May 2010 Issue | Download the Full Issue

If you’re a blues fan, wine fan, beer fan or just a fan of good will, mark your calendar for Saturday, May 22, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and head over to the Bonsall Rotary Club’s 15th annual Wine, Brews & Blues Festival.
The festival is set to take place at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido and will feature local and international wines, fine-crafted beers, delicious food and quality blues music.
“We’re expecting this to be a really good year," said Ronald Coulombe, president of the Rotary Club of Bonsall. “The bands, wine, beer and food have never been better.”
For an event that initially started out as a simple wine tasting fund-raiser, the Wine, Brews & Blues Festival is now the largest event of its kind in all of San Diego. The concept used to be primarily wine tasting with music and food as add-ons.
However, as other communities and organizations began holding similar wine tasting events, Bonsall Rotary decided to make some changes and the fund-raiser morphed into more of a blues festival with a focus on entertainment and bands.
“The bands we get are really, really good,” Coulombe exclaimed. “We are getting calls from major blues bands wanting to play at our event in this venue.”
Headlining this year’s event are Aunt Kizzy’z Boyz and Michele Lundeen. Also in the line-up are Bill Magee, Restless Blues Band and Not for Hire.
“The bands are my favorite part,” said Rotarian Regina Grevatt. “The bands this year are exceptional!”
Exceptional indeed! Lundeen was recently nominated for the 2009 San Diego Music Award Best Blues performer; Aunt Kizzy’z Boyz are well known throughout the area for their unique sound and energy; Magee once played with Jimi Hendrix in the band Jimmy James and the Flame; Restless Blues Band is a hot act out of Los Angeles; and Not For Hire is a group of musicians that like to get together for the fun of playing.
Also adding to the line-up this year is a live auction. Items include a limited edition bronze sculpture by renowned artist Lorenzo E. Ghiglieri. It’s called “Perilous Journey”. Another big item is an original oil painting by local artist Steve Bartan. Bartan will also be doing a Meet the Artist session during the event.
Other live and silent auction items include 2 Electra beach cruisers, dinner certificates, a Catalina Island adventure, an African Safari, museum tickets, theater tickets, theme park tickets, sports memorabilia, gift baskets and much more.
Proceeds from the event and the auctions go towards supporting local organizations and non-profit charities. Over the past 15 years, the Rotary Club of Bonsall has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to nearly 50 charities. These contributions are made possible mostly because of the Wine, Brews & Blues Festival fund-raiser.
“It’s always been a really fun event and we’re hoping it will sell out this year,” Grevatt said.
To boost ticket sales Bonsall Rotary has asked for a little assistance from the very clubs and organizations they help out with donations.
“This year we partnered up with all the charities that Bonsall Rotary supports to help us promote the Wine, Brews & Blues Festival,” Coulombe pointed out.
It’s a win-win for all groups involved. The Charity Partners support the event by selling tickets knowing that proceeds from tickets they sell will be returned to them as a donation. As a ticket buyer, you can designate whether or not you want your ticket money to go to a specific Charity Partner.
“We’re hoping to have a dinner or presentation after the festival, similar to an awards banquet, to distribute the funds to the individual charities,” Coulombe said.
The Charity Partners include Rawhide Ranch Foundation, Foundation for Senior Care, Rotary Club of Escondido Sunrise, REINS, Bonsall Chamber of Commerce, Fallbrook Animal Sanctuary, Fallbrook Smiles Project, Legacy Endowment, American Association of University Women-Fallbrook, Elizabeth Hospice, Hidden Meadows Community Foundation, Boys and Girls Club of North County, Miramar Semper Fidelis Rotary Club, Bonsall Woman’s Club and Zoofari.
“Based on preliminary reports from our Charity Partners, we are expecting a near-capacity crowd,” Coulombe said, which could mean up to 900 people.
Be part of the crowd! Purchase your ticket today! Tickets are just $60 a piece which includes all the wine, beer, bands and food you can handle. There is also a designated driver (non-alcoholic) ticket price of $40. Remember to designate which Charity Partner you want your donation to go to.
For more information on Wine, Brews and Blues, contact the Bonsall Rotary Club at 800-249-2024, or visit their website at www.Bonsallrotary.com. Guests must be 21 or older to attend.

Escondido Preps For RESTAURANT WEEK

The Downtown Business Association of Escondido is planning its annual Restaurant Week for Sunday, May 2 through Friday, May 14.
Mark your calendars and start making reservations today as local chefs get ready to tingle your tastebuds.
The premise of Escondido Restaurant Week is to let participants enjoy a three-course meal at some of Escondido’s finest restaurants for one set price.
At its core, Restaurant Week is an amazing opportunity to try a new place and sample new menu items from top executive chefs. This year restaurants are offering 3-course luxury dining experiences for $20 or $30.
“The best thing about restaurant week is the value,” said Jill Dubesky, a local fan of the event. “It’s not often you can treat yourself to a fancy dinner, much less three courses for the given prices.”
She adds that you can really make it a fun time by going with friends and family.
“It’s a great reason to head downtown, meet some friends and enjoy good food and good company,” Dubesky said.
Jenessa Schaniel, events manager for Escondido’s Downtown Business Association, says restaurant week is the perfect time to check out some of Escondido’s notable and award-winning restaurants.
“Escondido is home to some highly-recognized restaurants which brings in guests from all over,” Schaniel said. “Vincent’s is always featured in San Diego’s restaurant week and is a destination restaurant here in Escondido, as is Tango Restaurant & Lounge.”
Other restaurants participating in this year’s Escondido Restaurant Week include A Delight of France, Bistro 221, Hichizuki Japanese Restaurant, La Tapatia, R. O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub and VINZ Wine Bar.
“We are going to try to hit as many restaurants as possible,” says Sonia Kang, who admits that she is mostly looking forward to Hichizuki’s.
“I love how they make your meal on the grill in front of the whole group and play with the food while they cook it,” Kang says. “It’s like a little show just for you.”
While there is plenty of time during Escondido Restaurant Week to check out all the participating restaurants, the DBA recommends making reservations in advance. Also, just a side note that gratuity is not included in the set prices.
If you would like more information on Escondido Restaurant Week, check out the Downtown Business Association of Escondido’s website at www.downtownescondido.com, or call 760-745-8877.

