News - Spring 2024

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NEWS! NEWS! NEWS!

Welcome to year #21 on www.dorothyswebsite.org! For those of you who are return visitors, welcome back! Welcome, too, to those of you who are here for the first time. This page is THE place to find important reminders and news about the site! This includes information about what's new during the year and about the month-to-month changes taking place. Please check back periodically - you can get to this page directly from the Home Page and all the other major sections of the site. As of last October, the site is now in its Fall/Winter/Spring edition. If you enjoy the information you find throughout the site, please consider making a donation using the PayPal link below. (Latest Update: May 2)

FOR FIRST-TIME VISITORS: This site contains a monthly listing of free concerts and music-related events in Orange County and parts of Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire. There are two phases to the site: Fall/Winter/Spring, which is here from October through May, and the Summer version of the site which is here from June through September. Most of the events listed are offered to the general public or residents of certain cities free of charge. Events in clubs, bookstores, cafes and other similar venues covered elsewhere generally are not included. You can start your visit to the concert listings by clicking on the "Free Concerts" link above. There is no fee to access the information, and more than 120 venues in the Orange County, Los Angeles County and Inland Empire areas are included in the listings. Last-minute updates can also be found on Facebook. Please take the time to look through some of the other areas of the site as well. NEVER BEEN TO ONE OF THE OUTDOOR CONCERTS? It's simple . . . pack a picnic dinner or buy a meal at the concert venue, bring a blanket or beach chair (or call the venue to ask about their seating policy), and sit out under the stars and listen to some great music! Or . . . as we head into fall and winter, take a look at some of the wonderful indoor performances taking place too.

FOR EVERYONE:: The initial May listings have been posted, with additional information added today. This month is the transition month to the summer, with most symphony and college/university programs ending and the summer festivals and music series beginning to emerge. The first week of the month will bring several Cinco de Mayo events as well. Listings will continue to be updated through the first weekend of May. After that, due to preparations for the summer edition of the site, all updates and new info will be posted to Facebook only. Just before the end of the summer the site presence was restored on Facebook, and you can find the site's page now at www.facebook.com/GoToDorothyswebsite. Please be sure to check there too for the most recent news and updates when you can. (The Twitter/X page has been discontinued.) If you weren't able to stop by the site this summer, you can still read more about the 2023 theme by continuing to scroll down the page.

Finally, as you enjoy the concerts throughout the year, please consider the opportunities for you to help keep the site going. There are two ways you can help. You can purchase a T-shirt or other site-related items and gifts at the website's Cafe Press storefront, "dorothyswebshop", or you can donate through PayPal by clicking the link below. Donations through PayPal are not tax-deductible, but they are much appreciated.

Thank you so much for your support and your generosity!

Also, those of you who have been with the site for any part of the last 20+ summers know that Dorothy completed a book about the site back in 2013. In conjunction with the website book, all past summer sites from 2003 - 2013 were recoded and reposted. Summer editions since that time also have remained posted. Visitors can view those past summer sites, as well as a book preview, by visiting the "Website Book" page.

The site is now back on Facebook. You can find up-to-date concert news additional information at www.facebook.com/GoToDorothyswebsite. As soon as a live feed can be restored, Facebook posts should appear here.

Tweets by @dorothyswebsite

The pages listed below are part of the summer edition of the site only..

• Guests - In many years special guests/artists have been invited to display works which either express or interpret the summer theme. News on Guests is usually available on the summer on the "Guests" page.

• Featured Artists - Featured Artists are musicians or concert series drawn from the summer concerts listed on the site. Thanks to all the 2023 Featured Artists! You can read more about them by visiting the Featured Artists page within the summer edition of the site, but you'll have to return here to continue in the current site.

• "Concerts By Music" Page - In the summer, concerts are listed by city and date, for all cities combined and for each of the three areas covered (Los Angeles County, Orange County and the Inland Empire), as well as by type of music. Trying to separate the concerts by type of music has been problematic for several reasons. First, some cities and venues do not list information on the type of music for every concert, only the band/artist name. Second, some bands list the type of music they play in widely divergent categories (such as R&B/Dance/Latin Jazz), making it difficult to place them in any one format. Finally, some cities/venues do not list groups performing, only phrases such as "live music all day long." To find information based on types of music being played at the concerts (summer only), go to Concert Listings by Type of Music. As always, any input visitors would like to provide as to how to improve the page would be appreciated.

A NOTE ON THE CONCERT SPONSORS: Many of the concerts and other activities taking place (movies, etc.) are able to continue only through the generous support of program sponsors. If you enjoy the programs and want them to continue, please support and thank all the sponsors of these programs, whether they are cities, community organizations or area businesses.

2023 SUMMER THEME: "IT'S A SMALL WORLD"

It's not every day that one stumbles upon a miniature world that both surprises and delights, but that's just what happened at the LA County Fair this year. I'd been to the fair many times and had passed the small area called the Fairplex Garden Railroad, but I had never gone inside. This year I decided to take a look. There was sooo much to see . . . so many model trains and trolleys moving past often humorous and detailed scenes with scaled structures and figures not more than a few inches high.

What is the Fairplex Garden Railroad? The full description can be found on the railroad's website at www.fgrr.org, but here is a brief bit of information drawn from the "About" page on that site. The model railroad "world" was first established in 1924 but moved to its current location in 1935. Though there have been changes over the years, today the system has over 10,000 feet of track and over thirty sections with a variety of equipment and trains operating at any time. The various trains and trolleys pass several miniature scenes depicting California history from the 1850s to today. The trains also wander through mountains, over lakes and streams and through the gardens. The railroad has operated for each of the LA County Fairs since 1935, with the exception of the years during World War II. Volunteers maintain the Garden Railroad throughout the year and operate the trains for several shows in addition to the open hours during the fair.

There was one miniature scene in the Garden Railroad with a figure of Goofy waving "hello." It reminded me of the words from another "Small World." So, time permitting, the theme may be used to look not only at things large and small, but also at things which can be universal in nature (like music) or make our world a small - or smaller - one, after all.

ONE FINAL THOUGHT ON THE CONCERTS: All of the concerts in the listings are free to the general public, and there are some truly outstanding programs. However, many of the groups and organizations sponsoring these concerts incur substantial costs in bringing them to you year after year. Several concert support organizations have had to begin charging a ticket price for entry to some, if not all, of the performances. Donations which allow organizations presenting the concerts to continue their tradition of bringing quality music to the general public at no charge are always appreciated.

. . . AND ONE REQUEST FOR VISITORS: Survey forms are sometimes passed out at concerts/event venues, and the question "How did you hear about this event?" is often asked. If you are attending an event you found on this site and receive such a form, it would be much appreciated if you let them know that you found the information on www.dorothyswebsite.org. Thank you!

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