A fun day out

Bryce Alderton

Sophia Courtemarche, 2, dipped her paintbrush into a plastic bowl full

of brown paint and began whisking brown strokes across the blue

construction paper, all while keeping quiet about what she was creating.

“I don’t know whether that’s something she wants to [reveal],”

chuckled Sophie’s grandmother, Loretta Courtemarche, when Sophie was

asked what she was making.

The duo and Sophia’s mother, Lisa, enjoyed the craft table on Sunday

during the second and final day of South Coast Plaza’s Thanksgiving

Celebration Weekend.

The two-day event featured carousel and train rides, family

photographs, children’s crafts, balloon artists and clowns, live music, a

Discovery Science Center interactive exhibit, magic shows and a canned

food drive to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County.

Collection barrels were scattered throughout the mall Saturday and

Sunday to round up cans.

“We’ve gotten an overwhelming response,” said Debra Gunn Downing,

South Coast Plaza’s executive director of marketing. “The community

responds to its needs very well and more so this year I think with all

the recent layoffs.”

In her two and a half years at the mall, Gunn Downing couldn’t recall

another canned food drive the plaza has orchestrated.

“This is the first one we’ve done,” she said. “It’s an important focus

of giving at home, identifying the need in our own community, and we

wanted to help that cause. People are definitely in the giving mode.”

The amount of food brought in for the two days won’t be known until

today, Gunn Downing said.

But she received “a lot of calls” about the food drive, and “the

concierge reported replenishing the barrels early in the day Saturday.

“It’s a big response,” Gunn Downing said.

All canned food donations will go to the Second Harvest Food Bank, the

county’s largest hunger relief organization, which collects and

distributes food to an estimated 190,000 individuals monthly.

Jenna Fields, 3, began painting brown circular shapes on her piece of

blue construction paper at another craft table.

She looked up at her father, John Fields, and said, “We gotta let it

dry, we’re gonna blow on it.”

Meanwhile, brother Daniel was busy painting white circles that would

become the body of a snowman.

All during a day of making Thanksgiving centerpieces, pictures to show

relatives on Thanksgiving and waiting in line for carousel rides.

“We love coming out here, the kids love it,” John Fields said, holding

a paintbrush of his own and smiling.

George Chala, Jr., 1, wore a bright smile, a brown sweater and khaki

pants while sitting on the shoulders of his father, George, Sr.,

anxiously awaiting to ride a reindeer on the carousel.

Alongside the two Chala men stood wife and mother Kristin. The Dana

Point residents came to the mall from church to shop and, of course,

catch a carousel ride.

“We knew there was a carousel and he loves to ride,” said Kristin

Chala, pointing to little George.

They had been in line for 15 minutes.

“It seemed like it was going to be a long line, but it hasn’t been,

and we’re greatly appreciative,” said Kristin Chala, laughing.

* Bryce Alderton is the news assistant. He may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at o7 bryce.alderton@latimes.comf7 .