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Welcome to www.dorothyswebsite.org for Winter 2023, celebrating the site's 20th Anniversary! 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! 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: March 5)
FOR EVERYONE:: More info and events, along with some new photos, were posted over the weekend. The other site update this month will take place on March 16. Any other new info will be posted to Twitter. With the weather being a bit unpredictable, March is starting out very slowly. This month there will be many orchestra/symphony and school performances plus a few events for Women's History Month and St. Patrick's Day. And just a reminder . . . the site's 20th Anniversary party which started this past summer will continue through the Spring! (The picture included above was the introductory picture for the Summer Site in 2022, and it depicts Scenes and Themes on the site during the summer months from its inception.) Finally, if you've been enjoying the information on the site 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.
2022 - 2023 THEME: "TEMPUS FUGIT . . . TIME FLIES" In sitting down to plan last 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 had arrived. Twenty years have 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. Also, one of the biggest changes for me is that I have much less time to spend preparing the site now than I did in the site's earlier years. Your patience is always appreciated if there are any delays in getting the pages of the site updated or posted! The image 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! The summer version of the site used flowers on the borders of the pages where leaves are now. The flower motif was used over the summer 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 an overall 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 expanding a virtual presence for performances; however, there is something about viewing a live performance of music that just can't be replaced. Most performances have returned in 2022, and for the first time this fall, that includes many of the indoor symphony concerts. Why the Wings?
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.
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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, here now, and the Summer
version of the site which goes from June - 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. In the Fall/Winter/Spring, only cities with events during the current month are included. 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. NEVER BEEN TO A FREE CONCERT? It's simple . . . pack a picnic dinner or buy a meal at the concert venue (where appropriate), reserve a seat or bring a blanket or beach chair (for outdoor events), and listen to some great music! 
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.
