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

Relampago del Cielo 50th Anniversary Gala Concert

The acclaimed local folklórico dance troupe celebrates past, present, and future with a spectacular evening at Chapman University's Musco Center for the Arts, with a special appearance by Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar MORE

Orange County Nightlife Is Moving Into the Daylight

There’s a lot of advantages to partying when the light is out – you can get a good night's rest and also enjoy the warm weather and sun. Nightclubs have traditionally been open only late at night, but with the advent of day parties people can dress up and have fun with their friends in the afternoon.

The concept has been around in Orange County for at least a decade or so in a relaxed and laidback beach atmosphere, but has since become more niche and exclusive in recent years. The most popular ones are outdoors and take advantage of beach views and water features like pools.

Meet the Docents: Orange County’s Unsung Champions of Arts and Culture

He stands quietly in the gallery. Then, if you linger on a painting, he’ll engage. Henry Stiepel explained his method for getting visitors to take a serious look at a single masterpiece where he volunteers at the Hilbert Museum of California Art in Orange. Because, according to a 2001 study by the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the average gaze at a work of art is a mere 28 seconds.

He’s not taking you on a tour of the entire museum, he’s bringing one piece to life, gauging your interest before he greets you. “I don’t hover or interrogate. I introduce myself and say, ‘Enjoying yourself? Do you have two or three minutes? I can tell you about this one.’ Sometimes, three minutes turns into an hour,” he says.

Stiepel’s presentation on spotlighting was one of many revelatory moments we experienced when Culture OC decided to take a deep dive into the world of local volunteers at arts, cultural and historical institutions, starting with the Orange County Docent League’s meeting on July 20 at the Hilbert.

‘Walk-Ins Welcome’ Dishes on Pivots, Cleanses and Scoops of OC Flavor

This month’s episodes feature Kei Concepts chef Viet Nguyen, holistic health coach Kelsey Sullivan, private chef Shey Garland and Strickland's Ice Cream owner Neil Liu, each sharing how they built – and rebuilt – their careers in Orange County's food scene.

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.

7th Annual Page to Stage Festival

The Curtis Theatre in Brea presents heightened staged readings of three new works from Orange County's own rapidly-growing field of playwrights MORE

Choral Festival with Pacific Chorale

The annual free celebration of vocal music at Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center for the Arts will feature over 400 local singers MORE

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Santa Ana's Frida Cinema continues its celebration of the films of Steven Spielberg by presenting this iconic story of a young man who finds and befriends a marooned alien in his suburban backyard MORE

Disney Week at Radiant Beer

The beloved local brewey in Anaheim presents three consecutive nights honoring its theme park neighbor with Disney Trivia, Disney Comedy, and Disney Jazz MORE