EMAN ABOUT TOWN: This Weekend: Orange International Street Fair

ORANGE, Calif. - Banners went up early last month near Plaza Park at "The Circle" in Downtown Orange for this year's Orange International Street Fair (OISF), an annual Labor Day weekend event in its 39th year that is expected to draw about half a million fairgoers and raise thousands of dollars in funds for local OC charities. This year's theme, "A World of Flavor at Your Fingertips" highlights the kind of variety the fair brings to the City of Orange every year. Always a highly anticipated end-of-summer event, OISF brings a blend of food, beer, music and dance from all over the world.

In your "globe-trotting" stroll through the fair, be sure to take note of all that is available to you before committing to a meal. Each street is sectioned off and dedicated to a certain country's cultural food. You may "fancy" some fish and chips on English street or some pork sliders from Polynesian Street. You may want an all-American hamburger or a philly cheesesteak to with your ice-cold beer before you move on to Greek Street for a taste of baklava. If you're like me, you'll go straight for the bratwurst, sauerkraut and hefeweisen on German Street, where The Europa Band brings a little bit of Oktoberfest into the mix with a nearly never-ending set of classic German folk music and maybe a "chicken dance" or two. The seating area at this stage is a popular (and shaded) area where you can raise your glass for a 'Prost!' with loud and proud Germans in lederhosen.

A stroll through this fair will also give you an opportunity to check out what's occupying Downtown Orange, a restaurant and bar scene that I feel is often overlooked and under-appreciated. Some businesses in and around the plaza may not be open during fair weekend, but many are worth taking a peak at, such as the beer-centric Haven Gastropub or the vibrant and Cuban-flavored Felix's.

This will be my fifth year attending the fair, and I particularly enjoy OISF weekend in Orange because of the sense of community it encourages in the surrounding neighborhoods. Residents and college students in the area (likely from Chapman University) hang out in their yards with friends and neighbors as they watch the crowds build up. Local high school students volunteer in various places in and around the fair and seem to enjoy being a p art of the production. Sure, it gets hot and crowded. And sure, some of the younger folks can get obnoxiously drunk and rude towards the later part of the evening, but if you can ignore them (or join them) then OISF can be good fun. Besides, you (and fair organizers) will have the following Monday to sleep it off.