September 2010 Issue | Download the Full Issue

Patrons attending Fallbrook’s 8th annual Lobster-on-the-Green event this September won’t only leave with full stomachs, but with full hearts as well.
While the evening’s highlight is the all-you-can-eat Maine lobster (flown in live the night before), the fact that the event serves a greater purpose raising funds for local charities is the real headliner.
Lobster-on-the-Green has been held the past seven years by the Rotary Club of Fallbrook. Proceeds from the events have enabled the club to distribute more than $250,000 to more than 50 local charities and organizations.
“We give to more than two dozen local groups including the Boys and Girls Club of North County, the Senior Foundation, the Art Center, the Fallbrook Music Society, and lots more,” said Larry Rothacher, club president. “There is a long list of organizations that benefit.”
Interestingly enough, one of the recipient organizations that benefits is the very place where the event is held – Fallbrook’s Ingold Sports Arena, which according to Rotarian Howard Clark pretty much brings things full circle.
“Ingold Sports Arena is the only place in Fallbrook where kids and adults alike can go to play sports,” Clark said. “What better way to give back to the community than by funding a place that everyone in the community uses?”
The Ingold Sports Arena is home to Fallbrook’s adult, senior, girls and co-ed softball leagues, as well as adult soccer, youth soccer, arena soccer, lacrosse and more. The fields are also available to rent for sports tournaments and corporate events.
The Fallbrook Sports Association is a non-profit group that operates and maintains the park using community donations, such as those from Fallbrook Rotary.
“There has always been a special connection between Fallbrook Rotary and Ingold Sports Arena,” said Rothacher. “The sports arena was first built and primarily funded by Arlyne Ingold’s family, and her husband Bob actually used to be a member of Fallbrook Rotary.”
Arlyne Ingold is an honorary member of Fallbrook’s Rotary Club, which consists of 84 people total.
Organizers expect between 500 and 600 people to attend this year’s Lobster-on-the-Green, which is scheduled for Friday, September 10.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with dinner being served at 7 p.m. In addition to the highly-anticipated lobster, the feast also includes steak, corn-on-the-cob, coleslaw, beverages and dessert. Alcoholic beverages are available for sale as well.
Tickets for the event are $85 each and include full access to the dinner, the music, the entertainment and the silent and live auctions.
Some of the larger live auction items include a ride in a Russian MiG aircraft, a Jim Helms sculpture, a puppy and Renaissance paintings by well-known artists.
For more information on the Rotary Club of Fallbrook’s annual Lobster-on-the-Green, call 760-451-9760 or visit the Web site at www.LobsterOnTheGreen.com.

Zoofari’s Safari Soiree is the Place To Be For Party Animals

The greatest zoo experience that you have never heard of, Zoofari, in Bonsall, is going to have the 4th annual Safari Soiree on October 8, 6 p.m. at Mangelson’s Images of Nature Gallery in La Jolla.
Donald Schultz of Animal Planet is the honorary chairman of the event, whose proceeds will go to help the 150 animals of Zoofari and Cheetah Conservation Botswana.
If you are a party animal, or just want to rub shoulders (or paws) with some, then this wild event is for you.
You’ll be rubbing shoulders with some well-known humans as well, including Rebecca Klein of Cheetah Conservation Botswana, Clint August of Rock 101.5, and honorary chairmen Donald Schultz of Animal Planet and San Diego City Councilmember Marti Emerald.
Live music will be provided by San Diego guitarist Christian Del Priore, whose CD releases include Mesa Blue, Cactus Jazz and Looking Down the Road.
The Zoofari enclosure is in a residential neighborhood in Bonsall, just a few hundred yards from the the San Luis Rey River, off Hwy 76.
It’s not a zoo. But it is available for tours and private parties and to visit schools. Its main purpose is education and conservation.
There’s a constantly changing “cast of characters” at Zoofari, which has an amazing number of fascinating creatures, all gathered together as part of the mission of promoting wildlife conservation through local and global education.
Zoofari will be doing a fall open house/boo at the zoo for its Bonsall neighbors at the end of October, at a date to be announced.
Jackie Navarro of Zoofari tells us, “We will be introducing ourselves to those of you that haven’t been here before and serving cider and cookies. Come meet and get up close and personal with our animal family including our new great horned owl, Archimedes, our young fennec fox, Flick, and baby porcupine, Penelopea.”
Zoofari is available for a variety of tours, including:
• Kenya Tour: One hour. The “standard” tour. Includes some small animal interaction. $25 per person.
• Zambia Tour: 1 1/2 hour. Zoofari’s standard tour plus a fun, interactive presentation! Cost is $35 per person.
• Deluxe Tanzania Tour: For a group of up to ten people. Zoofari’s standard tour plus a very special cheetah encounter! $800 per group.
• Weekly Saturday Tour: On Saturdays, we offer public tours at 11 a.m. which include an animal presentation and some small animal interaction. Reservations are required. $25 adults, $13 children.
Each tour includes photo opportunities. Guests have the opportunity to feed and interact with the animals. Minimum age is 6 years old.
Your donation will help Zoofari in three important ways:
1. Providing a permanent, loving home for non-releasable wildlife
2. Providing high quality environmental and conservation education for Title I schools and disadvantaged youth
3. Providing funding to international field biologists, such as Cheetah Conservation Botswana, to aid in their research, conservation, and education projects worldwide
Tickets costs $75 in advance, $85 at the door. To buy tickets visit www.zoofari.net.

