October 2011 Issue | Download the Full Issue

In 1984, a group of loving and devoted parents in San Marcos staged what they felt at the time would be a fun horse riding experience for their disabled loved ones. From that handful of students and hopeful helpers emerged a program that has now changed hundreds of lives.
REINS (Riding Emphasizing Individual Needs and Strengths) therapeutic horsemanship program is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization located in Fallbrook.
Through supervised horseback riding, the program provides therapy for children and adults with disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Down Syndrome, head injuries, visual and hearing impairments, Multiple Sclerosis, seizure disorders, speech and learning disabilities and other mental and physical challenges.
“We are very proud to be one of the leading therapeutic riding programs in the nation,” said Jennifer Gambrell, development coordinator. “REINS is currently ranked in the top five percent out of more than 700 PATH International organizations across the nation, and people have come from all over the U.S. to participate in our continuing education workshops and to see and support our program.”
The benefits of such a program are numerous. The pure magic of seeing and petting a horse is often enough to put a grin on a student’s face. To actually go for a horseback ride makes it that much more emotionally stimulating.
But it doesn’t stop there. According to the REINS Web site, therapeutic riding not only gives students a fun way to get outside and make new friends, but it is also credited for improving normalization of muscle tone, balance reactions, motor skills and coordination, equilibrium responses, pelvic stability, speech and language development, and visual-spatial skills. Not to mention self esteem.
“It is obvious that being able to sit up on their own or being able to walk would be a huge advantage for our students. But there are so many small little things that affect a family when someone is disabled,” Gambrell said. “We are so happy to be able to provide a place where our students can gain the strength and confidence they need and are able to improve their quality of life.”
One touching example that Gambrell likes to share is that of Kacie and Mikayla, twin 4-year-old girls with Cerebral Palsy that were once so weak they were not expected to live.
“Kacie and Mikayla came to us when they were two years old. Both were in wheelchairs, needed to be hand fed and were never without a caretaker,” Gambrell said. “Neither of the girls could hold up their own head when they first started riding.”
At home, the family was having trouble with how startle-able the girls were. Even the slightest noise, such as the fridge door opening, would scare the girls to the point of tears, and it would often take their mother up to 30 minutes to calm them down.
When they first started riding at REINS, the movement of the horses would lull the girls into relaxing their muscles, yet the smallest out-of-rhythm movement would still startle them and they’d have to start the process all over again.
Not anymore. Gambrell said riding at REINS has now given both girls enough strength and confidence that their family can freely play, talk, cook and go about their daily lives without the fear of scaring the twins.
“The amount of relief this has brought the family is something they talk about all the time,” Gambrell explained.
In addition to therapy practices, REINS riders are taught true horsemanship skills and receive lessons based on their abilities. With advanced and certified instructors, horse therapists and more than 300 volunteers, REINS works with about 200 students each week.
Each lesson costs $95, yet the organization only charges students $27—making charitable contributions, grants and donations essential.
“We know that our students are faced with medical bills that are astronomical,” Gambrell said. “We hold fund-raisers, write grants and solicit donations so that we can keep our cost to our students as low as possible. We couldn’t work without generous contributions of time and money from the community. They have built REINS into what it is today.”
REINS’s next fund-raiser is the 15th annual Country Hoedown coming up Saturday, October 8 from 4–10 p.m. The event will feature dancing, dinner, riding demonstrations, a silent auction and more. All funds from the Hoedown go directly to REINS and its students.
If you can’t make the Hoedown, no problem. REINS welcomes visitors to come down any time to see their riders, trainers and volunteers in action.
“People can come on their own, or they can schedule a tour,” Gambrell said. “We often go to organizations and companies to give speeches, but seeing the program in person is the best way. It is a life-changing experience to see our students and actually be able to watch them improve their lives.”
For more information on REINS, its therapies or the Country Hoedown, call 760-731-9168 or visit www.reinsprogram.org.
REINS 15th Annual Country Hoedown
Saturday, October 8 • 4–10 p.m.
Tickets: $45 each for adults ($50 at the door), $20 for children under 12 ($25 at the door) and children 2 and under are free.
All profits go directly to REINS.
Call 760-731-9168 for more information or visit www.reinsprogram.org

