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

Garden Grove Strawberry Festival

The Memorial Day tradition reaches its 64th edition, as downtown Garden Grove turns into a massive springtime fair full of rides, music, and plenty of Strawberry-themed treats MORE

The 2024 Spring Chef Shuffle

Culture OC's food columnist catches up with a few chefs who have moved on to new restaurants.

Arts Orange County Announces Honorees for 24th OC Arts Awards

Arts Orange County has announced its 24th OC Arts Awards, recognizing lifetime achievements in the arts, honoring an outstanding arts organization, an emerging artist and an emerging arts leader, and giving special recognition to an individual who has sustained an unprecedented musical career in Orange County.

“Arts Orange County proudly honors the people and organizations that have profoundly impacted the creative life of our community,” Stein said. “We wanted to start recognizing people who may be below the radar for the general arts public. And we wanted to encourage the next generation of artists and arts leaders who are already making an impact in their early careers.”

Tianyi Lu Leads Pacific Symphony in a Singing Account of Sibelius

REVIEW: The young conductor from New Zealand makes a big impression in the composer’s Second Symphony, and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4.

It’s been a season of speed dating for the Pacific Symphony. Eight guest conductors have shown up, many of them first timers with the group, all – or most, we’re not told explicitly – vying for the job as the next music director. The orchestra may be in danger of the consumer in the cereal aisle: Too many choices, all of them delicious. There will be several more candidates next season.

The latest aspirant, Tianyi Lu, arrived Thursday in Segerstrom Concert Hall. The Chinese-born New Zealander, in her mid 30s, is the youngest of the would-be's so far, and the least experienced, though still impressively qualified.

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.

ALMA

Anaheim's Chance Theater stages the Orange County premiere of award-winning playwright Benjamin Benne's story of an immigrant's daughter who is outgrowing her childhood wishes and trying to find her version of the American Dream MORE

Fresh{AIR} (artist-in-residence)

The Brea Art Gallery invites visitors to watch resident artists creating new works live among the exhibits MORE

Ghost Stories & Fairy Tales

Laguna Beach's new Museum of Make Believe presents its inaugural exhibit, an immersive journey through imaginative and joyous environments right out of a storybook MORE

Open Mic at The Den

A mainstay of the Santa Ana Artist's Village, the Den Cafe now invites local musicians, poets, and more to take the stage for free Friday night showcases MORE