Art of Printmaking To Be Focus Of Several Shows in Fallbrook

Printmaking is one of the most enduring art forms and always begs the question, is the print original art?
The answer is “yes!”
According to Mary Perhacs, executive director of the Fallbrook Art Center, “I’m often asked ‘What is a fine art print?’ The short answer—an original print is the result of a process that produces multiples. It is no sense a copy or reproduction because in this process there is no original to copy. Rather, each print is itself an original—the print is the process.”
Fallbrook, which makes a splash in the art world far out of proportion to its size, will focus on printmaking and the various processes involved in making prints during September, with three venues promoting the art form, all sponsored by San Diego and North County Printmakers.
One of the venues for the month-long event is the Fallbrook School of the Arts, where the Printmakers have a permanent presence. The school hosts workshops by both local and nationally-known print artists.
The printmakers have invited Freda Fairchild—an internationally-acclaimed printmaker who co-founded the organization but now lives in Kentucky— to teach a class during the week of Sept. 11 at the same time that some of her work will be displayed around town, including the Brandon Gallery.
Art venues that will feature printmaking in September include:
• The Fallbrook Art Center, 103 South Main Street, “Transferring Ink II” exhibiting prints both old and new, Sept. 5–Oct. 17.
• Brandon Gallery, 105 N. Main St. (www.fallbrookbrandongallery.org) Featured artist, Freda Fairchild, reception Sept. 11, 3–5 p.m. Fairchild’s work will be exhibited the entire month.
• The Fallbrook School of the Arts, 310 East Alvarado St. will host a lecture and demonstration by Freda Fairchild. Sept. 12 , 1:30 -3:30 p.m. Admission is $25.
Three-Day Workshop
The Fallbrook School of the Arts will offer a three-day workshop conducted by Fairchild Sept. 13, 14 and 15. Cost for the three days, material provided, is $345. Fairchild will teach the use of polyester plates and her specialty, ImageOn techniques (includes photographic techniques to making plates) used on fabric, wood, metal and paper.
Manipulating the surface and layering images create rich surfaces and depth of color.
According to Fairchild, “I work intuitively, without conscious awareness of content. I have an image or feeling that I try to force into the open so that I may see it more clearly, understand it better, It may arrive in a different form than I originally envisioned. That is one of the joys of this process - to allow what you don't even understand yourself to become revealed.”
She feels that the same process occurs with people who view her work. Each one brings a different perspective and background and takes away something different.
“Art exists as an interdependence of audience and work,” she says.
With "Polyester Plate Lithograph" you will be able to get the full spectrum of lithographic marks but the process is much easier than conventional lithography without the chemical processing.
The image may be drawn on the surface of the plate with anything waterproof such as lithograph pencils, oil stick, ball point pen, markers, eyebrow pencil, crayons and a variety of other tools. Images may also be transferred using a laser printer or copy machine. The plate is dipped in a water and vinegar solution and rolled up. Only the marks you have made will attract the ink. This is the part that seems magical.
“ImageOn” is used to create an intaglio print. The image is carried in the groves and depressions below the surface. Traditionally an etched plate required acid to eat away the image which was unprotected on a metal plate (copper or zinc). The areas to remain white were covered with a substance which resists the acid. With ImageOn, light is used rather than acid to burn the image into the plate. The plate is soaked in a tray of water with a small amount of soda ash, then dried and hardened by exposure to light.
Fairchild will also present a lecture and demonstration on Sept. 12 from 1:30–3:30 p.m. for those interested in learning more about this artist and her work.
Call the school at 760-728-6383 for more information or to enroll, or go online at www.fallbrookschoolofthearts.org.
Transferring Ink II
Several distinguished printmaking artists will participate in the two-part “Transferring Ink II” show in the Janice Griffiths Gallery of the Fallbrook Art Center.
The varying processes of printmaking will be explored in the show in an unusual manner—contrasting historical works with the works of juried contemporary printmakers.
One section of the show will identify the four main processes: relief, intaglio, lithography, and serigraphy using works by historically significant artists including Whistler, Currier & Ives, Picasso, Warhol, and Rockwell Kent.
The other section features contemporary works by 25 artists selected from an international call for entries. According to Perhacs, the art center received submissions from across the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.
The museum-quality show has an additional twist: many of the pieces are for sale.
Local artists in the show include N. Dixon Fish of Fallbrook; Rita Miller of Fallbrook and Kathleen Morgan of Fallbrook.
Brandon Gallery
Finally, Fairchild will be the featured artist at Fallbrook’s Brandon Gallery in September, capping a month-long series of regional workshops and special showings by the San Diego and North County Printmakers Association.
Fairchild, will be Brandon Gallery's featured artist September 1-30, and will host a reception there from 3-5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 11.
Over the past 20 years, her work has won awards throughout the United States and Europe. In addition to producing and displaying artistically intriguing prints, Fairchild has taught art at the secondary and college levels. Her work is represented in private collections that include the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington, DC), Grunewald Center for the Graphic Arts (UCLA, Los Angeles) and the Athenaeum Music and Arts Gallery in La Jolla.
Brandon Gallery, a non-profit artists’ cooperative with 28 members, is the only place where her art will be on display for all of September.

