Around Town: Local works in spotlight at Artventure in Costa Mesa
Costa Mesa’s new Artventure event, featuring more than 100 pieces of art submitted by local residents, will run Friday through Sunday in the Cisco Home Showroom at the SoCo Collection design center, 3303 Hyland Ave.
The juried exhibition, which is open to the public at no charge, was founded by the city’s Cultural Arts Committee. It will pair the artwork with furniture, fixtures, home decor and design elements. Works include oil, watercolor and acrylic paintings, graphite drawings, metal sculptures, photography, mixed media and fiber art.
Friday’s opening event will begin at 5:45 p.m. and include awards for artists in several categories, plus food, beverages and music by the Irvine Jazz Trio.
The exhibit will continue from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s festivities will include culinary demonstrations by Bistro Papillote and ST Patisserie and music by Ruben Gonzalez of Pasion Gitano. Sunday will feature demonstrations from the Strategic Kids Lego Engineering and Robotics Team from Davis Elementary School, an interactive animation station with animator Lynn Okimura, music by the All-American Boys Chorus and reading and discussion with 10-year-old author Ryan Rector.
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6 students awarded scholarships at YES event
Youth Employment Service’s Evening of Excellence fundraiser last week honored six area students with $21,000 worth of scholarships.
The Costa Mesa-based organization, which helps people ages 16 to 24 develop skills needed to gain and keep employment, held Thursday’s event at the Radisson hotel in Newport Beach. Scholarships of $3,500 each were presented to Hugo Morales of Newport Harbor High School, Alyxandra Tortorice and Wendy Garcia of Laguna College of Art and Design, Fernando Perez of Estancia High School, Catherine Pimentel of Costa Mesa High School and Jonathan Duenas from Cal State Fullerton.
Morales, a junior, is one of Newport Harbor’s first enrollees in AP Studio Art.
Tortorice founded Starfysh Wetsuits, whose products have removable sleeves and legs.
The dinner’s featured speaker, Lauren Buangan, credited YES for her acceptance to UCLA’s theater program. “I take my YES skills everywhere with me,” she said in a statement.
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Jetpack America president to appear on ‘Pawn Stars’
Dean O’Malley, president of Jetpack America, which operates water-propelled jetpacks in Newport Harbor, will appear on the History Channel TV show “Pawn Stars” on Thursday.
O’Malley will try to sell the jetpack he used to fly 26 miles from Newport Beach to Catalina Island in 2012.
Jetpack America will hold a viewing party Thursday beginning at 8 p.m. at Rusty Pelican, 2735 W. Coast Hwy., Newport Beach. The show will air at 9 p.m.
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Costa Mesa police, Mika team up for community event
The Costa Mesa Police Department and Mika Community Development Corp., a Westside-based nonprofit, presented a “substation for a day” event on Oct. 31 on Shalimar Drive.
The goal was to “reach out to the local community and make them aware of services that are offered,” city spokesman Tony Dodero said in a statement.
Residents of the Shalimar area met with police officers and Explorers. Children dressed in Halloween costumes received candy and played games with the officers.
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Newport Harbor alumni schedule fundraiser at Stag Bar
The Alumni Collective, a Newport Harbor High School alumni group, plans a fundraiser for Nov. 18 at the newly revived Stag Bar + Kitchen in Newport Beach.
The event will begin at 6 p.m. and will benefit the Environmental Nature Center’s preschool program.
The Stag Bar is at 121 McFadden Place. For more information, visit thealumnicollective.com.
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Parking meters to be discussion topic at CdM meeting
Dan Matusiewicz, finance director for the city of Newport Beach, will discuss parking meters along Coast Highway during the Corona del Mar Residents Assn. board of directors meeting at 7:30 a.m. Nov. 19.
The meeting will be held in Room 5 at the Oasis Senior Center, 801 Narcissus Ave., Corona del Mar. For more information, call (949) 719-9390 or visit Cdmra.org.
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Project Access receives $5,000 grant from Disney VoluntEars
The Disney VoluntEars Community Fund recently gave a $5,000 grant to Newport Beach-based Project Access to support the nonprofit’s after-school tutoring and enrichment program.
The program is conducted at centers in four apartment communities in Anaheim.
The VoluntEars Community Fund has donated more than $5 million since 1997 to area nonprofit organizations. Disneyland Resort employees who are directly affiliated with nonprofits and contribute at least $1 per week, or $52 as a one-time donation, can nominate groups that receive funding of up to $5,000.
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Book sale set for December at Costa Mesa library
Friends of the Costa Mesa Libraries will hold a sale of books, CDs and DVDs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 5 and noon to 3 p.m. Dec. 6.
The sale will be at the Donald Dungan library branch, 1855 Park Ave., Costa Mesa.
—From staff reports