Jason Feddy, left; performing in “Shakespeare’s Fool” in 2011.

Local musician Jason Feddy began a day job this week, taking on the five-hour, midday time slot of Laguna Beach’s FM station, KX 93.5.

Feddy, a local singer-songwriter known for his regular gigs around town and his “Shakespeare in the Park” project, earlier held down one of the station’s weekly evening programs.

“Jason was the obvious choice to take over the midday role,” said the station’s Program Director Tyler Russell. “His popularity in town and his irreverent, hilarious personality on-air will make him a joy to work with, and to listen to.”

“When Tyler asked me to join the daytime team at the station, I considered it carefully for about a nanosecond,” said Feddy. “I’m honored and excited. My wife is delighted to be getting me out of the house too.”

Feddy will feature an all-requests lunch hour segment starting at noon each weekday. Reach him at 949 715-4859.

Fantasy Concert Set Broadcasted

Lagunapalooza Fantasy Concert is broadcast weekly on Saturdays from 6 to 7 p.m. on KX 93.5 FM.

This concert series is the brain-child of local resident Rebecca Apodaca (aka Bassmama Becky) and RJ Catano of A & D Music music in Lake Forest.

Music from different genres and generations are represented. Listeners are asked to submit four to six songs per artist to lagunapalooza@gmail.com The two disc jockeys will pick one winner and put together the audio tracks of the songs for the broadcast.

Counting on Kickstart Capital

KX 93.5 will attempt to launch a webseries about its story and indie music, the station announced.

The station hopes to raise $25,000 by Sunday, June 16 in a Kickstarter campaign, which requires the aspirant to raise all the cash or receive nothing.

Tyler Russell, program director and founder, envisions a music-based reality show of less than 10 minute webisodes that will showcase indie talent that isn’t widely recognized through live in-studio performances and interviews. “We want to show Laguna the way it really is through our station: creative, artistic and eccentric,” he said.

To help out, visit http://kck.st/108suW2.

Laguna Art Museum will host “Art Sleuthing Edgar Payne’s Paintings,” a free talk with art consultant and Laguna Beach resident Eric Jessen in Thursday, May 30, at 7 p.m.

Jessen, a consultant on the Payne exhibition to the Pasadena Museum of California Art, will share the detective work that went into solving the mysterious locations of Payne’s views, including those along the Laguna Beach shoreline.

Weekend Sale of Art

An example of the gallery’s stock.

Transformation at Gallery 1951 will offer treasures from Bali during a Memorial Day weekend sale Friday through Monday, with a reception and raffle Saturday, May 25, 5 to 8 p.m.

Inventory at the gallery, 1951 S. Coast Highway, includes art, masks, sculptures, paintings and furnishings. The gallery will remain open Friday and Saturday until 9 p.m. and until 6 on Sunday and Monday.

Bookmaking Secrets Revealed

LOCA hosts its Senior Art Escapes May 29 featuring Carla Meberg, who will lead workshops to learn the art of bookmaking.

Classes take place at the Susi Q Center, 380 Third St. from 1 to 4 p.m. for seniors 55 and up. Cost is $30 for both classes.

To register, call LOCA at 949-363-4700 and leave your name and number.

Local resident Mark Porterfield, right, and guests start the revelry at their table.

Laguna Art Museum’s 2013 Palette to Palate fundraiser, which took place at the museum earlier this month, raised $190,000, 25 percent more than a year ago. The museum expects to net $125,000 for its education and exhibition programs.

Now in its eighth year, Palette to Palate saw the museum transformed by the culinary talents of Chef Craig Strong of Studio at Montage Laguna Beach, pours by Copain Wines from Healdsberg and the work of 10 artists.

Participating artists were Joshua Dildine, Anthony Foo, Danny Heller, Kiel Johnson, Todd Kenyon, David Kiddie, Mary-Austin Klein, Christopher Martin, Chris Richter, and Brittany M. Ryan. Each artist joined guests for dinner at the table they created, with all of their work available for purchase.

Guests Hanna Skjonsby and Nancy Fry enjoying the museum’s galleries.

The evening featured a cocktail hour and a live auction. Museum organizers included Peter Blake, Chuck Fry, Sue Greenwood, Sheldon Harte, Robert Hayden III, Bob Hayes, Patricia Houston, Jon Madison, Elyse Caraco Miller, Laura Rohl, Jennifer Segerstrom, Marnie Wall, and Sarah Strozza.