Fallbrook’s Unique Gem and Mineral Show is Fun for All Ages

Learn about a fascinating hobby at the annual Fallbrook Fall Festival of Gems and Minerals and Fossils October 2 in Fallbrook.
You will have a hard time finding another show like this anywhere. The society that puts it on, the Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society which was founded in 1957, has been recognized as one of the most unique gem societies in the country.
The celebration will be held October 2, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Alvarado Street between Main and Mission. The street is cordoned off and the block houses the museum itself at 123 W. Alvarado Street, in what used to be Fallbrook's old telephone exchange building. That has been the museum’s home for nine years.
Although the festival is a lot of fun for all ages, it is a fund-raiser that will benefit the museum, which will be open during the festival and is always free to the public. You need money to keep a museum open!
The money helps this nonprofit organization pay off the mortgage for the building it occupies. It is one of the few privately-owned museums to own its own land.
The festival is always held on the first Sunday of October. Vendors selling all things related to the mineral hobby will ply their trade, according to the past club president Janice Bricker. They will sell jewelry, cut stones, beads, minerals and fossils.
“We also have free gem identification, so if people have gemstones in their rings and don’t know what they are, they can bring them, or even if they have a rock and they don’t know what it is, they can bring it,” says Mrs. Bricker.
Another attraction is the Wheel of Fortune, which kids love, because you spin the wheel and get a prize.
Another fun thing to do, especially fun for the kids, is to see geodes broken in half to reveal their scintillating, glittering centers. Mrs. Bricker’s husband, Garth, will probably give a gold panning demonstration, and others will demonstrate how to make a sphere from a gem. It is fascinating to watch the stone turning and turning until it is transformed into a perfect, shining sphere.
Silent auctions are run continuously during the day inside the auditorium offering all kinds of items that are related to the hobby at great prices.
The Fallbrook Kiwanis Club will operate a food booth offering hamburgers, hot dogs, nachos, donuts and cold drinks.
The Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society is widely regarded as one of the best such societies in the country. It was profiled in the January 2010 issue of Rock & Gem magazine, the Bible of gem hobbyists.
One of the things that might have sparked the club’s interest over the years is the fact that it is 20 minutes away from the Pala tourmaline mines that have been continuously operating for over 100 years.
It is an hour from the Himalaya mine in Mesa Grande, which has produced the most tonnage of tourmaline in the world. Especially pink tourmaline, which was a favorite of the last dowager Empress of China, who at the turn of the century sent servants to San Diego County to sift through the stones for choice specimens that would later become buttons on her mandarin jackets or would decorate her imperial shoes.
It is equally distant from the Little Three Mine in Ramona, internationally known for its aquamarine and spessartine garnets.
The 4,000 square-foot museum is the home to collections of minerals from around the world with special attention paid to the minerals of San Diego County, such as topaz, beryl, morganite and aquamarine.
It has a well-stocked gift shop with unusual gifts, such as jewelry (of course!) and decorator items. “The kids like the minerals because they can afford them. We try to keep a nice selection for them and grab bags are always a big seller. The kids love the grab bags!” says Mrs. Bricker.
They are also fascinated by displays, such as the fluorescent display where they can see how different minerals react to ultraviolet light. They also like the many fossils exhibited. The museum is currently featuring a new fossil display case.
A real attention grabber when you enter the museum is the life-sized mastodon fossil replica. It is there in remembrance of the actual mastodon bone that was unearthed across the street, in what is now a parking lot, when workers were digging for an old hotel that was located there for many years.
The society meets ten months a year (except July and August) on the second Thursday of the month from 7-9 p.m. People come from all over the United States to give talks at these meetings, and, of course, there are lots of programs on the nearby mines of Pala.
For more information about the Fallbrook Gem & Mineral Society, visit their Web site at www.fgms.org or call 760-728-1130.

Bonsall Country Festival: More Fun Than Ever!

SThe Bonsall Country Festival, just about the most fun you can have in one place, is heading your way October 8, with music, food and much more—all at the River Village Shopping Center.
This annual event, now in its 8th year, sponsored by the Bonsall Chamber of Commerce, will feature the successful traditions of previous festivals with a little extra flair.
“We're still planning to have the food, crafts, entertainment and the beer and wine garden,” said Ruthie Harris, Bonsall Chamber’s executive administrator. “But, we like to change things up a little bit each year for variety.”
This year’s entertainment will be provided by singer/songwriter Chris James.
“Chris James is totally awesome,” Harris says. “I saw him play with Old School in 2010, and he also played at Hot Summer Nites, and the whole crowd was out dancing and having a great time. I thought to myself, 'Oh yeah, we've got to have him at the festival,’ so he is coming back.”
James is a highly successful local pop and rock entertainer who currently plays with the bands Firefly, 34Below, and Old School. His band, 34Below, has been heard on radios across the globe. James has written songs with the likes of Chris Barron (Spin Doctors), and he has shared the stage with acts like Sugar Ray, Hootie and the Blowfish, Vertical Horizon, The Calling, Gin Blossoms, Pete Best (former Beatles drummer), Switchfoot, CCR, REO Speedwagon, the Pat McGee Band, Five For Fighting and A.J. Croce.
Expect a lot of high energy, alternative, rock and pop songs because James plays it all.
In addition to enjoying the live entertainment, you should plan to spend a few hours perusing the food and craft booths. Harris says she has been searching for new vendors for a whole year, and her efforts have paid off.
She expects to have more than 60 vendors and booths setting up for the day.
“I've found some really cool vendors—ones I haven’t seen anywhere else,” Harris says. “We have a huge variety, everything from plants, crafts, food and more. There really is something for everyone.”
Harris says that the vendor openings actually have sold out the last  two years and there was a waiting list.
“This is great news for Bonsall because it means a little extra revenue for the Chamber, which goes right back to the community,” she says.
“We were able to make money last year on the festival which allows us to continue giving back to our community through programs and events.”
Profits from the festival go towards community functions such as the monthly Bonsall Sundowner events and the Bonsall Dude scholarship.
Speaking of the Bonsall Dude: both the Bonsall Dude and the Bonsall Honorary Mayor will be announced at the festival.
This year will again include more vendors on fire prevention with additional information on Wildland Urban Interface codes and regulations.
“We live in a high risk fire zone,” Harris points out. “So we really want to get the word out about how to prevent wild fires. It’s important to have the information accessible and available for our residents. We even have a fire truck for the kids.”
The Chamber is actually expanding the kids’ play area because the children seemed to have such a blast last year. There will be live entertainment, a giant slide, games, a coloring contest and an other games and activities.
“It’s just really a super fun day," Harris says. “And we really want to thank our sponsors for making it all possible. Without SDG&E, Pacific Animal Productions, Allies Party Rentals and The Village News, The Boulevard Magazine, Sullivan Solar, the Pala Band of Mission Indians and the North County Times, we couldn't have such a great festival.”
The festival will take place at the River Village Shopping Center on the corner of South Mission and Hwy 76. For more information, or for a vendor application, visit www.bonsallchamber.org or call 760-630-1933.

