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

OC Día del Niño Festival

Herbert Sigüenza of the beloved film "Coco" serves as Emcee for this spectacular annual festival which celebrates and inspires the creative spark in children with live performances and hands-on workshops, unfolding Saturday at Fullerton's Hunt Branch Library MORE

With Brea Concert, Orchestra Collective of Orange County is Set to Hit a ‘Triple Play’

This unusual group, the ‘OC of OC,’ crafts intimate concerts with audiences first and foremost in mind.

Semifinalists Announced for Orange County's 2025 Artist of the Year Awards

The Artist of the Year semifinalists for 2025 have been announced, marking the 12th anniversary of this program.

For each discipline – theater, dance, instrumental music, vocal music, film and TV, fine arts and media arts – 16 semifinalists were chosen, 112 in total, by a panel of arts teachers from among 923 nominees based on applications, performance videos, art portfolios, film samples and artistic résumés.

The semifinalists are invited to present their art forms in person to a panel of judges comprised of artistic professionals and faculty members from Southern California colleges. Along with showcasing the students' talents, the interviews also include conversations with each student in order to learn about the artistic impulses of each student: Why do they create their art? What ideas are they trying to convey? How are they growing in their art form? How are they trying to interact with and have an impact on their community through their art? As they look to the future, what do they want to do next as an artist?

Arts Orange County Announces Honorees for Its 25th Annual Awards

The ceremony on Sept. 16 will include honoring the group’s longtime leader, Richard Stein, who is retiring.

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.

The Brahms Factor

Sea Coast Symphony pays tribute to one of the pillars of classical composition live in concert at the acoustically-splendid St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point MORE

Opening Reception for "The Orange Curtain"

This group visual arts exhibition, which examines the cultural and political divide between Orange County and its neighbor Los Angeles, doubles as the opening of the new gallery Various Small Fires in Tustin MORE

Victorian Easter Open House

Kids can learn about historic crafts like hand-sewing and blacksmithing at this holiday Open House in and around the 19th-century Kellogg House in Santa Ana MORE

Sacred Artists Dance Collective

The bandstand in Huntington Beach's Central Park will be the stage for this dance concert featuring works created by members of Dance 4 Joy Ministries MORE