Pacific Symphony Music Director Carl St. Clair, left, with his wife Susan, attended the symphony’s annual gala with supporters Joyce and Ron Hanson, among 325 guests. More than $1.34 million for the symphony’s artistic and education programs was raised at party led by Hope Miller, Pat Podlich and Patricia Steinmann, who transformed the St. Regis and astonishing acts in Chinese art, music and dance.

The Nov. 11, 1989 protest rally to halt development in Laguna Canyon.

Some of the principals involved in the 1990 negotiations to save Laguna Canyon will recount their efforts during the next Laguna Beach Historical Society program, Tuesday, May 28, at the Laguna Beach City Hall Council Chambers from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The public is invited and there is no charge.

The panel will include Paul Freeman, Norm Grossman, Carol Mentor McDermott, and Mike Phillips, all who served as one of the representatives on the negotiations to purchase land in Laguna Canyon in 1990.

The panel discussion will include what set the stage for the negotiations, the management and process of the negotiations, how a settlement was finally reached, and an explanation of the successful Measure H bond campaign.

The program will be videotaped and is to be televised on the local Cox Cable channel 30.

Please see a history of the 1989 protest march by the society’s treasurer Gene Felder online in the May 24 edition at lbindy.com.

Sarah Mahoney

Sarah Mahoney is determined to walk again and the Woman’s Club of Laguna Beach wants to help her.

Last May, Mahoney, an “A” student at Saddleback College, who can play at least four different musical instruments, was accepted to UC Berkeley as a music major. But muscle weakness that she initially attributed to a cold or the flu progressed to the point that she had difficulty walking and breathing. Hospitalized, Mahoney underwent a battery of tests, the first of many that have yet to lead to a diagnosis.

“When I first met Sarah, I felt a deep desire to help her,” said Ellie Tipton Ortiz, the club’s president, who knew where to go for aid. “Many of our members offered to donate their own time, talent, and services to help Sarah.”

After a year of consulting with neurologists, movement disorder and infectious disease specialists and still unable to walk, one thing is clear. Intensive physical therapy helps Mahoney breathe and has helped her regain lost muscle mass. But coming thus far tapped out Mahoney’s insurance; her insurer will no longer cover the $300 a week physical therapy sessions at UCI Medical Center.

Not one to give up, Mahoney, who lives with her parents in Laguna Hills, launched The Walking Project, a website the 21-year-old set up from her cell phone and put on Facebook, where people can donate to her physical therapy expenses. The response was quick and global, earning enough money to cover Mahoney’s costs until her insurance begins again and more.

With the extra funds, Mahoney hopes to purchase a machine for UCI’s outpatient physical therapy department that would stabilize her – and others trying to regain their ability to walk – on a treadmill. Now two therapists simulate the $10,000 plus machine. “A lot of patients could benefit from this,” Mahoney said.

While for months Mahoney was unable to move her hands, she has now resumed practicing and playing the guitar again. “My ultimate goal is to be healthy, have the chance to go to UC Berkeley, and walk away from disease,” she said.

To help Mahoney’s quest, The Woman’s Club is holding a fundraiser on Thursday, May 30 from 3 to 4:30 p.m., 286 St. Ann’s Dr. Mahoney will be present and coffee and dessert provided by Mangi con Amore, a favorite at Laguna’s Saturday farmer market.

A donation of $15 is requested.  The event is open to the community.

Ellie Ortiz

Ellie Tipton Ortiz, current president of Laguna Beach’s Woman’s Club and a member of Soroptimist International locally, earned nomination by the Orange County Business Journal for its annual women in business award.

Ortiz is an experienced divorce mediator whose company, Laguna Beach Legal Document Service, specializes in divorce mediation, family law, child and spousal support, living trust and estate planning.

“Anyone can prepare paperwork, but to make a difference in people’s lives and guide them to work together for the sake of their children, is where I feel I am serving a higher purpose,” said Ortiz.

For further info: call 949-497-9800 or visit lagunabeachlegal.com.

Award Possible for Entrepreneur Finalist

Alan Fuerstman

Alan Fuerstman, founder and chief executive officer of Laguna’s Montage Hotels and Resorts, was among 18 finalists for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 Award in Orange County.

The award program recognizes high-growth entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to one’s business.

Award winners will be announced at a gala on Thursday, June 6 at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point.

Photo by Jim Collins
Robert “Wingnut” Weaver, left; with Peter Mel, winner of the invitation only Mavericks Surf Contest held in January, alongside a few of the many surf boards sold at auction.

The vintage surf auction “California Gold” went off at the OC Fair & Events Center in Costa Mesa with total sales of $680,000.

