Fireworks to be a bright spot during...

Fireworks to be a bright spot during centennial

Fireworks will be one of the bright highlights of the festivities

Saturday night during the Corona del Mar Centennial celebrations.

Residents near Big Corona Beach and those across the channel

toward the end of Balboa Peninsula will hear the fireworks beginning

at 8 p.m.

It will be the culmination of a daylong celebration to include a

beach party at Big Corona, a mini Taste of Newport featuring local

restaurants, a sand castle contest, boat parade, food and music.

The event’s “Black Tie Gala Event of the Century” will be held

Oct. 15. The black-tie dinner will be at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Individual tickets are available for $250, and tables of 10 go for

$3,000.

For more information, visit www.cdm2004.com or call (949)

422-4210.

Contemporary artists exhibit is in the bag

The Art of Shopping, an exhibit of giant shopping bags designed by

contemporary artists including David LaChappelle, will be at South

Coast Plaza from Oct. 25 to Nov. 8. Sponsored by Swiss luxury goods

retailer Montblanc, the exhibit features six shopping bag sculptures

that are 10 feet high and weigh more than 800 pounds.

Shoppers who make a purchase at South Coast Plaza’s Montblanc

boutique can take home paper versions of the shopping bag sculptures.

For more information, call (800)782-8888. South Coast Plaza is at

3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa.