{"id":271108,"date":"2026-04-16T17:51:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/271108\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T17:51:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:51:10","slug":"oc-arts-and-disability-festival-shines-for-50th-anniversary-on-april-25-ocde-newsroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/271108\/","title":{"rendered":"OC Arts and Disability Festival shines for 50th anniversary on April 25 \u2013 OCDE Newsroom"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\"StudentStudent performers take the stage during the 2025 Orange County Arts and Disability Festival at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana, themed \u201cArt from the Heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quick look: The 50th annual Orange County Arts and Disability Festival will return April 25 at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana, celebrating five decades of creativity, inclusion and artistic expression with performances, exhibits and hands-on activities for the community.<\/p>\n

Golden accents, vibrant artwork and the sounds of live performances will fill MainPlace Mall later this month as the Orange County Arts and Disability Festival marks a milestone 50th anniversary \u2014 celebrating five decades of elevating artists with disabilities across the region.<\/p>\n

The free, family-friendly event will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 25, bringing together students and adult artists for a day of performances, interactive art activities and a community resource fair.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Presented by the Orange County Department of Education in partnership with Orange County Arts and Disability<\/a> and MainPlace Mall, the festival is part of Arts Orange County\u2019s annual \u201cImagination Celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s theme, \u201cShine On,\u201d reflects the event\u2019s golden anniversary and honors the artists, educators and community members who have shaped its legacy since it began in 1976.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are proud that Orange County was one of the first in California to recognize and celebrate artists with disabilities in 1976, and that 50 years later, that legacy is still going strong,\u201d said Marleena Barber, director of Orange County Arts and Disability. \u201cOur theme reflects this golden anniversary and serves as a powerful reminder to keep that light shining brightly for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opening ceremonies will begin at 11 a.m., featuring a collaborative American Sign Language performance of \u201cAmerica the Beautiful\u201d by fourth-grade students \u2014 including deaf and hard of hearing students \u2014 from the Fountain Valley School District\u2019s James H. Cox and Robert Gisler elementary schools.<\/p>\n

Throughout the day, audiences can enjoy a wide range of performances, including Kizuna Taiko drumming, the Hope School Singers from the Anaheim Union High School District, StraightUp Abilities dance groups and musicians from Creative Identity and OC Music Services. Dani Bowman<\/a>, an award-winning animator known for her appearance on Netflix\u2019s \u201cLove on the Spectrum,\u201d will serve as emcee.<\/p>\n

Hands-on activities and community connections<\/p>\n

In addition to live performances, the festival will feature dozens of hands-on art activities hosted by community partners, from Braille bookmark-making and digital art exploration to interactive crafts such as suncatchers, affirmation mirrors and collaborative art projects.<\/p>\n

A special addition this year is the Knead More Ceramics Workshop<\/a>, led by Jennifer Finlan, a blind artist with Gifted BACK \u2014 Blind Artists, Crafters and Knitters. Participants can learn clay hand-building techniques and create their own ceramic rose during scheduled sessions.<\/p>\n

The event will also showcase a visual art exhibit featuring work by students and adults with disabilities from across Orange County, highlighting a range of artistic styles and mediums.<\/p>\n

Kindergartener\u2019s artwork reflects \u201cShine On\u201d theme<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s themed artwork, titled \u201cSun,\u201d was created by Lucciano Iglesias, a kindergartener from Oka Elementary School in the Fountain Valley School District.<\/p>\n

\"LuccianoLucciano Iglesias, a kindergartener at Oka Elementary School in Fountain Valley, created \u201cSun,\u201d the featured artwork for the festival.<\/p>\n

Selected by members of the Orange County Arts and Disability Board and educators from the Orange County Arts and Special Education Network, the piece captures the spirit of the festival\u2019s theme through bold color and expressive design.<\/p>\n

\u201cLucciano is a wonderful example of this year\u2019s theme, \u2018Shine On,\u2019\u201d said his teacher, Heather Cottle. \u201cHe radiates happiness and positivity in all that he does. His creativity shines throughout the school day in many ways, including his artwork.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cottle added that Lucciano approaches each activity with determination and enthusiasm, and that his artwork reflects a joyful and bright perspective that resonates with viewers.<\/p>\n

For more information, contact Marleena Barber at s.mbarber@ocde.us<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Student performers take the stage during the 2025 Orange County Arts and Disability Festival at MainPlace Mall in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271109,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":{"0":"post-271108","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-anaheim","8":"tag-anaheim","9":"tag-anaheim-headlines","10":"tag-anaheim-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}