The event earlier this month was organized to raise funds for San Clemente’s  Surfing Heritage & Cultural Center, whose mission is preserving surfing’s history. Hundreds of surfers and collectors attended the event to enjoy the art, music, book signings, vintage cars and of course the silent and live auctions.

Many surf legends and industry icons made the session: Tom Curren, Peter Mel, Keith Malloy, Robert “Wingnut” Weaver, Mark Cunningham, John Van Hamersveld, Greg Noll, Larry Bertlemann, L.J. Richards, Mickey Munoz, Peter Townend, Rich Harbour, Rusty Miller, C.R. Stecyk III, Paul Naude and Fernando Aguerre.

With more than 50 surfboards from the early 1900s through today, a highlight of the auction included the Pete Peterson 1949 California Point Break Board, which sold for the highest price of $32,400. In addition, the most anticipated portion of the evening, the sale of “The Surf Riders of Hawaii” book by A.R. Gurrey, Jr. sold for $27,000.

Reef beach sandal company co-founder Fernando Aguerre walked off with the California Point Break board.

“I’m stoked that all of the surfers and collectors supported the event’s debut in California,” said Scott Bass, the auction director. “The strong demand for the rare surfboards and memorabilia was demonstrated by more than 90% of the lots selling,” said Bass, who intends to reprise the event again in two years.

Falda Folklorica dancers, from left; Maribel Van Horn, Margarita Hierro, Ruby Abarca, Priscila Carillo, Anel Anaya, Elvia Barranco and Teresa Dominguez.

The Crosscultural Council hosted a Cinco de Mayo celebration at the Woman’s Club with a taco dinner, a balloon man for the children, a raffle for free restaurant dinners, Falda Folklorica dancers and a singer serenading the crowd with Mexican love songs.

The council supports the day worker center on Laguna Canyon Road and free English classes through the La Playa Center at the Boys & Girls Club.

The fiesta was supported Adolfo’s, Asada, Avila’s, El Ranchito, Carmalita’s, Javier’s, La Sirena Grill, Olamendi’s, Ricardo’s, Casey’s Cupcakes, Ralph’s, and The Flower Stand.

Support Grows For Community Garden

Montage’s executive chef Craig Strong shared his appreciation for locally grown produce at a fundraiser for the South Laguna Community Garden, held in the hotel’s culinary garden recently.

Local resident Myron Wacholder produced an impressive display of vegetables grown at the community garden and and emphasized its value building community. Nursery owner Ruben Flores encouraged the attendees to contribute toward the purchase of the garden, whose owner has put the property up for sale.

Bluff Top Party Heats Up Anti-Hunger Effort 

On June 2, Montage Laguna Beach will host Share Our Strength’s “Taste of the Nation,” a benefits striving to eliminate childhood hunger.

The benefit features top chefs and mixologists, who donate their time, talent and passion to the cause while sharing their passion and skills in preparing fresh farm-to-table delicacies. Attendees will enjoy an afternoon of delectable dishes, wine, signature cocktails, live music, and picturesque panoramic views.

Guests may participate in the Celebrity Chef Tasting from 4 to 7 p.m. for $150 per person or $175 at the door; or the VIP Meet the Chefs reception from 4 to 9 p.m. and enjoy a sunset toast and after party to mingle with the chefs, valet parking and post-event gifts. Tickets purchased in advance are $250 per person and $275 at the door.

Proceeds increase access to nutrition programs and go towards community organizations fighting hunger.

Tickets:  tasteofthenation.org or call 877-268-2783.

John Heussenstamm

Friday, May 24

Sawdust Art Festival Art Classes: 10 a.m., 2 p.m. www.sawdustartfestival.org/studioartclasses  949-494-3030. Also 5/25.

Trevor Green, Sunset Serenades, 6:30 p.m. Heisler Park Amphitheatre.

Tijuana Dogs (dance cover band) 9 p.m. Mozambique, 1740 Coast Hwy. www.mozambiqueoc.com  949-715-7777

Jason Feddy, 8:30 p.m., Hotel Laguna, 425 S. Coast Hwy. 949-494-1151. (Also 5/25)

Jazz on the Patio: Rusty Gillette, Frank Schatz and Jorg Dubing, 6:30 p.m. Zinc Cafe, 344 Ocean Ave. 949-494-2791.

“The Crucible,” LBHS Artists’ Theatre, 605 Park Ave., 7:30 p.m. Tickets: 949 497-7769. Also 5/25 and 5/26 at 2 p.m.

