November 2009 Issue | Download the Full Issue

It’s even more American than apple pie, that’s what a Veterans Day Parade is—and you won’t see a better one than in Fallbrook.
Veterans Day parades are supposed to happen on Nov. 11, which originally commemorated Armistice Day, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, which marked the end of the First World War—and this one will be no exception.
Jack Parkinson of Fallbrook Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 1924 tells us that the parade will begin at 10 a.m. on Main Street, starting at the Major Market, and finishing off at Main & Alvarado at the square where the Veterans Memorial Wall is.
There will be flags at every corner of this intersection, placed their by 24 Marines from Camp Pendleton. The color guard will be made up of veterans from the local post.
Vintage Marine units from the Camp Pendleton vehicle museum (the largest such museum in the Marine Corps) will provide ten units, non-track vehicles from WWII to the present.
Vintage cars and Miss Fallbrook 2009 Christiana Monarez will be among the attractions along the way.
Fallbrook High School Band will march in the parade and the Fallbrook Chorale will sing patriotic songs before the presentation, which will follow the parade.
After the vintage vehicles and military vehicles have been parked so youngsters of all ages can examine them, there will be a ceremony at the village square at 11 a.m.
This year’s keynote speaker is Col. Daniel J. O’Donohue, USMC, commanding officer of the First Marine Regiment, stationed at Pendleton.
This will be followed by a presentation by David J. Valley, president of the General MacArthur Honor Guard Association. He will show a ten-minute inspirational video of Gen. MacArthur’s Speech.
After the ceremony is over, the VFW invites everyone to come to the VFW post at 1175 Old Stage Rd. for light lunch, sandwiches and salads.

Connecting People with the Joy of Quilting: Quilter’s Paradise

Quilter’s Paradise is exactly what its name promises - it is literally a haven for quilters with rows of brilliant fabric, interesting patterns and a variety of notions.
Owners Mark Tiedeman and Sue Mezera, a husband and wife duo, started Quilter’s Paradise in 2005. Three years ago, they moved from 1,200 square feet into a 5,000 square foot office space in Escondido. They use every inch of it; however, just because they capitalize on the amount of room available to them, you do not feel overwhelmed by too many items. There is no clutter, but rather an order to the layout and design of the room. This may have something to do with the fact that both Mark and Sue are engineers by trade…or it could just be they have a knack for choosing what to sell in their store. From the colorful racks of material to the quilts displayed along the high warehouse ceilings, you’ll definitely want to take your time strolling through and perusing its selections.
The store specializes in offering high-quality quilting fabrics, professional longarm quilting services, laser-cut kits, acrylic plastic templates and rulers, classroom education, and selling longarm accessories such as the Grip-LiteTM side clamps and LeaderMateTM Quilt Mounting System.
One could say that Quilter’s Paradise resulted from a passion for quilting, a desire to start a company together, and a lot of business smarts and marketing savvy. The couple continues to expand their company using a unique combination of each other’s skills. They joke that Sue is more right brain, whereas Mark is more left brain.
“Sue really has an eye for the right stuff when it comes to colors, textures and designs,” Mark said. “She just sees possibilities. I’m still just an engineer.”
The engineering part has come into play tenfold allowing Mark and Sue to invent several quilting solutions that they sell in their store, as well as locations throughout the US. Remember the Grip-LiteTM side clamps and LeaderMateTM Quilt Mounting System referred to earlier? Well, Mark and Sue invented them, and are currently patenting the designs. And those laser-cut kits and acrylic plastic templates and rulers? They make those in their shop and package them too!
Innovations such as the CutRiteTM Nine Patch Ruler and pattern kits have paid off for the couple. Many quilting stores sell the same patterns as Quilter’s Paradise, but Quilter’s Paradise sells them as pre-cut kits which gives them an advantage.
“We sell more patterns than any other store because we laser cut them and package them as kits,” Mark said. “We’ve sold hundreds and hundreds of kits.”
In addition to the store, Quilter’s Paradise focuses on promoting quilting education by making classrooms available free of charge for Palomar College courses. They also sponsor a charity event called Cash for Stash where you get free dollars to use at Quilter’s Paradise for turning in your old fabric scraps (which are subsequently donated to make charity quilts for worthy causes). And of course, there are always the quilting shows and quilting runs that they participate in.
San Diego’s Row Quilt Run is scheduled for Nov.1-8, 2009 and features ten quilt shops from El Cajon to Valley Center and Vista and everywhere in between. Each shop gives away a free row pattern that makes part of a quilt. You have to hit all the quilt shops to get all the patterns.
“The runs are fun,” Mark said. “It gives everyone a chance to get out there and see what’s happening at the different quilt shops. Each shop has its own personality.”
Quilter’s Paradise is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., with the exception of Thursdays when it is open until 9 p.m. It is also open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 760-738-9677 or go online to www.quiltersparadiseesc.com.

