Complexions Contemporary Ballet

The virtuoso dance company puts on a showcase of dazzling modern choreography at The Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University MORE

♦ Arts & Culture ♦

O.C. Performing Arts Groups Look for New Normal

Welcome to the Age of Anxiety — a confusing time when the performing arts in America, along with many other aspects of life, face a host of perplexing questions that don’t have easy answers:

-- Are we entering a recession, or do the robust job numbers mean we’re heading for a soft landing?

-- Is the pandemic over, or not?

-- Will inflation make tickets too expensive and chip away at disposable incomes?

-- Will the climate continue its increasingly dramatic journey to strange new extremes?

-- How will the earthshaking social changes of the last few years — the #MeToo Movement, Black Lives Matter, increasing political partisanship — alter programming choices, personnel decisions, and the fundamental power structure of cultural institutions?

As the 2022-23 season begins, these questions will play a role in what we see and where we see it.

♦ Food ♦

Panoringan: Exploring the Restaurant Scene in Little Arabia

On Aug. 23, 2022, Anaheim City Council’s decision to designate Little Arabia was a historic moment for the community decades in the making. Pending a study of the businesses along Brookhurst Street, the proposed thoroughfare will be between Ball Road and Broadway, with the possibility of expanding as wide as Katella and Crescent avenues.

According to Rashad Al-Dabbagh, founder and executive director at Arab American Civic Council, “Over the years, Arab Americans have transformed Brookhurst Street into a thriving cultural and business destination. People come to Little Arabia from all over Southern California for the unique eateries and services it provides.”

I spent two summers in the ‘90s residing at a complex on the corner of Brookhurst and Broadway. Nondescript plazas, a drive-thru with bulletproof glass and Linbrook Bowl were the few memories I have of the neighborhood. Little would I know that 20+ years later, the Brookhurst Street corridor would be home to a rich culture of cuisine.

One of the best ways to understand a culture is through its food, so I sought out recommendations to try with a dining companion. My succinct list is a starting point for unfamiliar diners seeking an overview of what Little Arabia has to offer for every meal of the day – including dessert.

Autumn Moon Festival

The latest in Bowers Museum's series of free family festivals in Santa Ana will offer crafts, moon cakes, and spectacular demonstrations of dance and kung fu MORE

9th Annual OC Zine Fest

The Anaheim Central Branch Library hosts this day-long celebration of the publishers and creators working on the far periphery of literature, cultivating new and challenging voices and creating opportunities for people outside of the mainstream to tell their stories MORE

Hunchback of Notre Dame

Stage Door Repertory Theatre presents the stage version of the Walt Disney Animated Musical inspired by Victor Hugo's novel about the bell-ringer Quasimodo MORE

Lunch & Lecture with Irina Charny

The artist behind the striking mosaic installations now on display at Sherman Library & Gardens in Corona Del Mar will be giving a talk and hosting a personal tour of her work, offering the chance to understand their inspiration and technique in their own words MORE