Fallbrook Garden Club Tour

The Fallbrook Garden Club will present its sixth annual Garden Tour on Saturday May 22, from 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
Seven amazing gardens are included in the tour, with something very special for everyone to enjoy in each garden.
But there’s something new this year: award-winning painters, craftsmen, a guitarist, and a classical string trio will highlight the artists-and-artisans element at the tour. Several area talented artisans will be at work in the gardens throughout the tour. They will exhibit their work and give demonstrations of their creative processes at each of the seven homes and gardens on the tour.
This year’s artists include watercolorist and linocut creator Helen Shafer Garcia and floral, landscape and portrait artist Elizabeth Taft.
Linda Stryker, creator of gourd art; quilt-maker Barbara Anderson; and wreath-creator Pauline Sechi will demonstrate their skills in their particular art forms. Sechi was California Garden Clubs’ “Creative Flower Arranger of the Year” (2008–09).
Musician Barbara Chabazian, hostess of one of the seven homes on this year’s tour, will participate in a string trio at her home with a series of performances throughout the day. Violinist Ms. Chabazian will be joined in the trio by cellist Millie Boaz and violist Lois Leyva. Noted guitarist David McMaster will entertain at another of the gardens.
The tour begins at the Fallbrook Historical Society, 260 Rockycrest Rd., Fallbrook at 9 a.m. and continues until 3 p.m.
You can buy tickets only on the day of the tour. They don’t go on sale until shortly before 9 a.m. and will be sold no later than 1 p.m. The Historical Society museum will be open at 8 a.m. The museum is located at 260 Rockycrest Road in Fallbrook.
Ticket prices are $20 per person or two tickets for $35.
Among the special features are:
• A Mediterranean Botanical Garden that was designed by Tom Piergrossi, Host of the Emmy Winning Show, Down to Earth.
• An extensive fully matured succulent garden and two newly planted succulent and cacti water-wise gardens.
• A new grape vineyard set in beautiful, colorful surroundings.
• A Victorian house and garden with lovely walkways, a giant redwood tree, and a classic railroad car.
• A rose garden displaying over a hundred species of brilliant colors and unexpected flora.
Interesting vintage automobiles will be on display at selected homes on this tour as well as at the Fallbrook Historical Society.
Plants and miscellaneous garden items will also be available for sale at that time.
Proceeds will benefit the Fallbrook Garden Club Scholarship Fund and other community projects.
For more information call 760-468-5842.
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Helen Shafer Garcia’s watercolors and linocuts can be viewed at www.helenshafergarcia.com; Elizabeth Taft’s paintings may be seen at www.artbyelizabethtaft.com; Linda Stryker’s gourd art is exhibited at www.strykinggourds.com.
THE ARTISTS
Helen Shafer Garcia lives and works in North County as an artist, illustrator, art instructor AND gardener!
Some of the images recount visuals from Mexico, New Zealand and other lands intertwining legends, flora, fauna and icons.
Garcia is currently working with watercolor, pastel and mixed media creating contemporary images on paper along with a series of iconic folklore triptychs with wood, watermedia and found object construction.
You’ll find Garcia’s work in brochures of International resorts and magazines including the Westin St. John Resort, Acapulco Diamante Resort and San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles Magazine.
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Elizabeth Taft began her career as an art teacher in middle school and entered into a life long love of showing children the wonder of art. She now adds some volunteer work at the elementary level to her own full time work as a working artist.
Taft has traveled and painted throughout Europe, as well as, the United States. She constantly keeps a camera with her to capture subjects that she might later paint.
Her style combines impressionism with exuberant color. She is at home painting a sunset as an expressive portrait.
Her paintings have been found in many galleries over the years and are in numerous collections. People often purchase her paintings in multiples.
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The works of gourd artist Linda Stryker reflects her lifelong appreciation for the wonders and beauty of nature.
As a child she marveled at the beautiful designs and textures found on seashells and driftwood scattered on the beach.
As an adult artist her belief is that allowing the gourd to dictate the direction in which it should be taken produces the best outcome. By respecting the size, shape, and natural markings of a gourd, the techniques and enhancements used on the gourd further its beauty. She uses dramatic design cuts, pine-needle edging, hinges, and bead inserts.