Visit The San Diego Archaeological Center

For those among us who scratch their heads and say, “I didn’t know there was any archaeology in San Diego,” Cindy Stankowski has an answer: “Yes there IS!”
“If I had a dollar for every time someone said that to me, I’d be rich,” says Stankowski, the director of the San Diego Archeological Center, located in San Pasqual Valley, adjacent to the San Pasqual Battlefield Musuem. It is in what once was an elementary school.
There are 20,000 known archaeological sites in San Diego County.
“Most people don’t know that it’s in their backyards,” adds curator Kelly Higelmire. “We are able to show that the county is full of archaeology. It’s a way to showcase archaeology and educate the public.”
“For ninety percent of human history we [humans] have been hunter gathers, just like the people who inhabited this county,” says Stasnkowski. The climate wasn’t conducive to agriculutre and the living was relatively easy. There were many nutritious sources of food, including acorns, fruits, small and large animals and seafood.
“We don’t know what language they spoke, but we know their tools,” she says. A Stone Age people, their tools were made of stone. At least those that have come down to us. Tools made with less durable materials have not survived.
Stone tools do not equate with a lack of skill or intelligence. The methods used to make some tools are still unknown.
Occasionally the center holds workshops on making spear or arrow heads. “It’s harder than it looks. People often leave the workshops with Band aids on their fingers,” says Stankowski.
Director of the center since it started in 1998, she was recruited out of graduate school. She has a masters in museum studies from San Francisco State University.
Higelmire has been with the center for nearly two years. He has a BA n archaeology and anthropology from Sonoma State Univeristy.
The center started because, “a group of enlightened folks saw that there was no repository for archaeological items being unearthed all over the county. Many were winding up in peoples’ garages,” says Stankowski. “Most people think that once an archaeological excavation happens that the things recovered go into a musuem.”
In many countries archaeological finds belong to the government. But not in the U.S. While the state’s CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) does require that private developments preserve archaeological finds, developers are free to do what they want with the artifacts.
“U.S. laws say you can’t go on public lands and dig, but nothing prevents you from digging up your own property,” she says. “If you are Mister Developer and want to do a development, CEQA says you have to mitigate archaeological sites you encounter. You must hire an expert to advise you. CEQA is silent on what happens after you dig it up.” she says.
That’s where the center comes in. Its mission is threefold:
1) education
2) research
3) cultural enrichment
Its walls and glass cases contain 647 collections from 1,650 sites. Artifacts are from prehistorc periods up to historical times, including as recently as 50 years ago.
More space is devoted to strorage, inventory and cataloging of artifacts, and to lab work since specimens come in various states.
Although most artifacts are from prehistoric periods, historical periods are not neglected. “We talk a lot about what people ate,” in historical periods as the 1800s. “Meat was more important. Chicken was a luxury because it doesn’t store well,” says Stankowski. “We find a lot of condiment bottles to take away the often rancid taste of the food. Not until the large scale advent of glass bottles do we start to see a change in peoples’ diets.”
From that period come many eye medicine bottles. Because of the smoke inside homes people got a lot in their eyes.
“We also talk a lot about basic human needs. Such as the need for creativity,” she says. “Peoples’ lives were rich. People today look at the stone tools and say that these people had a rough life. But it was actually a pretty good life. Their diet was varied. There was some specialization of labor. They were busy all the time.”
It was with the coming of the Spanish in the late 1700s that the health of the indigent peoples went into a steep decline, she says.
The center is the only museum of its kind in San Diego, or in fact in California.
It recently recieved a $46,500 grant from the National Park Service Battlefield Preservation Program to identify the actual San Pasqual battlefield. Although every December reenactors stage the 1846 battle between U.S. army dragoons and Californio lancers, the largest in the state’s history, there is still doubt about precisely where it occured. Mule Hill, where Stephen Watts Kearny’s army was beseiged by the Californios the next day, has been identified with some confidence, says Stankowski.
The grant will pay for GPS testing to compare today’s terrain with period maps, some of which disagree with each other. Agriculture in the San Pasqual Valley changed the terrain much in the over 150 years since the battle.
Richard Carrico, newly installed chairman of the center’s board and a teacher at San Diego State University and City College, will head the project, which will be completed by August of 2010.
“We’re very interested in having people of the area, especially longtime residents, contact us—not just with artifacts, but with any stories that their families might have passed down about the battle over the years,” says Stankowski.
The project will be discussed at the annual reenactment of the Battle of San Pasqual on Sunday, Dec. 6, at the battlefield museum. The center will also be open.
Recently the center received a grant of $500,000 from Prop. 40 to buy compactable shelving that allows it to squeeze the most out of its square footage.
The center is seeking $40,000 funding to launch ASI (Archaeological Site Investigation), an educational program patterned after TV’s CSI, that will give high school students a chance to “dig” sites that would be seeded with artifacts—and learn something about the science.
Funding is also needed for a longterm project to redo the exhibit hall and to landscape and upgrade the outside.
Every second Saturday at 10 a.m. the museum holds a program free to members.
Past events have included Project Archaeology Open House, Visiting Scholar and Story Seekers, a geneological workshop. Other activities have been a demonstration on how to make an adobe brick and making seed balls from crushed adobe bricks to be spread at areas that have recently been ravaged by fire (the seed balls are protected from birds by the adobe—which melts in the next rain, and the seeds sproat).
The center is also piloting a new series on third Fridays: Lunch Time Lectures. Student proejcts and current research will be featured at these presentations, which begin at noon and are for about an hour. An upcoming lecutre will discuss field work in Mongolia. Another is entitled: “Agricultural Specialization in the Prehistoric Casas Grandes Region.” The programs are free to center members.
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The San Diego Archeological Center is located at 16666 San Pasqual Valley Rd. (Hwy 78) in Escondido. You can call 760-291-0370 or visit www.sandiegoarchaeology.org Hours are Monday –Friday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Suggested donation is $2 per person or $5 per family.