Escondido Street Faire: The Second Largest in the State

Where can you see an old-fashioned steam engine, take a ride on a llama and see what a tattoo would look like without committing to one for life?
The Escondido Street Faire that’s where!
The street faire, which is the second largest one day street faire in California, happens twice a year. More than 60,000 attended the last time.
The next one will be held Sunday, Oct. 16, from 10 a.m.–6 p.m. on Grand Avenue between Centre City Parkway and Ivy Street.
The street faire, a joint project of the Escondido Downtown Business Assn. and the Escondido Chamber of Commerce since the early 1990s, brings together about 600 booths and vendors, many of them astounding and unique.
Vendors offer a little bit of everything, including arts and crafts, home improvements, hard to find clothing, tastes and cuisines from the world over, demonstrations from the San Diego Wild Animal Park as well as children’s rides.
According to Brian Roth, of Kennedy and Associates, which administers the faire, some of the vendors that have been confirmed are:
• Wild West Soda, which will dispense root beer from barrels in a covered wagon
• Escondido Public Library Bookmobile
• Escondido Historical Society old-fashioned steam engine
• Home improvement and solar energy vendors
There will be arts and crafts vendors of every sort, selling jewelry, clothing, paintings, ceramics, leather goods, wood puzzles and crafts.
There will also be children’s rides, a climbing wall, the 4-H pancake breakfast and the main stage of live entertainment, which will feature Escondido Kung Fu, kinder dance, some local talent, Thai and flamenco dancing and the band Rock ‘N Jazz Experience.
Major sponsors include San Diego Union Tribune and Cox Communications and Ford Motor Company, which will bring interactive computers.
Other DBA events
September is the last month of the 2010 Cruisin’ Grand season.
The Cruisin’ Grand Classic Car event in downtown Escondido will wrap up the season in September with two of the highest attended nights of the event.
The Sept. 10 Classic Fire Truck Night will bring out a dozen or more vintage fire trucks from Southern California, as well as the 1902 horse-drawn, steam powered fire-pumper known from Rose Parade appearances. Firefighters from all neighboring districts will be here with their antique engines.
The trucks will “parade” down Grand Avenue and then give free rides to the children for the rest of the evening. This is a sight worth seeing, and the organizers say they are not aware that anything similar is done in any other community.
The Sept. 17 Nitro Night event, which begins at 4 p.m., will bring together legendary vintage nitro-burning dragsters, and some of the original drivers of the 50s and 60s.
Grand Marshal that night is Hall of Famer Don Prudhomme, whose legendary car “The Snake,” will be available to see. Prudhomme will be on hand to talk with the drivers and crowd as the dragsters begin to light up.
The dragsters will be staged on S. Broadway, with static displays of funny cars on N. Broadway.
Cruisin’ Grand runs every Friday night through the end of September, from 5–9 p.m. on Grand Avenue in Downtown Escondido.
Cruisin’ Grand is nationally recognized for its history of attracting great cars. It is family-friendly, with 50s-60s music, hula hoop contests for the kids, live rock-n-roll bands, and classic cars from around the state and the west.
For information, contact the DBA at dba@downtownescondido.com.

Rally for Children Fundraiser Features Comedienne/Interior Designer

Lynn Chichi has been called the Rosie O’Donnell of the Martha Stewart set.
“When Rosie came out of the closet and Martha Stewart went to jail, I thought my mother was going to die!” she says.
Chichi has been a professional interior designer for over 30 years and a stand-up comedienne for 18 years. Fifteen years ago she combined the two passions in a show that she calls Chichi’s Table Talk.
She is the featured speaker at Rally for Children’s annual event on Sept. 30, 10:30 a.m. at the Golf Club of California, which is a private golf course located at 3742 Flowerwood Ln. in Fallbrook, near Hwy 76 and Gird Road (www.thegolfclubofcalifornia.com).
Table Talk is a live 45-minute show on the art of entertaining.
“I do three over the top table displays, and while I’m doing that, I’m doing stand-up comedy based on entertaining horror stories, my family life, party nightmares, party solutions etc.,” says Chichi.
Each event is tailored for the crowd. “So if I have a younger crowd, I do younger material, and if it’s an older crowd, I just speak louder!” she says.
Chichi, who writes her own material, opens most shows by saying, “My husband and I love to entertain, because we have to eat enough to keep our weight up, because we need to invest in large clothing.”
In addition to doing her shows, she is also a practicing interior designer, based in San Juan Capistrano.
Recently Chichi was a finalist for HGTV’s Design Star.
“I was chosen as one of the final contestants, and then I backed out of the 67-page contract!” she recalls.
Doors open at 10:30 a.m. for the social hour, lunch is at noon, and Chichi will begin her program at 1 p.m.
The cost is $45 per person, which includes lunch and the program. There will also be auction items to bid on.
The local chapter of Rally for Children takes requests each year from worthy organizations and last year disbursed a total of $11,000 to the following organizations: AAUW Tech Treck, Boys and Girls Club of North County, Crime Prevention Committee, Fallbrook Beautification Alliance, Family Support League, Fallbrook Food Pantry, Gem and Mineral Society, Fallbrook Music Society, Fallbrook Organic Garden, Fallbrook Players, Fallbrook School of the Arts, Student of the Month, and Friends of the Fallbrook Library.
Rally for Children was formed in 1993 and currently has about 85 members, but according to Susie Murphy, chairman of this year’s annual event, “We are always looking for more members.”
Their other major event of the year is the Arts in the Park which is held in Live Oak Park in Fallbrook every April and is done in association with the Fallbrook Elementary School District and many charity groups such as Rotary, Kiwanis, the garden club and American Assn. of University Women as well as the area PTAs.
To get your tickets, call Deb Bertuzzi at 760-723-6228.
For more information about Rally for Children, such as joining or to make a donation, you can contact them at P.O. Box 2575, Fallbrook CA 92088.