Famed Movie Director Spent 30 Years Living In Fallbrook: FRANK CAPRA

Frank Capra, the director of one of the most beloved movies of all time, It’s a Wonderful Life, owned a house for 30 years in Fallbrook, the 1,000-acre Red Mountain Ranch.
The director of classic films such as You Can’t Take it With You and Arsenic and Old Lace, but most remembered for It’s a Wonderful Life, owned a house in Fallbrook in his later years after he retired from filmmaking—although he stepped back into it to direct a short, 20-minute film that many residents of the area credited with helping to preserve the water rights of the community.
The movie that Capra directed—and didn’t credit himself for doing—was called The Fallbrook Story. Capra got his friend Cecil B. DeMille, whose Jehovah-like voice narrated several movies of his own, such as The Greatest Show on Earth and The Ten Commandments, to narrate this film, which was the story of a town victimized by an evil government bureaucracy. In 1951 the U.S. Attorney General sued to get control of the Santa Margarita so that the federal government would have exclusive rights to the water for Camp Pendleton.
Capra, who became an integral part of the community where he lived, served for several years on the board of the Fallbrook Public Utilities District. I was able to get a copy of The Fallbrook Story from FPUD (and thanks to those folks for their courtesy in letting me see it!).
One can hear those stentorian tones of DeMille’s in the concluding frames of the film (transcribed for posterity by Union Tribune columnist Logan Jenkins: “Greater than the Fallbrook case, greater than the wrongs inflicted on the farmers of Santa Margarita, the fundamental question: Which way of life is to prevail in the United States? Shall it be the Evil One? Are Americans to be ruled in fear of the mailed fist of tyranny? Are non-elected usurpers of power in Washington to prevail against the American people? Is liberty to die? Is freedom to become but a memory? Or is Fallbrook to lead with its courage, its humanity and its strength in a mighty rebirth of the real American way, the way of Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln? The Fallbrook Story has given the answer. The mailed fist can be trampled in the dust by the onward marching force of the people themselves, enlightened and informed by the free press and acting through their elected representatives in Washington.”
Now that is fun writing!
And apparently it helped to do the trick, getting the attention of congressmen and other lawmakers, and saving the town of Fallbrook from an unjust lawsuit.
Capra’s grandson, Frank Capra III, recalls growing up on the Red Mountain Ranch and spending much of his youth there.
According to his grandson, Capra’s favorite picture was always It’s a Wonderful Life, the perennial Christmas classic that stars Jimmy Stewart.
“That was his favorite picture of all time,” says his grandson. In his pre-WWII movie career, Capra had virtually helped to make Columbia Pictures what it is today. When the war came, Capra went into the army and made the Why We Fight series.
“I grew up with the Capra movies being known for ‘Capraesque,’ which some critics called ‘Capra-corn.’ But not all of the movies before the war were comedies. Some had very deep messages about the small common man fighting upwards against a larger entity.”
He grew up with his grandfather after WWII had changed him dramatically as a man and as a filmmaker.
“It’s a Wonderful Life was his first film after the war. That picture is, if anything, a very dark movie about suicide. For whatever it was, in his world that I grew up under, it was his favorite picture that he ever did.”
The family story says that Capra called Stewart when he wrote the script and said, “Jimmy, I’ve got a movie about a guy who has a lovely family, a wife and kids and contemplates committing suicide by jumping off a bridge.”
Stewart responded “I’m your guy!”
At the time that Capra retired to Fallbrook, it was a “very magical place,” according to Frank Capra III.
It reminded him a lot of the San Fernando Valley when he had grown up there as part of an immigrant family.
“There were orchard trees, fruit trees. I think that Fallbrook reminded him of the valley where he grew up. When he was a child, San Fernando was all agriculture—it was pretty much Shan-gri-la. I think that my grandfather made that connection in Fallbrook.”
Fallbrook in the 1950s was all avocados and fruit orchards. The Red Mountain Ranch house sat on many acres of avocado orchards.
His grandson was born in 1959.
“We spent many Easters and Christmases down there, after which time he moved to Palm Springs. He sold the property to Cal Tech. Which they used for a retreat.”
Sadly, the main house burned down in the 2007 wildfires, so we can only enjoy it now in memory and photographs.

