Laguna Canyon Conservancy to Host Presentation on Randall Preserve, Formerly Banning Ranch
Recent media headlines announced the successful permanent preservation of 387 coastal Orange County acres previously known as Banning Ranch, now called the Randall Preserve. Well-deserved congratulations for this accomplishment are due to the Trust for Public Land, Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority and especially to the Banning Ranch Conservancy.
Laguna Canyon Conservancy (LCC) is honored to have Dr. Terry Welsh of the Banning Ranch Conservancy as our meeting speaker on March 6 at 4 p.m. in the Community Room at the Susi Q Center at 380 3rd Street, Laguna Beach. He will give a short history of the successful effort to purchase Banning Ranch and bring this important open space into public ownership.
Welsh started the Sierra Club Banning Ranch Park and Preserve Task Force in 1999 and has served as the president of the Banning Ranch Conservancy since its incorporation in 2008. He lives in Costa Mesa and works as a physician during the day.
LCC’s mission is to protect open space in Laguna Canyon and other surrounding areas. Hard work and constant vigilance are keys to acquiring and maintaining open space for the future. Welsh’s presentation will certainly be informative about these goals. There is no charge for LCC members and guests are welcome. Space is limited at the Community Center. The conservancy recommends attendees RSVP by March 3 at www.LagunaCanyonConservancy.org/Preserve.
Patriots Day Parade Celebration to be held March 4
The 56th Laguna Beach Patriots Day Parade will march on Saturday, March 4 at 11 a.m. The parade starts on Park Avenue at Laguna Beach High School, proceeds down to the library corner and turns right on Glenneyre, right again at Forest Avenue and ends just past City Hall. Entries include parade honorees, school marching bands and numerous local schools and organizations. More information is available by emailing [email protected] or calling (949) 494-6016.
Laguna Beach Garden Club Monthly Meeting and Speaker Series –Bromeliads Of The World
Laguna Beach Garden Club will host its monthly meeting/speaker series featuring Cristy Brenner on Bromeliads of the World on March 10 at 9:30 a.m.
Brenner is a retired Saddleback College geography teacher, the current president of the Saddleback Valley Bromeliad Society, and has 25 plus years of experience growing bromeliads.
She has traveled extensively to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Trinidad, Tobago, and Venezuela, to photograph them in their habitat. The garden club welcomes everyone to join them 9:30 to 10 a.m. for social time and refreshments, before the meeting, with begins promptly at 10 a.m. Meetings are held at Laguna Presbyterian Church in Tankersley Hall located at 415 Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach, Ca. Non-members are invited to attend for free on their first visit. More information on the garden club is available by visiting www.lagunabeachgardenclub.org.
Catmosphere Laguna Foundation and LB Animal Shelter Adoption Events Feb. 25
This Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Catmosphere Laguna cats and kittens will be featured for adoption at Gelson’s Laguna Beach location, 30922 Pacific Coast Highway.
Catmosphere Laguna Foundation introduced Orange County’s first Cat Café & Lounge. Catmosphere Laguna Rescue is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit feline rescue that serves Laguna Beach and the surrounding communities every day of the week and is dedicated to finding forever homes for homeless, relinquished, abandoned and special-needs cats and kittens. Laguna Beach has long been known and loved for its artistic community and embrace of nature in all its forms. Catmosphere Laguna Foundation enhances and strengthens that reputation in its mission to prevent cruelty to animals by rescuing, fostering, and assisting in public adoptions and awareness of the plight of homeless felines. Our adoption events are fun for the whole family with snacks and giveaways for all – volunteer opportunities are available.
Catmosphere Laguna Foundation may be contacted at (949) 619-MEOW (6369) or [email protected]. Adoption event dates continue monthly throughout 2023, including April 15, June 17, Aug. 19, Oct. 21, and year end holiday events. Gelson’s Laguna Beach and Catmosphere Laguna Adoption Event dates are Feb. 25, May 27, Aug. 26, Oct. 28, and year end holiday events.