What’s New, What’s Happening At Welk Resorts

Run 4 Safety
Here is a win/win for you. Get in a little healthy exercise AND help raise funds for local fire safety.
For the first time, Welk Resorts will be hosting the Run 4 Safety on Saturday, October 15. This is an event that will raise funds for the Deer Springs Fire Protection District.
There are two events in one: The 5K Run and the 1 Mile Walk.
According to organizer, Jeremy Graham, the 5K Run starts at the downtown area near the Canyon Grille and follows the Fountains Golf Course for 3.2 miles. It follows the paved roadways through the resort with a total elevation gain of 170 feet. The 5K Run starts at 7:30 a.m. Check in is at 6:30 a.m. at the start and finish line at the Grille. The cost is $35 to participate, and with that you get a T-shirt. All the proceeds go to benefit the fire district.
The 1 Mile Walk starts at 8:30 am. It takes you through the roadways of the resort, including the pond and the circle. It has a total elevation gain of 25 feet. It also begins and ends near the Canyon Grille. The cost is also $35, which also benefits the fire district.
At the end of the finish line, you will find the Second Annual Safetyfest and Deer Springs Fire District Open House. This safety event includes static displays from emergency organizations from throughout the county, helpful information for keeping your family safe and prepared, a bicycle rodeo and many of the vendors who sell at Welk’s farmers market.
Fourteen safety agencies have confirmed they will attend. They include Deer Springs Fire District, Cal Fire, the San Diego Burn Institute, American Red Cross, San Diego County Bicycle Coalition and San Diego Gas & Electric Co. Another 14 have tentatively confirmed they will attend. There will be plenty of fire trucks, police cars, bulldozers and command center cars.
You also have the opportunity to take a tethered hot air balloon ride up to 135 feet for $10 per ride.
Find out more by visiting www.welkresort.com/safety.
* * *
According to Graham, “All the money that is raised goes to Deer Springs, which is on a tight budget. One thing that it will go towards particularly is pool safety, which is a program that Deer Springs and Cal Fire are doing together.”
Another beneficiary will be Station 12, where they are doing improvements. Right now the station is little more than a tin shack. They are making it into an actual structure.
The event will be “super fun,” according to Graham. “We are going to have folk art vendors and food similar to the farmers market. There will be a pumpkin patch, pony rides, haunted house and bounce houses.”
Welk’s spa will also be there doing free demos after the race.
There will also be prizes for the winners.
Oktoberfest
There are other fun things going on at Welk’s during October, particularly Welk’s Oktoberfest Under the Lights, which happens every Tuesday, from 5:30–8:30 p.m. during the month.
You’ll find plenty of Bavarian-themed food such as bratwurst, German potatoes and sauerkraut.
$7M Renovation
The resort just finished renovating 286 units of the Resort Villas. The work, completed in July, took a year and cost over $7 million.
Welk Resorts is one of the best hospitality values anywhere, and that is reflected in the fact that more than 90% of the rooms are rented out at any particular moment.
The Villas got new floors, counters, furniture, sinks and other amenities.
And they’re not done! The budget was just approved to do a similar renovation of the 230 Villas on the Green, beginning in October.
To find out more, call 760-749-3000, drop by for a visit at 8860 Lawrence Welk Drive in Escondido or look on the Web site at www.welkresorts.com.

Fall Rod Run: The Sound of Thunder

There is nothing like the sound of thunder produced by hundreds of hot rods rumbling through the streets at the same time!
It’s a sound that reaches into your bones and vibrates in your hands and produces an involuntary smile on your face.
Experience it at the Fall Rod Run, October 14 & 15, at Temecula’s Old Town, which is shut down to traffic on Front Street and the side streets from First to Sixth Street. The only street left open to traffic is Mercedes. Shuttles take you from the parking areas (see below) to where the event takes place.
You’ll hear the sound of thunder on Friday evening’s Cruise Night, 5–8 p.m. Hundreds of hot rods cruise through town from north to south. Announcers talk about each of the vehicles as they cruise by.
This is followed on Saturday by the car show from 8 a.m.–4 p.m. The judges go through and check out the 700 cars that are entered and at 3 p.m. they award prizes.
In the midst of the cars, there is a street festival with food, auto part vendors, and a celebrity zone where the organizers encourage celebrities from reality TV shows such as Big Brother and Bull Run to give autographs—and where you can donate food items.
Two Rod Runs are held in Temecula, in the spring and in the fall. Last year’s Rod Run was attended by 78,000 visitors, making it the biggest event in town, outdrawing even the Temecula Balloon and Wine Festival.
The two Rod Runs are charity events produced by P&R Foundation, a nonprofit group that puts on several events around the community. Founders are Ray Waite and Ronda Henne. They took over running the events in 1999. They do the events in conjunction with the Drifter Car Club of California, based in Murrieta. About 200 members of the Drifters volunteer every year to make the event a success.
Rod Run is one of their larger events. The money goes to various charities within the Temecula Valley, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 4089, Boy Scouts of America, Boys and Girls Club of South Temecula, American Cancer Society and to local food pantries.
This year the number of free bands playing has been increased from one to three different locations in Old Town.
There is also a Little Rodder Zone for kids under age 12, that includes pottery painting, face painting and more.
“We encourage local businesses who have anything to do with kids to be there to help entertain the kids,” said a spokesman for the event.
Free public parking is located in the Civic Center parking structure located on the south end of Old Town at the corner of Mercedes & Second Streets. Access to parking structure is via the north and south ends of Mercedes Street.
Motorcycle parking is available at the Old Town Plaza shopping center (corner of Moreno Road and Front Street) and on Sixth Street (access via Mercedes Street).
Additional handicapped parking is located at the Second Street parking lot (south end of Old Town).
For more information about the Rod Run, visit their Web site at www.rodruntemecula.com, or call the P & R Foundation at 951-202-3051.