The Unconventional Art of Niki de Saint Phalle

In Barcelona you can revel in the ambiance of an ancient city that is home to some of the most startling modern architecture the world has ever seen.
Most improbably, the influence this work has on modern sculpture stretches most impressively to Escondido of all places. Let’s start at the beginning:
Mention Barcelona and many people immediately link it to the name Gaudi and an exciting second great cathedral named La Sagrada Familia that has been under construction since 1882 with no end in sight.
The city already has a beautiful medieval cathedral built on the remains of a huge Roman structure, in fact this church grows from a massive city wall in a lovely square.
Gaudi was an architect engineer of great talent even if his output was, simply put, very strange, where every page in the book of the architecture around us was ignored. Those of us unacquainted with ultra-modern architecture take one look at any Gaudi effort and assume that he had more imagination than knowledge of structural engineering.
There are so many pieces attached to the exterior of his buildings that appear to be close to falling off and in fact looking at La Sagrada Familia the whole structure appears to be in imminent danger of tumbling down. The Gaudi façade on an apartment building in the center of Barcelona (as pictured) conveys this perfectly.
A little museum, put up by the Barcelona diocese adjacent to the old cathedral quickly disabuses the ignorant thought that Gaudi was more artist than engineer. A simple film biography illustrated by a host of diagrams showed the incredible attention to detail that went into the design of all of his buildings with no compromise to sound engineering and architectural practice. His genius was in bringing a whole new naturalistic dimension to appearance. While it may be true that Simon Rodia, an Italian immigrant, who plastered together the Watts Towers in Los Angeles over 30 years from 1921-1954 using castoff scraps of rebar, junk, recycled bottles with no engineering has a fleeting resemblance to Gaudi outlines but there the similarity ends. The new cathedral is an immense structure into which the Watts Towers could be absorbed in any corner and be unseen.
Salvador Dali, another genius from Catalan, also bears a close resemblance to Gaudi. Dali who loved to make huge sculptures of melting clocks, in fact melting anything, amid wild super talented color illustrations convinced many viewers that he was indeed mad as a hatter. An image he cultivated all the way to the bank. Gaudi’s apartment buildings in Barcelona bear facades that appear to have been covered with melting pastry reminiscent of Dali’s sculptures.
So much for the outside of La Sagrada Familia but step inside and amid the jumble of construction rise a series of graceful curved columns vanishing into the high ceiling. A huge stained glass window adds a lustrous glow to the interior. One day when the work is over, the calm known only in great buildings will become part of this place. Estimates on completion range from 30 years to one day, unpredictable, it will be finally done.
What has all this to do with Escondido? We turn to a remarkable sculptress, Niki de Saint Phalle who has an enormous volume of highly acclaimed work scattered throughout Europe. Saint Phalle has graced San Diego with a number of unconventional sculptures throughout the city from Balboa Park to the Convention Center. The Saint Phalle story begins for us as her biographers tell it, in Barcelona in 1955 when she encountered Gaudi’s Park Guell. This astonishing collection of writhing snakes and strange creatures on a hilly slope in a natural setting within the park is something children accept without question but stops many adults dead in their tracks. Of her first impression of Gaudi’s work Saint Phalle wrote, “I knew I was meant one day to build my own Garden of Joy, a little corner of Paradise. “ She died in La Jolla in 2002.
We are still a long way from Escondido. In 1999 Escondido offered land for a Saint Phalle collection similar to her world famous garden in Tuscany. Within the Sankey Arboretum in Kit Carson Park, “Queen Califa’s Magical Circle” was born. The Magical Circle is Nike de Saint Phalle’s interpretation of early California’s history, myth and legend. This little park is ringed by huge colored snakes guarding a strange assembly of mystic creatures all covered in polished stones and surrounded by glass paned walls.
Possibly the most astonishing thing about the Magical Circle is that it is close to being a secret to the majority of local denizens. I know several “cultured” people born in this area who had never heard of Niki de Saint Phalle, let alone her park. The Magical Circle is tucked deep inside Kit Carson Park at the back of the school, with the most rudimentary signs leading to it, and there you come across a tall, black steel fence that corrals the wild inhabitants inside.
Escondido is home to a second collection of Saint Phalle’s work in the almost unknown Mingei branch museum at the western end of Grand Avenue in what was once a J.C. Penney store.
Grand Avenue itself merits more than a passing glance as a living replica of a perfect tiny American town. The Mingei has transformed its space into a wonderful phantasmagoria of mainly sculptural achievement. In this little jewel of a museum, Niki Saint Phalle dominates the entrance with a huge flying angel suspended from the ceiling, but her more intimate work occupies an upstairs corner. Here a collection of wildly colored pieces almost jump out of their cases in great contrast to the writhing monsters in Kit Carson Park.
Alas, the park and museum are almost unknown and deserve all the attention we can heap on them. And kids of all ages really dig Niki.
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The Mingei International Museum, Escondido is located at 155 West Grand Ave. Visit its Web site at www.mingei.org or call 760-735-3355. Its hours are Thursday - Saturday, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. and on the second Saturday of every month, 11 a.m. –8 p.m. It is closed Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and on national holidays. Admission is $3 for Adults, $2 for seniors and $2 for youths, with group rates available.
The Kit Carson Park is located at 3333 Bear Valley Parkway, Escondido. It is open every day from sunrise to sunset. Admission is free. For more information visit www.ci.escondido.ca.us/events/califia/index.html

