Pete Jacobs and His Wartime Radio Review, Francesca Gagnon, 'The Voice of Alegria' and the Music of Cirque du Soleil to Headline 'Flights and Sounds of Summer' this Weekend

Pete Jacobs and His Wartime Radio Review, Francesca Gagnon, 'The Voice of Alegria' and the Music of Cirque du Soleil to Headline 'Flights and Sounds of Summer' this Weekend

Fun begins at 7:00 p.m. at the Great Park Comedy Corner

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Two extraordinary dance and music performances are featured at the Orange County Great Park's Flights and Sounds of Summer this Friday and Saturday night. On Friday August 21st, take a time-machine back to a World War Two U.S.O. Show and boogie woogie to the music of Pete Jacobs and his Wartime Radio Review. His 16 piece big band plays the hits of the thirties and forties along with late-breaking news stories from the war years. Don't know how to dance the jitterbug? Then, come at 7:30 p.m. for a free dance lesson that gets you swinging.

On Saturday night August 22nd, enjoy a symphonic concert featuring the music of Cirque du Soleil, with the incomparable voice and presence of Francesca Gagnon, "the Voice of Alegria," and Inti-Illimani. Her beautiful vocal style and the wonderful music of Chilean orchestra Inti-Illimani will make this special performance one to remember. The performance foreshadows the January performances of Cirque du Soleil at the Great Park, arriving January 8th, 2010 with their magnificent traveling show "Kooza".

Comedian Jackie Fabulous of Bill Bellamy's Who's Got Jokes will open the evening on Friday, August 21st with great laughs at the Great Park Comedy Corner. On Saturday, August 22nd Comedy Central alum Tom Clark will make you smile at the Great Park Comedy Corner.

"The Great Park is Orange County's best place to dance, enjoy great music and top comedians," said Larry Agran, Chair of the Orange County Great Park Corporation. "Best of all, you can bring the entire family and there is no admission charge."

Come back to the Great Park next Friday, August 28th and two-step to Cedric Watson along with his south Louisiana zydeco swamp-mates on guitar, bass, drums and rub board. Jackie Fabulous of Bill Bellamy's Who's Got Jokes returns for another sidesplitting performance at the Great Park Comedy Corner.

On Saturday, August 29th, Tim Chizmar, guest on Last Call with Carson Daly, and Mal Hall, Winner of 2009 O.C. Comedy Competition Irvine Improv kick off the evening with great laughs at the Great Park Comedy Corner after which true heroes of the swing revival, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, gets you singing the "hi-de-hi's" and the "ho-de-ho's."

Evening events begin at 7:00 p.m. with shows by local stand-up comics at the Great Park Comedy Corner. Dances and concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. Admission is free. Parking is $8.00.

Refreshments will be available at the Hangar Cafe, which opens at 6:00 p.m. on performance nights. The Hangar Cafe features a vegetarian menu of fresh salads and sandwiches, delicious snacks and desserts, and thirst-quenching beer, wine, and soft drinks presented by award-winning Avanti Cafe.

The Orange County Great Park is located off the 5 Freeway and Sand Canyon in Irvine. For more information, please visit to www.ocgp.org.

The complete "Flights and Sounds of Summer" schedule is listed below. (Please feel free to post.)

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4TH

Great Park Comedy Corner, 7:00 p.m.

Chris Zapatier - BET's "SOB." Military Comedy Tours to Iraq and Afghanistan

Friday Night Dance Party, 8:00 p.m.
Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums
Free dance instruction at 7:30 p.m.

Veterans of 'scenes' as diverse as the famed Derby in Hollywood, NYC's Lincoln Center, and CNN-TV, the Rhumba Bums along with Miss Carmen Getit play swing, jump blues and hot jazz with wit, style and plenty of tongue in cheek.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH

Great Park Comedy Corner, 7:00 p.m.
Tom Connolly- Military Comedy tours to Iraq and Afghanistan

Danny Villapando - USO's Comics On Duty, Comedy Central's Latino Laugh Festival

Saturday Night Concert, 8:00 p.m.
17 Hippies

For the past 12 years Berlin's very own "orchester spezial" has been playing its whirling, crashing, diving, bobbing and weaving mixture of music that morphs French songs, English ballads and international rhythms into a captivating cocktail of sound. An eclectic band of virtuosi, the 17 Hippies are variously masters of the accordion, trombone, trumpet, violin, cello, woodwinds, mandolin, ukulele, banjo, Irish bouzouki, guitar, double bass and harmonium. And then there are the stellar vocals in German, English and French.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH

Great Park Comedy Corner, 7:00 p.m.

