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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NEWS! NEWS! NEWS!

     Welcome to summer #23 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 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. Also if you enjoy the information you find throughout the site, please consider making a donation using the PayPal link below. (Latest Update: July 7)

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 Facebook, 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:: With today's update, all July "Concerts By City" and "Concert By Date" pages, along with main concert calendar links, are available. The "Concert By Type of Music" page will be available shortly. Please welcome the site's newest Featured Artists for 2025, the New Romantics (Taylor Swift Tribute). You can read more about the band by clicking the Featured Artists link on the home page or by going to the Featured Artists page. Also, while the number of event cancellations/postponements has slowed, it is still recommended that you confirm all events before attending. Remember, too . . . you can find any other recent news and notices on the site's Facebook page, which is now found at www.facebook.com/gotodorothyswebsite. Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a great summer!

Finally, as you think about how you have enjoyed the summer, 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 through 2024, as well as a book preview, by visiting the "Website Book" page.

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.

2025 THEME: "THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS BLACK AND WHITE: NATURE IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT"

     Over the last couple of years I have been experimenting with infrared photography, or photography which captures the infrared spectrum of light (just beyond what the eye can see). To some people the pictures may look like normal black and white photos, but if you look carefully you can notice the difference. In the first set of two photos below, a scene from the Japanese garden at the Huntington Library is shown in color and in regular black and white.

     The second set of photos show how the infrared image comes out of my camera and how the image appears after it has been processed with photo processing software. In nature photos, reflected infrared light gives vegetation the appearance of being a glowing white or close to it.

     A slight blur is visible in many of the photos, resulting primarily from the equipment I have been using to take the pictures. Some people use a camera that has been fitted exclusively for infrared photography. Since I don't have a camera that can be dedicated to only infrared photography (the converted camera can't be used for any other type of photography), I have started out in a slightly more difficult way. To begin learning and experimenting with this type of photography, I am using an infrared filter placed over the lens of a normal camera. There are two factors which complicate this process. First, once the filter is placed over the lens, you are not able to see anything out of the lens. The photo must be framed and focused first, then the lens filter carefully placed on the camera. Also, photos are timed exposures, usually about eight to ten seconds. As a result, even the slightest breeze can move leaves or other plants in a way that renders a motion blur in the images. Sometimes that blur, if it is slight, can give the photos a kind of a soft, ethereal feeling. Other times they just look, well, blurry. Hope you enjoy the images!

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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