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

3rd of July Fireworks

America's birthday celebration starts a day early with this free family festival at Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, featuring live music and fireworks MORE

SoCal Food and Lifestyle Podcast, Walk-ins Welcome, Launches Today

Culture OC contributing writer, Ivy Dai, will talk with chefs, founders and personalities shaping Southern California’s food and hospitality scene.

For Orange County Artist Big Sur, Music Is Activism, Healing and Home

Melody Tajalli, aka Big Sur, uses music to reflect her journey as a queer, first-generation Iranian-Afghan American artist.

Summer is the Season of Art in Laguna Beach

Sawdust Art Festival and Laguna Art-A-Fair mark milestones while celebrating creativity with the long-running Festival of Arts.

Your Ultimate Guide to 4th of July Celebrations Across Orange County

This Fourth of July marks a milestone: America's 250th birthday and Orange County is celebrating in style.

This year, Culture OC has moved its full city-by-city listings to a permanent page, making it easier to find – and bookmark for years to come. Every city in the county is covered, with schedules, locations, costs, and information on where personal fireworks are legal and what the fines are if they're not.

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.

New Swan Shakespeare Festival 2026

The New Swan's annual summer festival, in their unique circular pop-up theatre on the UC Irvine campus, opens this week with a Dust Bowl-set Romeo & Juliet followed by a surf music-filled new adaptation, The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove MORE

Art Walk Downtown

The longstanding monthly tradition invites visitors to explore both established and pop-up galleries around downtown Fullerton in order to get to know local artists and their work while enjoying live music and poetry MORE

4th of July Bike Decorating

OC Public Libraries will provide the supplies at Garden Grove's Tibor Rubin Library, and families are invited to bring theirs and their children's bikes for a festive and fun afternoon MORE

Pop-Up Mini Market

Unusual and vintage treasures could be found at Santa Ana's Libromobile during this Sunday sale of vinyl, art, and books MORE