Around Town: Balboa Island to light holiday tree Sunday

The holiday season on Balboa Island will kick off Sunday with the annual tree-lighting ceremony outside the fire station at 124 Marine Ave.

The free community event is open to the public and will begin at 4 p.m. with a mound of real snow and sledding for children. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served along with Christmas music by vocalist Rick Sherman.

Santa and Mrs. Claus will make their entrance at 5 p.m.

‘Sourcing Saturday’ cooking event at Pirch in Costa Mesa

Each Saturday in December, the Costa Mesa location of the Pirch appliance showroom will offer a “Sourcing Saturday” event in collaboration with Melissa’s Produce.

Pirch’s chefs will guide guests through hands-on cooking using appliances in the showroom’s test kitchen while leading a discussion about how to source fresh California flowers, fish, meat, cheese and produce.

This Saturday’s event, from 10 a.m. to noon, will have a holiday entertaining theme.

Admission is free, though an RSVP is required.

The showroom is at South Coast Collection, 3303 Hyland Ave.

To RSVP, visit pirch.com/sourcingsaturdays.

Nearly 700 employees and family members representing Newport Beach-based PIMCO will gather Saturday at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa to pack 12,000 holiday food boxes for donation to the OC Food Bank in Garden Grove.

The 10th annual “Share the Harvest” is sponsored by the Fair & Event Center and PIMCO Partners, the investment management firm’s employee volunteer and community outreach program.

All food boxes packed at the event will be distributed by the OC Food Bank to needy families in Orange County during the holiday season, according to a news release.

Vanguard University music students to perform at Segerstrom

Vanguard University’s music department will celebrate the 21st anniversary of the “Christmas Fantasia” concert Tuesday at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa.

The annual concert features students from the university’s music programs. Proceeds support scholarships and other educational resources through the Vanguard University Fund.

For tickets or more information, call (714) 966-5441.

Anne Heche coming to Newport Beach for fundraiser

Actress Anne Heche will present a fundraiser for Puerto Rico hurricane relief Dec. 10 in Newport Beach.

It starts at 11 a.m. at the Palisades Tennis Club, 1171 Jamboree Road.

Donations also can be made at crowdrise.com/anneheche.

UCI to host lecture on stem cells, science and freedom

The UC Irvine Center for Stem Cell Research will host a professor from Italy to discuss science and freedom.

Elena Cattaneo, a professor from the University of Milan, is known for her “studies on neural stem cells and Huntington’s disease, which aim to identify cells, molecules and pathways that are suitable for therapeutic intervention,” according to a news release.

The free event is set for 7 to 8 p.m. Dec. 11 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive. To register, visit stemcell.uci.edu.