Orange County’s summer calendar is getting a new kind of festival.
The OC MENA Festival, scheduled for Friday, June 19, through Sunday, June 21, 2026, at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, is preparing to transform the fairgrounds into a three-day celebration of Middle Eastern and North African culture, entertainment and community.
The event is expected to combine the energy of a live music festival with the warmth of a family cultural gathering. Across the weekend, guests will find concerts, food vendors, marketplace shopping, carnival rides, art, comedy, family programming and spaces designed for all ages.
For Orange County, the festival offers something both familiar and fresh. The fairgrounds have long been a home for major local events, but OC MENA Festival is bringing a regional identity, international sound and community-centered experience to one of the county’s most recognizable venues.
The festival’s name comes from MENA, a term used to describe the Middle East and North Africa. It is a broad region with many cultures, languages, cuisines and traditions, and the festival aims to reflect that range through its programming.
Music will be at the center of the weekend. According to festival materials, the event will feature three days, three stages and 12 artists, with performances across the Pacific Amphitheatre, Festival Stage and Indoor Stage.
The opening day, Friday, June 19, is set to include Ehab Tawfik, Anees and Lana Lubany, along with comedy and indoor stage programming featuring Saad Alessa and Nasser Al Rayess. The combination brings together different generations and styles, from classic Egyptian pop to Arab American songwriting and contemporary Palestinian American indie music.
On Saturday, June 20, the festival continues with Dystinct, Tul8te, Bayou and Gaidaa, a lineup that highlights the global reach of today’s MENA music scene. These artists represent a younger, cross-border sound shaped by pop, R&B, North African influences, Arabic lyrics and international streaming culture.
The final day, Sunday, June 21, is scheduled to feature Mohammed Assaf, Dana Salah and Issam Alnajjar. The closing night is expected to carry a strong emotional pull, especially for fans who connect deeply with Palestinian, Jordanian and broader Arab music.
While the concerts are expected to draw major attention, OC MENA Festival is being planned as more than a performance lineup. The festival experience will stretch across the fairgrounds with food, shopping and family attractions that allow guests to spend the day exploring.
Food will likely be one of the biggest reasons people come early and stay late. Visitors can expect flavors inspired by the Middle East and North Africa, including dishes such as mezze, tagine, koshari, mandi and knafeh. For many guests, those foods will feel like home. For others, they may offer a first introduction to the region’s hospitality and culinary depth.
The marketplace will give local vendors, artists and small businesses a chance to connect with festivalgoers. From fashion and accessories to art, gifts and cultural goods, the bazaar-style shopping area is expected to be a key part of the weekend.
Families will also find plenty to do beyond the stages. With carnival rides, open fairground space and all-ages programming, the festival is designed for parents, children, teens, grandparents and groups of friends. That makes it different from a standard concert, where the focus is usually one stage and one crowd.
At OC MENA Festival, the idea is movement. Guests can watch a performance, grab food, shop, take children to rides, meet friends, discover artists and return to the music as the evening builds.
That format fits Orange County well. The region has a strong appetite for outdoor events, cultural festivals and family-friendly weekends. Costa Mesa’s fairgrounds already carry a sense of tradition for many residents, and this festival adds a new cultural layer to that familiar setting.
It also arrives at a moment when representation matters. Middle Eastern and North African communities have long been part of Southern California’s social, cultural and business life. Their restaurants, music, family traditions, faith communities and small businesses are woven throughout the region. A festival of this size gives that presence a larger public platform.
For first-generation families, the event may feel especially meaningful. It gives parents a place to share music, food and language with their children in a public setting. It allows younger generations to see their culture celebrated with professional production, major artists and thousands of people in attendance.
For non-MENA visitors, the festival offers an accessible way to learn through experience rather than explanation. A song, a meal, a handmade item or a conversation with a vendor can often communicate more than a lecture ever could.
That is what cultural festivals do at their best. They create entry points. They make unfamiliar things feel welcoming. They turn public space into shared space.
The OC MENA Festival also shows how wide the region’s culture really is. It is not limited to one country, one cuisine or one musical style. The weekend’s programming points to a larger story: Arabic pop classics, indie voices, North African rhythms, comedy, soul, youth culture, diaspora identity and family tradition can all exist in the same place.
That mix may be what gives the festival its strongest appeal. It is not only for one generation or one type of attendee. It is built for people who want to dance, eat, shop, bring children, reconnect with heritage or simply enjoy a summer weekend in Costa Mesa.
As the sun sets over the fairgrounds, the festival is likely to take on its own rhythm: food lines growing longer, music carrying across the grounds, friends finding each other near vendor booths, families moving between rides and stages, and crowds gathering as headliners prepare to perform.
Those are the scenes that can turn a first-year event into a tradition.
Orange County has no shortage of summer activities, but OC MENA Festival stands out because it combines entertainment with identity. It is a concert series, a food event, a marketplace, a family outing and a cultural gathering all in one.
From June 19 to 21, the OC Fair & Event Center will become a place where the sounds and flavors of the Middle East and North Africa meet the easy energy of a Southern California summer.
For some, it will be a celebration of home.
For others, it will be a discovery.
For Orange County, it may become the beginning of a new summer tradition.