Steve Farrell - Regular performer at the Imrov, Ice House and the Comedy Store

Kenny Kane - Bob & Tom Show, USO Tours in Iraq & Afghanistan and Laugh My A** Off

Friday Night Dance Party, 8:00 p.m.
Johnny Polanco y su Conjunto Amistad
Free dance instruction at 7:30 p.m.

So popular at the Great Park last summer that he was invited back immediately, Johnny Polanco is our favorite salsero, with regular gigs at El Floridita, The Mayan and other iconic Southland venues.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12TH

Great Park Comedy Corner, 7:00 p.m.
Dante - Last Comic Standing Finalist

Saturday Night Concert, 8:00 p.m.
Niyaz

"Call it Sufi music or World Fusion, but one thing is for sure, the band Niyaz is an Iranian musical trio whose debut album ranked #1 on world music charts on iTunes. . ." This is trance music for the 21st century: hypnotic, ecstatic, ghostly, and delicious. Azam Ali, best known as half of the popular duo Vas, is the vocalist heard on the soundtrack of "The Matrix: Revolution;" Loga Ramin Torkian, formerly of Axiom of Choice, is a master of Persian and Turkish musical traditions. Loga and Azam are accompanied by tabla, bass, violin and laptop.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH

Great Park Comedy Corner, 7:00 p.m.

Chris Zapatier - BET's "SOB." Military Comedy Tours to Iraq and Afghanistan

Friday Night Dance Party, 8:00 p.m.
Merchants of Moonshine
Free dance instruction at 7:30 p.m.

The two-steppers, the line-dancers, the citified folk in their high-heeled boots: the Merchants of Moonshine make room for all. Expect good times, great guitar licks, and songs that'll break your heart, fix it up, and then break it all over again.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH

Great Park Comedy Corner, 7:00 p.m.
Aristotle Athiras
David Marley

Saturday Night Concert, 8:00 p.m.
HAPA

Last summer's HAPA concert at the Great Park was among our favorites; this year Barry Flanagan and Nathan Aweau are joined by traditional chant master Charles Ka'upu for an evening of Hawaiian bliss. Known as "the sound of Maui," HAPA filters the pan-Polynesian traditions of Hawaii through the lens of contemporary acoustic music to create a sound that has kept them in demand on the festival circuit while earning them a record-breaking number of Na Hoku Hanohano ("Hawaiian Grammy") Awards.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH

Great Park Comedy Corner, 7:00 p.m.
Matt Balaker - Appeared on Conan O'Brien
Aristotle Athiras

Friday Night Dance Party, 8:00 p.m.
Bollywood Step
Free dance instruction at 7:30 p.m.

Our 2009 summer dance party finale: a Bollywood blow-out! A special night of fun with exuberant Bollywood dance demonstrations, step-by-step instructions and simple choreography for all to follow, a party atmosphere and, of course, those irresistible dance rhythms.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH

Great Park Comedy Corner, 7:00 p.m.
Patrick Keane - Appeared on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Kristian Vallee -Appeared on Comedy Central and the Tonight Show

Saturday Night Concert, 8:00 p.m.
Easy Star All-Stars

Lonely Hearts Dub Band, Dub Side of the Moon, Radio Dread. . . the Easy Star All-Stars are the very soul of dub reggae. Almost anybody can sing along to their favorite tunes, but only an artist can take something familiar and make it entirely their own, exploring the heart of the work and taking it to a new and different place. That's what you'll hear on the "Lonely Hearts" tour, plus Easy Star originals in our reggae fest conclusion to the summer concert series.

Source: Orange County Great Park

CONTACT: Jenn Starnes, +1-949-724-6574

Web Site: http://www.ocgp.org/

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