* Send AROUND TOWN items to the...

* Send AROUND TOWN items to the Daily Pilot, 1375 Sunflower Ave.,

Costa Mesa, CA 92626; by e-mail to jeff.benson@latimes.com; by fax to

(714) 966-4679; or by calling (714) 966-4617. Include the time, date

and location of the event, as well as a contact phone number.

TODAY

“Cider on the Corner” will be the opening event of the second

annual Holiday Display Contest for Costa Mesa’s Halecrest

neighborhood. The evening will include a walk through the

neighborhood and cider for all guests. The 5 p.m. event will begin at

1218 Parnell Place, Costa Mesa. Information: (714) 545-1776 or (714)

957-2905.

A Christmas concert by the St. Andrew’s Sanctuary Choir and

Orchestra will include works by Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky and a

Christmas Carol sing-along. The 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. concerts will be at

St. Andrew’s Church, 600 St. Andrew’s Road, Newport Beach. Tickets

will cost $10. Information: (949) 574-2284.

“An Old Fashioned Christmas Melodrama and Ice Cream Social” will

be a family event with music, vaudeville acts, a sing-along and a

holiday melodrama. The 2 and 7 p.m. shows will be performed by the

Orange Coast College Repertory Theatre Company at the Drama Lab

Theatre, Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa.

Tickets will cost $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Information:

(714) 432-5880.

The 15th annual Gem Faire will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at

the Orange County Fair and Exposition Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa

Mesa. Information: (503) 252-8300.

TUESDAY

A “Holiday Brunch” will be held by the Friends of Orange Coast

Interfaith Shelter to raise money to aid homeless families. The 11

a.m. to 1 p.m. event will be at a home in Newport Beach. Admission

will cost $45 plus an unwrapped gift for a homeless family. Call for

the exact location. Information: (949) 640-8828.

WEDNESDAY

A free Christmas concert will be performed by the Orange Coast

College Wind Ensemble. The show will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Orange

Coast College Student Center, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa.

Information: (714) 432-5985.

FRIDAY

Running coach Arthur Lydiard of New Zealand will discuss training

principles at a 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. clinic at Orange Coast College’s

Science Hall, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa. Admission will cost $5.

Information: (714) 432-5890.

SATURDAY

A Christmas concert with tenor Christopher Campbell and organist

Charles Welling will be held at 4 p.m. at the Costa Mesa Seventh-Day

Adventist Church, 271 Avocado Ave., Costa Mesa. Information: (949)

548-6596.

DEC. 19

A Christmas concert by the St. Andrew’s Sanctuary Choir and

Orchestra will include works by Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky and a

Christmas Carol sing-along. The 4 p.m. concert will be at St.

Andrew’s Church, 600 St. Andrew’s Road, Newport Beach. Tickets will

cost $10. Information: (949) 574-2284.

DEC. 22

Donations of food, money and toys will be collected by the Costa

Mesa Police Department to be given to needy families. Donations will

be accepted from 3 to 8 p.m. at the West Side Substation, 567 West

18th St. Information: (714) 327-7450.

ONGOING

“Dr. M.P.” will discuss love skills at 7 p.m. on the first and

third Tuesdays of the month at University Towers, 4199 Campus Drive,

Suite 550, Irvine. Information: (949) 725-3366.

Life drawing workshops are held from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to

4 p.m. Saturdays at Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa

Mesa. The cost is $5 per session. Information: (714) 432-5880 or

https://www.occtickets.com.

A “Financial Strategies for Successful Retirement” workshop will

be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Nov. 16 at Orange Coast

College’s Science Room 169, and from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursdays through

Nov. 11 at the college’s Business Education Room 102, 2701 Fairview

Road, Costa Mesa. The cost is $69. Information: (714) 432-5880 or

https://www.occtickets.com.

The Inter-generational Troupe of Actors workshop meets from 3:15

to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays at the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse, 611 Hamilton

St., Costa Mesa. The free workshop is comprised of people of all ages

who want to perform and study drama. Interviews are required.

