Families gathered beneath the shade of sycamore trees at the renovated Bommer Canyon Cattle Camp for Irvine Company’s annual Fall Festival – a morning of music, food and outdoor fun surrounded by the canyon’s rolling hills.
Children climbed aboard fire trucks, petted horses from the Irvine Police Department’s mounted unit and posed for photos among pumpkins and hay bales while bluegrass music from the Stable Geniuses played in the background.
More than 200 residents attended the community event. The festival celebrated the season while highlighting Irvine’s access to open space and nature, much of it donated and preserved by Irvine Company for public enjoyment.
“I’ve lived in Irvine for 24 years, but this was my first time at Bommer Canyon,” attendee Melissa Simon says. “I love that we have this kind of wilderness so close to home.”
The Irvine Ranch Conservancy hosted an exhibit featuring tanned pelts from local animals such as a striped skunk, a bobcat, a gray fox and a coyote. IRC also led docent-guided hikes along a 1-mile loop through the canyon. Dozens joined to learn about native plants and the wildlife that thrive just beyond the city’s neighborhoods.
“I’ve lived in Irvine for 24 years, but this was my first time at Bommer Canyon.
Melissa Simon
I love that we have this kind of wilderness so close to home.”
For Michael Hollis, who grew up in Irvine and now raises his family in The Ranch neighborhood, the event felt both new and familiar. He watched his 6-year-old son, Christian, climb aboard a fire truck before exploring the festival grounds.
Hollis praised Irvine for preserving areas where families can connect with nature close to home.
“It’s really nice that all of this is available to us here,” he says. “It’s nice that my kids can experience the same parks I did growing up – safe, well-maintained places where they can just be kids.”