Celebrate German Food and Culture with Oktoberfest

Germans will be up to their festive ways this month with their world-famous Oktoberfest celebration.
Of course, when it comes to Oktoberfest, nobody really cares if you are German. All that matters is whether you like cultural heritage events that feature lots of sausage, dancing and beer.
With origins in Munich, Germany, Oktoberfest traditionally kicks off the third weekend of September and ends the first Sunday in October. Nowadays, Oktoberfest is internationally recognized and celebrated around the globe throughout these two months.
In true form, this Bavarian culture will be celebrated over the next several weeks with a number of Oktoberfest celebrations from downtown San Diego to Temecula. Below is a just a quick overview of some of the more local places to grab a few beers and bratwurst.
Escondido
Welk Resorts will feature an Oktoberfest theme every Tuesday night in October from 5:30–8:30 p.m. as part of its weekly “Festival Under the Lights” celebration. The event is open to the public and will have German food and beverages for sale. Visit www.welksandiego.com or call 760-749-3000 and ask for the Canyon Grille for more information.
Temecula
Mount Palomar Winery will be celebrating its 5th annual Oktoberfest featuring German music, wine and German food for sale, along with dance, costume and beer stein contests from 11:30 a.m. –5 p.m. on Saturday, October 8 and Sunday, October 9. The event is free to the public. Call 951-676-4047, ext. 112 for details or visit www.mountpalomar.com.
Wiens Winery will host its 5th annual Wiensfest celebration on October 2. The event is for wine club members and consists of a grape stomp, German food, a traditional German band, plenty of wine and beer, as well as costumes and contests. For more information, go to www.wienscellars.com.
Julian
St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church will hold its 16th annual October Fest from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. on October 8 and 9. Both days will feature bratwurst, beer, oompah music and traditional German and Austrian dancing in the parking lot of Rabobank in downtown Julian. Call 760-765-1857 or visit www.julianca.com.
Carlsbad
The Carlsbad Rotary Oktoberfest is the largest North County Oktoberfest tradition. Now in its 29th year, the event is set to take place from noon–10 p.m. on Saturday, October 2 at Holiday Park in Carlsbad.
There will be German food, live music, polka dancing and a variety of entertainment for children. Proceeds from the festival benefit local charities. Call 760-434-6093 or visit www.rotaryoktoberfest.org for more information.
Encinitas/Olivenhain
This long-running Oktoberfest celebration runs from noon–4 p.m. on Sunday, October 9 at the Olivenhain Meeting Hall. Admission is $25 and includes plenty of food and beverages in addition to live music by The Earl Flores band. For more information visit http://olivenhain.org.
Happy Celebrating!

Dr. Randy Carlson and Dr. Charles Drury Offer Advanced Technology and Dental Care in a Relaxed, Modern-day Environment