Fallbook Holiday Art Faire

The first annual Fallbrook Holiday Art Faire, will, in the words of its organizer, enable shoppers to “cross everyone off” their Christmas lists!
The faire will happen Nov. 22, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. It is co-sponsored by the Fallbrook Visitors Bureau, Pala Mesa Resort, and Bill Horn, 5th District San Diego Supervisor.
Cost to attend is $10 in advance, $15 on the day of the faire.
Linda Kissam, executive director of the Fallbrook Area Visitors Bureau, which is sponsoring the event, tells us, "My goal for this event is to showcase our talented Fallbrook area artists to a diverse group of consumers. There will be all sorts of unique holiday gifts in all price ranges. This is a fun way to kick off anyone's holiday shopping. I personally intend to shop till I drop…or I cross everyone off my Christmas list.”
Join 20 of the area’s best artists for a wonderful holiday experience on the grounds of Pala Mesa Resort.
Stroll the aisles of this unique upscale event which will feature local artists and artisans from the greater Fallbrook area. Buy one-of-a-kind gifts for yourself, your family, or friends that will make all your gift giving special and unique.
All price ranges and art media are available: Ceramics, pottery, sculptures, oil, acrylic, watercolor, pen & ink, fiber art, photography, digital art, jewelry, murals, hand painted ornaments.
Aqua Terra Restaurant will sell food and beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, within the Art Faire.
Indoor space will be available during the event in the case of inclement weather. Below is a list of the artists who will be featured:
Laurenn Barker
Barker produces bronze sculpture and wearable art in bronze. According to Barker, “Art is a universal tool of communication. Like music, art opens up the soul and brings people together. I enjoy sculpting pieces that make people smile, that build bridges, and that touch the emotions of the viewer.”
David Bean
Bean makes pen and ink drawing of various subjects, limited prints of selected drawings, as well as hand-painted scenes of wild life on Christmas tree ornaments.
Kelly Berning
Residual damage is the root of Berning’s ceramic work. “Involuntary interactions with predatory individuals may profoundly affect the life of an innocent person,” says Berning. “Although the source of this terror may disappear physically, the anxiety still lingers and starts to be controlled by the unconscious. I use clay to transport ideas from the inside of my mind to the outer world.”
Trent Berning
Ceramics is Berning’s medium. According to him, “My sculptural work studies specific symbols suggesting elements of time. The symbolic reference of this particular body of work speaks of the camaraderie that occurs while sharing time with friends and family. This work is meant to be seen, felt, and assist in the reflections of the time (whether good or bad) spent with the people that are closest to you.”
Pamela Brasel
Pamela Brasel does watercolors of enhanced realism with intensified color. “I paint all subjects, but specialize in landscapes and buildings,” she says.
Paula Collins
All of Paula Collins’s ceramic works are handbuilt/wheelthrown, painted with beautiful imagery and patterns, then fired.
Karen Cunagin
Karen Cunagin works in textiles. She loves to be at home and finds significant themes in family, the garden, the Bible, and contemporary Western culture. Honoring the traditions of fabric media, she also stretches the concept with unusual applications of color, surface design, and embellishment. A personal story accompanies each plane of piecing, quilting and surface texture, preserving memory in the context of well-honed design.
Maria De Castro
Maria De Castro, who works in clay says, “The images of my work reflect my fascination with the mystery of relics and ancient artifacts which is inherent in many of the pieces I create. The ‘Feminine Sacred’ is also an integral theme recurrent in my work. I am captivated by humanity's reverence for the divine female.”
Brigid Delano
Weaving, for Brigid Delano, is the celebration of color and texture. The blending of these two elements presents enormous possibilities for richness and exciting effects. My purpose is to achieve a beauty that will connect with others, who will respond because of the beauty in themselves.
Steve Farrow
Artist Steve Farrow enjoys painting and drawing people, animals and nature. His oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings reflect his passion for what is beautiful. He feels his artwork should bring joy and good feelings to people's lives.
Debbie K. Forbes
Forbes grew up in the Pacific Northwest where she began studying oil painting at age 12 with instructor Frances Bond. She considers herself to be primarily self-taught, and credits her love of the outdoors, nature, and animals for her crisp and brilliantly colorful interpretation of her surroundings. She continues to be recognized for her representational watercolors depicting beautiful “escapes” that anyone can appreciate. She also creates unique permanent painted works on glass and crystal, as well as works in tile and glass mosaic.
Karen Geuy
Watercolorist Karen Geuy enjoys painting all subject matter, but really enjoys people and pets.
Patricia Hartman
Hartman creates digital art using software and a graphic tablet (not photos) and also creates fused glass and metal jewelry. The metals include fine silver, bronze, and copper.
Leslie Hunt
Hunt creates handcrafted, whimsical, colorful ceramic ware for the dog, cat, home, garden, and special occasions.
Fredonia Jacques
Fredonia Jacques does “Contemporary Impressionism,” landscapes, florals and still lifes in oils, acrylics, and water colors.
There will also be works by Tara Magboo, Kimber Petralito, Joyce Rooks, Elizabeth Taft and Anna Vieth.
Find out more about the faire by visiting www.findfallbrook.com/artist-listings.asp or call Fallbrook Area Visitors Bureau at 877-451-3282 or 760-451-3282.

Sustainable Landscapes for a Sustainable Future

Sustainable landscapes are the way of the future, but what are the tricks to building one?
What plants are drought resistant? What types of stones and rocks require low maintenance? Should you use concrete or paving stones? The costs, facts and possibilities involved in the investment can often be overwhelming. However, in the long run water bills can be reduced, and the need for weekly landscape maintenance can be extended to two or three weeks.
Boulders, stones and rock landscapes are definitely worth considering. Take paver stones. There is actually a whole new world of paver stone ideas, colors, textures, patterns and shapes to consider. According to Michelle McLeod, owner of Southwest Boulder & Stone, there are some key advantages to pavers, as well.
“Visually, pavers are much more attractive than concrete,” McLeod explains. “They come in many different colors and patterns and it’s an easy project that any homeowner can do.”
McLeod adds that pavers allow for water to be absorbed into the ground which helps decrease the amount of runoff that goes into storm drains and oceans. And, unlike concrete, if oil or grease is spilled on the surface, the paver can simply be removed and replaced whereas you are essentially stuck with the stain if you have concrete.
Pavers are also great for saving money on irrigation and are becoming more common in today’s world of environmentally-focused homeowners.
“Homeowners are becoming more conscious of water conservation,” McLeod said. “They want a do-it-yourself project, but also want to lower their water bill and be water-wise.”
There are several ways to achieve a lower water bill with your landscape. Using boulders, flagstone, cobbles or gravel can beautify your yard and save water. You can also reduce turf space by adding a streambed, colored crushed rock, a dry riverbed or a re-circulating fountain. The key is to reduce the amount of plants and grass. One way to do this is to look at the native landscape.
“Native landscape includes water tolerant plants that are dormant in the summer mixed with rocks and boulders,” McLeod said. “This landscape can easily be recreated with materials from Southwest Boulder & Stone and local nurseries. By copying the native landscape, water bills will dramatically lower while maintaining California’s natural beauty.”
And a beautiful yard doesn’t have to cost a fortune. It can be achieved on a budget. The trick to keeping costs low is to use as much inorganic material as possible.
“We offer a wide range of economical, yet very attractive material,” McLeod said.
Southwest Boulder & Stone is a landscape supply company, not a design or construction firm. That said, they have stone gardens that will help any homeowner with their project. These gardens showcase various landscaping ideas to help customers visualize possibilities with their yard. There are 14 acres of materials to look at.
“The gardens demonstrate the numerous and beautiful ways you can create a unique landscape with our materials,” McLeod said. “They help inspire our customers to think beyond a grass lawn and let their own imaginations and personalities shine through their yards.”
If you’re curious about designing a sustainable landscape, you may want to consider attending one of the free landscape design workshops offered at Southwest Boulder & Stone. These workshops are designed to help homeowners learn design basics and principles.
“We choose workshops that we think will most interest our customers and that are important to the region. Most revolve around environmental issues including drought-tolerant landscaping,” McLeod says.
For more information on landscaping products or ideas, call Southwest Boulder & Stone at 760-451-3333, or check out their website at www.southwestboulder.com.