Take A Walk On The Wild Side With Fallbrook’s Wildlife Art Show

It’s wild! That’s the only way to describe the 17th Annual Wildlife Art Show & Sale, which will be held May 1 & May 2 at the Fallbrook Art Center.
This combined art event features the 17th Annual Reflections of Nature in the Janice Griffiths Gallery, which is the center’s main exhibition space, in conjunction with the inaugural Nature in Miniature exhibition in the Salon Gallery, which is adjacent to the Griffiths gallery. It is a juried show.
According to Mary Perhacs, executive director of the Fallbrook Art Center, the miniature exhibit is something new—and exciting!
“The miniature show affords many emerging artists the opportunity to participate in this very popular show,” she said.
Another thing that is new is the inclusion of fine art photography in the show.
The show was originally started in 1994 as a fund-raiser for the Fallbrook Land Conservancy.
The success of the show led founding artist Gamini Ratnavira, an accomplished wildlife artist, and a native of Sri Lanka, to support turning a drug store built in 1961 at the cornerstone of the Fallbrook village into an Art Center.
The 1997 show was the inaugural event at the newly established Art Center at Fallbrook.
Over the years, the show continues to grow in popularity, with the first weekend in May widely recognized as ‘wildlife art time’ in Fallbrook.
Twenty-one artists from all over the country, including eight in the mini-show, will celebrate the diversity of nature—working in a broad range of media and disciplines including plein air to portray the world’s wildlife and the landscapes that sustain them. All of the artists will be present at the show to talk with visitors.
Perhacs added, “Now more than ever, people are becoming aware of the need to preserve nature, and the show offers a unique opportunity to interact with people who have dedicated their lives to telling nature’s story through their art.”
Nature’s diversity is evident in the art presented by artists from across the country working in a broad range of mediums and disciplines to portray the world’s wildlife and the landscapes that sustain them.
There are several new artists this year:
In the Main Show: Jennifer O’Cualain, of Phoenix, Arizona, an oil painter.
Kelly & Gilbert Vela, residents of Perris. These fine art photographers, will show photos taken at the wildlife preserves in Kenya and Tanzania.
This is the first time that the Velas will be doing this wildlife art show. They have a studio in downtown Riverside and have been exhibiting pictures taken from this trip in that studio and in La Quinta at a seasonal art show.
They visited Africa for the first time in 2006.
According to Gil, “We had our vehicle and driver for three weeks. This allowed us the freedom to shoot what we wanted to shoot. We shot from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. It was a working vacation.”
The Velas call themselves “weekend photographers,” in that they shoot on weekends and have jobs on weekdays. The majority of their work is nature and landscapes.
“We had a list. I was after lions and Kelly was after big cats, cheetahs and leopards,” Gil recalled. “She was successful in capturing a leopard, which has gone over very well. I have one lioness picture that has gone over very well.
“We stayed in the vehicle. The driver takes you up as close as you can get. Once the car has parked the animals will often approach very close.
“This has been going on so long that they don’t view the vehicles as a threat. The lioness was walking towards us. She was on her way to get a drink of water. She was close enough to reach out and touch,” he said.
According to Kelly, “We did use telephoto lenses occasionally, but it was not the large telephotos.
“We used them more in the artistic sense to blur the background and make the animals pop out more.
“We’re hoping that by showing the animals in a fine arts setting people will appreciate and see the value of them and maybe help to preserve them,” she says.
Gil added, “One major enlightenment I received: we saw a lot of wildebeest, thousands. But in relation to 50 years ago there are not so many. During exhibits we met people who had been there fifty years ago, and while we saw thousands, they saw millions. It has dwindled down to thousands.”
That’s why the Velas are supporters of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, and the World Wildlife Fund.
They plan to go back to Africa, and spend six months to a couple of years this time.
“We try to capture the unusual shot, the shot that has never been seen, and to combine fine art with photography,” said Gil.
They are also doing what they can to raise awareness about animals threatened with extinction, such as gorillas and the cheetahs of Africa that are hunted by farmers.
“That goes along with a world drought that is emerging that is affecting everybody and everything. It’s a cause that we would like to pursue,” he says.
Other new artists who will be featured in the show, selected from a wide field of applicants, include:
Gloria Chadwick, Lin Craft (a Fallbrook resident), Robin Feeley, Linda Herzog (a Vista resident), Irene Horiuchi, Rebecca Latham, Peter Mathios, and V. Vaughan. The rest of the artists are from out of state.
Major sponsorship provided in Memory of Janice Griffiths. Additional show underwriting is provided by many long-time show supporters including Otis & Linda Heald, Victoria Thompson, Gary & Patti Johnson, Dr. & Mrs. Richard Goble, Vince Ross, Louise Lindberg, Joan Amberson, and many others.
An invitational opening reception will be held on April 30, from 6-8 p.m. for FAC Premier Members and show sponsors.
The exhibition is open May 1 from 10 a.m.—6 p.m. and May 2 from 11 a.m.—5 p.m.
Admission: Show $5 | FAC Members, Active Military & Under 18 are free.
The art center is located at 103 South Main in Fallbrook’s Historic Downtown District. For more information visit: www.fallbrookartcenter.org.

Fallbrook Rallies Troops for Relay for Life

Relay for Life is a powerful journey. It rallies communities together in an effort to fight cancer and raise money for a cure.
In the midst of the rally stems an even greater purpose—Relay for Life unites people, and by joining these forces, it celebrates every single life that has ever been touched by cancer. It gives hope and encouragement that one day we will be free of the disease.
To top it off, Relay for Life is fun!
The event consists of teams camping out and taking turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the 24-hour event. Teams often come dressed up as characters, or decorate their camps with a creative theme.
“There is an eclectic energy in the air,” says Jane Christianson, a three-time Relay participant. “You feel like you are making a difference and you know you are part of something bigger than life.”
The city of Fallbrook is gearing up for its annual Relay for Life and is looking for participants and donations.
The event is set for Saturday and Sunday, May 22 & 23, beginning at 9 a.m. at Fallbrook High School’s lower soccer field. According to Leslie Roman, event manager, Fallbrook’s goal is to have 26 teams sign up for Relay and raise $24,000 for the American Cancer Society.
“We need the support of the community to accomplish this goal,” Roman said, noting that over the past three years alone, the community has raised more than $75,000 for the American Cancer Society.
This money goes towards cancer research, cancer prevention, patient support, detection and treatment programs and more.
Locally, donations help fund programs and services like Road to Recovery which consists of volunteer drivers shuttling cancer patients to and from treatments. In addition there are local advocacy and education services.
If you’ve never been to the event, you might wonder what actually goes on for 24 full hours, but really it’s not hard to pass the time. When you aren’t taking your turn on the track, you can easily keep entertained with activities, live music, learning opportunities, the tribute to survivors and the luminaria ceremony.
The luminaria ceremony is one of the most inspirational moments of the night. Luminaria bags are white bags set around the track that have been decorated with messages, poems and photos in dedication to a loved one. During the ceremony, candles or glow sticks are placed inside the bags. Each bag represents someone’s life and light whether it’s a loved one who has died from cancer, a cancer survivor or even a special caregiver.
It is a somber and very powerful moment to see the track surrounded in glowing luminaria, because it demonstrates just how many lives have been affected by cancer.
“My favorite part of Relay is the walking time during luminaria ceremony,” said Matthew Noreen.
Matthew and his wife, Mary, participated in the Relay several years ago, because they wanted to help find a cure for their friends and family who had been touched by cancer. However, after last year’s Relay, they were told Mary had ovarian cancer and had to go through chemotherapy.
“This year, I relay for my wife,” Matthew said.
You can do the same by participating or donating (or both!). Luminaria bags for the Fallbrook Relay for Life sell for $10 and will be available the day of the event. Lunch and dinner will also be sold on Saturday and breakfast will be sold Sunday morning in efforts to raise additional funds for Fallbrook’s Relay.
If you have any questions regarding Fallbrook’s Relay for Life, or would like to donate or participate with a team, call Leslie Roman at 951-203-8978 or go to www.relayforlife.org/fallbrookca.