Year after year, advancements in dental technology bring the degree of dental care to new levels. Such technology not only extends the boundaries of dental care but also improves the patient’s overall experience.
Dr. Charles Drury and his partner, Dr. Randy Carlson, serve the community’s dental needs from their high-tech dental office located in Bonsall’s River Village Shopping Center. They offer everything from general dentistry and implants to Invisalign, oral sedation and veneers, and they do it all with the today’s latest technology.
“The art and science of dentistry is constantly changing”, said Dr. Drury, “As professionals, we continue to learn and master the latest in both dental technology and procedures to provide the best care possible for our patients.” Dr. Drury said, “For example, many patients have a real fear of going to the dentist which keeps them from getting the care that they want and need. We have special training in oral sedation dentistry that allows us to help anxious patients relax during their dental appointments. A patient may also utilize sedation dentistry to get a lot of work done in one visit so their time in the dental office is minimized.”
Dr. Carlson and Dr. Drury’s office is truly state-of-the-art and is equipped with the most modern dental technology available. Dr. Drury said, “Our advanced equipment along with our team’s dedicated commitment to patient care, and high standards for quality dentistry allows us to exceed our patient’s expectations.”
Dr. Drury said that implementing recent innovations in their dental practice has improved customer care and satisfaction and noted CEREC as a great example. CEREC is a new 3D dental procedure that enables dentists to make crowns and perform tooth restoration all in the same visit. It eliminates the need for temporary crowns, and, more importantly, saves that extra trip to the dentist for permanent crowns. Once completed, the dentist bonds the new restoration to the surface of the old tooth. This all takes place in about one visit and you walk out the door with your permanent restoration.
I wish I had known such a thing existed a few years ago when I had to get crowns. My experience consisted of three separate visits and a week and a half wearing temporary crowns before my permanent crowns were finally bonded to my teeth. It is safe to say dental technology is changing the way we, as patients, experience care.
CEREC and other digital-based procedures, such as panoramic x-rays and laser dentistry, are just a few ways Dr. Carlson and Dr. Drury have changed since their inception in 1990. Another more recent change is the office itself. After a remodel three years ago, this trendy, modern-day office emanates comfort from the glowing amber lights to the artwork on the walls. You feel relaxed from the moment you walk through the door and are greeted by the bright, welcoming smiles of Patient Care Coordinators Michelle and Jenni.
In addition to a warm and welcoming staff, Dr. Carlson and Dr. Drury also have warm and welcoming patient rooms. Each patient care room has satellite television with two screens, one to watch as you sit in your chair and one to watch when you’re lying down in the chair. Yes, that means there are televisions in the ceiling—a true testament that they are committed to patient satisfaction. “The TV in the ceiling makes it that much easier and enjoyable for our patients when they are getting their treatment done,” Jenni said. “We really try to make sure they are relaxed and do whatever we can to make sure they are comfortable.”
Making sure patients are comfortable is definitely a mantra at this patient-centric office. As Dr. Drury puts it, the patient always comes first.
“We feel it’s very important to treat each patient as an individual, each with their unique set of dental and overall health requirements, as well as personal cosmetic and financial considerations,” Dr. Drury states. “It’s essential for us to listen to our patients. We recommend necessary treatment based on dental history and current dental conditions, but we also consider our patients’ needs, desires and concerns to develop a comprehensive, individualized treatment plan that is perfect for them.”
Dr. Carlson and Dr. Drury elected to continue their educations after graduating from dental school by completing one-year residencies (Group Practice Residency, Advanced Education in General Dentistry, respectively). Both doctors were also awarded a Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry. Dr. Drury and Dr. Carlson make a point to stay up-to-date on the latest technological advances in dental care. This expertise often finds them serving as lecturers and guest speakers at key conferences within their profession, and also finds them serving the community through charitable works.
Dr. Carlson and Dr. Drury enjoy being involved and contributing to many community programs including the Boys and Girls Club, Reins Therapeutic Riding Program, Fallbrook Film Festival, Fallbrook Smiles Project and Bonsallpalooza, among others. Testimonials and additional information about their practice can be located at their Web site at www.bonsalldentist.com.
Dr. Carlson and Dr. Drury are located at 5256 S. Mission Road, Suite 1101 in Bonsall’s River Village. For more information, or to schedule an appointment, call 760-630-5500. You may also visit their Web site at www.bonsalldentist.com. They are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.–5 p.m., with the exception of Thursdays when the office is open from 9 a.m.–6 p.m.

Orchestra Nova: The Cirque du Soleil of Classical Music

Ever since the San Diego Chamber Orchestra changed its name to Orchestra Nova three years ago, it has been on a mission to change the way classical music is brought into peoples’ lives.
According to Beverly Lambert, CEO of Orchestra Nova, “We are trying to immerse people into the nova experience of the music for the evening. It’s a different way of approaching classical music.”
Most of their concerts are interactive with the audience and many of them include multimedia with video screens.
For example, when Orchestra Nova performs “Broadway Then … And Now!” on October 2 at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, there will be video in the background. It will describe what the music is portraying and show some of the stars of the 1950s, 1960s and beyond, whose work will be presented in this wide-ranging concert that has, as maestro Jung-Ho Pak says, “something for people from age twelve to seventy.”
According to Lambert, “The concert on October 2 is definitely a pops concert, but all of them have a much more contemporary feel.
“It is working for us and we have seventy-five percent of our subscriptions sold out,” she said.
In future concerts, they will kick off what Lambert calls “Nova 2.0” which will enhance the concerts with lobby experiences. At a concert entitled “Taste of Spain,” they will have flamenco dancers in the lobby teaching dance steps, a tapas bar and Spanish wine tasting.
“We want to immerse people in the experience. We don’t trivialize the experience. We enhance the experience. And Jung-Ho totally connects with the audience, greeting people before and after the concert, making people feel connected,” says Lambert.
It is definitely not the traditional, stodgy classical music many of us are familiar with.
Lambert has been with Jung-Ho Pak since he came to the San Diego area. She was introduced to “this young whipper-snapper who needed a different kind of marketing for what he does.”
Together they decided “to be to classical music what Cirque du Soleil is to the circus.”
Lambert, who has a master’s degree in music education, loves the music as much as the maestro does. Together they are dedicated to presenting it as a more exciting media experience.
“We’re trying to bring beauty and joy into people’s lives. What we want to do is bring them in and let them forget the rest of the world for two hours and bring them into this fantasy land,” she says.
The lobby experience will help audiences feel more connected with what they will be hearing later.
“We’re doing something right because we ended the year in the black, we are hiring people and filling seats, she says.
Jung-Ho Pak is the creative influence of Orchestra Nova. “We all just definitely think he is on the right track. We all believe in this vision and the track we are on. We are very passionate about bringing classical music to everyone in a new and different way,” she says.
The maestro gives credit for the Escondido concert to Jean Will, a major benefactor of the Center and the series. Mrs. Will has been the underwriter of these concerts for several years. Without her, they probably wouldn’t happen.
“She is a wonderful philanthropist who truly believes in the power of music,” says Lambert.
“This is the fifth year of doing this with Jean Will’s support. She is not only a supporter but an usher!” says Pak. “She has superb musical tastes. She loves the classics and pop music. So, for this concert, we have a lot of Gershwin, some Rodgers & Hammerstein and some Cole Porter.”
The first half of the October 2 concert will include tunes of Broadway from the 1940s and 50s.
“It will include the Girl Crazy Overture with all of the great hits from that musical, including I’ve Got Rhythm,” he says.
To help present this music, there will be a trio of singers from Broadway: Susan Egan, Rachel York and Doug LuBrecque. “Doug, who has played the title role in Phantom of the Opera, is one of my favorite singers,” says Pak. “They all have fabulous voices, but his is exceptional.
“They will sing some trios, opening with There’s No Business Like Show Business from Annie Get Your Gun, Wonderful Guy from South Pacific and one of Jean’s favorite, Begin the Beguine from the musical Jubilee.” This 1935 Cole Porter song is very complex in form, unusual for its 108-measure length, compared to the conventional 32-bar form of most popular standards. “It is very sophisticated in spite of being very tuneful,” says Pak.
From that point, the concert will move forward towards the modern day. It will include Don’t Rain On My Parade from Funny Girl, Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better from Annie Get Your Gun, Willkommen from Caberet, Mr. Cellophane from Glee and selections from All That Jazz and Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Some of the more modern selections include I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables, the title song from Mamma Mia and Defying Gravity from Wicked.
“Then we will have two show stoppers, Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina from Evita and Music of the Night from Phantom, which is Doug’s signature song. He just knocks it out of the ballpark!” says Pak. The concert concludes with You Can’t Stop the Beat from Hairspray.
We’ve tried to pack it with as many of everybody’s favorites as possible,” says Pak. “I never want to cheapen what we do, but I want to take it out of the museum. My target audience is the other ninety-eight percent who would never attend a classical concert.”
He adds, “We are so lucky to be in this theater. It has had its challenges, but we have been blessed to be the only artists that the Center is officially presenting. The rest are rentals. We are honored and take that very seriously.”
For more information Call 800-988-4253 or visit www.artcenter.org.