Allegro Piano Service: Hitting All The Right Notes

There is an old saying that once a piano is built, it is never finished.
Often passed down from generation to generation, a single piano can easily outlive its original owners and requires regular tuning and adjustment to musically survive the years.
When you’re dealing with something as sentimental as an heirloom piano, you want a person who can give your piano some tender loving care. Thankfully for the city of Fallbrook and its fellow Boulevard communities, there's Brian Janey.
Janey is the owner of Allegro Piano Service. With more than 30 years of experience playing the piano, Janey is not only an enthusiastic fan of this marvelous instrument, but an expert when it comes to tuning, repairing and refurbishing them. He has been a piano technician for more than ten years and said it’s one of the most rewarding things he could be doing.
“One of the joys of working on pianos is being the very first person to play and hear it after it’s been serviced,” Janey said.
Once a full-time firefighter at Camp Pendleton, Janey stumbled into the piano tuning and repair business, and having the good fortune of making a successful career out of a new-found passion.
“A piano was the first piece of furniture we bought for our first home in Fallbrook,” Janey said. “We didn’t pay much for it and had a bit of frustration keeping it sounding good. A local technician gave me a tool and showed me how to do some tuning myself. Once I started learning about the art, I realized I enjoyed it... I also realized, once I got into the business, that my piano was not all that impressive—basically a musical corpse.”
Janey soon made the move towards being a full-time piano technician and hasn’t had time to look back. He’s as busy as ever working as North County's go-to piano technician. Janey provides service to concert stages, private residences, churches, schools and colleges all the way from Rancho Sante Fe and Rancho Peñasquitos to Lake Elsinore. He was the ‘chosen one’ to service the piano for a local Tony Bennett concert as well as other artists, and has a long list of regular clients who are on a rotating schedule for piano tuning and care.
Janey has worked on every style, class and age of piano and says that bringing a piano back to life is extremely satisfying. However, there are those instances when you just can’t bring a piano back to life, and when there is no chance of revival, Janey lets his customers know.
“I have a conscience,” Janey said. “If I encounter an instrument with extensive issues that I know is worth less than what my invoice would be for fixing it, I recommend looking for a better one.”
And if you are looking for a better piano...or even just a piano, Janey is your guy. As a certified technician, his trained eyes and ears can save you from musical disappointment.
“The cost of a consult is nominal compared to the frustration and mounting costs of a problem piano,” Janey said.
He relates buying a used piano to buying a used car and recommends having a qualified piano technician take a look at the piano before investing in it.
“Don’t buy without a guy like me looking at it first,” Janey said. “There can be a lot of problems that aren't obvious from the exterior. You may be able to tell if a piano is out of tune or doesn’t work right, but behind the case parts, is a very intricate wooden mechanism that could have a lot of issues or damage that is not apparent.”
Other recommendations that Janey has for customers and piano owners include playing your piano regularly to keep it from developing “arthritis,” tuning it on a reoccurring basis, and keeping it closed when it is not in use.
You should also keep your piano in a room that has a consistent temperature and humidity—away from doors, heating vents and the sun, always hire piano movers and do not attempt repairs yourself.
If you would like to learn more about Allegro Piano Services, or schedule an appointment, call 760-723-4435.