Information: (714) 841-1733 or https://www.friendsofoasis.org

/tsplayers.

The Newport Beach Cake Decorating Club meets at 7 p.m. Thursdays

at the Versailles Apartments, Hospital Road and Superior Avenue.

Information: (949) 650-1332.

The Newport Beach Spanish Club meets at 1 p.m. Mondays and

Saturdays at the Versailles Apartments, Hospital Road and Superior

Avenue. Information: (949) 650-1332.

“Storytime with Miss Kathy” begins at 10 a.m. Mondays at Borders,

1890 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa. Information: (949) 631-8661.

Champagne brunches are held from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays at

the Sutton Place Hotel, 4500 MacArthur Blvd., Costa Mesa. The cost is

$39, plus tax and gratuity, and the price includes house champagne.

The champagne of the month is an additional $15. Information: (949)

476-2001.

“Friday Nights Unplugged” are held from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays

in the Sutton Place Hotel’s Trianon Lounge, 4500 MacArthur Blvd.,

Newport Beach. Gerald Ishibashi and guests perform weekly.

Information: (949) 476-2001.

A “Lobster Cookout” is held from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturdays at The

Sutton Place Hotel’s Calypso Cafe, 4500 MacArthur Blvd., Newport

Beach. The cost is $55, plus tax and gratuity. Information: (949)

476-2001.

Private tutoring and English as a Second Language instruction is

available for K-12 and college students in the Newport-Mesa area.

Call for rates. Information: (949) 294-9462.

Alcoholics Anonymous men’s meetings are held at 8 p.m. Tuesdays at

the Costa Mesa Senior Center, 695 W. 19th St., Costa Mesa.

Information: (949) 645-2356.

The Newport Center Toastmaster’s Club can help you improve your

public speaking skills or polish your business presentations. Members

come from a variety of professional disciplines and backgrounds. The

group meets every Monday morning from 7 to 8:30 a.m. at 610 Newport

Center Drive, Newport Beach. Validated parking is available in the

parking structure next to 24 Hour Fitness. Guests are welcome.

Information: (949) 721-5732.

The Newport Beach Walking Club meets at the corner of Superior and

Hospital Road in Newport Beach at 9:15 a.m. Monday through Saturday

and 7 p.m. everyday. Information: (949) 650-1332.

The Newport-Mesa cribbage club meets on the second and fourth

Wednesdays of every month from 6:45 to 9 p.m. at Oasis Senior Center,

800 Marguerite Ave. in Corona del Mar. The cost is $2. Information:

(949) 646-5293.

The ACLU of Orange County meets at 7 p.m. the third Tuesday of

every month at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 1259 Victoria St.

in Costa Mesa. Each month’s meeting will feature a different speaker

on issues relating to the Bill of Rights. Information: (714)

957-6107.

Yoga classes will be offered Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to

12:40 p.m. for nine weeks at West Newport Community Center.

Registration is $54 for one class each week or $100 for two days a

week over nine weeks for Newport Beach residents. Others pay an

additional $5. Information: (949) 644-3151.

A variety of private, semi-private and group swim lessons will be

offered this summer at the Marian Bergeson Aquatic Center at Corona

del Mar High School. Options include one-on-one instruction on

Saturdays and a Monday-through-Thursday program for all ages and

levels. For session dates, times and costs, call (949) 644-3151, or

register in person at Newport Beach Recreation and Senior Services,

at 3300 Newport Blvd.

Professional and licensed soccer trainers with the All-England

Soccer Academy are available for one-on-one, small group and large

group training. Information: (949) 395-5103.

Jewish Family Service is sponsoring a teen support group for high

school students that meets Mondays from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at Tarbut

V’Torah Upper School in Costa Mesa. For information or to register,

call (714) 445-4950. Pre-registration is required.

The First Page -- Fine Children’s Books, at 270 E. 17th St., No.

10 in Costa Mesa, offers free story time Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays

and Saturdays from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.; and Tuesdays and Thursdays

from 4 to 5 p.m. Information: (949) 645-5437.