Irvine Regional Park's 125th Birthday

Everything from folklorico dancing to classic cars to Shakespeare will be part of the day's entertainment as the expansive park near Santiago Canyon College celebrates its anniversary as a hiking, picknicking, and gathering place for the people of Orange County MORE

♦ Visual Arts ♦

Film Festivals Galore This Fall Throughout Orange County

Autumn brings to mind cornucopias, and there’s certainly an abundant cornucopia of indie films and film festivals coming to Orange County this October.

The 13th edition of the Viet Film Fest kicks off virtually Saturday, with in-person screenings starting next Friday, Oct. 7. That fest runs through Oct. 15.

The second annual Dome Fest West at Orange Coast College’s Planetarium runs Oct. 6-9. The 13th annual OC Film Fiesta starts Oct. 13 and runs through Oct. 23.

And the granddaddy of them all, the 23rd annual Newport Beach Film Festival, opens Oct. 13 and runs through Oct. 20.

Though they may have an embarrassment of riches on their hands, local film festival organizers insist that their offerings ought to complement each other, not crowd one another out of the marketplace – and out their audience’s time and head space. Here’s a look at what’s coming up.

♦ Theater ♦

‘Kim’s Convenience,’ the Play That Inspired the Controversial TV Show, Opens at Laguna Playhouse

It’s just Jon Lawrence Rivera’s luck. Instead of enjoying a working vacation by the beach and directing a simple comedy, he’s stuck answering questions about politics, structural racism and America’s ongoing reckoning with race.

Not that his work as a director and founder of Playwrights Arena, a Los Angeles-based entity that is one of the biggest – and oldest – champions of new, adventurous plays by Los Angeles playwrights, disqualifies him from talking about those issues. It’s just what brought him to Orange County was the opportunity to direct a comedy, a very successful comedy, with a proven track record and built-in audience.

So when he was offered the gig of directing “Kim’s Convenience” at the Laguna Playhouse, you couldn’t blame Rivera for looking forward to not having to deal with the traffic and gentrification of his Hollywood neighborhood; he’d be kicking it on the coast during rehearsals in an apartment paid for by the theater. And instead of being on the ground floor of developing an intense play written by an intense playwright about an intense subject like race or sexuality, he’d be directing a comedy, a Canadian comedy, arguably the most successful Canadian play ever written.

Doubt: A Parable

This modern classic play from John Patrick Shanley about a nun's suspicions regarding a priest and his relationship with a student opens at the Newport Theatre Arts Center MORE

Textures, Shapes, Patterns or Forms

A group exhibition at Laguna Beach's Las Laguna Art Gallery draws the eye to the infinite variety and diversity of surfaces - whether in landscapes, wildlife, or works of pure abstraction MORE

OC Children's Book Festival

Over 100 authors and illustrators specializing in stories for kids will be on-hand at the campus of Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa MORE

In Memoriam, Victorian Mourning Exhibit with Tour

Those who celebrate Halloween for all of October may enjoy this special, ghost story-laden visit to the historic and uniquely-designed Kellogg House in Santa Ana MORE