Around Town: Gala puts on a show for the arts
About 220 people attended the Costa Mesa High School Foundation’s annual start-of-the-school-year gala, Beat the Drum for the Arts, on Sept. 19 on the Garden Terrace at South Coast Plaza.
The event was chaired by Costa Mesa Councilwoman Katrina Foley, who also serves as president of the foundation and raised funds for the high school’s new Academy of Creative Expression program focusing on arts education.
The evening also recognized the school’s newly created Mandarin program which deals with Chinese language and culture.
Child prodigy Lily Yuan was introduced on stage to perform on the Chinese Dulcimer. The music was followed by the introduction of the school’s Mandarin teacher Lu Wang, who introduced two of her students, Ben Swanson and Lupita Zavalla, who conversed in fluent Mandarin on stage.
Foley then presented CMHS’s Vision Award to teacher Jon Lindfors, who leads the music arts department at the school.
“I have dedicated my professional life to music education,” Lindfors said. “I am proud and excited for the advancements in the works at Costa Mesa High School. We will make a major difference in the lives of our students.”
The entertainment continued at the Garden Terrace as the featured act of the evening, Flash Back Heart Attack, took the stage and rocked the crowd.
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Newport Beach Surf Championships this weekend
The 27th annual city of Newport Beach Surf Championships will take to the waves Saturday and Sunday in the area of 54th and 56th streets.
The event is open to amateur surfers in eight divisions ranging in age from 11 and younger to 50 and older.
Registration is closed, but spectators can watch for free. For more information, call (949) 644-3151.
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Surf photographer to present free weekend workshop
Hawaii surf photographer Zak Noyle will offer the public a chance to learn some tricks of his trade when he presents a free two-day “aquatography” workshop this weekend in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.
From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Noyle will present “Get to Know Your Camera” at the Canon Experience Center, 123 Paularino Ave., Costa Mesa. Professionals in surf photography, photo editing and equipment will offer their expertise, and Noyle will provide tips and techniques for shooting underwater photos. Seating is first-come, first-served.
From 8 a.m. to noon Sunday, people can work with Noyle and other professional photographers to take photos on the beach at 56th Street in Newport Beach.
Registration for that event is closed.
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Stem cell seminar Sunday in Irvine
The Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center will hold a free public seminar Sunday about the use of adult stem cells for treatment of various degenerative and inflammatory conditions.
The event will begin at 11 a.m. on the third floor of the Crossroads Corporate Center, 3500 Barranca Pkwy., Irvine.
For more information, call (949) 679-3889.
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Sign-ups open for Newport sailing race
The Newport Ocean Sailing Assn. will present the 14-Mile Bank Race on Oct. 3 as the final race of its 2015 Ocean Racing Series.
The race around the 14 Mile Bank, also known as the Laussen Knoll, will start and end near the Balboa Pier.
All classes of boats are invited to participate in the race, which for the first time will be held in pursuit format in which slower boats start first and larger, faster boats catch up.
To register, visit nosa.org/14-mile-bank.
Boats that also entered the Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in April and are entered in the 14-Mile Bank Race by 5 p.m. Saturday will not be charged a registration fee. Other entries will pay $25 if registered by Saturday. After that, the fee is $50 if entered by 5 p.m. Thursday.
For more information, email Laurie Morrison @[email protected] or call (310) 720-9011.
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Teens join OCTA board
High school students from Costa Mesa and Irvine were selected to serve one-year terms on the Orange County Transportation Authority’s 2015-16 Teen Council.
The council meets once a month, from September to August, to “provide insight into public transportation issues and work together to make a positive contribution toward public transportation in Orange County,” according to a news release.
This year’s council includes: Gabriela Jimenez, of Costa Mesa; Michael Du Jiang, Natalie Wang, Rachel Li, Shipla Rajagopal and Timonthy Chen, all of Irvine.
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OCC recognized for energy sustainability
Orange Coast College was one of seven colleges recognized as a 2015 Winner of the Excellence in Energy and Sustainability Competition by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors.
The awards were presented to community colleges that promote energy efficiency and sustainability on their campuses, according to a news release.
“OCC’s Vice President of Administrative Services Rich Pagel, along with the District’s Senior Director of Facilities, Planning and Constriction, Jerry Marchbank and their teams deserve all of the credit for this award,” said Dr. Andy Dunn, vice chancellor of Finance and Administrative Services.
OCC achieved the highest score in the retrofit project category because of the energy savings achieved by retrofitting a vast majority of the campus’ lamps and new ballasts, reducing the campus energy bill annually by more than $80,000.
This project cost approximately $887,000 to implement and was funded with $150,000 in Southern California Edison energy incentives and more than $722,000 in Proposition 39 funding.
The outside funding reduced the district’s direct costs to roughly $14,000.
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OC Fire receives $8,000 grant
CITA Insurance Services and Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company are partnering to award the Orange County Fire Authority an $8,000 grant to enhance their community education program.
The Orange County Fire Authority will use the funds to purchase 10 iPads, which will be used in conjunction with software to measure results of community education programs and improve the effectiveness of those programs.
The education tracking software will be used with all of the fire department’s community education programs, including the smoke alarm and wildland fire safety programs.
Orange County Fire Authority officials, firefighters, executives and employees from CITA Insurance Services and Fireman’s Fund will come together for A special grant presentation was held during an Orange County Fire Authority Board meeting Thursday.
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Gala raises money for autism center
A recent event in Newport Coast benefiting the Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders raised more than $512,000.
The Hope and Help Gala, held at the Resort at Pelican Hill on Sept. 19, was the center’s first.
“Our first gala was a wonderful success thanks to the generosity of the families and friends of The Center,” Catherine Brock, executive director of the Santa Ana-based center, said in a statement.
“More than 300 people attended the sold-out event, which gave us a great opportunity to further awareness for the number of children and families impacted by autism in Orange County and expand our programs and our reach,” she said.
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Pumpkin patch event
Torelli Realty, based in Costa Mesa, is hosting its annual Pumpkin Patch event Oct. 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. at its headquarters, 1700 Adams Ave. Suite 100.
The event features contests, food vendors, a petting zoo and nearly 1,000 pumpkins to decorate and take home, according to a news release.
For more information, call (714) 540-7355.