MERCADO GONZALEZ
2024-10-30 13:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Festival of Arts 650 Laguna Canyon Rd., 650 Laguna Canyon Rd, LAGUNA BEACH, CA, 92651, United States
MERCADO GONZALEZ
A Celebration of Mexican Cuisine and El Dia de los Muertos
Oct. 30: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM – $55

Hoffy Tours has a special date with the owners of Mercado Gonzalez – the 70,000 square foot, first-of-its-kind Mexican food hall!!! The Gonzalez Family will give us a private tour of their amazing market that’s catching Orange County by storm. Joshua and Yvette Gonzalez will guide us through five stations throughout the market explaining the cuisine, the art and the history. We’ll sample food as we go and you’ll have plenty of time to ask questions and learn about the important holiday – Dia de los Muertos. The Mercado will be decorated with “calaveras” (skulls), “ofrendas” (altars remembering those who have passed away), and plenty of marigolds (“cempasuchils”).

Following the guided tour, you’ll be given a map and Mercado Food Guide so you can explore the Mercado on your own. You’ll learn lots of Spanish and stimulate your taste buds. And Hoffy will sing “La Bamba” on the bus. Song sheets included!

SPECIAL NOTE: One of the pleasures of running a small tour company is exploring fun venues and supporting local businesses. I must say that the Gonzalez family, with their pride of ownership, attention to detail and outstanding customer and employee relations, is a role model for the business community. The family owns 43 Northgate supermarkets throughout Southern California.

Tour leaves from the Festival of Arts, 650 Laguna Canyon Rd.; parking across the street in Lot 11 ($4 all day; free with resident Shopper’s Sticker)

SIGN UP

INLAND EMPIRE GOLD
2025-03-08 08:00 - 16:30 | Festival of Arts 650 Laguna Canyon Rd., 650 Laguna Canyon Rd, LAGUNA BEACH, CA, 92651, United States
INLAND EMPIRE GOLD
Cheech Museum of Chicano Art, State Historic Citrus Park, Abraham Lincoln Memorial – Redlands (with included lunch at Old Spaghetti Factory)
Saturday, March 8: 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM – $124/119

You might call this tour – “Follow the Oranges” – because we’ll visit two cities made very wealthy from citrus. We’ll start our day among the 220 acres of orange groves at the Citrus State Historic Park in Riverside. We’ll tour the museum exhibits and then walk among the trees to see multiple varieties of our iconic fruit. Then it’s off to historic downtown Riverside where we’ll tour the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art to see the latest exhibitions – Amalia Mesa-Bains, Desde Los Cielos, and Shifting Perspectives – as well as to enjoy the permanent collection. Your entry also allows you to view the art at the Riverside Art Museum in the Julia Morgan Building next door. Your lunch at the historic Old Spaghetti Factory, with three entrees to choose from with salad and ice cream, is included in the tour price. You’ll love this historic, Mission Revival building that started out as a packing house in 1912.
Then it’s on to the beautiful university town of Redlands. Here we will tour the historic Smiley Library (1894) and the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Museum – a beautiful piece of architecture dedicated to deepening understanding of the 16th President and the Civil War. We’ll conclude our day with a bus tour of some of the mansions of Redlands, once known as “The City of Millionaires and the City of Beautiful Homes”. A highlight will be the “Kimberly Crest Mansion”, a chateauesque beauty surrounded by Italian gardens and orange groves.

TOUR LEAVES FROM THE FESTIVAL OF ARTS, 650 LAGUNA CANYON RD. AND THE LAGUNA HILLS MALL PARKING LOT,24001 AVENIDA DE LA CARLOTA.