CAST/Mission Theater: The Music Man On Stage In May

Fifteen years ago, Patty Hornsveld took her passion for the theater and created CAST (Children’s Acting School & Theater).
She had been involved in the theater in some form all her life. Like many she had noticed with dismay that educational funding was being withdrawn from theater and other performing arts at the elementary school level. She decided to do something to make up for that deficit.
For two years, the theater group had no home. Then one day Hornsveld was driving by the old Art Deco-themed Mission Theater (which until that time had been a cinema) and noticed that it was closed for repairs. The theater was built in 1946 and had previously only been used for screening films.
She decided to buy the theater, which has been the home of the theater group ever since.
Although still known as CAST (aka the Mission Theater) the organization has branched out to include adult shows. It also operates the CAST Academy
Patty Hornsveld remains the artistic director of the non-profit theater, assisted in putting on shows by a remarkably small “cast” of workers and assistants that includes her daughter, Jennifer Hornsveld, a 2005 graduate of the The UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television (TFT).
“I grew up doing theater,” she says. “It kind of chose me.”
She and her mother oversee show selection each year. Three of the six shows CAST does each year are children’s shows and three are adult shows—meaning that roles are played by age appropriate actors—including the next show: Meredith Willson’s classic, The Music Man.
One of the most beloved shows of the American stage, The Music Man has always been a crowd pleaser, and yet is quite sophisticated musically. Did you know that the love song Goodnight my Someone uses the same notes, and is in 3/4 metre with a much slower tempo, as the play’s show stopper Seventy-Six Trombones that immediately follows it?
It will be performed nine times between May 7-23. This is the biggest theatrical project that Jennifer Hornsveld has had as director for CAST, and she is very enthusiastic. “It’s perfect for our small town and where we are at as a theatrical company,” she says. It has about 40 parts, about half of them for children.
“I find my actors in the community, and I met by accident the man that I thought would be perfect for the lead [Professor Harold Hill, the con man who plans to gull the town of River City but ends up falling for the town’s librarian, Marian].”
Hill is played by J. Brad Britton, a consultant by trade, whom his director describes as, “very energetic, very funny, conscientious and a hard worker. He was working off book (meaning he already knew his lines) the first week of rehearsal in February.”
This is the biggest role Britton has had yet. He has always wanted to do the part because it was his parents’ first date. “It’s very special for him,” says Hornsveld.
Marian the librarian is played by Sandra Kopitzke, who has been the theater’s musical director for the past ten years.
“She is classically trained as a singer and has done shows all over San Diego County,” says Hornsveld. “It’s neat to work with her in a different capacity.”
She adds, “I haven’t been this excited since we did Beauty and the Beast four years ago. There’s so much talent even in the small parts. I’m smiling at every rehearsal. I’m having a great time.”
That extends to the barbershop quartet that wanders through the show and has always been one of the more popular elements of The Music Man. “It is a really amazing barbershop quartet that we have put together for this show,” she says. It includes Rich Lafetra, Conrad Lindberg, Hanns Lindberg (his brother) and Jason Prull. Two are from Oceanside, two are from Rancho Bernardo.
Scene design is by Keith Kopitzke (Sandra’s husband), a talented engineer who designs precise blueprints for the shows.
This show represents another milestone for the theater in that it has worked out a buddy system with a neighboring community theater group, STAR in Oceanside. Star is providing the costumes for The Music Man, and CAST is loaning them scenery from last year’s Alice in Wonderland.
CAST’s next adult show will be a Christmas Holiday-themed revue. “We are picking out the music for it now,” she says. “It will have music from all of the holidays throughout the year.”
Although CAST owns the Mission Theater, it rents it out to other theatrical organizations, such as the Fallbrook Players and the Fallbrook Americana Music Series, which puts three of its concerts on at the location.
The Mission Theater is located at 231 N. Main in Fallbrook.
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Upcoming Shows—
CAST Productions presents Meredith Willson’s The Music Man: May 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22 at  7:30 p.m., May 9, 16, 23 at 2 p.m. Adults: $10. Seniors:  $8 (over 65). Juniors  $8 (12 & under) Tickets are on sale at  760-731-2278.
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CAST Academy of Dance Presents By the Beautiful Sea Dance Recital 2010. The show features original choreography by Katie Hornsveld & Liz Kent. All dance pieces are themed around Southern California and good times by the ocean!
Showdates are Thursday, June 24, 7 p.m., Friday,    June 25 7 p.m. and Saturday,          June 26 at 2 p.m.     
Tickets are: Orchestra, $15; Center Section, $10; Side Seating, $8. Call 760-731-2278 for tickets.
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CAST Summer Conservatory Program presents: Peter Pan-School Version featuring the music made famous by Cathy Rigby in the Broadway hit. Performed by the students in the summer conservatory program. Show dates are: July 31-Aug. 22 (Friday, Saturday 7:30 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m.)
All tickets cost $8 Call 760-731-2278.

History Comes Alive When You See It!

