Segerstrom Center to Celebrate Community on the Plaza This Weekend

Segerstrom Center for the Arts announces its first The Center Celebrates Community event on Sunday, November 15 on the Arts Plaza from 2 - 5 p.m. The afternoon's program reflects the Center's commitment to making the Arts Plaza a dynamic public gathering place.

Year-round programming will offer a wide range of free programs that support the Center's community partnerships and showcase local multi-cultural organizations and the diverse civic and cultural communities of Orange County. Because this inaugural Celebration coincides with National Philanthropy Day, in addition to music, dancing, family activities, the Imagination Playground and popular food trucks, a number of local community service agencies will have interactive information booths and representatives to answer questions.

The community service agencies that will be on hand include Alzheimer's Association, AIDS Services Foundation, Big Brothers/Big Sisters Orange County, Blind Children's Learning Center, Illumination Foundation, Laguna Food Pantry, The Raise Foundation, Talk About Curing Autism and Veterans First. One goal of this Celebration is to foster family conversations about the importance of giving. The first 500 children ten years of age or younger to arrive will receive a voucher good for a $5 donation to one of the participating organizations at the Celebration.

Entertainment will include New Orleans-inspired Jazzy Ash band and California's hottest contemporary a capella sextet, Vybration and others to come. Culinary choices include Ragin' Cajun, Adobo Express and Bakery Truck, but guests may bring their own snacks and picnic suppers, barbecues and similar food.

To learn more about The Center Celebrates Community, visit the Center's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/events/923899287697331.

For more information about the participating organizations, visit their websites:

Alzheimer's Association of Orange County | www.alz.org
AIDS Services Foundation | www.ocasf.org
Big Brothers/Big Sisters Orange County | www.bigbrooc.org
Blind Children's Learning Center | www.blindkids.org
Illumination Foundation | www.ifhomeless.org
Laguna Food Pantry | www.lagunafoodpantry.org
The Raise Foundation | www.theraisefoundation.org
Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) | www.tacanow.org
Veterans First | www.veteransfirstoc.org

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is unique as both an acclaimed arts institution and as a multi-disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence on all of its stages, offering unsurpassed experiences, and engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring programs.

Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center is Orange County's largest non-profit arts organization and owns and operates the 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall and intimate 250-seat Judy Morr Theater, which opened in 1986, and the 2,000-seat Rene?e and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, which opened in 2006 and also houses the 500-seat Samueli Theater, the studio performance space and Boeing Education Lab. A spacious arts plaza anchors Segerstrom Center for the Arts and is home to numerous free performances throughout the year as part of Segerstrom Center for the Arts' ongoing Free for All series. The American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center opens in 2015.

The Center presents a broad range of programming for audiences of all ages, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, intimate performances of jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events. The Center's arts-in-education programs are designed to inspire young people through the arts and reach hundreds of thousands of students each year.

In addition to the presenting and producing institution Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the 14-acre campus also embraces the facilities of two independent acclaimed organizations: Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region's major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.