village Green Park (12732 Main St., in downtown Garden Grove) tonight, Friday, September 25, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Getting in is free, and so is the live music at the Garden Amp — this year's lineup features Your Mom's Band, the New Originals, and DJ Jason Bee.

The food works on a ticket system: a Fun Pack is $15 for 5 tastings, a Foodie Pack $30 for 10, a Family Pack $45 for 20. A $75 VIP package adds drink tickets, merch, and lounge access. The city says this year's vendor lineup is its largest yet, with names like Smoke Queen BBQ, Carolina's Italian Restaurant, and Amarith Farmhouse. After dark, the park turns into a glow-in-the-dark playground: Art in the Dark, a blacklight street-art exhibit, and a Glow Zone with oversized LED lawn games. Tasting packages are sold at fogg.live.

Saturday morning: run a 5K — or walk it in a cloud of color

If you can get up early after all that, Saturday starts fast. The Hyundai Hope On Wheels 5K and Color Fun Run takes over Fountain Valley Sports Park (16400 Brookhurst St.) on Saturday, September 26 — the 5K run/walk starts at 8 a.m., the Color Fun Run at 9 a.m. Registration is $32.80 per race (fee included) or $40 for both, and organizers say same-day registration is available on race morning. Every in-person entry comes with a race shirt, finisher medal, and finish-line photo.

The money goes somewhere that matters: Hope On Wheels funds pediatric cancer research, and a share of proceeds supports local nonprofits through the Fountain Valley Community Foundation. Sign up at runsignup.com.

Saturday morning, option two: a free car-seat check that takes 20 minutes

Not a runner? Here is the most practical stop of the weekend — especially if you're a grandparent who drives the grandkids to school. Garden Grove Police Department is checking car seats for free on Saturday, September 26, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at police headquarters, 11201 Acacia Parkway. Officers inspect how your seat is installed, fix what's wrong, and — if your current seat doesn't meet safety requirements — provide a replacement seat at no cost.

Appointments are required. Reserve a spot at bit.ly/GGPD-CarSeatCheck, or call:
Crime Prevention Bureau, GGPD:
(714) 741-⁠5764

Saturday night: poker chips for the police dogs

Once the lanterns go up, adults have one more option. GGPD's Casino K9 Night runs Saturday from 6 to 11 p.m. at the Garden Grove Community Meeting Center, 11300 Stanford Ave., raising money for the department's K9 unit. Those are the dogs that search buildings and track missing people ahead of officers.

The city's event page doesn't list ticket prices. To ask about tickets:
GGPD Community Liaison:
(714) 741-⁠5760

One weekend, three cities

None of these events is huge on its own. Together they say something about how this corner of Orange County actually works. A tasting festival in downtown Garden Grove; a charity run in Fountain Valley; a car-seat check and a casino night from the same police department — all stacked around a Vietnamese lantern festival. Pick one, or chain them: tastings tonight, color run in the morning, car-seat check on the way home, lanterns and poker chips after dark. The full Mid-Autumn schedule is in our lantern guide.