Quarry Near Pala Prides Itself on Being a Good Neighbor

About 1.3 miles from I-15 along Highway 76 on the way to Pala, you’ll find the Rosemary’s Mountain Quarry.
Its existence is announced by a rather nondescript road sign. Unless you happen to be looking for it, you wouldn’t notice you are driving by it.
The quarry broke ground in February of 2008 when the company that operates it, Granite Construction Inc., carried out its obligation to widen Highway 76 on either side of the quarry’s entrance. It came online about 18 months ago.
A quarry is a prosaic operation. It does one thing: mine granite, break it up into various sized chunks and grind it into what is known as aggregate.
First the granite is detached from the mountain using explosives. Then the big pieces are broken up using a machine that crushes the rock with gigantic metal jaws.
The gradations range from 3 foot diameter rocks used in erosion control on down to sand particles.
It also mixes the aggregate that is 1 inch and smaller with oil for the asphalt that forms most of our roads. Asphalt is composed of 95% aggregate and 5% oil, although it’s the oil you smell when you see a road crew laying out hot asphalt.
Without aggregate our roads would soon fall into disrepair, and much of the building that is done would grind to halt. Of course, in the current economic climate, that’s pretty much what has happened anyway. But once the economy picks up, an operation like Rosemary’s Mountain becomes a vital linchpin in the construction industry—an integral part of the local economy.
According to Gary Nolan, senior project manager, most aggregate purchased at the present time from the quarry is by government agencies, such as Cal Trans or the county’s Department of Public Works and to similar agencies in Riverside County. It supplies aggregate to projects such as the California Oaks Interchange, as well as the Temecula Hospital, bridges, and projects funded by federal dollars.
The quarry isn’t operating at anything like maximum capacity. In fact, it is still in the development phase.
“We are using a small portable processing plant until we can build the plant as designed,” says Nolan. When that happens will depend on the economy. “Right now we think it will be coming in 2014 based on economic projections we have seen,” says Nolan.
The quarry, located on land owned by the Pankey family, longtime residents of the area, is permitted to grind out as much as 1.2 million tons annually. It is producing about a tenth of that right now, and that is due primarily to the asphalt plant.
Granite Construction has a 20-year lease with the Pankeys.
It took about 20 years for the developers of the quarry to convince the state and federal government to permit it at this location. There was some local opposition, although nothing on the scale that the company is encountering in Riverside County and parts of North County for its proposed Liberty Quarry, whose scale would dwarf the Rosemary’s Mountain facility by a factor of ten.
Nolan makes a particular effort to be a good neighbor to nearby residential neighborhoods, such as Rancho Viejo and Rancho Monserate, which sit on either side of I-15 near Highway 76.
He meets every quarter with local representatives, including people from the Bonsall and Fallbrook planning groups at the Rancho Monserate Community Center.
The meetings were initially hot. “But area people saw that we were doing what we said we would do and that I have an open door policy: I’ll show you anything you want to see. My phone number is on the front gate,” says Nolan. Today, he says, his relationship with the local community is “very cordial.”
“We sat with the community and asked what their biggest concerns were so we could do what we could to address them,” says Nolan. “We want to fix issues before they become problems.”
They worked together to come up with a way to monitor dust levels that gives warning long before the Southern California Air Pollution Control District is aware of an increase.
Four self-contained solar power dust monitors ring the quarry. They show that dust levels vary with the seasons—less during the rainy season, more during the summer. They are very sensitive.
“We’ve learned a lot on how to address problems,” says Nolan. For example how to cut down on the amount of dust by applying magnesium chloride to the dirt roads. The chemical soaks into the road base and attracts moisture from the air. Because of it, they only have to water the roads in the late afternoon to keep dust down.
A quarry is a year-round business. It is especially busy during the rainy season when roads get washed out and need repair.
Nolan has a staff of nine. When the plant achieves full capacity, there will be as many as 30.
Currently about 25 truck trips happen a day. That will jump to as many as 500 when the plant is at full capacity.
When that happens, the permanent quarrying facilities will be installed, which should, says Nolan, produce even less dust and noise than the current one. Much of the actual processing plant will be under a roof that will prevent the great majority of dust from escaping, he says.
“And we will continue our outreach with our neighbors to make sure that issues are addressed before they become problems,” he says.
To learn more about Rosemary’s Mountain Quarry, visit their Web site: www.rosemarysquarry.com.

