Local Photographer Captures the Spirit of Santa Ana Through Porch Portraits

Santa Ana photographer Karissa Raya recalls her mother constantly lugging around a Pentax film camera growing up. Whether it was for family parties or vacations, Raya's mother was always snapping photos, capturing every moment on a roll of Kodak film.

"It didn't bother me until I was a teen I was like, 'Oh my God, Mom, like stop, you're taking pictures of everything.' But that was really born for her from her experience of not having any pictures of her life. She has a handful of pictures that exist from her childhood," Raya said.

Raya soon found herself playing with her mother’s camera, eventually turning a hobby into a professional service in 2018

Four New Orange County Theaters Emerging Out of the Pandemic

During the shutdown of theaters during the COVID pandemic, doing theater with a live audience was impossible. Yet four new Orange County companies have formed despite tough times.

While the state of California is re-opened, the Delta variant of COVID-19 has caused a recent rise in infections and hospitalizations everywhere. Los Angeles has re-imposed a mask mandate for indoor businesses; Orange County has not yet followed suit but guidelines continue to evolve. Arts Orange County is proud to celebrate the return of gathering to enjoy the arts, but we strongly advise reviewing the individual rules for arts venues you plan to visit. We will continue to recommend a variety of both in-person and virtual ways to bring the arts into your life. 

The Wayfaring Project: Film Screening

The Argyros Plaza at the Segerstrom Center will host the premiere outdoor screening of this unique cinematic collaboration between Pacific Chorale and musicians from the Pacific Symphony, which charts a musical journey through centuries of popular music as well as our collective experience of the last year of struggle and isolation  DETAILS »

Summer Culture Series at SteelCraft Garden Grove

The outdoor collective of cutting-edge food and drink crafters is celebrating the diverse cultures of Orange County with day-long programs of performances, speakers, entrepreneurs, and more   DETAILS »

New Swan Shakespeare

In lieu of an in-person festival this summer, UCI's resident Shakespeare Festival is curating an online channel of Shakespearean performers featuring both local and global actors  DETAILS »

Saturday Morning Cartoons & Drawing

The Chuck Jones Center for Creativity will be at the OC Great Park, presenting classic Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck cartoons and providing classes for children to learn how to draw these and other beloved animated characters  DETAILS »

Light Up The Night

The Muckenthaler Cultural Center celebrates the arrival of its new resident theatre company - Electric Company Theatre - with a guided tour and a preview of upcoming performances  DETAILS »