Culture OC

12/22/2025

Laguna Beach resident keeps a traditional trade alive with his business repairing and restoring stringed instruments.

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Laguna Beach resident keeps a traditional trade alive with his business repairing and restoring stringed instruments.From the street, passersby would never guess what goes on inside the nondescript building at the top of a stone staircase on South Coast Highway. But within these walls, in a workshop...

12/21/2025

From fluid art and resin pouring to balloon bursts of color, local studios are redefining how Orange County experiences and creates art.

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From fluid art and resin pouring to balloon bursts of color, local studios are redefining how Orange County experiences and creates art.When you sign up for an art class, you expect the usual setup: a blank canvas, some brushes, an array of paints in a rainbow of hues and step-by-step guidance to le...

12/18/2025

Over 10 years, American Ballet Theatre's production of "The Nutcracker" at Segerstrom Center for the Arts has become a place where dancers grow up, families return and tradition is renewed each season.

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Over 10 years, the production has become a place where dancers grow up, families return and tradition is renewed each season.When American Ballet Theatre’s “The Nutcracker” arrived in Orange County in December 2015, it wasn’t simply opening another holiday run. The company made a deliberate ...

12/16/2025

🍊 🚆 Up next in our OC Metrolink series: Tustin, Irvine and Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Metrolink stations don’t have it all, but they have a lot to see and do in the surrounding areas.

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Tustin, Irvine and Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Metrolink stations don’t have it all, but they have a lot to see and do in the surrounding areas.This story is a part of our series OC by Metrolink, discovering what makes each stop worth the stop.Combining the Tustin and Irvine Metrolink stations in ...

12/13/2025

Pulitzer-nominated playwright Amy Freed, a South Coast Repertory favorite, will write a new adaptation of "A Christmas Carol," debuting in 2028.

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Pulitzer-nominated playwright Amy Freed, an SCR favorite, will write the adaptation, debuting in 2028.The 2025-26 season has been a year of redemption and restoration for South Coast Repertory. Like many arts institutions, Orange County’s premier regional theater was hobbled by the pandemic and to...

12/13/2025

Co-op stores, pop-up markets and independent boutiques make it easy to support local makers and businesses this season.

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Co-op stores, pop-up markets and independent boutiques make it easy to support local makers and businesses this season.Emilie Lawson learned to make jewelry and started creating her own pieces nearly a decade ago, after receiving a present that ignited a passion for metalsmithing and lost-wax castin...

12/11/2025

🫔 Tamales in Orange County live everywhere – in neighborhood kitchens, longtime restaurants, food trucks and street festivals that draw thousands. Here’s your roadmap to the institutions, regional specialties and December tamal blowouts that define the season.

Tamales in Orange County live everywhere – in neighborhood kitchens, longtime restaurants, food trucks and street festivals that draw thousands. Here’s your roadmap to the institutions, regional specialties and December tamal blowouts that define the season.Tamales in Orange County aren’t just...

12/09/2025

The recently created UC Irvine Langson OCMA / Orange County Museum of Art has announced the appointment of Kathryn Kanjo as the museum director.

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The experienced administrator has held appointments at other significant California museums.The recently created UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art has announced the appointment of Kathryn Kanjo as the museum director. Currently the David C. Copley Director and CEO of the Museum of Contem...

12/09/2025

Wild Tunes nonprofit encourages musicians to play for homeless pets at animal shelters, including one in Mission Viejo. 🐾 🎶

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Wild Tunes nonprofit encourages musicians to play for homeless pets at animal shelters including one in Mission Viejo.As a string quartet plays the soothing sounds of classical music by Handel and Mozart – and even some Disney pieces – the dogs at Mission Viejo animal shelter seem to calm down. ...

12/05/2025

Alisa Ochoa’s intimate solo exhibition ‘Splinters’ and the wide-ranging group show ‘Swing Shift’ explore loss, devotion, routine and the many visible and invisible forms of labor. On display at Irvine Fine Arts Center through Jan. 17.

Alisa Ochoa’s intimate solo exhibition ‘Splinters’ and the wide-ranging group show ‘Swing Shift’ explore loss, devotion, routine and the many visible and invisible forms of labor, through Jan. 17.Costa Mesa artist Alisa Ochoa started conceptualizing “Splinters” after the death of her l...

12/03/2025

Whether on the water or on foot, Orange County offers countless ways to bask in the glow of holiday lights. ⛵️🎄✨

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Whether on the water or on foot, Orange County offers countless ways to bask in the glow of holiday lights.Walking or driving through neighborhoods to see all the homes decked out in Christmas lights is a treasured tradition at the holidays. But there are many other options to explore for reveling i...

12/02/2025

Performances, exhibitions, holiday festivals and more are in store for the culturally curious in Culture OC's 2025 holiday guide. ☃️🎄✨

Read the full story at the link below and explore some of the best O.C. holiday offerings in the areas of dance, theater, visual arts, culture, and classical, world/jazz and popular music, brought to you by Culture OC’s talented team of arts and culture writers.

🔗 https://www.cultureoc.org/post/a-cornucopia-of-options-what-to-do-in-orange-county-during-the-2025-holiday-season