Rock Star Chef and Bad Boy of Cuisine Coming to California Center for the Arts

They are called “rock star chefs,” and Anthony Bourdain, author of the tell-all book about the seamier side of restaurants, Kitchen Confidential, is one of the biggest.
Bourdain is touring the country talking about his new book, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook and his Travel Channel show, No Reservations, which is, not coincidentally, the title of his one-man show on Sept. 18, 8 p.m. at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
Such appearances are more lucrative for Bourdain—often referred to as “the bad boy of cuisine”—than his books or TV show.
Bourdain, executive chef at New York’s famed bistro Les Halles, is known for his irreverent, blunt observations about the world of restaurants, food and cooking.
On the Raw Foods movement: “I think it’s silly. It makes you fart. It’s probably expensive because there’s a lot of food that you have to shove into your face to be healthy. I see it as a maniac fringe. It’s anti-pleasure and anti-human, when you consider that our society began when we started cooking around the fire. I think it's nuts. Literally.”
Opinions like that cause foodies, restaurant people, those who like to talk about and eat good food and fans of his TV show to crowd Bourdain’s one-man shows.
It’s just him on stage without a script or a net. “I see how it goes. I’ve been doing this a lot,” he says. “It’s like a stand up routine. I don’t know what I’m going to say before I say it. Maybe I’ll scratch down a few notes. It goes for about an hour and then I take a Q and A as long as it stays interesting. I get a sense very quickly, which way to go in.”
Audiences vary. Sunday night it might be rowdy because many restaurant people are off. They form a core fan base, or as he calls them, “the home team.”
Questions can be surprising. “Sometimes I’m asked what is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever eaten. Some ask about moral relativism or my personal feelings and some pretty close to the bone stuff.”
He wishes they’d ask him more about music and movies! So what did he think of the movie Julie & Julia, about a young woman who cooks her way through Julia Child’s cookbook? “I liked half of it. The Julia Child part,” he says.
How does Medium Raw differ from the gritty confessional that propelled him into fame?
“My life has changed an awful lot and the world has changed an awful lot. I was a line cook then. I’ve been traveling the world for ten years doing exactly what I want when I want. I guess I’m catching up.”
A major change since Kitchen Confidential’s debut, is, “we’ve seen a huge elevation of the status and power of chefs. It’s really positive. The dining public trusts chefs and are interested in their opinions. They even let chefs tell them what they should be eating.”
Has this increased status and educational levels of chefs been a good thing for American food and restaurants?
“Anytime you see chefs improving their status, ability to make money, how can that be anything but positive? I think it’s a very, very good thing,” he says.
Bourdain doesn’t consider his own book or influence responsible for any of that. “I lucked into some very good timing without knowing what I was doing,” he says.
While hostile to vegans and vegetarians and the “raw foods” movement, Bourdain loves the “slow foods movement” in restaurants that, in the words of a USA Today article, “aims to be everything fast food is not. It’s slow — in the making and the eating. Its fresh—not processed. It's from neighborhood farms and stores—not from industrial growers…”
“It’s a wonderful option,” he says. “It’s been good for chefs and diners and people concerned where food comes from. Anything that raises expectations is a positive.”
Bourdain calls himself a “meat and potatoes man, sometimes without the potatoes.” At home he keeps the cooking simple.
“I may do pasta or pan roast a big hunk of meat. Tonight I’m going to saute some liver Venetian style.” But he also likes to eat out a lot. “All of my friends are chefs and my social life in New York revolves around restaurants,” he says.
He is not familiar with San Diego’s restaurants, but admires chef Jean-Michel Diot and hopes to try out his Tapenade restaurant in La Jolla when he visits.
When Bourdain graduated from the Culinary Institute of America it was fairly inexpensive to attend, but now a student might blow $70,000 when his first job pays $9 an hour. Bourdain advises that career path only if you are hardcore dedicated and physically ready for the challenge.
“I talk about this in the new book,” he says. “If you are positively certain that this is the business for you and you are in it for love and this marginal lifestyle is for you, and it’s like running away to join the circus—if you are at that point, then it is worth that kind of getting deeply in debt.
“Anyone who expects to make big bucks when they roll out of school is delusional—if you are lucky to work for a great chef in Europe you aren’t getting paid at all.
“Understand the life that you are interested in being a part of before you get in that deep.” And you’d better be young! Someone 35 is probably not in good enough shape to start, he says.
Although many people roll out of culinary school, Bourdain has yet to meet an American kid looking for an entry level position. Which is why he maintains that the best cooks are often illegals from Central America.
“That is always going to be a powerful sector and a majority of employees in most cities come from there,” he says.
“As chefs look at their crews and midlevel positions, they will be faced with hiring someone with a privileged position who may not end up staying with them, or their dishwasher or prep cook, who they see as a solid mature, grown up person who has shown character. That’s a tough call for chefs. It’s not a money issue any more. It’s not a cheap labor issue any more. It’s who you can depend on. Who is hungry for the job?”
Bourdain has also written well-received mysteries, including Bone in the Throat and Gone Bamboo, which he calls a “therapeutic diversion.” “I’m working on another crime novel. The ones I’ve written are doing very well although I don’t expect to break the bank. I enjoy writing them,” he says.
Bring your questions to this one man show, where no subject is off limits and there’s no reservations, except for the ones you make on the Web site at www.artcenter.org.
Tickets: $45–$55. VIP: $95, includes a post-show meet and greet. Call 800-988-4253 to purchase VIP tickets.

