Community Celebrations for Halloween and Dia de los Muertos Reimagined for a Safer Holiday Season

Organizers of holiday festivities have continued to find alternatives one by one as the year progresses, and this month comes with no exception. Orange County communities have scrambled to discover different ways to celebrate the fall season, whether it be for Halloween night or Dia de los Muertos, translated from Spanish to "Day of the Dead."

While Halloween has become much more complicated, given the difficulties of trick or treating while social distancing, it has also opened the door for alternative celebrations with drive-thru movies, local haunts and pumpkin patches in Orange County.

Day of the Dead has also had to deal with its own setbacks as countless traditional Dia de los Muertos festivities were canceled throughout Orange County as well, including celebrations typically held at the Anaheim and Santa Ana cemeteries.

Backhausdance to Explore New Concepts in a Virtual Kickoff of its 18th Season

Many dance companies are canceling or postponing the start of their 2020-2021 seasons due to the many limiting factors presented by the coronavirus pandemic— shuttered theaters, smaller budgets and social distancing measures, to name a few. But this October, Backhausdance artistic director Jenny Backhaus is pressing on with a reimagined lineup of performance opportunities.

"There was a moment at the beginning of all of this where I asked myself what the real harm would be in stopping for 10-12 months," Backhaus said. "But I believe there is momentum in the doing, in the action. The act of moving creates more moving, so if we stop, it's harder to get started again."

With Orange County in Tier 2 of the California Re-Opening Plan, many of Orange County's arts and culture organizations and venues remain physically closed; but virtual/streaming offerings are thriving, and more venues are beginning their phased re-openings in accordance with State guidelines. Arts Orange County is pleased to combine its recommendations for online enrichment with some good news about places you can visit personally. ArtsOC continues to urge everyone to save lives by wearing masks and respecting social distancing protocols. 

Urban Legends of Southern California

The OC Fair & Event Center provides a way to celebrate the spooky season from your car with a drive-through haunting weaving together myths and folklore of Southern California  DETAILS »

Newport Beach Central Library

The Main branch Library, one of the architectural gems of Newport Beach, can now welcome limited indoor guests once again for the vast collection of books, artwork, and free high-tech services  DETAILS »

Who Framed Roger Rabbit: The Making of a Groundbreaking Disney Classic

The Musco Center for the Arts and the Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University join forces to present a live online tribute to the legendary film that crossed the worlds of cartoons and live actors in never-before-seen combinations. Viewers can participate in a live Q&A with some of the artists who created the film, including the voice of Roger Rabbit himself  DETAILS »

Virtual Halloween Family Concert

OC Parks will present a live, family-friendly concert performed by Past Action Heroes on both Facebook and Instagram  DETAILS »

Radio Theatre Night - Dracula

On Halloween night, the Camino Real Playhouse presents a streaming performance of the radio play adaptation of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" originally performed by Orson Welles's Mercury Theater On the Air  DETAILS »