AROUND TOWN - Nov. 28, 2008

World AIDS Day testing, beach vigil planned

The Laguna Beach HIV Advisory Committee will commemorate World AIDS Day on Monday from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Main Beach Cobblestone area.

HIV testing will be available at the Laguna Beach Community Clinic’s mobile unit, with results in 20 minutes.

The mobile unit will be parked on the cobblestone area of Main Beach. Free testing will run from 3 to 5 p.m.

Ribbons in memory of those in our community who have died of AIDS will be placed on trees throughout the city.

Local residents are invited to come to Main Beach in the evening to add the names of their loved ones to a special 6-foot tall ribbon.

A candlelight vigil will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. gathering at Endangered Planet Gallery, 348 Forest Ave., Gallery 13.

For those who prefer testing at the Laguna Beach Community Clinic itself, hours are:

?Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m.;

?Wednesday, 2:30 to 5 p.m.;

?Thursday, 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 7 p.m.;

?Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to noon.

No appointment is needed at either location. The clinic is located at 362 Third St., Laguna Beach.

Shanti Wreath Auction set Dec. 9 at Mozambique

Shanti Orange County’s Wreath Auction this year will be hosted by Mozambique from 6 to 10 p.m. Dec. 9.

Mozambique will provide appetizers, along with a cash bar, as bidding on artist-created holiday wreaths takes place.

This event has raised more than $140,000 in support of programs and services supporting the HIV/AIDS community of Orange County.

Mike Tauber will serve as auctioneer, assisted by Rado. The event will feature a raffle in addition to the live auction.

Wreaths need to be completed by Dec. 1 for display at Mozambique in the week prior to the event.

Call (949) 452-0888 for more information about the event or if interested in creating and donating a wreath.

Mozambique is located at 1740 S. Coast Hwy.

Recycled treasures on tap at Woman’s Club

The Annual Tarnished Treasures Sale and members holiday lunch will take place at the Woman’s Club of Laguna Beach on Dec. 5.

Doors open for members and guests attending the lunch at 11:30 a.m., and the general public is invited to view and purchase items beginning at 1:30 p.m.

Anyone with table-top size items to donate to this once-a-year fundraiser may drop them off between 3 and 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Club, 286 St. Ann’s Drive.

The lunch will cost $20, and must be accompanied by a check, mailed to the address above or dropped in the mailbox at the club house by Tuesday.

For more information, call (949) 497-1200.

Prather to discuss climate change in Newport Coast

Laguna Beach residents are invited to attend the annual meeting of Friends of the Newport Coast at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Michael Prather, a professor at UCI’s Department of Earth Science, will be the keynote speaker at the meeting.

Prather, who shared with Al Gore the Nobel Prize for his work on global warming, will discuss, “Climate Change: what’s new, what to expect, what can we do about it?”

The meeting will be held in the Newport Coast Community Center, 6401 San Joaquin Hills Drive, Newport Beach. The building is on the corner of San Joaquin and Newport Coast Drive.

Everyone is invited to attend this free lecture.

Friends of the Newport Coast has actively provided oversight for the development of Crystal Cove State Park and the property adjacent to the park for the past 30 years.