Elementary Districts Get Ready for Back to School

The Bonsall and Fallbrook elementary school districts have exciting things in store for students in the new year.
They may face tough economic times, but they are tackling them with innovation.
Bonsall Schools
“We definitely have larger class sizes due to reduced budgets, but we seem to see increasing enrollment,” says Bonsall Superintendent Justin Cunningham.
Because of the uncertainty, they won’t make some hirings until right before school opens. They are keeping their eyes open for top notch candidates.
They expect about 2,000 students divided between the Vivian Banks Charter School, Bonsall Elementary, Sullivan Middle School and Bonsall West.
Integrated Learning
“One facet of our strategic plan is an integrated learning environment,” says Cunningham.
They have taken learning “to the cloud,” with applications and student work stored online, accessible from any computer.
Cunningham worked with the County Office of Education to develop one of the few elementary school online “portals,” where students can work from home and don’t drag materials back and forth.
“It’s the future and we are there!” says Cunningham.
One application, Compass Odyssey, works with students in English and Math. It first assesses what they know and then develops concepts based on what they need to know. Then it introduces kids to a video game that continues the concept.
“Parents say it is wonderful,” reports Cunningham. “They say, ‘I put my kid on the Web and it’s almost like a corral. They enjoy learning through video games.’
Classroom instruction supports the application and they extend the learning time to 24/7, enabling teachers to more efficiently move students who are at different levels ahead.
“Instead of teachers generalizing instruction, they can stay at grade level standards, and these applications can support individualized instruction,” he says.
“The term,” says Cunningham, “is to differentiate instruction, instead of ‘spray and pray!’ ”
Students focus on computers for an amazingly long time. It gives lie to the idea that modern kids don’t have attention spans. They learn and get immediate feedback, which the brain loves.
Response to Intervention
They are also revamping the special education model.
Cunningham says, “Many people don’t realize the model waits until students are two years behind before it kicks in. Those are the most critical times!”
Until recently they had no way to assess learning problems in early grades. But integrated learning provides an assessment called MAP (Measurement of Academic Progress).
The student takes a test. If he answers correctly it bumps up the difficulty or lowers it if the student gets the wrong answer.
Such testing will be brought this year to grades K-1 in all district schools.
Identifying special needs early is important because special ed is so expensive. But if they intervene early enough so that special education is not needed, it saves money and saves students.
“We’re not trying to enroll them early in special education, but to keep them from falling behind. When you look at how the brain develops those are some of the most important years,” says Cunningham.
Fallbrook Elementary School
Dennis Bixler, assistant superintendent at Fallbrook Elementary District, is excited about new teacher hires.
Pat Donahue, a returning counselor with 22 years experience, came out of retirement with a passion to fulfill some of the things he had started when he left.
Says Bixler, “We are trying to increase the guidance service towards students at Potter Junior High School and build a culture of excellence where students are more engaged in day-to-day activities and to promote Potter as a great place to be.”
That’s going to be a challenge. “That takes a lot of work,” says Bixler, “especially when you are the only counselor for nine hundred kids. Trying to make the kids feel connected is the overriding goal.”
They are hiring six new special ed teachers. “We had some retirements, and we are growing a program where special ed students are more mainstreamed into the general ed population.”
So many of the new hires are special education, says Bixler, because the economy has forced layoffs of regular ed teachers and mandated larger classrooms. But the law doesn’t allow a reduction of service to special ed students.
“When folks retire, we have to replace them with special ed,” says Bixler.
They do have exciting new hires at Potter in language arts and social studies:
Social studies teacher Alexis Yezek is returning for a second year, after coming late last year.
They have hired a language arts teacher, Mellissa Crandall, and a veteran math teacher with 26 years experience, Joseph Liebentritt.
Special ed teachers include Sarah James, at Fallbrook Street School; Allison Zlatnick at Live Oak Elementary; Kristen Nikolaus at Mary Fay Pendleton School; and Erin Henry and Jennifer Avila at San Onofre Elementary School.
Some new programs aim to retain kids and attract them back from private schools. “We’ve reorganized the entire district,” says Bixler. “All of our elementary schools in town have gone through a reconfiguration, and are now K-6. All feed into Potter.”
The object is for students to stay at one school their whole elementary career. “We want to build a strong culture with parents connected longterm, rather than a couple of years,” says Bixler.
And it seems to be working to bring in more students.
They are also starting dual language immersion programs in English and Spanish. This voluntary program starts this year at second grade at all elementary schools and at kindergarten and first grade at Fallbrook Street.
They are also introducing programs to give students a better sense of world cultures through International Scholars, a series of monthly enrichment activities.
Both Sides of the Brain
Most exciting of all is a program parents are forming lines to sign students up for: Mandarin Enrichment.
The district has teamed with San Diego State University and the Confucius Institute to teach Chinese.
“Research shows that Chinese language skills will be attractive in the global economy.” Bixler notes that China’s economy just passed Japan’s to become number two in the world, and is projected to pass the U.S. in 2030.
“We look to give our kids a leg up and create lifelong skills that will benefit them,” he says. Studies show that the language skills required in Chinese builds academic abilities rapidly.
“It’s a total language, like music. You are working both sides of the brain,” says Bixler.
It looks as though the upcoming school year at both area elementary districts will be very, very interesting!

