Orange County Blog

Special Event: Weekend at the Nix Center, Native American Toys and Games

First, a little history about this beautiful region…The Native Americans of the Orange County region call themselves the Acjachemen (A-ha-che-men) Nation. For more than 10,000 years, they lived a prosperous lifestyle on the coastlands of Orange County. They were among the over 250,000 people that inhabited California before Spanish contact. At one point in history, their nation’s territory consisted of numerous villages, and spanned from Long Beach to Oceanside, as far east as Lake Elsinore, and westward to Catalina and San Clemente Islands.

“Join OC Parks and the Laguna Canyon Foundation on Saturday, November 12th from 1:00pm-4:00pm for a special Weekend at the Nix Nature Center - American Indian Stories, Toys and Games. Join the talented Acjachemen performer, Jacque Nunez, as she transports you into the traditions of the Acjachemen people - and into the world of our shared past.

Make your own American Indian toys and games to take home - or to give as gifts for the holidays! This amazing event will be fun for the entire family. Space is limited. For more information and to sign up www.lagunacanyon.org.
The Laguna Canyon Foundation is 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, protecting, enhancing, and promoting the South Coast Wilderness Area. This 20,000-acre area of includes Laguna Coast and Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Parks, Crystal Cove State Park, and the City of Irvine Open Space Preserve. We work to Keep It Wild!

The Laguna Canyon Foundation fulfills its mission by managing and supporting park volunteers in Laguna Coast and Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Parks, providing educational and recreational programs and activities, coordinating land acquisitions, coordinating habitat restoration programs, and providing supplemental funding to our partner parks.” www.lagunacanyon.org

 

 

 

San Clemente, known as the Spanish village by the sea, has a beautiful collection of beaches catering to water sports enthusiasts.  But this quaint community has more activities to offer to its residents and visitors --

The Village Art Fair is held on the FIRST SUNDAY of every month at 9AM and is put on by The Downtown Business Association. Stroll and shop Ave Del Mar where more than 60 vendors will have arts, crafts and other fabulous items.  The Village Art Fair represents an interesting spectrum of arts and crafts - jewelry, ceramic, wood, metals, photography, fine art, hand blown & fused glass, handmade children’s clothing, home and garden items, and more! Discover this wonderful San Clemente tradition! http://www.villagesanclemente.org/artfair.htm

August 14th - San Clemente Street Festival features fun and activities for the whole family, including: Food and game booths sponsored by local nonprofit organizations, three stages with continuous live music throughout the day, contests, a Salsa Challenge, arts & crafts show, business exposition, kiddy rides, a classic car & motorcycle show, exhibits, clowns, jugglers, face painters and much more. No admission charge. For more information, call the San Clemente Chamber of Commerce at (949) 492-1131 or visit www.scchamber.com.

Thursday, August 18th at 6:00 pm - The 12th Annual Beach Concert Series is “Bringing the Bands to the Sand!” Join the community to celebrate live music on the beach with the sunset as your backdrop and free seating in the sand http://bit.ly/AuKFN

Saturday & Sunday, August 20-21, 2011 - Arts and Crafts Fair - In partnership with the City of San Clemente, the San Clemente Art Association presents this annual event with over 100 exhibit booths of fine art paintings and hand crafts. Free to the public. For more information, call (949) 369-8343 or visit www.scartgallery.com.

To learn more about San Clemente, visit http://www.orangecountyresourceguide.com/san-clemente-useful-links.html

 

Laguna Beach welcomes over 3 million visitors each year and it’s certainly not hard to understand the appeal of this coastal community.  The picturesque canyons, coastal hills, and 7 miles of scenic beaches are hard to resist.  Add in a quaint shopping district, blufftop walkways and a tram system and Laguna Beach becomes a not to miss destination!  During the summer months, an added highlight is the art shows…

Art-a-Fair Festival
 “Art is beauty in its purest form. It inspires us; it brings forth passion; it awes us. This summer, the juried art featured at Art-A-Fair promises to do just this. View fine art by 125 renowned artists and master craftspeople from around the world, across the United States and gifted local artists as well. Stroll through Art-A-Fair's lovely and peaceful garden setting, with cool ocean breezes, and enjoy a memorable day among the artists as they work on their oil paintings, watercolors, acrylics, drawings, photography, digital art, mixed media, sculpture, jewelry, ceramics, glass and wood. “

Sawdust Festival
 “The Sawdust will feature the fine art and craft of over 200 Laguna Beach artists and is sure to be the highlight of your summer adventures. Art enthusiasts, collectors, and novice artists have come to the Sawdust since our beginning in 1966 for our mix of fine art and craft. Media include hand-blown and fused glass, painting, jewelry, surf art, ceramics, clothing and textiles, wood and metal sculpture, scrimshaw, photography, and so much more.”

Need other ideas for summer destinations? 
Check out the Entertainment guide on Orange County Resource Guide.com

It’s Whale Watching Season!

And Dana Wharf is ready to  “delight (you) in the exciting sights and sounds of the many types of magnificent ocean creatures that live off the coast of Dana Point - a known landmark for whale sightings. Dana Wharf's tours offer rare glimpses into a huge variety of underwater wildlife that you'll never forget.”

The Whale Watching Season runs through the end of April and over 130 Gray Whales have already been spotted!

“Each winter, the Pacific Gray Whales pass by Dana Point, many believe that Dana Point is a landmark on their journey.  After spending the summer feeding in the food-rich waters of the arctic, the Grays swim south along the coast to the bays of Baja California, where they mate and nurse their young. Along the way they pass Dana Wharf, where you can witness the annual winter journey.”

A hot tip for the budget conscious family is 1/2 priced Tuesdays available from December through April, and 1/2 priced Wednesdays available in April only.

