Hey {{first name | there}},

We hope you’re settling into the new year and enjoying this gorgeous weather we all pay a premium for!

On our radar this week (and next): a free concert inside a tunnel on Jan. 23, a Ghost Hunter immersive experience in Lake Forest, and hunting for gnomes, in golf carts!

We also pulled together a city-by-city roundup of the best restaurant deals happening right now in South Orange County. If eating out has started to feel like a luxury, this one’s especially timely.

To all the new readers, welcome to The Scene… Our motto is: the more you know, the more you go. That’s what this newsletter is all about, sharing ideas big and small to make it easier (and more fun) to get out and enjoy OC.

See you out there!
Lorna & Jason

🧁 1,000 Free Mini Cupcakes
Celebrate a decade of sweetness with 1,000 free mini cupcakes, first come, first served. No purchase required. One mini per person so everyone gets a taste.
Fri, Jan 16 | 10am | Simply Cakes & Cupcakes, Mission Viejo

☕ Free Coffee & Community Chat
Join neighbors for a casual morning meetup with city updates and a look ahead to 2026. Mayor John Gabbard is this month’s featured speaker. Open to the public.
Fri, Jan 16 | 8:30am | Coffee Importers Dana Point

🍷 Wine Down Friday
Live music, dinner, and wine to kick off the weekend.
Fri, Jan 16 | 6–9pm | Giracci Vineyards, Silverado

🧀 Wine & Cheese Pairing
A classic pairing featuring four wines and four cheeses. Regular tasting fee applies.
Fri, Jan 16 | Frisby Cellars, Dana Point

❄️ Crafty Adults: Winter Dioramas
A creative morning making your own winter diorama. Coffee and cookies included while supplies last.
Fri, Jan 16 | 10:30am–12pm | Laguna Beach Library, Laguna Beach

🎭 Company
A sharp, funny, and quietly devastating musical about love, marriage, and the question no one answers easily: what do you actually want?
Jan 16 – Feb 8 | Cabrillo Playhouse, San Clemente

🎪 Preschool Carnival Party
A morning under the carnival tent with crafts, story time, games, and snacks. For little ones ages 2.5–4. Pre-registration required
Fri, Jan 16 | 10–11am | Laguna Niguel

Scroll down to see what’s happening next week and beyond:
➡️ NEXT WEEK

🎶 🎶 Checkout This Weekend’s Live Music Options

🌅 Sunset Sail Aboard a Tall Ship
Set sail on the schooner Spirit of Dana Point and experience the coast like an early explorer. Help raise sails and steer the ship, or just relax!
Sat, Jan 17 | 2:30–5pm | Ocean Institute, Dana Point

🤠 Country Bash & Line Dancing
A free family night market with live music, line dancing, games & food.
Sat, Jan 17 | 5–9pm | North Paseo at Los Osos, Mission Viejo

🎨 Public Art Unveiling
A new outdoor art installation makes its debut. Join the unveiling of Between Showers by Anna Hills with live music, food,
Sat, Jan 17 | 11am–4pm | Cabot Rd across from Moulton Museum, Laguna Hills

🧧 Lunar New Year at the Library
Ring in the Lunar New Year with a festive Lion Dance performance, followed by a hands-on craft for all ages.
Sat, Feb 2 | 11:30am | Library of the Canyons, Silverado

🪩 The Last Dance at SCHS
A one-night, adults-only prom throwback before the San Clemente High School gym is demolished.
Sat, Jan 17 | 7–10pm | San Clemente High School Gym

🌿 Restore the Shore
Join a family-friendly lakeshore cleanup with all supplies provided. Registration required.
Sat, Jan 17 | 10:30am–12:30pm | Rancho Santa Marguerita

Scroll down to see what’s happening next week and beyond:
➡️ NEXT WEEK

🎶 🎶 Checkout South OC Live Music Options

👻 Ghost Hunter Immersive Experience
Part theater, part haunted house, this interactive experience lets you explore a two-story set with live actors, and story-driven scares. Pick normal or extreme if you want higher intensity (We recommend a group of 6 or fewer). Save 10% with code THESCENE
Tickets required | Evening showtimes | Lake Forest

🚶‍♀️ Take an [Easy] Walk in South Orange County
Clear your head without breaking a sweat. This roundup highlights beginner-friendly paths from lakeside loops and shaded greenbelts to coastal strolls and garden walks.
Any day | Self-guided | Across South Orange County

🎨 Paint Your OC
Create a watercolor portrait of a meaningful Orange County spot at this free, drop-in art workshop inspired by a massive road-trip art project.
Sun, Jan 18 | 11:30am–4:30pm | Orange County Museum of Art, Costa Mesa

🎤 Comedy Night Featuring Local Comics
Laugh it up at South OC’s first comedy open mic night, hosted by local comic Julia Bendis. Expect a lineup of up-and-coming comedians, each with a tight 10-minute set.
Sun, Jan 18 | Show 6pm | VOCO Hotel, Laguna Hills

🌈 The Wiz
A high-voltage revival of the Tony Award–winning musical that flipped The Wizard of Oz on its head..
Thru Jan 25 | Segerstrom Hall, Costa Mesa

Scroll down to see what’s happening next week and beyond:
➡️ NEXT WEEK

🎶 🎶 Checkout South OC Live Music Options

Behind every successful year is honest reflection. This workbook, written by Shane Parrish and reMarkable, helps you find clarity so patterns become visible.

Traditional annual reviews add goals, tasks, and pressure. This is different. It helps you strip everything back to see what to change in your the ahead.

Ready to identify what matters?

Start your annual review

Yes, it’s actually in a tunnel. After a short walk down a path lined with lights, you end up seated inside the colorful Jeronimo Tunnel, along Oso Creek Trail, for a free live show.

Jason and I went to the last one with singer Tom Bagly, who led attendees in a sing-along which was so much fun.

This next band is Elevated Measure, which brings an upbeat blend of American reggae, country, and blues. It’s intimate, genuinely memorable, and free. No need to register but you should arrive early for closest seating near band.

📍 Jeronimo Tunnel, Mission Viejo
🅿️ Street Parking on Jeronimo & Arbolitos
🗓️ Friday, Jan 23rd
⏰ 7–8pm

🧐 Trivia Answer: ✅ B — Pilgrim

The tall ship Pilgrim was a 130-foot full-scale replica of the merchant brig sailed by Richard Henry Dana Jr., whose 1840 memoir Two Years Before the Mast helped put Dana Point on the map.

The original Pilgrim anchored off this coastline in the 1830s, and Dana later described the dramatic headland he called “the only romantic spot on the coast.”

The replica Pilgrim was built in 1945 in San Pedro and arrived in Dana Point Harbor in 1981, where it became a fixture for nearly 40 years.

Operated by the Ocean Institute, it served as a floating classroom, hosting school programs, overnight sails, and public events tied to California’s maritime history. In March 2020, while docked in the harbor, the ship began taking on water and sank at its berth.

No one was seriously injured, and those on board were able to get off safely. The vessel was later deemed beyond repair and dismantled.

Want more OC Trivia?
Click here for a quiz

🥱 Boring Stuff

Publication Disclaimer: Everything included here is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. It is always best to double-check links to be sure event information hasn’t changed if you plan on attending something.

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©️ 2025 The Scene: South OC | All content and information set forth above was created by Lorna Ladd and Jason Ladd and is the intellectual property of this publication. It is protected under US copyright law, including but not limited to “The Digital Millennium Copyright Act.” Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or duplication of any material, in whole or in part, without express written authorization & consent, is strictly prohibited by law and may result in legal action. Violators will be subject to prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.