Nothing brings history to life like visiting the places where history has happened. It’s like blowing cobwebs away from an artifact and holding it up to the light.
Visiting a site of a famous battle, or where a stagecoach once stopped between dusty legs of a cross-country journey, or he house where a figure from the past in your own town once lived can do more to place you in the past than pages of history books.
Combine the two, and you’re on your way to truly appreciating your past.
Southern California doesn’t have as much old history as does the Eastern United States, just as the U.S. doesn’t have anything to rival Europe (with the exception of some very old Indian sites), but just because our history isn’t old doesn’t mean that it’s not instructive or interesting.
The relative lack of old relics in our neighborhood means that people tend to focus recent history that is more relevant to their lives
In Bonsall, two things of note are the Old Bonsall Bridge and the one room school house, both of which are easy to find.
The school house was built in 1895, when it was called the Mount Fairview School. Until 1920, it was a one-room schoolhouse for all grades. For several years in the 1990s it was used for meetings of the Bonsall Union School Board. The “Little Old Schoolhouse” is now recognized as a historic landmark, added to the list in September 1990 by the County’s Historic Site Board.
The bridge was built over the San Luis Rey River in 1925. It was originally part of US 395, then Hwy 76. It was abandoned in the early 1990s. For a number of years it was the scene of a swap meet.
There are many historical locations of note in Escondido (literally hundreds, but not enough room to address here).
The San Pasqual battlefield memorial commemorates the Dec. 6, 1846 clash between U.S. dragoons, commanded by Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny, and Mexican Californios under Gen. Andres Pico. There is an excellent museum, the San Pasqual Battlefield Visitors Center, overlooking the battle site just off Hwy 78, a few miles east of the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It is open on weekends.
The riverbed along which the battle took place is untouched, so you can imagine how it might have looked. On Pomerado Road near I-15 is the monument to Mule Hill, where Kearny and his men were forced to kill and eat some of their mules after their mauling at the hands of Mexicans.
Also in Escondido is Ferrara Winery, oldest active winery in the county (1120 West 15th Ave.).
Grape Day Park, while not an historical location in and of itself, does have the excellent Escondido History Center (321 N. Broadway), which includes the old 1888 Santa Fe Depot, the restored Bandy Blacksmith Shop, the 1901 Penny Barn, an 1890 Victorian country home and the city’s first library. The center is open Tuesday–Saturday 1 p.m.–4 p.m.
Another park bursting with history is Felicita Park in Escondido, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places. It has an archaeological site of a Native American village used by Indians for 1,500 years and acorn grinding sites that nearly every school child in Escondido has visited.
Motorists driving along I-15 today or on Fallbrook’s Mission Road will see references to “old Highway 395.” It is the remnant of that great highway that in its heyday touched three countries, the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
You can pick it up at Circle R where Champagne Boulevard becomes Old 395.
From there it’s just a short jog to Hwy 76, which you can take east to Wilderness Gardens Preserve, located at 14209 Hwy 76. The 720-acre preserve contains a mix of habitats and is a safe haven for migratory birds. It holds the ruins of Sickler Brothers Mill, which operated in the 1880s-90s. It is one of the oldest grist mills in the county.
The Butterfield Stage route once ran through the property.
Castle Creek and Old Castle Road (which you can reach from I-15) derives its name from the famous “Castle” built in Moosa Canyon in the 1890s by the famous Scottish artist Isaac Jenkinson Frazee as a replica of a Scottish castle.
In 1914 Frazee staged the “Peace Pipe Pageant,” which the Sunset magazine described as one of the most remarkable outdoor pageants in all of California,” and which was attended by 1,500 people.
In 1888, the most famous armed conflict in the history of that area took place: the Moosa gunfight. It happened where part of the golf course is now, near Old Castle Road. It involved squatters and the homesteaded owner of the property—after the smoke cleared five people were left dead.
The Fallbrook Historical Society has put together the Fallbrook Historic Registry Guidebook, a brochure that you can use to conduct a self-guided tour of 21 historic sites, many of them open by appointment only.
Some examples are the home of Fallbrook’s first doctor, the Mission Theater, a one room school house on Live Oak Park Road, and the 1882 two story brick building that is the oldest remaining commercial building in Fallbrook. And, of course, the crown jewel of the Historical Society, the Pittenger house, built in the 1890s by the Rev. William Pittenger, a Civil War hero who was one of the first recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor for his participation in the Andrews Raid.
The museum is located at 260 Rock Crest Rd., and is open Sunday and Thursday from 1–4 p.m. or by appointment by calling 760-723-4125.
Well, as I admitted at the beginning of this article, this tour will only begin to scratch the surface of the historical sights that you can visit within the boundaries of “The Boulevard.”
Make up your own tour and be you own tour guide. It’s educational, interesting and fun!

Hidden Meadows Heating & Air: Conditioning Your Air Conditioner

Summer’s almost here – do you know what condition your air conditioner is in? This pending change of season may also mean a change of air conditioner….or maybe just the filter.
According to Joe Veling, owner of Hidden Meadows Heating & Air, an easy way to determine if you have any cooling issues is to first make sure the unit is kicking out cool air.
“If it’s not cooling in the summer or heating in the fall, that’s your first indication that something is wrong,” Veling said. “If you have air coming out but it’s not at the controlled temperature that you want, it’s time to call.”
Veling said it’s wise to have your heater and/or conditioner serviced twice a year, and he also recommends checking the air filters every couple of months.
“Some filters you can clean by just hosing them off and letting them dry, but nowadays there are even high tech electronic air filters that zap out particles,” Veling said. “It all comes back to how much you want to spend, but the most important thing is to buy good filters and change them regularly so the unit runs more efficiently.”
Hidden Meadows Heating & Air is a full-service, family-owned company that supports all the communities along The Boulevard corridor. The company offers sales, service, repair and maintenance for air conditioners, heaters and ventilators. However, Veling claims their number one focus is on repairs, not sales.
“I’m a local technician who is a part of the community,” Veling said. “My cause is to help my customers repair, then replace. There are a lot of times when even older units just need a part. You don’t always need to replace the unit.”
Of course, if a part is too old and will cost as much as it would to replace the unit, then Veling will let you know that, too.
“It’s always about what is more economical and what makes more sense,” Veling said. “I am a service company first. I rely on repeat business of repairing and maintenance. I’m not out to sell people something new if they don’t need it.”
Now is actually the perfect time to get your air conditioner serviced, not just because summer is approaching, but because companies tend to offer great spring discounts. In fact, Hidden Meadows Heating & Air is currently offering an $85 spring cleaning special.
To find out more about spring specials, or about servicing your air conditioner, call Hidden Meadows Heating & Air at 760-270-9013, or visit www.hiddenmeadowsheatingandair.com.