American Association of University Women’s Annual Literary Luncheon Tickets Available
Tickets are now on sale for the AAUW Laguna Beach’s 34th Annual Literary Luncheon. The event will be held at the Surf & Sand Hotel, 1555 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach on March 11. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m. for the silent auction, book sales, and book signings—followed by lunch and author talks. This year’s featured authors are Jennifer Coburn, Dori Jones Yang, and Maggie Shipstead.
Councilmember Mark Orgill to Speak at Village Laguna General Meeting
Village Laguna’s next general meeting will feature Laguna Beach Councilmember Mark Orgill as its guest speaker. The group invites attendees to join them on Febr. 27 at 7 p.m. on Zoom to learn about the background and experience he brings to city council as well as the way he sees the future of our city. To ask questions in advance, submit topics you’d like him to address and/or receive the zoom link, email [email protected].
Laguna Art Museum’s Tenth Annual Art & Nature Festival Announces New Public Programs
Laguna Art Museum’s tenth annual Art & Nature Festival is currently on view, featuring groundbreaking, immersive exhibitions, including Five Summer Stories: The Exhibition, presented in partnership with MacGillivray Freeman Films and Coast Film Festival in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the iconic surf documentary, includes a sneak peek of the film and historic imagery, clothing and items from the era of the film. The exhibition is on view through Mar. 12, 2023.
The Art & Nature Festival is the museum’s largest public program of the year, bringing together tens of thousands of participants to foster an appreciation of nature, raise environmental awareness and discover cross-sections between nature and the arts.
Art & Nature Festival 2023 Events
Sunday, Feb. 26
Historian Alison Rose Jefferson will host a presentation to share stories about how African Americans from the 1900s to 1960s created recreational and relaxation spaces at Southern California beaches and other places. In the process, African Americans could form communities and create business projects at these sites. These stories are drawn from her recent book, Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era and other work. She will also share how some of these stories are being used in contemporary public history remembrance and public policy actions. The presentation starts at 1 p.m.
For more information about the tenth annual Art & Nature and Laguna Art Museum exhibitions and programming, visit lagunaartmuseum.org.
South Laguna Community Garden Park Seeds 101 Workshop this Sunday
The South Laguna Community Garden Park will offer a seed starting class and workshop this Sunday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Carly Sciacca will lead the workshop, focusing on seed growing for beginners. Participants will be given a 40-cell seed tray, starting mix, and a selection of seeds that have been successful in the garden – a $50 value.
There will be a short lesson on selecting, starting and caring for seeds and seedlings, followed by a hands-on workshop on properly planting and caring for a seed tray.
Topics will include how to read codes in a seed catalog, or on a packet and how to select the right variety; how to know which seeds to start based on our zone; how to save seeds; how to plant based on the zone; how to save seeds; how to prepare seeds for planting and the difference between heirlooms, hybrids and GMOs and what it means when starting seeds.
The suggested donation is $25 and enrollment will be capped at 15 people. The class will be held at the garden on 31610 Coast Highway, Laguna Beach. Participants can reserve their spot by emailing Sciacca at [email protected].
The Great Love Club to Host Pop-Up Market on March 4
The Great Love Club will host its monthly Slow Market on March 4 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 345 N. Coast Highway. The Slow Market is a curated monthly pop-up event designed to encompass everything from shopping opportunities, bites to eat, live music, goodie bags, along with drop-in wellness sessions. SLOW stands for Sustainable, Local, Organic and Whole. By practicing slow living attendees can mindfully embody those values into their shopping choices, ensuring they leave with the products they love, that are long lasting and great quality. Every vendor has been selected for their effort to maintain the slow value system within their business production and product.
The Great Love Club is a local social club on a mission to cultivate a community that values love, slow living, skill building and spiritual connection. Its goal is to provide a space where individuals can truly connect over a shared value system through curated events. More information can be found at greatloveclub.com or on Instagram at @thegreatloveclub.
