The 2009 Irvine Global Village Festival
Saturday, October 3 • 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

More than 13,000 guests celebrated Irvine’s cultural diversity and experienced sights, sounds, and tastes of the world representing upwards of 50 cultures. Guests enjoyed the mosaic of music and dance on five stages; immersed themselves in cultural and religious displays; indulged in international cuisine; and shopped in the world marketplace. This family focused event tantalized tots with hands-on art projects, games, puppet shows, and activities in a giant, interactive Kids Village. The event was promoted as the #1 activity to attend in OC by OC Register and was highlighted at the Best Festival for 2009 by OC Weekly.

Click on map below for larger version (pdf).
 
Location: Bill Barber Park, at the Irvine Civic Center
4 Civic Center Plaza
Irvine, CA 92606
Parking: Easiest way to get to the festival: On-site parking fills quickly, so guests are encouraged to use the free shuttle service from these convenient off-site parking locations:
  • Jamboree Center - Jamboree and Union
  • Lakeview Senior Center - 20 Lake Rd., Corner of Alton and Lake

    Click for off-site parking location map
  • On-site parking is provided at Bill Barber Park, Irvine Civic Center and along Harvard Avenue and Alton Parkway adjacent to the park.

    Handicap parking is located at the onsite parking lots and the Lakeview Senior Center. All shuttles are handicap accessible.

    Click for on-site handicap parking locations map

Go Green! Skip the car and ride your bike to the Festival! Find out more - click here!

Tickets: Admission is FREE!
$1.00 Food Tasting Tickets will be available for purchase the day of the event; tasting item prices range from 1 to 3 tickets with some restaurants offering multiple tastings on one plate with corresponding tickets requested.


Get an insider’s view of the
Global Village Festival by becoming a volunteer!

Volunteering at this year’s festival is a great way to interact with the community and really become a part of Irvine’s largest community event.
Click here for information on how to get involved.
 


  

General Information

Information booths are located in three locations, at the entrance adjacent to each parking lot and in the center of the park behind the ball fields. The Information Booth in the middle of the field includes Lost and Found and the place for parents to go for lost children.

The First Aid Station is located in the middle of the park. In addition, if you need assistance please contact any event staff wearing a blue shirt with event logo and they will assist you.

Lost Children

The Irvine Global Village Festival is a family-friendly event and committed to the safety of children. We recommend all parents designate a place to meet if parents and children become separated.

For younger children, we recommend placing a sticker on the back of your child with your cell phone number in case they become lost and we need to contact you. Please do not put the name of your child on the sticker.

Stickers are available in the Kids Village and at any of the Information Booths. In addition, if you need assistance, please communicate with any of the event staff wearing the light blue shirts with the event logo.

Food Tickets

Tickets for food tasting are $1.00 each.  Each Food Restaurant/Vendor charges a different number of tickets for each item, from one ticket up to three tickets. Some restaurants offer multiple tastings on one plate with corresponding tickets requested.

You can use your MasterCard or Visa ATM/Debit Card or Credit Card at two designated ticket booths. American Express, Diners Club, and Discover are not accepted.

We encourage you to sample multiple cuisines from our local restaurants as well as experience the sites and sounds of the world at the Festival.

THINK GREEN!

Eco-Friendly Event

The City of Irvine is proud to be an environmental steward and promote eco-friendly practices. The Irvine Global Village Festival supports this effort by providing eco-friendly products. The following is a list of products utilized at the event:

  • Greenwave Paper Plates - Primarily composed of annually-renewable plants, sugar cane, and reeds.
  • Eco-Products Cold Cups - Made from PLA, (polylactic acid) , plastic derived from corn.  PLA plastic is a compostable material that when placed in a commercial environment will naturally decompose back to organic elements.  Unlike regular cold cups that are made using petroleum, PLA plastic products are made using US-grown corn!
  • Eco-Products Utensils - Biodegradable cutlery is made from non-GMO (genetically modified organism) vegetable starch.  It not only exhibits superior performance over other biodegradable utensils, but is OK Compost certified. These biodegradable utensils break down under commercial composting conditions in about 95 days. 
  • Napkins - 100% recyclable paper products
  • Reusable Water bottles - Molded from 60 - 70% home-recycled plastic and HDPE (high-density polyethylene). HDPE is BPA-FREE.

The Festival program is printed on recycled paper utilizing soy-based ink.

Bike to the Irvine Global Village Festival!

Many residents avoid the troubles of parking lot crowds and join their neighbors in riding over to the Global Village. Recently awarded as a Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists, the City of Irvine is renowned for its bicycle routes, bike lanes and bike paths... and all lead to Bill Barber Marine Corp Memorial Park! Bicycles are a universal means of transportation with obvious economic, environmental and health benefits – and are ridden in every part of the globe. The Bicycle Club of Irvine and volunteers will host a free Bike Parking area where you can check in your bicycle for the duration of your stay at the Global Village; Located right at the North entrance, along the San Diego Creek bike path, a part of the Mountains to the Sea Trail.