News - Summer 2022

Click here to read about the summer's FEATURED ARTISTS!

Visit the site's GUESTS page.

Click here for site NEWS.

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Welcome to www.dorothyswebsite.org for Summer 2022, the site's 20th Anniversary Summer! 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 summer 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. This page also contains the site's Twitter postings so you can find news and updates all in one place. (Latest Update: September 25)

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, and the Summer version of the site which is here now through September 30. 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 always be found on Twitter, too, and you can scroll down a little further on this page to find that information. Please take the time to look through some of the other areas of the site as well: read an essay or a poem, view the work of the summer guests or take a look at some of the "Extras" (a few other things you can find for free during the summer). NEVER BEEN TO A SUMMER CONCERT? 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!

FOR EVERYONE:: Well, this is it for Summer '22. Today's update will be the last summer update (with the exception of the poetry pages, which will continue to be updated through next weekend). Thank you all for visiting the site this summer, and the 20th Anniversary party will continue all year long! The summer edition of the site will remain posted through Sunday, October 2. Check back on Oct. 3 for news about the fall edition of the site, though the site may be down Oct 3 and 4 while the fall edition of the site is being finished. Stay tuned for more news soon!

Finally, if you've been enjoying the summer and would like 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.

Facebook has shut down all "gray" pages, or pages not connected to a personal page. At this time there is no Facebook page for the site. Please check back a little later for news related to a new social media presence in addition to Twitter.

Tweets by @dorothyswebsite

• Guests - In many years special guests/artists have been invited to display works which either express or interpret the summer theme. News on 2022 Guests will be available a little later in the summer on the "Guests" page.

• Featured Artists - Featured Artists are musicians or concert series drawn from the summer concerts listed on the site. Many thanks to all the 2022 Featured Artists. Read more about all of them on the "Featured Artists" page!

• "Concerts By Music" Page - 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, 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.

2022 THEME: "TEMPUS FUGIT . . . TIME FLIES"

In sitting down to plan this summer's site, the first expanded summer edition in three years due to the limited number of concerts during the pandemic, it seemed impossible to believe that the 20th Anniversary summer was here. Time has flown by - and a one month experiment turned into something that has endured for a much longer time than ever expected. Times are also very different in 2022 than they were in 2003. In 2003, Facebook had yet to be started. In the computer center where the site originated, everyone was on MySpace - the most popular social media site back then. For the first several years of the site, all the photographs (both from my photo library and new ones taken for the summer theme) were on film and were scanned to be converted to digital files. Early files were uploaded to the site via modem that hissed and crackled in a way only those who had experienced the modems could understand. And in the past 20 years, websites themselves also changed. Going online mostly by computer has given way to multiple platforms and devices, especially smart phones, and sites which adapt to each (sorry, but my self-taught computer/coding skills couldn't keep up with the pace of change in that arena). Time HAS flown by, and the one thing that comes to mind about time is just how precious it is - something that can never be replaced by any amount of money, because once it's gone, it's gone.

The image on the introduction page this summer (pictured above), reflects some of the work that has appeared on the site over the last 20 years. The "Scenes and Summer Themes, 2003 - 2022" picture shows each of the summer themes on the shades above the windows, the website book written in 2013, images from some of the past summer sites and a little bit of celebrating! Why the flowers on some of the inner site pages? The flower motif has been used because in some way the summer concerts might be compared to perennial flowers. They come back year after year and are particularly enjoyed in the season in which they are in full bloom. Have the concerts taken a hit over the years? Yes. The first came with the financial downturn in 2007/8, the most recent in 2020-21 with the Covid pandemic. While some new concert series have emerged, many also have gone away. New forms of presenting, collaborating on and performing music emerged during the pandemic; however, there is something about viewing a live performance of music that just can't be replaced. While not all the concerts have returned this year, most have, and the summer of 2022 is turning out to be a good one.

Why the Wings?

The other element brought back for this year is the wings which originated in 2014, when the theme dealt with World Fairs. In doing research on the World Fairs, I came across the picture included here in the digital archives and special collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (Image SSC S0000548). The photograph caption said "John Donoghue at work on model for "Creative Spirit." Details indicated that the statue was intended for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, though it was not possible to verify if the completed statue was part of the event. Still, there was something alluring about the figure - peacefully seated, eyes closed and head tilted slightly upward as if in quiet contemplation - but to me it was mostly the wings. The wings I created piece by piece appear throughout the site as a symbol of the "creative spirit" that fuels artists and innovators alike. They are wings for everyone, and yes they are ample reminders that time does fly by.

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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