La Tapatia Is Still Escondido’s Landmark Mexican Restaurant

When Ray Alto was 10-years old, he recalls dining at La Tapatia Mexican Restaurant and Cantina. Today he owns the establishment that for many years has billed itself as “Escondido’s Landmark Mexican Restaurant.”
Many people who were first brought to La Tapatia by their grandparents now bring their own grandchildren to this restaurant that dates back to 1937. It is widely acknowledged to be the oldest Mexican restaurant in Escondido, and possibly in the region. It originally started in a house and has been in its current location on Grand Avenue for over 50 years.
And, according to Alto, the number one question that customers have asked for decades has been “What does La Tapatia mean?” The answer is that “La Tapatia is an endearing name given to the women of Guadalajara, said to be the most beautiful women in all of Mexico.”
Six years ago, when Alto and his partner Glenn Charos bought the restaurant from its longtime owner Luis Martinez, they made the conscious decision not to change any of the recipes that have brought people in for generations. Alto himself likes just about all of the dishes the restaurant serves.
“We still boil the beans and make it in lard. Maybe not so healthy, but definitely tastes great!” says Alto. “I think people like the consistency, quality and the good prices.”
It’s hard to pick a “favorite” dish on the rather extensive menu, which is one reason why when Alto at first considered cutting the menu, he was confronted by the fact that every dish, from the carnitas to the tamales, had its fans—and all of them sell well. Just about the only new menu item that he introduced was the ceviche.
Many things are homemade, such as the salsas and tamales. The meat is boiled in house, and lots of preparation time is spent on making things such as chile rellenos from scratch. The pasilla chilis are roasted and stuffed with jack and cheddar cheese and smothered in a homemade sauce. Hard to beat that for mouthwatering goodness.
Why mess with tradition? First of all, the 70-year old recipes are originally from Gregoria Martinez, Luis’s mother. And then there is chef Jose Caldera, who has been many years with the restaurant and who has preserved those recipes over the years.
The restaurant has a reputation for offering the freshest and best guacamole—and given that they use avocados from the Avocado Capitol of the world, why would you doubt that it IS the best. The generous portion of guacamole is always a great way to start a meal! And La Tapatia’s margaritas are legendary! Alto estimates that he serves about 6,000 of them a month.
Alto has a long history in the restaurant business. He was the former food and beverage manager at Valley View Casino and formerly owned the Fireside and Dante’s restaurants, among about a dozen eateries in the area.
Forty-two years ago he got his start in the business washing dishes at Lawrence Welk Resort. His first restaurant was called Raymond A’s, and it was located where the old A&W Rootbeer stand had been. He also had a restaurant called JK’s in the old Vineyard Shopping Center.
Menudo, the traditional Mexican “macho” soup and remedy for a hangover, is served seven days a week at La Tapatia, compared to weekends for most establishments. Various specials, including luncheon specials such as cheese enchilada, bean tostada, rice and beans or chile relleno, are offered during the week, and on weekends, you’ll find homemade tortillas.
The recession has largely left La Tapatia untouched. “We do a lot of business,” observes Alto, reaching out and “knocking wood” on the table where he sits. “Since we took over, we have been doing very well.” About 10,000 customers a month patronize the establishment.
Young, old, middle class, rich, poor, everyone enjoys visiting La Tapatia for a hearty meal that won’t bust your budget.
It has been very busy during Cruisin’ Grand, a Friday night celebration that takes place along Escondido’s Grand Avenue during the spring and summer.
The restaurant has a spacious enclosed patio that holds 40 people and is a great place to hold parties and other gatherings. La Tapatia also caters.
A live jazz trio plays on Sundays from 5:30–8:30 p.m.
La Tapatia is open daily, Monday–Thursday, 11 a.m.–9 p.m.; Friday 11 a.m.–10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. Call 760-747-8282 or visit www.latapatiaescondido.com.