The Golden Egg

The Golden Egg Omelet House in Escondido is well-hidden. You’ll have to look for it, but it’s well worth looking for!
On weekends you’ll always find the restaurant full, but so efficient is the service that you will seldom have to wait long to get a seat. Once you are seated, the service is outstanding.
Before you even think about your coffee cup being empty, someone will be at your side, filling it up again.
The restaurant serves both breakfast and lunch, but I think we can agree that breakfast is what makes it special.
Let’s start with 90 different kinds of omelets, all loaded with fresh ingredients—and the list is always growing. Throw in delicious potato casseroles. I’m particularly fond of the biscuits and gravy, a dish that I’m an afficionado of, but which not all restaurants fix the right way. This one does! I have a friend who swears by the chicken fried steak, which is smothered in the same sausage gravy.
You also can’t go wrong with a big, heaping plate of flapjacks, dripping with butter and with some coconut syrup on the side. The syrup is made on the premises.
This is a perfect place to bring your wife, kids or grandkids. The atmosphere is brisk and bustling and totally casual. The Golden Egg is not the place to come if you want an intimate, romantic dinner. But it is the place to bring visitors that you want to impress with good, hearty, delicious fare that will leave you with a warm glow—and which won’t empty your wallet.
The walls are covered with homey knicknacks, which change with the seasons, and all of which are for sale.
Owners John & Karleen Lovett have spent the last 28 years perfecting this restaurant. It is a constant work in progress for them.
When they first bought the restaurant, their chefs just weren’t doing a good job, so John taught himself about cooking so he would be able to tell if an employee was dong his job right.
The restaurant has been at the same location all that time. When it was first built customers could easily see it from Mission, but over the years other buildings grew up, such as the Holiday Wine Seller and McDonalds.
According to John, if his customers ask him to start carrying a dish, you will probably find it on the menu the next time you drop by.
A few years ago, he decided that he wanted to have the very best waffles that money could buy. So he brought in a special waffle press and only uses Carbon’s Golden Malted mix. This consistently produces a waffle that is crisp, light and fluffy—and very popular! Topped with seasonal fruit it’s worth going out of your way for.
That kind of attention to customer service has created a base of very loyal customers, many of whom come back almost every day. His employees are pretty loyal, too. He has chefs and waitresses that have worked for him for 15 or 20 years.
Since the location of the Golden Egg is well-hidden from the street, you will frequently see a person in a chicken suit—yes, a chicken suit!—on the sidewalk twirling and gesturing with a sign that invites you in to try one of the morning specials. Lovett knows that once he gets you there, you’ll come back.
If what it takes is for him to support your favorite charity by donating a share of your breakfast ticket to a worthy cause, he’s quite happy to do that. This program has raised thousands of dollars over the years for local charities.
Although he is in his 60s, John Lovett says that he isn’t dreaming of retirement. A working owner, he still takes a hand in the kitchen from time to time when things heat up. He still wanders around in the huge dining area to make sure that customers are content and happy. And, of course, to listen to their suggestions for new menu items.
The Golden Egg Omelet House is located at 316 W Mission Ave Ste 101(between Broadway & Centre City Pky) Escondido, CA 92025.
Although you can’t make reservations, you can call them at: 760-489-6420.