Welk’s Musical Version of A Christmas Carol Gives A New Twist To A Classic

‘A Christmas Carol has been done so many times and in so many ways, but when I heard the score I said, ‘Oh my goodness!’ ” says director/choreographer Sha Newman, who is bringing Dickens’s classic to life Nov. 12 – Jan. 3 at Welk Resort Theater.
This version is by Alan Menken and Lynn Ahrens, who also brought it to life on television in 1995 starring Kelsey Grammer.
This time Scrooge will be played by Michael Hawkins, who recently appeared as Captain Hook in the national tour of Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby and as Mervyn Kant in the San Francisco TheatreWorks production of The Sisters Rosensweig. Other roles include Harold Hill in The Music Man (Sacramento Music Circus), Georges in La Cage Aux Folles (Los Angeles), Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls (Harrah’s, Atlantic City), Billy Flynn in Chicago (Plaza, Las Vegas) and Julian Marsh in the European International Tour of 42nd Street. He has been a guest soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the LA Pops Orchestra, and the Pacific Symphony.
Newman describes the Menken and Ahrens score as “phenomenal, somewhere between Phantom and Radio City. It’s fabulous, emotion provoking music. I was so surprised.
“It’s a whole ‘nother look at the show from a musical standpoint. I saw it at Madison Square Garden and it’s really not been done that often.”
The show, which is about 85 minutes long, is performed in one act with no intermission. “Once the train leaves the station there is no stopping. It’s almost seamless music throughout the whole run of the show. It’s got excellent pacing,” says Newman.
“The cast is consolidated for the Welk stage, so everybody had to be a triple threat,” says Newman. “We’ve got phenomenal talent. We’re so very lucky!”
Other members of the cast include Cynthia Ferrer, David Alan Jones (who plays Marley, which was played by Jason Alexander in the original production), Sue Goodman (who has 14 Broadway credits), Justin Wilcox, Nathan Holland and Jill Townsend (“a local girl who has gone on to a beautiful professional career,” says Newman).
This will be the director’s fourth show at Welk’s where she first directed four years ago.
A Christmas Carol has some wowable production numbers, including the Ghost of Christmas Present leading a tap number where the presents come to life.
There is also a ghoul and ghost production number as well as a graveyard and monks number.
“I think you’ll find that it’s really different,” says Newman.
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Welk Theatre is located at 8860 Lawrence Welk Dr. Escondido, CA 92026. For tickets call 888-802-7469 or visit their Web site at www.welktheatresandiego.com/

Dale Mitchell, FALLBROOK SUPERINTENDENT

Fallbrook High School District Supt. Dale Mitchell is excited about discussions that he is leading on what sort of a school the high school should be in the 21st Century.
The 24 stakeholders taking part in this discussion, including teachers, classified employees, administrators, students and parents, make up the 21st Century Learning Committee.
“We’ve never had focused discussions before on what our educational program should look like given that our kids are growing up and working in the 21st Century,” says Dr. Mitchell.
“Much of the curriculum standards and emphasis that exists is based on a 20th Century as opposed to a global economy. We need to take a close look to see if our kids are developing the skills and learning to be successful in today’s world,” he says.
“I’m excited about the 21st Century discussion. I hope that as a result we will make changes that will improve the quality of education for our kids and the relevancy of it. Sometimes kids get bored because they don’t see the relevancy between what they are learning and the world they are growing into,” he says.
Dr. Mitchell came to the district last year from Winters Joint Unified School District in Northern California. He has been in education since 1978 as teacher, assistant principal and assistant superintendent.
“Professionally I was looking for a new opportunity and some challenges,” he says, but admits that the deciding factor in relocating was that most of his close family live in Southern California.
“I grew up in Carlsbad and graduated from the high school, and my teaching days and assistant principal’s position were at Carlsbad. So I had familiarity with Fallbrook and knew that the community is very supportive of the education program,” he says.
He also knew Fallbrook from playing against it when as an athlete he competed in football and basketball.
He attended USC on a football scholarship. He then played three years with the 49’ers as an outside linebacker, “until I blew a knee!”
His goal for the three schools in the district is simple: “Forever and always our goal is to improve student achievement. There is always room for growth and improvement in that area. For students who want to be successful, there are wonderful opportunities and lots of resources, but for a variety of reasons there are students that are not experiencing the academic progress we want them to. Together, we, the board and the staff, are working on strategies that will implement student success.”
Dr. Mitchell talked about what he hopes to accomplish with the “21st Century Curriculum Standard.” “The best example I could give would be a greater emphasis on students developing and using creative skills.
“I mean the ability to make something new or innovative, because the indication of success in our economy will greatly depend on those in the workforce doing creative things. The rote and routine are jobs being done by people in other countries.
“The purposes of education are changing, certainly those related to becoming a successful, contributing member of society. The skills you need are different than they were twenty, fifty or a hundred years ago,” he says.
“There is a recognition that we need to have all or most of our students be highly performing and successful. There are not enough low skill jobs out there to employ everyone.
“It used to be OK in this country if some kids didn’t get a quality education. It’s not any longer.” The 21st Century Learning Committee will make its recommendations to the school board early next year.
He also wants to move away from the idea that the purpose of high school is solely to prepare students for college.
He cites the book Other Ways to Win: Creating Alternatives for High School Graduates by Kenneth Carter Gray and Edwin L. Herr. “Simply preparing kids to go to a university that can’t accommodate all of them anyway, does them a disservice,” says the superintendent. “Having said that there are numerous examples of kids who have the talent and capability to go to college and need the motivation and inspiration. Counselors and teachers are vital in that case.”
At June’s graduation, “I could not help but think that there are a good number who will not go to college and wonder: Are they ready? How well have we prepared them to pursue career options? I don’t want them to think that going to college is the sole goal of 21st Century learning, or that technology is the sole focal point of the 21st Century.”
Obviously “economic challenges” are impacting education in California and in Fallbrook, “We are going to try to be the best stewards of the money that we do have and provide as many services as we can,” he says.
Like many districts in San Diego County, Fallbrook is experience negative enrollment. That’s not true of one of its feeder districts, Bonsall, but is true of the district as a whole.
The student popular is about 2,850, 120 fewer than last year. That trend is likely to continue.
The district has adjusted expenditures, reduced office positions and combined positions. The principal of the Ivy School is now also the coordinator of English Learner programs. The Director of Student Services is also the Oasis High School principal.
The district reduced the athletic program by $25,000, cut supply and facilities works budgets and cut four teaching positions.
“We are trying to minimize the impact on classrooms, although there has been some increase in class size,” says Dr. Mitchell.
The high school used to offer journalism during the school day. It is now offered after school. Other classes will be offered every other year, based on how many are interested. Some restrictions in summer school offerings have also been made.
Dr. Mitchell likes to brag about his staff and employees. “There are a lot of talented employees doing wonderful things for students. I feel that we are very fortunate to have the quality of employees that we do. We are trying to build upon that to become even more effective.
“I very much appreciate the support the community has provided. Given the economic environment it is quite amazing the diversity of programs and activities that our students can engage in.”
He’s also proud of the students. “They are good people. Some have challenges in their lives that are of their own doing or circumstances beyond their control, but as a whole they are good people and a good majority take the advantage of the opportunity to grow as learners and young adults.”

