BEST BETS Saturday 11/10

11am

Art

The history of California is told through a series of seldom seen paintings, engravings and photographs in the new exhibition, “California, This Golden Land of Promise”, at the Irvine Museum. The compiled works tell of Native Americans, European colonizers, the Gold Rush of 1849 and how California became the 31st state in the Union in 1850. * “California, This Golden Land of Promise,” Irvine Museum, 18881 Von Karman Ave., 12th Floor, Irvine. Museum hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Ends Feb. 16. (949) 476-2565.

6pm

Art

Painter, photographer, sculptor, printmaker and poet Enrique Martinez Celaya uses a wide mix of materials including oil paint, tar, wax, resin, fresh flowers, found objects and words. An exhibition at the Orange County Museum of Art will feature 60 of his paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs produced in the last decade.* Works by Enrique Martinez Celaya, Orange County Museum of Art, 850 San Clemente Dr., Newport Beach. Museum hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. $4 to $5; children under 16 and members, free; free Tuesdays. Ends Feb. 3. (949) 759-1122.