Around Town: Begonias to be celebrated at Sherman Gardens

The Southern California Begonia Society will present a judged plant show and sale at Sherman Gardens on the weekend of Sept. 21 and 22 featuring many varieties of locally grown begonias. A large selection of the colorful perennials will also be available for purchase.

Sherman Gardens is home to over 130 unique varieties of begonias. Horticulturist Amy Dolin will give a tour of the Sherman collection on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 1:30 p.m. Drop in, no registration needed.

The show is free with garden admission. Sherman Library & Gardens, 2647 E. Coast Hwy, Corona del Mar, is open from 10:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for nonmembers; free for members.

Balboa Angling Club reeled in marlins during annual ladies’ tourney

The annual Ladies Billfish Tournament was held Saturday, Aug. 24, when 13 local boats carrying 30 participants took to the waters off Newport Beach with a goal to reel in the biggest marlin. The daylong tournament was hosted by Balboa Angling Club, which was established in 1926.

Alexa Velasquez, aboard the Bull Pen, reeled in a marlin after a fight of just nine minutes, according to club officials. Coming in second was Jenna Barthels on Farnsworth, with a fight time of 17 minutes. Barthels was also the only angler on Farnsworth with her significant other captaining the boat. Marissa Maser on Pacific Pioneer came in third with a fight time of 21 minutes. All marlin were caught and released. The Bull Pen was awarded the High Boat Trophy presented by Zorn Yacht Sales.

All three winners and the rest of the tournament participants were celebrated during an awards banquet held Sunday evening at the Newport Beach Yacht Club.

Church to hold groundbreaking Sunday

Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church will break ground this Sunday on a new, $2.2-million sanctuary at 2845 Mesa Verde East Drive, Costa Mesa.

The celebration will feature children participating in ceremonial dirt shoveling alongside the Rev. Sian Wiltshire and church leaders.

The new sanctuary, designed by the San Diego architectural firm domusstudio, is expected to be complete in late 2025. Van Nuys-based Hoffman Construction will serve as the project builder.

Walk for Hope takes place Sept. 8

City of Hope is gearing up for its nationwide fundraising effort toward ending cancer, the Walk for Hope, set for Sunday, Sept. 8.

Locally, participants will gather at City of Hope Orange County, 1000 FivePoint, Irvine, at 9 a.m. for the program that will precede the walk, which begins at 9:30 a.m. For more information visit cityofhope.org/walk-for-hope.

Overnight lane closures on PCH in Newport Beach

Caltrans announced this week it has scheduled overnight lane closures on Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach starting Tuesday, Sept. 3 through Friday, Sept. 6. Work will be conducted overnight, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., Tuesday through Thursday, and 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. on Friday. At least one lane of traffic will be open during the closures.

On Tuesday night the No. 1 and No. 2 (left) northbound lanes will be closed from Riverside Avenue to Oil Yard. The closure on Wednesday night will extend northbound from Dover Drive to Superior Avenue, also in lanes 1 and 2. The 2 and 3 (middle) lanes northbound from Dover to SR-55 will be closed on Thursday night and on Friday, the closures will affect the southbound lanes 1 and 2 from Brookhurst Street to Superior.

Newport Beach mayor to host an active shooters panel

Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill, in partnership with the Newport Beach Police Department, will lead an active shooters panel for the public beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, in the community room at Newport Beach City Hall.

The event will address community safety concerns, share the latest data and response strategies and discuss proactive measures the community can take to stay safe. Light refreshments will be served.