New OB-GYN Provides Exclusive Specialty: Meet Theresa Stigen, M.D

Theresa Stigen, M.D., is the newest member of the Fallbrook Hospital medical staff. Her specialty is obstetrics and gynecology, but she is also a CrMS medical consultant with training in NaProTECHNOLOGY.
NaProTECHNOLOGY (Natural Procreative Technology) is the first women's health science to network family planning with reproductive health monitoring and maintenance. Chances are you have never heard of it. It’s relatively unknown, and has not yet been talked about on Oprah. However, this new science is making headway as a major breakthrough in monitoring and maintaining a woman's reproductive health.
“[NaPro] is an approach to women’s health that seeks to diagnose the underlying problems,” explains Dr. Stigen. “It has applications for a variety of problems like infertility, endometriosis, premenstrual symptoms, severe cramps, prematurity prevention, ovarian cysts and recurrent miscarriages.”
The science is based on fertility-care rather than fertility-control. It works by monitoring occurrences of various hormonal events during a woman’s menstrual cycle, and helps determine treatments that work with a woman’s natural procreative and gynecologic systems based on the information gathered.
“Sometimes treatments and prescriptions can overrule a woman’s body,” Dr. Stigen notes. “NaProTECHNOLOGY is a way of working with the body, as opposed to fighting the causes and putting a Band-aid on the symptoms. It uses medication and surgical procedures that cooperate with the body to maintain reproductive wellness.”
The fact that Dr. Stigen opened her practice in Fallbrook is kind of a big deal because she is one of only four practitioners in the country who can provide surgical NaProTECHNOLOGY.
“Dr. Thomas Hilgers and Dr. Catherine Keefe are together in Omaha, NE, Dr. Kyle Beiter is in Manhattan, and I am here in Fallbrook,” Dr. Stigen said. “While I'm not the only NaPro doctor in the western US who can provide medical NaPro, I am the only one who can provide surgical NaPro, something for which many medical NaPro consultants currently send their patients to Omaha.”
Dr. Stigen is already beginning to get referrals for NaProTECHNOLOGY; however, she still counsels her patients on the mainstream approaches.
“It’s important to provide them with all the options and all the information and let them decide which route to go,” Dr. Stigen said.
Dr. Stigen offers a full range of obstetrical and gynecological services. She encourages women to consult her for pregnancies, annual exams, concerns with infertility, post-partum depression, and any other women’s health concerns. Her practice actually helps fill the high demand for Ob-Gyn services in the Fallbrook area. But that’s not the only reason she and her family chose Fallbrook.
“Since our first visit, [Fallbrook] has been fantastic,” Dr. Stigen says. “The people are tremendous, the feel is small-town which appeals to my family, and it’s absolutely beautiful. I’m excited to be here! I already love the community and look forward to serving it.”
She adds that she just bought a bulletin board that she can’t wait to start filling up with photos from her patients.
Dr. Stigen’s office, Mystical Rose Obstetrics and Gynecology, is located at 521 E. Elder St., Ste. 206 in Fallbrook. She is currently accepting same day and next day appointments. To schedule an appointment, call 760-983-4024. For more information on Fallbrook Hospital and services provided, go to www.fallbrookhospital.com/