California Avocado Grill: Where It’s Easy Being Green

Alex Maclachlan is an avocado grower with 16 acres planted in green gold in Bonsall.
Recently he also became the proprietor of a restaurant where every dish is based on avocados: the California Avocado Grill.
Do you see a trend here?
You’ve heard of the Stinking Rose restaurant, where they “season their garlic with food”? Well, everything at the California Avocado Grill is based on the green fruit, including an avocado-and-pistachio-flavored ice cream. You can also savor the Strawberry Balsamic Avocado Fudge Sundae, made with vanilla ice cream, avocado kahlua fudge and fresh strawberries drizzled with sweet aged balsamic vinegar.
Are you ready to stop reading and order dessert yet?
You can get Crab Salad Stuffed Avocado on the “half-shell.” The “gourmex” menu offers such delicacies as Thai Chicken Tacos, whose filling includes curry chicken, lettuce, avocado, cilantro and sweet red chili sauce.
One interesting menu item, Cilantro Lime Grilled Shrimp Salad is topped with a cilantro lime dressing made with extra virgin lime-infused avocado oil—grown and pressed locally.
There is, of course, guacamole, a special blend of avocados, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro, tomato and some other secret ingredients.
“We are building the menu as we go,” he says
So in a farming economy where the price of water increases so rapidly that you can almost watch it go up from minute to minute, and where many avocado farmers have decided to cut their trees and their losses, Maclachlan decided to try a different, gutsier tactic.
“Instead of cutting down trees, I decided to double down,” says Maclachlan.
“Very daring, Mr. Bond!” Goldfinger might say. “Putting all your chips on green.”
You would expect that a man who owns an avocado grove would supply his own restaurant with the finest avos, and you would be right. He gave me a tour of his kitchen and showed me a bowl filled with halved hass avocados—among the plumpest, most perfect-looking avocados I have ever seen.
Besides having access to nearly perfect avocados, also working in Maclachlan’s favor is a very nice location on Grand Avenue. Even though he opened just a few weeks ago, it is obvious that he is attracting an enthusiastic clientele, especially on weekends. Their first night open was on a Cruisin’ Grand Friday when they had 100 customers.
“We have had very positive feedback,” says Maclachlan. “It is real crowded on Friday nights, but we can accommodate most parties on our patios.”
Not a cook himself, he hired a great cook, Pedro Garcia. He and Maclachlan’s wife, Christina, collaborated on the menu and especially on the guacamole recipe.
“The guacamole has gotten rave reviews from the Henry family,” says Maclachlan. He is referring to the family that is credited with bringing avocado growing to Escondido many decades ago. “Of course, guacamole is such a personal preference that it is hard to make something everyone will like.”
Which is why they will eventually add a “build your own guacamole” bar where you can make it the way you like it.
It’s difficult to cook with avocados, so most of the dishes the restaurant serves are cold, or the avocado is added after the dish is cooked.
Besides the fact that all of the dishes employ avocados, Maclachlan’s philosophy is, “to take traditional dishes and make them a little more healthy and exotic. Like the Thai Chicken Tacos.”
If you look inside, the Grill is laid out like a fine dining establishment, but the prices and attitude are casual.
“A lot of things that we do at the restaurant are things that we do at home. My wife, Christina, is a great cook, and she emphasizes fresh ingredients, especially fresh fruit.”
Currently the restaurant is open from 4–9 p.m. on Thursday–Sunday and only serves dinner. Sundays are “Sangria” Sundays.
The California Avocado Grill is located at 136 W. Grand Avenue. Call 760-291-1040 and check www.calavogrill.com frequently to see new menu items.

