Around Town: Taste of Huntington Beach to offer samples of Surf City fare

Food aficionados can try unlimited samples from local wineries and restaurants Sunday at the Taste of Huntington Beach.

The event will be held from noon to 4 p.m. at the Huntington Beach Sports Complex, 18100 Goldenwest St.

Simon Majumdar, a celebrity judge on the Food Network, will host.

All money raised from the event will go to Friends of the Children’s Library, a volunteer group that promotes child literacy.

Tickets, available for $60 to $90, can be purchased at the children’s department at the Huntington Beach Central Library, 7111 Talbert Ave., or at tastehb.com.

March for Babies comes to Newport Beach on Sunday

The Orange County March for Babies, part of the March of Dimes’ biggest annual event, will begin at 8:30 a.m. Sunday at Fashion Island in Newport Beach.

The event will include a Superhero Sprint for kids complete with purple capes, refreshments, music, sponsor booths and other activities. For the first time, participants who have experienced the loss of a baby can place a butterfly stake with their child’s name on it at the walk site.

The 3½-mile walk raises money for the March of Dimes, which works to promote children’s health by preventing birth defects and other conditions.

Registration starts at 7 a.m. Fashion Island is at 600 Newport Center Drive.

For more information, visit marchforbabies.org or call (949) 263-1100.

Composting events set in Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach’s solid-waste hauler, Waste Management, is offering a free composting class from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Bluebird Park, 798 Bluebird Canyon Drive.

For more information, contact Lisa Ryder at (310) 874-2499.

The city also will give away compost from 8 a.m. to noon May 13 at the city maintenance lot, 1900 Laguna Canyon Road.

Laguna police to hold bike rodeo Sunday

The Laguna Beach Police Department will hold its third annual Bike Rodeo & Road Safety Expo from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday in Parking Lot 11 at 551 Forest Ave.

The event aims to promote safe bicycle operation in the city, especially among teenagers and young children. Participants can have their bikes and helmets inspected and use safe riding techniques in navigating an obstacle course with a member of the Laguna Beach Police Bike Patrol Team.

The expo will include traffic safety games, police vehicles, child ID making, a bounce house, face painting, balloon art and more.

Women’s rowing film to screen in Newport

“Dare to Be,” a documentary about women’s rowing, will be screened at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Lido Theater in Newport Beach.

The film’s producer and director, Adam Reist, will attend and answer questions.

Tickets are $15, with proceeds benefiting rowing at Newport Sea Base.

To buy tickets, visit nsbr.yapsody.com.

Newport Councilman Herdman to hold town hall meeting Monday

Newport Beach City Councilman Jeff Herdman will hold his first town hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Community Room of the Newport Beach Civic Center, 100 Civic Center Drive.

Herdman, who was elected in November, will join city staff members in providing information about projects, programs and issues in council District 5, which includes Newport Center, Big Canyon, the Port Streets, Linda Isle and Harbor, Collins and Balboa islands.

Huntington Beach woman receives volunteer award

Huntington Beach resident Kimberly Marsh-Koontz recently received a OneOC Spirit of Volunteerism Award during a ceremony at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

Marsh-Koontz is a senior collection analyst for UnitedHealth Group in Cypress. She was credited for her volunteer service, including for the American Heart Assn. and organizing Easter basket giveaways for Camp Pendleton Marine families.

Newport Harbor student wins surfboard

A Newport Harbor High School student recently won Arbor Real Estate’s Stoke-A-Student drawing for a Russell surfboard.

Parker Turley, a freshman and member of the junior varsity tennis team, had to show proof of having at least a “B” grade average for the past semester. Entries were submitted to Surfside Sports in Newport Beach.

“My dad first took me surfing when I was about 7 years old,” Parker said in a statement. “I think surfing is in my blood. Now that I have my own board and I don’t have to use my dad’s, I’ll be able to surf more often.”

Epilepsy Walk raises $150,000 for Costa Mesa nonprofit

The eighth annual Epilepsy Walk in Costa Mesa raised an estimated $150,000 for the Epilepsy Support Network of Orange County, a Costa Mesa-based nonprofit that helps children, teenagers and adults find relief from seizures, according to a news release.

The event at TeWinkle Park include appearances from various “Star Wars” characters and was dubbed “Seizure Wars.”

OC Marathon to feature route for physically disadvantaged

About 25,000 people are expected to participate in the Orange County Marathon on May 7.

The 26.2-mile marathon will start at 5:30 a.m. and a half-marathon will begin at 6:15 a.m., both at Newport Center in Newport Beach.

Less-experienced runners can participate by heading to the Wahoo’s OC 5K at 5 p.m. May 6 at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa.

This year’s OC Marathon features a route designed specifically for people with physical disadvantages.

“We are honored to be able to open up the race to O.C. residents who haven’t had this opportunity before,” said race director Gary Kutscher of Huntington Beach.

For more information, visit ocmarathon.com.

‘Sweetbitter’ author to speak in Newport

Stephanie Danler, a Seal Beach native and author of “Sweetbitter,” a New York Times bestseller, will speak May 18 in Newport Beach.

The event, organized by the Newport Beach Public Library Foundation, begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets start at $20.

For more information, visit nbplfoundation.org.

‘Fairview Park Forever’ event scheduled for May 20

The Fairview Park Preservation Alliance is inviting Costa Mesa residents to attend a free event next month celebrating the park and the recent passage of Measure AA.

“Fairview Park Forever” will take place at the park from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 20.

The event will include free train rides offered by the Orange County Model Engineers, a tour with professional biologist Robb Hamilton and an instructional demonstration of the iNaturalist app, which enables visitors to use their smartphones to record plants and wildlife they observe in the park.

Measure AA, approved in November’s election, requires voter approval for several possible changes at the park, such as extending operating hours, building permanent structures or installing additional lighting.

UCI students earn $2,500 award in Values and Ventures Competition

UC Irvine students from the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Claire Trevor School of the Arts earned a fourth-place honorable mention and $2,500 at the TCU Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures Competition.

The event at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, featured students from around the world pitching plans for businesses, products or services that benefit the environment, community or particular population, according to a news release.

UCI’s entry, called Closed Loop Plastics, used renewable energy to transform plastic waste into material for 3D printing.

UPDATES:

3:50 p.m. April 29: This article was updated with information about Councilman Jeff Herdman’s town hall meeting.

This article was originally posted at 2:20 p.m. April 28.