Rio Rico Offers Healthy Mexican Fusion Cuisine

‘Because there are so many Mexican restaurants in the Fallbrook area, we wanted to do something to set us apart from the rest,” says Jacquie Pierson, one of the three owners of the recently relocated Rio Rico Bar & Grill—and the chef mastermind behind its reworked menu.
She and her husband, Christopher, are partners with Cynthia DeCindis.
Rio Rico moved from its longtime location at River Village to its current Fallbrook location at 1415 S. Mission Rd. on July 17 and has been met by a very positive response.
“We live in Fallbrook and we’ve gotten so much support from the community. We love Fallbrook. We love the community,” says Pierson.
A graduate of the San Diego Culinary Institute, she has also worked at several other restaurants. She is assisted by Alfonso Magadan, formerly a chef at Donovan’s Steak House in San Diego.
“He is an incredible chef,” she says. “Between the two of us we can create some amazing things!”
When they moved the restaurant they made some changes to the menu.
“We kept some of the old favorites but added quite a few Mexican fusion menu items, such as adding non-traditional Mexican ingredients such as ahi or filet mignon and then serving them with a Mexican flair,” says Pierson.
The results are dishes such as the ahi, a blackened tuna steak served with poblano rice and seasonal vegetables. They roast the chilis to combine with white, creamy rice that is cooked in a method similar to risotto rice.
Another example is the chili garlic mashed potatoes.
A lunch favorite is the vegetable wrap, made with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, Mexican cheese and tossed in a mango-citrus sauce and wrapped in a chipotle tortilla. It’s like a traditional salad but with a tortilla and a special flair.
Another popular favorite is the seafood enchiladas and cochinita pibil tacos, a dish available only on weekends because it is so labor intensive. Mayan kings used to feast on this achiote marinated pork that is wrapped in banana leaves and slow cooked in the oven for several hours before being topped with marinated onions and served in a corn tortilla.
Another crowd-pleaser is the Rio Rico Tower, which comes as either chicken or carne asada, served with black beans, Mexican cheese, pico de gallo sauce, lettuce and mango vinaigrette dressing on three tortillas placed one on top of the other.
Rio Rico serves a healthy Mexican menu. The only time lard is used is to cook the refried beans, and you can always get black beans with your meal instead. All of the deep frying is done with vegetable oil. Only the leanest meats are used and are tenderized on the premises.
Rio Rico has a private room available for banquets, business meetings and rehearsal dinners that can seat up to 50 people. They also cater fund-raisers, weddings and Christmas parties.
They have done quite a few margarita tasting parties and have introduced several stunning variations on this traditional blended drink.
The margarita is normally 12 ounces, but the tasting party severs five 3 oz. drinks.
Christopher Pierson held a contest several years ago when several contestants submitted their favorite margarita recipe. The winner was the “Dr. K”, made with Patron Tequila, fresh lime and fresh squeezed orange juice and topped with Grand Marnier.
They also serve what may be the only “organic” margarita, the “Wellness Rita.” It is made using 4 Copas Tequila Reposado, a certified organic tequila, with fresh lime, fresh squeezed orange juice and organic blue agave nectar. According to the menu, “The Wellness Rita offers more antioxidant protection than 13 servings of fruits and vegetables.”
During the football season Rio Rico offers happy hour price drinks all evening and some tapa-like plates for $2.99 and under such as “small plate nachos,” served with chicken or beef.
“Wine Wednesdays” offer the chance to try to some pairings of quality area wines and appetizers.
Two weekends a month the restaurant brings in live entertainment, such as jazz or flamenco. Recent artists who have appeared are Adrian Niems and Jack Kovic. Check the restaurant’s Web site for days and times, and listen to a sample of the artists’ music.
Rio Rio Bar & Grill is open seven days a week, 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m. Sundays–Thursdays and 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m., Fridays–Saturdays. Visit their Web site at rioricobarandgrill.com/