Sunrider Wine Tours: Going the Extra Mile Off the Beaten Road

If there is one thing Adam Hall and Travis Rennie know about, it’s wine… specifically Temecula wine.
Their Jeep safari wine tour company, Sunrider Wine Tours, is the perfect outlet for them to share this passion and expertise for wine, and show their guests an amazing and unforgettable experience in the meantime.
To say that Sunrider Wine Tours stands out from other guided tours is somewhat of an understatement. From the bright yellow Jeep that you ride in, to the vivid and colorful personalities of the tour guides, you know you’re in for something special.
One of the first things you’ll notice is how much fun it is to actually ride in a Jeep while going wine tasting. It’s just you, your group, some off-roading and the wide-open air.
Of course, if you prefer a covered Jeep trek, that’s possible, too. The Jeeps have been customized to sit up to six people and are the perfect vehicle to traverse the trails of Temecula’s beautiful vineyards. The Jeeps are also equipped with air conditioning and a PA system so you can hear the guide. Oh, and don’t worry – they do have seatbelts for when you venture onto the back roads.
Another thing you’ll be sure to notice is how personable and extremely knowledgeable the tour guides are. There’s a reason for this —these guys (and gals) are experts. In fact, most guides are former or current Temecula winery and vineyard employees so they have first hand knowledge about the Temecula wine region and each individual winery.
To make sure their employees are even more in-the-know, Sunrider Wine Tours holds monthly staff meetings so everyone is up-to-date on current wines and other offerings that each winery has.
“We often have our meetings right at the wineries,” says co-owner Adam Hall. “This way we learn directly from the winery as to any exciting things they have going on such as new varietals or upcoming events. This allows us to provide that much better of a tour because we know everything that is going on in the valley and at each winery.”
Not only do the guides know what’s going on at the wineries, but they know the people at the wineries as well. You’ll notice a refreshing camaraderie between the winery workers and your tour guide, and most importantly with you as the guest.
“We have select wineries that we like to take our guests to,” Hall said. “These are places where we know our guests can walk in, be comfortable, be taken care of and be able to sample some of the best wines in the valley.”
Hall adds that they usually know which wineries they plan on going to prior to each tour, but always make sure to check with each group to see if they have any special wineries in mind or have any preferences on types of wine.
With their knowledge of the vines and appreciation for the wines, Sunrider Wine Tours is definitely one of the Temecula valley wine region’s best guided-tours. So good that their entrepreneurial concept of offering wine tours in a Jeep has been followed by a second Jeep tour company.
“We’ll always be the original Jeep tour in the valley,” Hall said. “And that says a lot. We also started our company during a recession, and we’re still here and growing. That says a lot for us as well.”
Sunrider Wine Tours started with Hall and his partner following their dream of having their own company. They worked endless hours to make it happen. They now employee a dozen or so tour guides and claim the most rewarding part is to see their customers enjoying what they’ve put together for them.
“We like people and we enjoy showing them a good time,” Hall said. “We work hard to make sure they have a great experience. When you’re this invested in what you do, you tend to do a really good job at it, or at least try to.”
Sunrider has several wine tour options. The Daily Discovery Tour begins around 10 a.m., lasts approximately 4 1/2 hours and consists of four wineries (with up to six tastings at each one), lunch (which is a feast fit for a king!), a barrel room and production tour and a grape tasting tour. The second tour is an evening tour which begins around 2:30 p.m. and features three wineries, gourmet appetizers, about six drinks at each winery and grape tasting. Both tours include some off-roading and a scenic lookout stop with 360 degree views of Temecula’s spectacular valley. Private tours are also available by reservation.
For more information, or to schedule a tour, call Sunrider Wine Tours at 951-551-1516 or visit www.sunriderwinetours.com.

Thunderbird Driving Range

The game of golf can be a source of relaxation, friendly competition and leisurely exercise that can make for a wonderful afternoon on the course.
But anyone who has played the game before knows that it can be a difficult skill to master, requiring patience, attention to detail, and most importantly, practice.
So to best hone your golf game before you hit the links, spend an afternoon at the Thunderbird Practice Center golf range, located off the I-15 just north of Escondido.
At the Thunderbird range, golfers can take their hacks from one of 50 tees onto a range that is located on a flat surface extending into a steep hill. There are small and large greens at the top of the hill to help golfers practice their accuracy. There is also an option to tee it up on mats or hit off the grass to practice all different kinds of shots.
The range also features an 8,000 square foot practice green in the front, with a chipping area adjacent to help you refine your short game.
One added bonus for golfers looking to perfect every area of the game is a sand trap for practice getting out of the bunker. Golfers may practice in the sand trap for no extra charge.
If you don’t have your own clubs, Thunderbird offers free club rentals for each session.
Thunderbird’s prices for the driving range mats are $7 for a large bucket, $6 for a medium bucket and $3 for a warm-up bucket. To hit off the grass, the prices are $8 for a large bucket, $7 for a medium bucket and $5 for a warm-up bucket. Each golfer may make use of the entire training facility at no extra cost after the purchase of one bucket of balls.
The range offers clinics on Sundays at 2 p.m. at a rate of $40 per clinic, as well as private lessons by appointment for $30 per half hour to 45 minutes. The Junior Golf Program takes place on Saturdays at 9 a.m. at a cost of $30.
The driving range is open from 8 a.m. until dark and features lighting to help golfers see their shots even in the gloom of the late afternoon.
Thunderbird Practice Center also offers open-air pitching machines that allow baseball and softball players to practice hitting onto the range. You can practice hitting baseballs and softballs, including fast-pitch and high-arc slow pitch, with adjustable speeds for all ages. The rates are family friendly and include free helmet and bat rentals. Thunderbird also offers hourly cage rentals for teams.
The center also offers a snack bar, which includes ice cream products, candy bars, energy bars, peanuts, soda, water, energy drinks, Starbucks coffee and Gatorade in a variety of flavors.
Stop by the Thunderbird Practice Center at 26351 North Centre City Parkway, located near the Deer Springs Road exit on the I-15, or call 760-746-0245 for more information.

 

The Boulevard Magazine
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Tel. 760.749.1112 Fax 760.749.1688