From a cooking show to good causes

B.W. COOK

Newport’s redheaded dynamo, Barbara Venezia, of cable television

cooking fame, will chair a VIP cocktail party and silent auction in

support of Newport Beach and Orange County firefighters.

The Venezia extravaganza will celebrate the grand opening of Yoga

Works in Newport Beach with a cocktail party on May 26. Proceeds from

the opening will benefit the UC Irvine Regional Burn Unit and the

Orange County Burn Assn. For reservations and information please

contact Venezia at bvontv@hotrange.com.

Venezia rose to local fame working with recreational vehicle mogul

John Crean on the television show “At Home On The Range.” Crean’s

wife, Donna, well-known for her wide-reaching local philanthropy,

championed one cause in particular. Donna Crean brought the

Children’s Bureau from Los Angeles to Orange County, raising local

awarenessof children in need of adoption or special care. With a

100-year history, the Children’s Bureau has been a leader in Southern

California in the prevention and treatment of child abuse and

neglect.

Most people think of adoption in relation to either newborn babies

or infants. The Children’s Bureau is attempting to place 10,000

children, ages 14 and older, in need of permanent, safe and loving

homes. Lou Graham, with the Children’s Bureau, commented, “Parents

who have already raised their own children are good candidates for

being adoptive parents for these kids. They have already experienced

the needs and challenges of the teenage years.” For more information,

please call (866) 633-3588 or visit Children’s Bureau at

www.all4kids.org.

The California School Education Foundation turned Mesa Verde

Country Club in Costa Mesa into a casino May 14 to raise funds for

Costa Mesa’s California Elementary School. The “Monte Carlo” night

attracted a cross section of community support, bidding on a lively

silent auction and dancing to the music of a band called Identity

Crisis. Funds raised from the evening benefit the school in the

fields of technology and the arts. For more information, or to

support call (714) 424-7940.

The “big boys” converged upon the Balboa Bay Club and Resort this

week for a sunset cocktail meeting to learn about the upcoming Big

Boys Men’s Camp taking place later this year. Hosted by Paul Fruchbom

and chaired by Julie David, with help from Lana Chandler, the Big

Boys Men’s Camp weekend is a major Orange County male-bonding,

testosterone-flexing mind and body event with the goal of raising

needed funds for local youth mentoring programs.

Benefiting from the camp experience will be Big Brothers Big

Sisters of Orange County, YMCA camps and programs, Orangewood’s

Guardian Scholars and Boy Scouts Learning for Life. The two-day camp

experience, which will take place Oct. 8 through 10 at YMCA Camp

Whittle in Fawnskin, will feature a roster of who’s-who campers of

Orange County executives. Some of the men involved include Bob

Campbell, Paul Carlson, Bob Graham, Jim Grant, Bob Howard, Bill

Lobel, Mike Meyer, Adam Roseman, Peter Shea, Dave Siegal and David

Wooten, president of the Balboa Bay Club. For more information on the

Big Boys Men’s Camp, call Julie David at (949) 361-6563 or visit the

website at https://www.bigboyscamp.org.

It’s once again time for summer fun in the sun as the Newport

Dunes offers their sand to the public for the very popular “Movies On

The Beach” series, which began Friday evening with a showing of “Home

Alone” and continues throughout the summer.

“Where else but in Newport Beach can the entire family pull up

their beach chairs and enjoy a fun family film night right in the

sand?” said Andrew Theodorou, general manager of the Newport Dunes

Resort. “I invite everyone to join us at the Dunes to take part in

this treasured local tradition.”

Theodorou and his staff will set up a 9-foot by 12-foot screen in

the sand. Refreshments including pizza and snacks are offered for

sale with beach campfires burning for marshmallow roasting. The Dunes

will screen “North Shore” on Friday, followed by other movies during

the summer including “Pirates of The Caribbean”, “Finding Nemo”,

“Little Mermaid” and many others. This sounds like a Newport social

event not to be missed. For more information please call (949)

729-DUNE.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.