Best of Culture
It’s all here, from arts to sports to ritualized public nudity
Free Arts Event
The first-Sunday chamber music concerts, sponsored by the nonprofit Laguna Beach Live, are held at the Laguna College of Art & Design the first Sunday of the month October through May. The concerts have featured such performers as Presidio Brass, the Triada Guitar Trio, and the Janaki String Trio in an intimate setting that’s the perfect way to relax before a busy week. 2222 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Laguna Beach Live, 949-715-9713. www.lagunabeachlive.org.
Sports Exec
In the five years since Arturo Moreno has owned the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (and no, we still haven’t forgiven him for that little absurdity), Forbes magazine estimates that he has tripled the value of the club to $500 million, placing the Angels behind only the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Cubs in estimated value. Have your investments tripled in value in the past five years? ’Nuff said. http://losangeles.angels.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=ana.
Beloved Annual Ritual
What started as a juvenile bet between patrons at Mugs Away Saloon in Laguna Niguel nearly 30 years ago has turned into one of Orange County’s can’t-miss events—“The Mooning.” On the second Saturday of July, and organized by no one in particular, thousands steer their cars, campers, and RVs toward a stretch of chain-link fence that separates the bar from the Amtrak and Metrolink tracks. During a daylong party, the crowd turns its cheeks toward the passing trains and drops trou. It’s a lot more entertaining than the returning swallows. Share the joy with a video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_Q-WP51nC8, or join this year’s fun on July 12. Mugs Away Saloon, 27324 Camino Capistrano #102, Laguna Niguel. 949-582-9716.
Place to Discover Your Inner Artist
It’s part of Irvine’s Community Services Department, but the class offerings at the Irvine Fine Arts Center go beyond simple painting and drawing. Try skateboard design for teens, origami art for kids, and a wealth of adult classes that include Chinese brush-painting, glass fusing, Native American pottery, quilt art, and location photography. (Non-Irvine residents can enroll in classes and use the open studio for a fee.) 14321 Yale Ave., Irvine. 949-724-6880. www.cityofirvine.org/depts/cs/finearts.
Performing Arts Programming
While the much-larger Orange County Performing Artscenter gets the lion’s share of attention and big shows, the Irvine Barclay Theatre at the University of California, Irvine, continually offers an eclectic and diverse lineup: world music and dance (Coisceim Dance Theatre of Dublin, below, the annual New World Flamenco Festival), NPR favorites (Ira Glass), and well-known acts (Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Los Lobos). It also offers a venue to some of the county’s smaller performing arts groups. 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine. 949-854-4646.
www.thebarclay.org.
Arts Ambassador
Carl St.Clair, the Pacific Symphony’s longtime leader, showed off the orchestra’s talents during a 2006 nine-city European tour and has an international profile that includes gigs with orchestras in Weimar and Berlin. He works hard to introduce local audiences to new and challenging works, as in the annual American Composers Festival, and is an erudite speaker with an encyclopedic knowledge of classical music. 714-876-2383. www.pacificsymphony.org.
Small theater
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the Chance Theater stages a great mix of well-known plays and musicals (“Evita,” “Into the Woods”), edgier fare, and many local premieres of new works. The theater also is part of many regional and national efforts, such as this year’s participation in the Festival of New Musicals, and mentors local high school students in a summer theater program. 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills. 714-777-3033.