January 20, 2023

Each week, Arts Orange County and Voice of OC are excited to deliver to you this look at the stories and events happening in our arts and cultural community.
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Staged, A New Comedy

The legendary Rita Rudner heads up the cast in this world premiere at the Laguna Playhouse about a divorced pair of Broadway legends pressured to work together once again MORE

♦ Culture ♦

Tet Parades Across OC Gear Up for Year of the Cat Festivities

Orange County is home to the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam, making Tet – the Vietnamese version of the Lunar New Year – a widely celebrated holiday across the county. 


The first new moon of the Lunar New Year reigns in importance among Vietnamese cultures and those in many other East and Southeast Asian countries. It’s a time for festive feasts and traditions rooted in abundance, prosperity and good fortune. This year Tet begins on Jan. 22 with celebrations typically lasting three days. Many in the county are celebrating the Lunar New Year this weekend; many others are also celebrating next weekend, Jan. 27-29.


The Chinese zodiac set the precedent of 12 animals in the zodiac, which include last year’s tiger and 2023’s rabbit. The Vietnamese zodiac only has one variation to it, swapping the rabbit out for the cat. There are many reasons why this change might have been made to the Vietnamese zodiac, including the similar pronunciation between the Chinese symbol for rabbit (“mão”) sounding like the Vietnamese word for cat (“mẹo”).

♦ In Case You Missed It ♦

What’s Coming Up in Arts & Culture for 2023?

2022 was a year of recovery, while 2023 appears to be a year of reinvention in local arts and culture.


The big productions are back, as are the experimental, edgy and boundary-pushing shows. From “The Killer Angels” at Maverick Theater in Fullerton to Pilobolus at Musco Center in Orange, a sense of experimentation and exploration seems to have reinvigorated Orange County’s venues and presenting organizations. The Chicago Symphony – one of the world’s great orchestras – is coming to Segerstrom Concert Hall later this month, and area cultural festivals are back at full force.


Here’s a look at the best in theater, dance, visual arts, classical music, culture and food for the early part of 2023, brought to you by Voice of OC’s talented team of arts and culture writers.

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. We always suggest you be mindful of the most recent health and safety guidelines in California, Orange County, and the venue for the listing.
♦ Local Spotlight ♦

Jazz Faculty Concert

Both classic standards and student compositions will be brought to life by a lineup of jazz aficionados from Saddleback College in Mission Viejo MORE

♦ Wallet Friendly ♦

Open Stage on Calle Cuatro

This monthly celebration of community creativity in Downtown Santa Ana brings together artists and performers in every medium and style MORE

♦ For the Family ♦

OC Tết Festival

Fountain Valley's Mile Square Park is just one of the places you can celebrate the many Vietnamese traditions relating to the Lunar New Year MORE

♦ Wildcard ♦

Pressing Together: Merging Styles & Ideas Through Printmaking

This unique exhibition at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art created new collaborations between artists by combining their creations with a variety of print-making techniques MORE

"As a smaller nonprofit that has been promoting the arts in the Orange County community for over 25 years, VAALA has been grateful for the thought partnership and services that Arts OC has given us. Arts OC's network and support of VAALA has been crucial to our capacity-building and growth efforts over the past few years."

— Yvonne Tran, Board President,

Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA) 

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Voice of OC is Orange County's nonprofit newsroom with a mission to consistently deliver fair, focused and thorough journalism on critical quality of life and local issues for Orange County communities.
Arts Orange County builds appreciation of, participation in and support for the arts and arts education throughout Orange County. Event information provided by SparkOC, an Arts OC program.