This is as close as we can come to actually singing to our readers on their birthdays!
We’d love to include yours – and/or your children’s birthdays here.
Just email to:
[email protected]
Celebrate and enjoy your
birthday!
July 3
Allison Goode
Ann Quilter
Brett Chapin
Connie Hylton
Davey Watts
John Campbell
Summer Tarango
July 4
Jim Steins
Salomé Taylor
July 6
Ann Puttmann
Hugo Soria
Jason Phipps
Karen Mayo
Sandra Jones Campbell
July 7
Bree Burgess Rosen
Jayne Herring
Lauren Rawlins
July 8
Brian Crawford
Heidi Miller
Lynn Faye
Pam Hilburn
July 9
Janna MacDowall
Jim Rue
Kendra Nugent
Rachael O’Brien
July 10
Charles Upton
Jennifer Tubbs-Stockert
Marlowe Naresh
Tori Toma
July 11
Chris Krach-Bastian
Gary Arthur
George West
Jean-Pierre Garau
Nancy Wilhelm
PJ Elbing
LOCA Arts announces Create a Heart Collage Challenge
LOCA Arts Education invites the community to engage in monthly arts challenges on Instagram. Creative types are encouraged to share photos of their artwork following LOCA’s fun and easy themes.
“The intent is to create art that reads well when photographed,” said LOCA member Mike Tauber. “After taking the photo, the art can be disassembled or recycled.”
Click on photo for a larger image
Submitted photo
Colored pencil heart by Mike Tauber (@miketauberstudios)
Last month’s theme was Floral Sea Life. Contributions included a lobster made from bottle brush tree seeds by Sheryl Seltzer, and a red snapper from plastic mesh by Vicki Orgill. Lynn Epstien created an underwater scene using dried scallions, succulents, and pink flowers arranged to read like a school of fish.
“The designers are so imaginative – it’s great to see everyone having so much fun!” said Carla Meberg, LOCA President. Meberg used dried flowers to create an adorable baby octopus in a pink tutu. Many of the amazing art submissions can be seen on LOCA’s Instagram feed and in other communications.
Click on photo for a larger image
Submitted photo
Paint tubes heart by Lisa Mansour (@lisamansourart)
The latest theme, Heart Collage, is running now through late July. To participate, gather favorite art supplies, collectibles, or beloved objects, and arrange them into an inventive heart shape. Photograph your work and upload to Instagram. Tag @locaarts in the photo and use the hashtag #locaartschallenge.
For more information, follow LOCA on Instagram @locaarts or visit www.locaarts.org/news.
Virtual reading of winning poems from Annual John Gardiner Poetry Contest available online
The Laguna Beach Library’s 22nd Annual John Gardiner Poetry Contest concluded on June 6 with a Virtual Public Reading Event. Prizes of up to $100 in gift certificates were awarded in five age categories, and the winning poems have been published in a booklet. The theme this year was “I Believe in Superheroes.” To access both the reading and the booklet, click here.
Library Assistant Heather Bradley reports, “The annual poetry contest was a great success this year! Although the branch was closed due to the stay-at-home order, we were able to adjust the contest to an entirely online format and continue. It proved to be a meaningful creative outlet during a difficult time for so many people.”
Click on photo for a larger image
Photo by Mary Hurlbut
John Gardiner, beloved local poet who passed away in 2017
In addition to the public reading and the booklet of winning poems, which are both offered for viewing online, hard copies of the poetry booklet will be available for free at the library after reopening.
Heather says, “We received so many wonderful submissions from throughout Orange County and Los Angeles County – and we even had a few international submissions! Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s event, and congratulations to those whose poems were chosen by our judges! We hope you will share your poetry with us again next year.”
The theme for the 23rd Annual John Gardiner Poetry Contest in 2021 will be: “Between the Clouds and Sea.”
The poetry contest is generously supported by Friends of the Laguna Beach Library.