SIGN UP

BALBOA ISLAND WALKING TOUR
2025-05-15 10:30 - 12:00 | Sugar n Spice Donuts, 310 Marine Ave, Balboa Island, 92662, United States
BALBOA ISLAND WALKING TOUR
Including Chocolate-Covered Banana and Ferry Ride
Thursday, May 15: 10:30 – 12:00 – $35/30 (adults/seniors)
“Learn the backstory of this gem of Newport Beach”

This is one of the most beautiful walks in Orange County. Our first stop will be at the Balboa Island Museum to learn how William Collins created a famous island from a sand spit in 1909! Then we’ll walk along the Bay Front promenade admiring the beautiful architecture, great landscaping, and views of the bay and boats. Then it’s on to the Balboa Island Ferry for our short ride to the Newport Peninsula where we’ll visit the only Victorian structure in Newport – the Balboa Pavilion. It was here that Henry Huntington’s Red Car dropped folks off to enjoy the beach. Once back on the island, we’ll continue our stroll around the island, checking out the diverse architectural styles, ending up at Marine Ave. for a scrumptious chocolate-covered banana!

Tour meets at Sugar n Spice Donuts, 310 Marine Ave, Balboa Island.

SIGN UP

Masters of Wood & Clay
2025-06-04 08:45 - 16:45 | Festival of Arts 650 Laguna Canyon Rd., 650 Laguna Canyon Rd, LAGUNA BEACH, CA, 92651, United States
MASTERS IN WOOD AND CLAY
Sam Maloof Foundation and the American Museum of Ceramic Art with lunch at Claremont Village
Wednesday, June 4: 8:45 AM – 4:45 PM: $99/94

This tour features American craftsmanship and art in two great venues, one in Alta Loma, the other in Pomona. Our first stop will be a tour of the historic home of master furniture maker Sam Maloof, nestled at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. We’ll enjoy a docent-lead tour of his home and workshop and have time to explore the exhibition center and gardens. The two exhibitions should be great: 1) Printed & Stitched – featuring 58 original artworks created by members of the California Society of Printmakers and Studio Art Quilt Associates: and 2) Handwork: Crafting the Counter Culture by famed wood-working artist Garry Knox Bennett and New-Mexico-based feather artist Nicki Marx.

For lunch, we’ll visit nearby Claremont Village – a wonderful compact downtown with excellent restaurants and shopping. Hoffy will provide you with a restaurant map and guide. For music enthusiasts, we’ll enjoy a visit to the legacy business – Claremont Folk Music Center. After lunch (you may never want to leave this delightful downtown), we’ll have a tour of another gem – the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona. This museum has the largest collection of ceramic art on the West Coast and has a wonderful variety of pieces. In addition to the regular collection, the two special exhibits are Hot and Ready to Serve! – Functional Ceramics and Making In-Between: Indigenous Americans.

SIGN UP

FARM TO TABLE
2025-06-25 09:30 - 16:30 | Laguna Beach School District Parking Lot, 550 Blumont St, LAGUNA BEACH, CA, 92651-2038, United States
The Ecology Center (SJC) and Tanaka Farms (Irvine)
“Walk the farm fields and pick your own produce!”
June 25: 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM – $84/89

We’re going back to the Farms! This tour gets us in touch with the earth and where our food comes from. We’ll start at the bustlin’ Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano for a 45-minute, guided walk through the farm fields where over 60 varieties of fruits and vegetables are grown. The Center is a certified, regenerative organic farm, and you’ll learn how its community programs are educating and training people for a more sustainable lifestyle. After the tour, you’ll have a chance to explore the Ecology Center’s beautiful campus – its Campesino Cafe, Farm Stand, greenhouses, and Community Table. Lunch will find us at Irvine’s Tanaka Farms where you’ll enjoy an included picnic lunch, a narrated tractor ride through the 30-acre farm, stops to pick your own produce, and time to visit with the animals at the barnyard. Both venues take a different approach to bringing people closer to the food they eat: whereas The Ecology Center is certified organic farm, Tanaka Farms uses the “agri-tourism” approach. It will be fun to experience both.

Wear a sun hat, bring sun screen and wear comfortable shoes. We’ll be in the fields and on a tractor for a fun experience in urban agriculture. This tour has a moderate amount of walking.

TOUR DEPARTS FROM LAGUNA BEACH SCHOOL DISTRICT PARKING LOT, 550 BLUMONT ST., AND LAGUNA HILLS MALL PARKING LOT, 24001 AVENIDA DE LA CARLOTA.
(Tour limited to 35 guests; picnic lunch included)

SIGN UP