Europa Village: Savor the Moment & Wine

It’s about 4 p.m. on a Saturday at the C’est La Vie Wine Chateau’s tasting room. The cooling afternoon breeze Temecula is known for is creating a bucolic atmosphere perfect for relaxing to a fine vintage.
Nearby a woman explains to friends how the special glass the winery uses for tastings, “forces you to tilt your head back and get the wine on the back of your tongue. It’s where you get the chocolate flavor.”
C’est La Vie (French for “that’s life”) is one of three boutique wineries at Europa Village—which opened in May. Others are C’est La Vie Wine Chateau, Vienza and Bolero Cellars.
“We want to present a bit of Old World Europe, a time when life was a little simpler. Each of the three buildings is representative of a different country, a Spanish adobe, an Italian ‘cave’ and a French bistro,” says owner Denis Ferguson.
The buildings are temporary while Ferguson and his partner Dan Stephenson wait for the economy to revive so they can take their vision from the drawing board to construction site.
Ultimately Europa Village will be a place to celebrate wines of Italy, France and Spain made the old-fashioned way that celebrates a slower time when people could stop and savor the moment—and the wine.
When I talked to Ferguson they had harvested the night before. Vintners will tell you that you don’t harvest grapes when you choose—you harvest when the grapes are READY! When that happens, you drop what you are doing and harvest.
This time was special: the first harvest from vines planted in 2006, when they bought the 330 acres from the Callaway winery.
Ferguson sits with me at an outdoor table. “We’re all about the Old World,” he says. That’s why they introduced the unusual stemless glass. A depression on the side fits your thumb, and a bump at the bottom (like the bottom of a wine bottle) is for your middle finger. This aerates the wine. You notice when you pour. The scent kisses your nose, releasing the wine’s full taste and bouquet.
“Before we had the glasses made by the Ravenscroft Glass Co., I had a disagreement with our sommelier [someone knowledgeable about wines] about whether to introduce them. But they didn’t have stems in the Old World,” says Ferguson, so the odd-looking glasses won.
It was a happy decision. “Everyone has fallen in love with the wine glasses,” he says. They have also fallen for the nine offerings from the three wineries made the old-fashioned way, using Old World methodologies.
“We are not ‘over-sciencing’ our wines. We let the Chardonnay make itself,” says Ferguson. It makes a wine with more finesse, less likely to overpower the food paired with it.
The sin of modern winemaking, he says, is creating wines too bold to enjoy with food. Letting a wine “create itself,” might lead to spectacular failures, but Ferguson says philosophically, “One wine lover’s spectacular failure will be another’s favorite!”
What is most important, he says, “is bringing back a simpler time when you could enjoy life and a good glass of wine. It would contradict that to make a wine that overwhelms.”
Ferguson’s 30 year career developing resorts such as Pechanga Casino and casino resorts in Las Vegas and Canada doesn’t seem to be a likely prelude for a man who likes to celebrate the simple life.
However, when he met his future wife, Lisa, in Canada, and they decided to start a family, he realized that the roaming life from project to project, was not for him. He wanted to stay in one place and raise his children.
He recalled the happy times he had had in Europe, visiting country inns and wineries, absorbing “the lessons of people who really know how to live.”
When they first saw Temecula, they fell in love with the valley and saw it as a place to create their own destiny.
They became friends with Stephenson, a real estate salesman intimately familiar with the valley. They bought the land together and planted it in 2006 with Rhone Valley varietal grapes and Mediterranean varietals.
“This climate and soil is very similar to the Rhone Valley. We are careful to get nothing but the best grapes.” The famous valley ocean breeze interacting with winds from the desert creates a 30 degree temperature differential that stresses the grapes.
Stress is good for wine. “It is what we want,” he says. An additional way to stress them is to cut half of the grapes during summer. “It is tough to see tons of grapes on the ground because they are your babies,” he muses.
The plan is to eventually have three wineries in three parts of the property, each with unique amenities. The total experience will transport you to Europe. He compares the idea to Walt Disney’s vision, partially inspired by Marie Antoinette’s Hameau de la Reine farm village.
“Instead of Disneyland, we want to create a rural, rustic European village experience.”
At Bolero Cellars, you’ll be able to sample Spanish wines and tapas. They are experimenting with creating wine-infused beer.
The Vienza winery will offer a Tuscan village with 80 suites for longer visits.
“We were at the stage when everything was ready to go when the economy put it on hold,” he explains. “But we had some fine wines that we wanted to share.”
They decided to wait out the economy, but introduce the wines and tell their story.
“And what a wonderful way it is to market our vision,” he says.
And the wines are remarkable. When you taste samplings of the nine available vintages, you get your “passport” stamped.
You might try the 2009 Sangiovese that was released last week. “We have a substantial Sangiovese that didn’t want to show itself for awhile. It had a little bottle shock,” he says.
It resulted in a wine with notes of wild cherries, violets and cloves, wild strawberry and shredded dark chocolate with a long finish—a wine very versatile with different types of food.
Their 2009 Chardonnay is gentle, finessed and evokes green apple wrapped in savory mineral tones. It is a French wine, from C’est La Vie.
Ferguson believes the Spanish do blends the best. A favorite is a 2007 blend called Libido, which he named when he heard some women talking about how they reacted to this blend of 43% Tempranillo, 35% Grenache, 17% Mourvedre and 5% Carignan, a grape rarely used. “I don’t know anyone else who uses Carignan. It is a very hard to grow and it doesn’t stand up by itself, but it plays well with others!”
The final, most ambitious, part of their vision is Europa Vineyard Estates, where you will be able to buy lots and live among the vines. It will be like a country club, but without the golf course. “Wine is the new golf,” says Ferguson. Residents will be able to bottle their own wines if they like, and enjoy amenities such as a restaurant, room service and spa, like a fine hotel.
“No one that I know has developed an estate among vineyards before,” he says. “People like living next to vineyards, but don’t want to take care of them. So Europa will do it for them.
“It is bringing back values that we think are marketable in this fast-paced world,” he says.
But that is in the future. What is part of the present is the ten-room bed and breakfast where Chef Dean Thomas creates breakfasts from delicacies that he grows in his garden, creating a unique menu each morning.
Europa Village is welcoming for dogs and folks who want to bring food and eat it on the premises with a bottle of wine.
“Come on in and enjoy!” says Ferguson.
For more information visit www.EuropaVillage.com or call 951-506-1818.

The Boulevard Magazine
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