For other great entertainment options, click the Entertainment tab on the home page!

 

Looking for an easy way to make a difference?  Take a look at Cell Phones for Soldiers

Cell Phones for Soldiers hopes to turn old cell phones into more than 12 million minutes of prepaid calling cards for U.S. troops stationed overseas in 2008. To do so, Cell Phones for Soldiers expects to collect 50,000 cell phones each month through a network of more than 3,000 collection sites across the country.

The phones are sent to ReCellular, which pays Cell Phones for Soldiers for each donated phone – enough to provide an hour of talk time to soldiers abroad.

“Americans will replace an estimated 130 million cell phones this year,” says Mike Newman, vice president of ReCellular, “with the majority of phones either discarded or stuffed in a drawer.  Most people don’t realize that the small sacrifice of donating their unwanted phones can have a tremendous benefit for a worthy cause like Cell Phones for Soldiers.”

Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded by teenagers Robbie and Brittany Bergquist from Norwell, Mass., with $21 of their own money. Since then, the registered 501c3 non-profit organization has raised almost $2 million in donations and distributed more than 500,000 prepaid calling cards to soldiers serving overseas.

“Cell Phones for Soldiers started as a small way to show our family’s appreciation for the men and women who have sacrificed the day-to-day contact with their own families to serve in the U.S. armed forces,” says the teens’ father, Bob Bergquist. “Over the past few years, we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of others. But, we have also seen the need to support our troops continue to grow as more troops are sent overseas for longer assignments.”

Through increased fundraising efforts, the Bergquist family hopes to raise more than $9 million in the next five years to fund new programs, such as providing video phones with prepaid service to allow soldiers abroad to see their families on a regular basis.

For more information on this worthy program and learn how you can help, visit http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/index.html

Looking for something unique to do this summer?  Try San Clemente’s Art Walk on the last Thursday of the month from 6 – 9 pm.  Stroll through the downtown of “The Spanish Village by the Sea” enjoying the work of San Clemente’s talented artisans.  Discover local artists’ paintings, art for sale, as well as live entertainment.  The San Clemente Art Gallery will be open with demonstrations.  The art walk is sponsored by San Clemente Art Association and San Clemente Downtown Business Association.  For more information, visit: http://www.orangecountyresourceguide.com/san-clemente-useful-links.html

Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you and scorn in the one ahead.  ~Mac McCleary

Yes, patience is a necessity to drive in Orange County.  Also a necessity is the new 511 Motorist Aid and Travelers’ Information System.  Have you heard about this yet? 

511 is a free traveler information service that provides information about traffic, transit and commuter service information in Southern California via a toll-free phone number and website. By calling 511 or visiting Go511.com, all the information you need to make smart traveling decisions is readily available.

Take a look at www.WelcomeToOC.com to get the scoop on the new 511 system!

According to the Urban Dictionary, glamping is defined as “Shorthand for glamorous camping; luxury camping”.  The roots of glamping can be traced back to Africa decades ago.  Tourists yearning for safaris, but not willing to give up the comforts of home , found an entire industry willing to cater to their needs.  They could enjoy the wild setting while enjoying high tea.  Now glamping has risen to a whole new level with luxury camping resorts, safari camps, eco-resorts and campgrounds complete with 5 star amenities.

Take a look at http://www.welcometooc.com/ and discover whether camping or glamping is in your future.

 

Seriously, it’s time to fill the gas tank again?  Prices are on the rise and there’s not much we can do about it.  Right?  Well, the answer to that is both no and yes.  No, we can’t do much to lower the price of gas, but yes, we can take steps to reduce the number of times we visit the cost consuming gas station.

Here are a few helpful hints to reduce the frequency of the Needle on Empty Syndrome:

1.  Take care of your car!  Besides the issue with gas prices, a car is a huge investment.  Checking the tire pressure and replacing the air filter on a regular basis will do wonders for improving your car’s efficiency and therefore it’s MPG.

2. Remember that when the traffic light turns green, it’s not a green light to jump on the accelerator – settle down Speed Racer.  Accelerate moderately so as not to waste fuel.  A perfect partner to this hint is to take a tip from the truck drivers on crowded freeways.  They keep their speed constant as they know it takes much more fuel to get a vehicle moving than it does to keep it moving.

3. Try roughing it and turn off your air conditioner.  At lower speeds, you will save fuel.  But on the flip side, at higher speeds the A/C will be more efficient than the open windows because of wind resistance.

4. Resist the urge to “pimp your ride”.  If your tires are wider than the stock tires, chances are they'll create more rolling resistance and decrease fuel economy

5. So many of us fall into the category of being cleanliness impaired when it comes to our cars.  It takes little to acquire an extra 40-50 lbs. of stuff in our trunks.  Extra weight equals more fuel to burn to get from point A to point B.

6. One last tip for the carpool parent: Avoid Long Idles - The bottom line is idling burns more gas than restarting an engine. If you wait in line at the kids’ school, you know what a long idle means!

Now that you know how to stretch your tank of gas, stretch your gas dollars by learning where the cheapest gas stations are in your area http://bit.ly/47pekN

California Wine Festival
The Quintessential Wine Experience
April 22 -24, 2010  Dana Point, California

Wine, food, music, sea and sun. These elements create a unique wine tasting experience at every California Wine Festival. A sunny seaside setting with hundreds of California's best red and white wines from 58 wineries along with 5 brewing companies for discriminating beer drinkers make Dana Point the place to be April 22 – 24th.  The dozens of top chefs and specialty food purveyors will be complemented perfected by the live music performed by the band Upstream.  Upstream is known for their energetic eclectic style of Reggae and Soca.   Experience one of California’s most popular wine festivals. http://www.californiawinefestival.com