Each week, Arts Orange County and Culture OC deliver you this look at the stories and events happening in our arts and cultural community.

Art in the Park

The 19th annual celebration turns the civic center of Newport Beach into a grand outdoor festival with opportunities to meet and purchase original works from a wide variety of local artists MORE

New Performing Arts Center in Irvine Partners an Orange County arts institution with one in L.A.

OC Music and Dance is giving the Pasadena-based Asian Hall of Fame entrée into an 800-seat multipurpose venue slated to open at the Great Park in 2027.

Happy Birthday to Culture OC

Culture OC has just blown out the candles. But they're not going to sit around gorging on cake. They have ambitious plans for its second year and beyond.

Eric Eberwein Nurtures Orange County's Community of Playwrights

This local playwright loves OC theater; does it love him back?

Chicano Art from Cheech Marin is the Latest Exhibit on Display at the Old Orange County Courthouse

Sitting in a vintage oak jury armchair inside the Old Orange County Courthouse in Santa Ana, Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento takes a sip of his coffee as he talks about the art that adorns the courtroom walls.

“What better place than here to house an art exhibit where people can come for free and see the legacy of not just the Chicano movement, but incredible Chicano artists,” said Sarmiento, referring to the new exhibition, “Chicano Collection/La Colección Chicana Art,” currently on display at the landmark courthouse. “Santa Ana has a sort of unknown connection to the Chicano movement and specifically this building.”

Each week, we recommend a variety of events and experiences from the listings at SparkOC.com, our free website for Orange County's arts and cultural community.

Classic Cars and Historic Tours

Step into local history and culture in a way you'd never get in a classroom with a hop-on/hop-off tour led by docents from the Anaheim Historical Society, with a classic car show as the centerpiece MORE

Painting in Real Time

The Orange County Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Ana (OCCCA,) presents a contemporary group exhibition of visual art centered around the theme of time, as interpreted by painters of a broad variety of experience levels and educational backgrounds MORE

25th Anniversary of Centennial Farm

Generations of children have received a hands-on education in agriculture at the OC Fair & Event Center; this anniversary party will feature guided tours, up-close encounters with farm animals, and a delicious catered lunch included with admission MORE

Every Brilliant Thing

This special benefit production at Golden West College Theater is a solo performance piece that traces a young woman's childhood drive to help her mother in her struggle with depression as it evolves into a philosophy on the importance of finding beauty in everyday life MORE