Cash’d Out,  8 p.m. The Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 949-496-8930 www.thecoachhouse.com

Saturday, May 25

Farmers Market, Lumberyard Parking Lot next to City Hall. 8 a.m-noon  714-573-0374

Live Jazz, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Laguna Coffee Company, 1050 S. Coast Hwy. Free.   www.LagunaCoffeeCo.com

Saturday Wine Tasting, 1-4 p.m. Laguna Culinary Arts, 845 Laguna Canyon Rd. registration@lagunaculinaryarts.com 949-494-0745

Stones’ sideman Blondie Chaplin, 9 p.m  Mozambique, 1740  Coast Hwy. www.mozambiqueoc.com  949-715-7777. $10

Dick Dale, 8 p.m. The Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 949-496-8930 www.thecoachhouse.com

Trevor Green, 4-7 p.m., Cliff Restaurant, 507 S. Coast Hwy. 949-494-1956   www.thecliffrestaurant.com/events

Sunday May 26

Indy Calendar May 24-30, 2013

Brunch jazz, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.; dinner Jazz, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Mare Culinary Lounge, 695 S. Coast Hwy 949-715-9581 www.mareculinarylounge.com

Andrew Bees of Black Uhuru, reggae,  5-10 p.m. Mozambique, 1740 Coast Hwy.  www.mozambiqueoc.com  949-715-7777 $10

Thorcraft Cobra, 5-8 p.m., Cliff Restaurant, 507 S. Coast Hwy. 949-494-1956   www.thecliffrestaurant.com/events

Monday, May 27

Laguna Concert Band, 12:30 p.m., Main Beach cobblestones.

Wing and Hollow, 7 p.m. The Cliff Restaurant, 507 S. Coast Hwy. 949-494-1956   www.thecliffrestaurant.com/events

Denny White Band, Memorial Day Concert, 6-9 p.m., 31 Santa Barbara Dr., Aliso Viejo. $15 per person.

Tuesday, May 28

Beth Fitchet Wood’s Songwriter’s Showcase, 8-11 p.m. 214 Ocean Ave. 949-494-3027

Karaoke, 9 p.m. Hennessy Tavern, 213 Ocean Ave. 949-494-2743

Soul Deep and Chris Whynaught, 7 p.m., Cliff Restaurant, 507 S. Coast Hwy. 949-494-1956   www.thecliffrestaurant.com/events

Wednesday, May 29

Karaoke, 9:30 p.m., Ocean Ave. Brewery. Over 21, 237 Ocean Ave. 949-497-3381

Poul Pedersen and Richard Bredice, 7 p.m. The Cliff Restaurant, 507 S. Coast Hwy. 949-494-1956   www.thecliffrestaurant.com/events

Thursday, May 30

John Heussenstamm Trio, 7 p.m. The Cliff Restaurant, 507 S. Coast Hwy. 949-494-1956   www.thecliffrestaurant.com/events

Karaoke, 9 p.m. Hennessy Tavern, 213 Ocean Ave. 949-494-2743

Dinner with pianist Giovanni, Ariana Savalas & others, Cucina Romeo, 8 p.m., 249 Broadway. 949-497-6627 www.romeocucina.com

DAR recipients, from left back row, Mathew Haim, Jackson Pries, Rickie Scott, London Carter and principal Joanne Culverhouse; front, Sarina Strickland, Leslie Dwight and Eden Young.

Jackson McKay Pries is the winner of the DAR American history scholarship for Laguna Beach High School.

The organization also honored a score of other students at an awards program at Laguna Presbyterian Church last week.

Counselors and teachers selected Jackson for the award because of his passion for American history as well as his intention to serve his community and society in the future.

Jackson, who will enroll in UC Santa Barbara as a history major in the fall, comes from a family that has worked with foster children at Olive Crest and in orphanages in Mexico. “Jackson has always had a heart for helping other people since it’s his father’s job to help others. He has also always loved history and reads books about American presidents like other kids collect sports information.  It’s just natural for him,” says his mother Lynn Pries, an architect.

Rickie Scott in the recipient of the DAR Good Citizen Award, the highest honor that Daughters of the American Revolution gives to high school students. Rickie currently serves as president of the LBHS clubs R.O.C (Righteousness on Campus) and Make A Wish Club, where she spearheaded a $4,000 fundraising effort to grant the wish of a terminally ill teenager. She studied Spanish traveled to Nicaragua and Belize, donating her time to help with children’s charities. “I just want to use my writing and speaking skills to work with cool people and bring positive change in the world,” Rickie says.

