Big Bad Voodoo Daddy played Mile Square Regional Park on August 20, closing out the two Thursdays Fountain Valley got on this summer's OC Parks concert calendar. Two. Out of nine. The county's Summer Concert Series ran nine free shows between July 9 and September 3, rotating through five regional parks, and Fountain Valley's entire allotment was Como La Flor Band on August 13 and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on August 20. Mason Regional Park, Irvine Regional Park, Craig Regional Park and Bluff Park at Salt Creek Beach split the rest.
The countywide concerts are one part of public life in a city that treats this particular park like its town square. The 607-acre park also hosts local gatherings.
Free Parking for Concert Nights
Here's another detail from the concert nights. Mile Square Regional Park normally charges for parking, $3 per vehicle Monday through Friday and $5 on weekends. For both concert nights, parking was free.
The concerts were part of a countywide series; the potluck is a community gathering at the same park.
The next community gathering is September 27.
The Same Park Hosted a National-Record Potluck
OC Around the Table returns to Shelter 3 and 4 near the Warner and Euclid corner. This community potluck asks attendees to bring a dish and share a meal.
Last year's debut, held September 28, 2025, at the same park, drew more than 2,100 people and was formally notarized at 2,166 participants, a U.S. record for the largest potluck ever held. Fountain Valley Mayor Ted Bui welcomed the crowd. State Senator Tony Strickland spoke. The event's organizing committee, run through the Pacifica Institute, built the whole thing around one idea: get people from different backgrounds to sit down together over food.
The potluck's first-year turnout highlights the role community gatherings can play in Fountain Valley's public life.
Where the New Restaurants Are Actually Showing Up
A separate local trend is visible in where Fountain Valley's newest restaurants have chosen to open. The city's own list of recent additions includes:
- Shabuya, 18279 Brookhurst St.
- Lollicup Fresh, 18645 Brookhurst St.
- Pur Bowls FV, 16051 Brookhurst St. #D
- GEM Dining, 10836 Warner Ave.
- Fountain Valley Pizza D'Z, 10585 Slater Ave. #3A
- Jane's Pizzeria, 17870 Newhope St.
Four of those six sit on Brookhurst or Warner, the same two streets that also form two full sides of Mile Square Park's boundary.
Some of the newer arrivals also bring a more ambitious dining experience. VOX Kitchen, a newer arrival built around a Chifa concept, the fusion tradition born from Peruvian and Chinese cooking, is serving lomo saltado and garlic noodles alongside craft cocktails, a menu built for a night out rather than a quick counter order. Soondol Tofu House and Saigon Capital have opened more recently as well, both landing on local "new and notable" lists this year. These newer arrivals add to Fountain Valley’s dining options, while the park continues to host community gatherings such as the potluck.
What's Actually Left on the Calendar
If you're already living here and wondering what's next, the concert series has moved on. The final 2026 dates, Dream Like Taylor on August 27 and Family Style on September 3, both landed at Bluff Park at Salt Creek Beach, outside city limits. Fountain Valley's two nights were done for the year.
The concert season is over, but the community potluck returns to the same park on September 27 after drawing more than 2,100 people in its first year.
It's also worth watching whether this year's potluck tops last year's number. A second consecutive year of growth at the same park would say something concrete about whether September 2025 was a one-time civic moment or the start of an annual fixture the rest of the county starts paying attention to.
Together, the county concerts, the returning potluck and new restaurant openings along Brookhurst and Warner show the range of activity around Mile Square Park.
If you're keeping an eye on what a neighborhood's daily rhythm says about its long-term value, that's the kind of signal worth more than a median price. Doug Merlino and the team at BeachPointe Properties track these shifts across every Orange County neighborhood we work in, from the park-anchored civic life here in Fountain Valley to the coastal corridors nearby. If you're curious what any of it means for your own place in the city, reach out anytime.