Meet Pet of the Week Sonja
Sonja is currently taking over Pet of the Week. She is a 2-year-old spayed Shepherd Rottie Mix. Sonja is a very big dog and will require a secure six-inch fenced yard. In addition, she is housebroken and will do best being the only animal in a home. Sonja is very smart and is a great companion to have by your side. She loves going on walks and is very friendly. Nancy Goodwin, shelter director, is hoping to have Sonja adopted as soon as possible.
Click on photo for a larger image
Sonja is looking for a new place to call home
The Laguna Beach Animal Shelter adoption procedures are designed to make sure that both the potential family and the animal adopted are in the very best situation possible. Due to their approach to adoption, the shelter’s return rate is five percent as compared to the national return rate of 50 percent.
The LB Animal Shelter is located at 20612 Laguna Canyon Rd. For information on adoption procedures, call (949) 497-3552 or go to www.puplagunabeach.org/our-pets.php.
Laguna Beach-based company launches urban farming model to sustainably address food insecurity
Laguna Beach-based Alegría Fresh, in partnership with the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County and Bank of America, is offering an important avenue of support to our community by providing its regenerative organic, locally grown produce to the community again.
The FarmBoxx is a package of 23+ heart, gut, and brain-healthy greens, herbs, veggies, and edible flowers, delivered same-day within hours of harvest. At a time when people need a healthy boost, the quality, freshness, and diversity in the FarmBoxx delivers it.
Click on photo for a larger image
Submitted photo
The FarmBoxx includes lettuce, herbs, veggies, and more
Customers may place orders on Second Harvest Food Bank’s website by Thursday at noon for Friday delivery. Each FarmBoxx is $30 plus delivery and includes two heads of lettuce, a bouquet of leafy greens, adaptogenic herbs, vegetables, and edible flowers.
The flavorful nutrient-packed medley is designed to be combined to make about six sumptuous Alegría salads. Order by noon on Thursday for Friday delivery by 5 p.m. at www.feedoc.org/living-farmstand/.
Longtime Laguna Beach resident Erik Cutter launched Alegría Fresh with his first urban farm in Laguna Canyon in 2010, and spent the last decade perfecting a regenerative urban faming model.
The company recently completed an expanded SoxxBoxx Farm, which functions as a regenerative organic food production engine located on the Second Harvest Food Bank parking lot. This 3,000-square-foot urban farm cultivates ultra-high-quality produce in above-ground planters using a special soil blend that provides the balanced nutrition required to optimize plants’ genetic potential, resulting in vegetables, salad greens, fruit, flowers, and medicinal herbs that are superior in nutrient density and phytoactivity.
Each purchase of super healthy Alegría produce keeps the farmers employed and provides over 85 pounds of fresh produce buying power for the Food Bank to distribute to the needy. It’s a win-win-win.
Click on photo for a larger image
Submitted photo
Farmer Erik Cutter hosing the fresh produce
Second Harvest’s collaboration with Alegría Fresh and Bank of America is the first of its kind – using the mobile, off-grid, scalable, and highly productive Alegría SoxxBoxx Gro System to address food insecurity, augment food supply disruptions, and promote heath and fertility in soils to improve overall community resilience.
A great example of a public/private partnership, the model can be replicated in any urban space across the country to ultimately provide food to those in need. Revenue from the sale of Alegría Fresh produce from Second Harvest’s Living FarmStand will be used to purchase an estimated 385,000 pounds annually of farm direct vegetables and fruit through the California Association of Food Banks’ (CAFB) Farm to Family program at Second Harvest’s bulk purchasing rate.
In collaboration with Solutions For Urban Agriculture (www.sfua.org), Alegría Fresh is also operating a second zero waste urban regenerative organic farm at the Farm + Food Lab in Irvine demonstrating its proprietary SoxxBoxx Gro System (www.SoxxBoxx.com). The Farm + Food Lab is open for visitation Tuesday - Sunday 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
