Flights and Sounds of Summer Festival at Orange County Great Park

More than 25,000 people enjoyed last year's concert and dance series that included eclectic, engaging performers on a stage under the stars. The "Flights and Sounds of Summer" festival is presented by the Orange County Great Park Corporation in partnership with Irvine Barclay Theatre.

The 2010 summer line-up includes a wide variety of first-rate artists, including a return engagement from Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, one of last year's most popular performers. Friday night dance parties and Saturday night concerts run every weekend in August and September.

On Friday nights, live bands will perform in front of historic Hangar 244 and dance instructors will give dance lessons to get the crowds up on their feet. On Saturday nights, audiences will be able to enjoy music in a temporary concert pavilion near the Great Park's giant orange balloon. Limited seating is available in the pavilion, but there is plenty of open space for visitors to bring their own chairs for an unobstructed view of the stage.

"'Flights and Sounds of Summer'" is fast becoming a Great Park summer tradition,"said Larry Agran, Chair of the Orange County Great Park Corporation. "As new public spaces at the Great Park are constructed, they are activated with purposeful and distinguished programming. The 2010 'Flights and Sounds of Summer' festival is representative of the Great Park's approach to animating public space."

The eight-week festival opens with a dance party on Friday, August 6th at 8:00 p.m. featuring Swingtown, an 11-piece band that plays with horn-driven aplomb that has made them favorites at Disneyland's Plaza Gardens. On Saturday August 7th, visitors can enjoy Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles - the first all-woman professional mariachi ensemble in the United States.