The Marriage of Wine & Food Creates a Symphony of Tastes

“Wine makes a symphony of a good meal.”—Fernande Garvin, The Art of French Cooking.
As Fernande Garvin says, wine and food make beautiful music together, so we decided to ask some of our area’s top “musicians” to play us some of their best tunes.
My first stop was Keyways Winery in Temecula, where they hold wine and food pairings, “Wine Down Fridays,” every other Friday. The winery also does private food and wine pairings. Also, every weekend the chef does pizzas, pastas and salads.
Volker Lutz, of Vineyard Gourmet Catering, the winery’s chef for two years, paired the 2008 Roussanne white with herb and butter encrusted red potatoes, barbecue style chicken breast topped with a smoked avocado barbecue sauce. It was served with a grilled asparagus bundle, which was at the peak of its flavor.
The Roussanne wine grape originated from the Rhone Valley in Southern France where it is often blended with other wines such as Marsanne or Viongnier. Keyways’ estate Roussanne was blended with 11% Estate Viongnier and has a fig aroma with touches of mango, citrus and honey.
Chef Lutz noted, “We could do red with this, but I like this because the wine is fruit forward on the nose and on the palate. I like fruit-driven wine with barbecue. Red will work, but if you use a white make sure that it’s fruit driven.”
Smoked avocado subdues the barbecue sauce’s acidity and gives you a pucker on the finish,” says Lutz.
The red potatoes were quickly blanched, then sauteed with clarified butter and lots of fresh herbs.
Terri Pebley Delhamer is the only woman in Southern California to own and manage a winery. Like most of this entrepreneurial breed, wine-making is very personal. “The wines are definitely my babies!” she says.
The Roussanne is her first estate wine, i.e. all the grapes are grown on land owned by the winery.
Next I stopped by Thornton Winery’s Cafe Champagne, whose menu carries wine and food pairings and whose motto is “rules are meant to be broken!”
Chef Steve Pickell and winemaker Don Reha paired the NV Blanc de Noir premium champagne with flash seared Hawaiian Ahi, built in the Napoleon style, layered with Hass avocado with peppercorns on the sides. It is topped with microgreens with pickled Shiitake mushrooms on the side.
This signature dish was created back when the California Avocado Commission held an event and asked for a special creation.
According to Reha, this wine also goes well with grilled salmon with glaze or dried herbs.
If you visit Thornton’s Web site: www.thorntonwine.com, you’ll find other food and wine pairings, and even recipes for some of their most popular dishes, such as Yukon Gold Potato Soup, Lemon Grass & Thai Curry Chicken Breast and Baked Brie Wrapped in Puff Pastry with Honey Walnut Sauce.
The next leg on my culinary tour was Orfila Winery in Escondido’s San Pasqual Valley, where Scott Ledbetter, retail sales manager paired Orfila’s “Lotus” Viognier with a platter of Boar’s Head cheeses: Gouda, dill-flavored Havarti and Pepper Jack, along with Prosciutto Panino and crusty baguette.
“This wine is more structured, which makes it easier to pair with different food,” said Ledbetter, who also sells the prestigious Boar’s Head cheeses at the winery.
Nicknamed “Lotus,” for its floral character that is sweet and aromatic, “it starts out sweet and goes to sharpness,” Ledbetter observes. “This goes well with the sweetness and spicyness of the Pepper Jack. They go hand in hand. The Pepper Jack has a kick, but it’s not all kick!”
Most people do Pepper Jack with red wine, “but the Viognier shows off a little better.” It also goes well with the saltiness of of Prosciutto. “It’s an all around wine.”
The estate-grown “Lotus” is Orfila’s signature wine for its versatility. It is barrel fermented a year in oak, unlike Orfila’s other whites, which are stainless steel fermented.
The Havarti dill’s soft, creaminess, with a kick of green, works off the wine’s acidity. “Dill works best in moderation and the creamy texture with the wine is just perfect. It’s a wine that does spicy and creamy. The beauty of the Lotus is you can go anywhere with it.”
Originally from Napa Valley, Ledbetter has done wine and cheese pairings for many years. “I love the wine here. When I was looking for a job I tasted the wines and it was a no-brainer. I have to like what I sell.”
Some other signature wines are the Muscat Canelli (“peaches and cream in a bottle!”), the Red Sangiovese, their, “cult wine, most sought after, although not that many people know about it.” Their port is one of the best ports in California.
I enjoyed the cheese and wine outside, savoring not only the tastes, but the view. Orfila is one of the few wineries in the region with a superb view of a great valley.
My next culinary adventure was at the home of Ira R. Gourvitz and Pepper Wood, owners of the Fallbrook Winery. It was a special treat because Wood cooked a favorite dish in her magnificent restaurant-grade kitchen: Sauteed scallops with leeks and mustard.
It was served piping hot with a baguette and Sauvignon Blanc, a wine that won the distinction of Best Sauvignon Blanc in the state.
Half of the grapes come from Fallbrook, half from Monterrey. Gourvitz notes, “The primary taste comes from the fact that half of the wine is fermented in new French oak barrels and the other half in stainless steel, which is unusual.”
This creates, “a little more buoy and more complexity.” The wood allows more air into the wine—the stainless steel lets the fruitiness show through.
It has a predominance of citrus, grapefruit and a hint of passion fruit. There is a balance of the oak and fruit. “It has a rich body and finishes crisp with a grapefruit and pear aroma,” says Gourvitz.
According to Wood, “the high acid complements the butter. The oak and body stand up to the richness of the scallops, which is rich dish. So you have a crisp wine that matches that richness.”
What makes Fallbrook different from other wine-growing areas? “We are eleven miles from the ocean,” notes Gourvitz. “The soil is decomposed granite. That, combined with cool nights and warm days, makes for an ideal growing condition.”
They also served a glass of their Bordeaux Blend 2007 BDX 33°, voted the Best Meritage in California that year. The BDX 33° is 100% estate grown using all five Bordeaux varietals, including 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec. It is aged 15 months in French barrels—a mix of new and 1-2 year old oak.
“This is what we think this winery will be about,” says Gourvitz proudly. “This is a rich restaurant wine, drainkable, not overly tannic but balanced tannins and fruit acid all come through.
“We like it because it doesn’t overpower the scallops,” adds his wife.

Storm Baseball

The crack of the bat, the smell of the freshly-cut grass and the sound of metal spikes on the dugout floor mean that spring is here again, and with it comes another exciting baseball season.
But for fans in North San Diego County, baseball season doesn’t just mean a chance to see the Padres play again.
Lake Elsinore is located just inside southern Riverside County, only 50 miles north of Escondido, and is the home of the Lake Elsinore Storm.
The Storm is a minor league baseball team in the California League, a Class A league, and is in the farm system of the San Diego Padres.
Even though the players on the roster are still a few steps away from playing in the big leagues, the Storm always manages to find a crop of young talent who will play hard for the fans.
Former Storm players that have gone on to play in the Major Leagues include Jake Peavy, Darin Erstad, Khalil Greene, John Lackey and Xavier Nady. The Padres have three former Storm on their current roster: third baseman Chase Headley, catcher Nick Hundley and left fielder Kyle Blanks.
This season, the Storm boast another solid group of players, including pitcher Anthony Bass, who pitched well in an exhibition game against the Padres to start the 2010 season, and third baseman Vincent Belnome, a left-handed hitter who was a late-round sleeper in the 2009 draft.
But perhaps the most exciting aspect of a Storm game is the thrill of a day at the ballpark without spending an arm and a leg.
Tickets for Storm home games range from $8-$10 and the stadium, built in 1994, has a capacity of over 8,000 people. Season tickets are also available, along with a number of mini plans and flex plans for fans who want a great deal but can’t make it to every game. The Storm also hold promotions, including Thirsty Thursdays, where drinks are only $1, Kids Days on Sundays, and giveaways throughout the week.
The season started on April 8 and runs through Sept. 6, with home games at least every other week.
Check out the full schedule, a complete list of promotions and all the information about the Storm on the team’s Web site at www.stormbaseball.com.

 

The Boulevard Magazine
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Tel. 760.749.1112 Fax 760.749.1688