Santa Ana Artists Village: It’s So Right Now

The buzz on Broadway these days is that Santa Ana’s Artists Village is the place where artistic juices flow and entertaining surprises are bound to greet you.

Centrally located at 2nd Street and Broadway, the village is home to more than 50 studios and galleries, restaurants, cafes and theaters.

The downtown sidewalks bustle with activity as contemporary art galleries such as the Raid Gallery and Infinity Gallery, which specializes in African art, open to the public.

Anchored by historic district houses such as the Santora Arts Building, Cal State Fullerton’s Grand Central Art Center, the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Empire Arts Building, East Village Workshops and the Arc, the Artists Village showcases its collective talent during open houses the first Saturday of each month from 7 to 10 p.m. Parking is plentiful and cheap.

After a round of mingling among artists and gallery owners, a stroll to the nearby Gypsy Den or Ciao Trattoria restaurants turns out to be entertaining as live bands play and a giant, white latex balloon--with udders--rolls by. Artists looking for attention may greet you as drag queens.

Whether your taste in arts leans to the refined or irreverent, the Artist Village is candy to the senses.