Maurice Car’rie Winery

The winemaker of Maurice Car’rie Winery, Gus Vizgirda, ran a restaurant once, so when he talks about the foods to pair with wines, he knows whereof he speaks.
I visited the winery recently, just a week or so after the fall harvest and the crush. It’s a picturesque winery with a 100-year-old windmill and barn which is the oldest building in the Temecula Wine Country.
I sat down with Vizgirda, and with Buddy Linn, the owner of the 47 acre winery, which was founded in 1986 and is one of the oldest in the Temecula Valley. The field of chenin blanc was planted in 1968 and the vines are huge.
Maurice Car’rie specializes in fruity, sweet wines that have a slightly lower alcohol content than is usual.
The first wine I sampled was the Sauvignon Blanc 2008, a dry, white wine that has herbal and citrus overtones, crisp and clear and soft on the finish. It has a grassy character on the nose and is citrusy on the palate. Vizgirda recommends pairing this wine with seafood.
The winery’s most popular bottle by far is its Riesling. I tried the 2008. This has a good balance between the tropical fruit and acidity.
“In Temecula we’re warmer and you would think that cold wines would not do well,” observes Vizgirda. “I suspect it’s the fact that they ripen and we capture it at its perfect moment.”
“This Riesling plays well with hot stuff (like Thai) because of the fruity nature. And, of course, with German food, such as pork, especially if it is served with apples,” says the winemaker.
Vizgirda has been living in the valley almost that long. He started in the wine business at Culbertson’s. Before that he was an aviation metrologist and a chemist—both of which are disciplines that have applications in the wine business.
He developed an appreciation for wine when he was in the service stationed in Germany and later apprenticed to several local vintners. But he describes himself as “self-taught.”
This is his 11th year of making wines, and he admits, “I’m still learning! I record everything in great detail. Every year it’s a one shot deal. Then you get to wait until next year. That’s the reason for the harvest excitement.”
This year Vizgirda is concentrating on “tuning into what Temecula’s valley has to offer. I think that Temecula has a unique chemistry that is not well-understood. My goal is to bring it out. I immerse myself into the smells and tastes of the grapes and employ winemaking techniques to bring the grapes’ unique and natural characteristics to their full potential.”
This is just the opposite of what some of the big commercial California wineries try to do: which is to achieve consistently by blending. Vizgirda calls such wines “manufactured wines.” They listen to the wine critics too much.
“But at a small winery like this you see the difference in the wines from year to year. Manufactured wine is not what we do,” he says.
Linn notes that this year’s harvest has been a great year for the value of the fruit. “Last year was a bumper crop but this year’s quality is really good,” says Linn.
Wine lovers will be able to sample the whites from this harvest by early 2010. The reds, which are more complex in structure, will require a little more aging.
“I’m working on the ‘07 reds right now,” says Vizgirda. “The art of wine-making is to get to the perfect point, to capture the ‘sweet spot.’ That’s what is exciting!” Extensive note-taking IS required! But so is intuition.
Vizgirda enjoys the various roles that being a wine-maker casts him in. “You’re a farmer AND a chemist. You’re smelling the grapes and testing the wines and doing blends. You’re out in front of the people, educating them and making wine less intimidating. And you get to drive a tractor! What’s better than that?”
The Muscat Canelli is a dessert wine that is nice and fruity and almost perfumery. It has great nose and floral characteristics. “It’s great for a cocktail wine or for after dinner,” says Vizgirda. “It pairs very well with dessert. It’s also great with salads, especially where the greens are served with a fruit vinaigrette and especially with a strong cheese, such as a stilton.”
Linn breaks in. “We have parties that come out on weekends. When the girls taste the Muscat Canelli, they fall in love!”
Self-taught he may be, yet the vintages that this autodidact has produced have won some of the most prestigious awards that Temecula’s and California’s wine industry has to offer.
In 2005, which was the first year that the Linns owned the winery, and the first year that Vizgirda’s winemaking was entered in various contests, the winery took “more awards than we knew what to do with!” recalls Linn.
Buddy Linn and his wife, Cheri, moved to Temecula from Texas 15 years ago and purchased the winery and Van Roekel Vineyards four years ago from Budd & Maurice Van Roekel. The two wineries between them produce about 30,000 cases annually.
The winery has won 48 medals, including one Best Red Wine, three Best of Class awards, one Double Golden Medal and seven Gold Medals from eight wine competitions.
Linn loves to brag about the wines that Vizgirda crafts. The most popular wine by far, the one that almost everyone loves, and frequently takes home with them, is the Reisling. “But Gus also does excellent reds!” says Linn.
The winery grows cabernet, cabernet sauvignon, petit syrah, muscat canelli, sangiovese, merlot, and pinot noir grapes among the reds, and chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Riesling and Sauvignon blanc, among the whites. They grow 16 varietals and produce six blends.
The next wine on the tasting was the Syrah 2007. “With my reds I’m trying to make them with less alcohol, below fourteen percent,” says Vizgirda. “You don’t want to drink a red and get loaded! This wine is still young and it’s developing nicely.”
For a food pairing he suggests barbecue, such as ribs so that you have sweet vs. robustness and the wine and tannin balances with the sweet meat.
“This red has a very nice, soft finish, making it perfect to drink with food,” he says.
The 2006 Merlot which I tried next will be featured in the winery’s barrel tasting on Nov. 7-8 (see below).
“This one I like with a red wine peppercorn sauce put on a filet and topped with blue cheese or served with asparagus.”
Vizgirda likes pairing wine and food so that it pairs taste and smell and encourages the taster to stop to analyze what he is tasting and smelling, something that people don’t often pause to do.
“It’s not complicated! We all have the sense of smell and taste. You have the ability to focus in a conscious manner.
“I like to share my passion—and people, by hearing it, will take something from that. Wine is an important part of my life and I’m not doing it to educate. This is something that I like and I’m going to let them into my world!”
The winery doesn’t have a restaurant yet (that’s on Linn’s to do list), but they do have a bakery.
“The most fun I have is when customers sit out front and munch on our hot sour dough and baked brie [put inside the hollowed out loaf] while sipping our Riesling,” says Linn. That’s only available on weekends.
Upcoming events include the Harvest Celebration on Nov. 7-8, where you can taste the wine straight from the barrel!
In the spring the winery hosts a Battle of the Bands that features several Big Bands.
It hosts several 5K and 10K runs during the year and is a prime spot for hot air ballooning.
* * *
To learn more about the Maurice Car’rie Winery call 951-676-1711 or visit www.mauricecarriewinery.com/
The address is 34225 Rancho California Rd., Temecula.
It is open seven days a week, 10 a.m–5 p.m., closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

JUST CALL ME ‘COACH’

I was recently selected to be this year’s Junior Varsity Men’s Baseball Coach at Valley Center High School. I have long had a passion for the game; my earliest memories are of playing catch, with my dad, in our backyard in Reading, (that’s Reading as in the railroad on the monopoly board, not pronounced, I am reading a book) Pennsylvania. I can remember playing little league, high school ball and then college ball at Arizona. I coached my son in Little League and our two daughters in softball, all of which is now ancient history, but there still are some great memories.
So I looked forward with eager anticipation to my first meeting last month at the high school for an informal practice session with some of this year’s tryouts. The first thing I noticed as I watched the guys run, hit, throw and catch was that I don’t remember being that young, that strong, and that fast. I’m not saying I wasn’t, I just don’t remember.
Although baseball, the rules and the manner in which you prepare to play the game, haven’t changed much, there are some things that have changed very much. You can still hear the pop when a good healthy fastball hits the catcher’s mitt. You can still, even in late October, smell the odor of a newly mowed infield, and you can still hear batter up at the beginning of each inning. But the crack of the bat has now been replaced with the clang of the ball hitting an aluminum bat, and it isn’t the most appealing sound, kind of like a bad piece of chalk on a blackboard. I also noticed that this group of young men must be either children of dentists or are practicing a lot better dental hygiene then we did in the olden days, because no one was chewing bubble gum. In my day it was nothing to go through 30 or 40 pieces of Double Bubble each game. Of course, back in the olden days, each piece only cost 2 cents not today’s 10 cents.
In my playing days there was only one color of glove, whatever that color is that natural rawhide comes in. Today gloves are blue, red, and I even saw what I thought was a multi-colored glove. In my days, baseball pants stopped at just below the knee and there they where met with baseball stockings. Some still wear them that way today, but not many. Most players today wear pants that look like pajamas and you wonder how they avoid tripping over them.
I pitched a little batting practice that first day, and what I noticed was that my fastball doesn’t have the velocity that it had 40 years ago. However, I will tell you that my left arm, (I am a southpaw.) is still there. I know that, because I tried every drug known to man to stop getting it to ache for 4 days afterward.
I also know that when the varsity coach handed me my cap, shirt and warm up jacket that I got that same feeling I did when I made my very first Little League team back in the olden days, and that was a very good feeling indeed.
I must tell you that what is really nice is being called Coach.
We are entrenched in another frustrating and uneventful Chargers football season, but this year while waiting for spring training to start, I have my new assignment as high school baseball coach, and I am loving it.

 

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