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

Lunar New Year Parade and Festival at Great Park Live

A new tradition is born as the Great Park rings in the Year of the Horse with a parade and festival hosted by CBS News Los Angeles primetime anchor Suzie Suh MORE

A New Era Officially Begins at Pacific Symphony

Alexander Shelley’s first season at the helm marks landmark anniversaries, features an opera about Nixon, and brings in some big names.

Embracing the World’s Cultures in Orange County

These local festivals highlight the beloved traditions of different cultures from across the globe, providing a chance to learn about new people and places without ever leaving home.

‘Once’ Twice: Two Local Theaters Stage Musical at the Same Time – and Neither Is Worried

How much does Callie Prendiville Johnson love the musical “Once”? Its most famous song, “Falling Slowly,” which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2008, played as she walked down the aisle at her wedding ceremony.

Not convinced? Try this: To appear in the stage musical in 2023, she learned to play the accordion – and will strap it on again beginning Sunday, Feb. 1 in the Electric Company Theatre’s production at the Charleston, a wedding and special events center in downtown Fullerton housed in a nearly 100-year-old building that has never hosted a play before.

How much does James Michael McHale love the musical “Once”? He’s performed in the show more than 200 times in four different productions since 2018.

Not convinced? Try this: the night before ECT opens its run in Fullerton, the McHale-directed production of “Once” officially opens at Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills.

That’s right: “Once” is being produced concurrently at two theaters located about 8 miles apart.

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.

8TPS

A vocal collective founded to create community and celebrate gender diversity puts on an a capella-infused concert at Fullerton's Muckenthaler Cultural Center MORE

Music in Common + The Black Legacy Project

Music, storytelling, film, and conversation weave together in a unique, interactive celebration of Black American history and experience at Irvine United Congregational Church MORE

Happy Feet

It's a free, family-friendly dance party on Friday mornings at the San Clemente Library MORE

Mardi Gras Open House

Get a guided tour of a beautiful 1889 Queen Anne Victorian House in Santa Ana as its renovation continues, then enjoy beignets and chicory coffee as you might in New Orleans MORE