DAR awarded excellence in American history awards to fifth grade students. At El Morro recipients were Jack Guenther, Emmalisa Randrup, Eva Becker, Connor Fink, Allison Mays, Gabe Tacklind, Caden Capobianco and Macy Michael; at St. Catherine of Siena Parish School recipients were Andrew Domanskis and Isabella Freeman; and at Top of the World, Jeremy Hayes, Ella Judd, Kayden S. Ibelle, Zachary Pierce, Bryce Dvorak, Claire Wittkop, Sahil Das and Malin Glade.

Good citizenship awards at St. Catherine’s went to Sydney Munushian, Alex Taylor,

Isabella Ciraulo, Trey Taylor, Taylor Campbell and Luke Zettler; and at Thurston Middle School, to Will Clark, Lauren West, Niva Razin, Grant Richardson, Claire Black and Ray Hunter; and at LBHS, London Carter, Eden Young, Leslie Dwight, Matthew Haim, Sarina Strickland and Austin Wilhoft.

Thurston Middle School’s Wave Rider Café is scheduled to open Thursday, May 30, allowing parents and students to purchase a sample lunch while they are visiting campus during the annual open house.

The café is intended to offer students nutritious, healthy grab-and-go lunches without a long wait. “A lot of planning and hard work went into bringing this project to fruition,” said Asst. Supt. of Business Services Dean West.

Consultant dietitian Megan Hartshorne is eager to learn the reaction of students seeing their ideas showcased in the café.

Absorbing New Lessons

Sam Wellsfry with a feared piranha in the Amazon.

Sam Wellsfry, who graduated from LBHS last June, is spending a gap year as an AFS student in Brazil, learning to speak Portuguese and living with volunteer host families.

His sister, Sarah, who graduates next month, leaves for Ecuador in August for her gap year before starting college. Each received $1000 from AFS Laguna Beach towards tuition.

Go to www.afsusa.org for program information and to volunteer to host or contact local AFS volunteer, Barbara Hawthorne, 949-376-5913.

Newly Minted College Graduates

Dillon Pierce

Dillon T. Pierce, son of Tom and Wendy, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on May 24 and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Second Lieutenant Pierce, a 2009 graduate of Laguna Beach High School, earned a bachelor of science degree with a major in astronautical engineering. Following graduation, Pierce has been assigned to The Basic School in Quantico, Va., where he will begin service in the United States Marine Corps.

A graduating LCAD senior.

Eighty-five students in Laguna College of Art + Design’s class of 2013 participated in this week’s commencement ceremony.

This year’s keynote speaker was Dr. Mitch Rosenberg, a human resources expert.

President Jonathan Burke congratulated students on their achievement, which he described as demanding rigor, perseverance and creative vision. “I had the privilege of watching the students grow and develop as distinctive artists and designers. I witnessed their passion to learn and the many hours they devoted to their art. I now expect that talent and passion to open doors to fulfilling and rewarding careers,” Burke said.

Schoolpower’s president Samantha Washer, right; with vice president Lynn Gregory. Photo by Kristin Karkoska

Schoolpower’s sold out annual dinner dance raised $305,000 for Laguna Beach schools.

One of the night’s more ambitious goals was this year’s Fund-A-Need, where Schoolpower targets funding a specific need after consulting with school district leaders. This year’s goal to upgrade the district’s wireless network will allow the use of new classroom technology. As a result of gala fundraising, Schoolpower expects to present a $150,000 check to help the district make the update for use this fall, said the organization’s president, Samantha Washer, in a statement.

She praised trustees, who “outdid themselves by putting on a really great party that translated into some record breaking fundraising by our dedicated school community.”

The live auction hit record setting numbers due to the generosity of donors like Montage Laguna Beach and its chef, Craig Strong, as well as a room full of excited bidders that raised their paddles throughout the night.

Grady Morgan and Christian Holm both homered in the first inning and VFW took a quick 5-0 lead and never looked back.

Morgan’s home run was his fifth of the season, which led the Majors division. Cutter Clawson hit a laser over the fence in the fifth inning to complete the scoring.

Earlier that inning, Nolan Smith missed hitting his first home run this season by inches, but his double drove in a run. Jaden Rea was the offensive standout, as he collected four hits and had 2 RBI. Ashton Embury hit the ball hard, while John Phelan and James Loughlin were on base three times. Catcher Charlie Pillsbury had two hits.

After the game, the team was treated to cake generously provided by Arnie Silverman and the members of Laguna Beach’s VFW and VFW Auxiliary.