Enjoy diverse concerts in the park this...

Enjoy diverse concerts

in the park this summer

Surf City is going to be alive with music this summer.

Three separate city-sponsored series present plenty of opportunity

to enjoy a diverse array of music for everyone in the family. For

seven weeks in the summer, the Huntington Beach Concert Band will be

hosting the “Concerts in the Park,” a Sunday afternoon big band and

jazz series. The city also sponsors a range of concerts at the

Huntington Beach Pier Plaza, while the Huntington Beach Art Center

presents its own line of jazz performances.

The “Concert in the Park” series begins this Sunday with a concert

by the city’s own Huntington Beach Concert Band, a 32-year-old

60-member performance band that regularly performs Americana, big

band and patriotic music.

“We get together and have a great time making music together,”

band member Thomas Ridley said.

Audience members are encouraged to bring their own blankets and

chairs, and even a picnic dinner. All concerts begin at 5 p.m. Here

is a list of the bands playing the series this summer:

* Sunday: Huntington Beach Concert Band

* July 3: Moonlight Express -- Standard and classic big band swing

music

* July 10: Los Angeles Police Jazz -- Jazz standards

* July 17: Symphonic Band of Orange -- Patriotic music and

traditional marches

* July 24: Tom Kubis and the Golden West Jazz Orchestra --

Contemporary straight-ahead jazz

* July 31: Huntington Beach Concert Band

* August 7: Bones West -- Trombone ensemble with big band

arrangements of piano, bass and drums.

Those looking for a musical experience closer to the water should

check out the many concerts held each Sunday at the Huntington Beach

Pier. Concerts are organized through the Community Services

Department and begin at 1 p.m.

* Sunday: Leroy Thomas & the Zydeco Road Runners -- zydeco, blues,

R&B;, Cajun and other forms of Louisiana music.

* July 10: Earl Thomas -- R&B; and soul; Bill Magee Band -- guitar

virtuosos with New York/Chicago blues sound.

* July 17: The Bone Daddys -- Funk, African, R&B;, soul, reggae,

roots, rockabilly and more.

* August 7: Surfing Sunday’s concert series, sponsored by Surfing

Music

* August 21: Katia Moreas and -- World music

* August 28: Conjunto Jardin -- Salsa music

The Huntington Beach Art Center also hosts its own jazz series at

538 Main St. This Sunday at 4:30 p.m., the center will be hosting

jazz vocalist Dee Dee McNeil. For more information, call (714)

374-1650.

Reality TV show casting call in H.B.

Real estate mogul Donald Trump wants to “fire” you.

Producers for “The Apprentice” television show are holding an open

casting call in Huntington Beach Saturday to recruit contestants for

the popular NBC reality series. The audition will begin at 9 a.m. at

the 5 Points Plaza shopping center.

Producer Scott Salyers said he expected between 200 to 800 to

audition Saturday. Contestants will be interviewed in small groups of

six to 12 and asked to debate popular topics. Last year contestants

debated who they supported in the November 2004 election. After the

group sessions, producers will call back participants for a second

one-on-one interview -- the second step in a very long casting

process.

“From the time they do the first interview to actually making it

on the show, it takes about two months,” Salyers said.

Orange County is the first stop on a 16-stop cross-county casting

tour that will stretch through July and end in San Diego, Salyers

said. Between 16 to 18 people are expected to be cast for the show,

which will tape in the fall and air in Spring 2006.

Salyers encourages applicants to wear normal work attire to the

casting call, and act natural.

“Don’t try to be someone you’re not,” he said. “The best thing you

can do is just be yourself.”

Contestants are only asked to bring a completed application, which

can be downloaded from NBC.com.

Hyatt names new general manager

Cheryl L. Phelps, a 31-year hospitality industry veteran, has been

named general manager of the 517-room Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach

Resort & Spa. She replaces the property’s original general manager,

Cormac O’Modhrain, who is joining the resort’s ownership group, the

Robert Mayer Corporation, as president of its new Hospitality

Management Company.

This promotion marks Phelps’ 16th career move with the Hyatt

during her 31 years at the company, and is a homecoming for the

longtime Huntington Beach resident.

“Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa is one of the most

spectacular resorts in the Hyatt portfolio, and I am honored by this

appointment,” said Phelps in a press release. “I am looking forward

to contributing to the resort’s continued success and to becoming

actively involved in the community.”

Phelps is currently a vice president and managing director for

Hyatt and also serves as general manager of the 522-room Hyatt

Regency Long Beach. She began her career as a front desk agent at the

Hyatt Regency Houston.

During the course of her career, she has served in various line

and managerial positions with Hyatt Hotels, and has managed eight of

the company’s properties ranging in size from 283 rooms to 1,234

rooms. In 1979, she became the first female general manager for Hyatt

Hotels at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, then a Hyatt property. She

has served as general manager of Hyatt City of Commerce, Calif.;

Hyatt Regency Tampa, Fla.; Hyatt Regency Houston; Hyatt Regency

Waikiki, Honolulu; Park Hyatt San Francisco; Hyatt Regency San

Francisco Airport, and Hyatt Regency Long Beach.

In 1992, she was named regional managing director over six Hyatt

hotels in Northern California. She has been nominated for general

manager of the year three times, and was awarded the honor in 1989.

Phelps graduated with distinction with a bachelor of arts degree

from the University of Hawaii. She completed the Kellogg Executive

Program at the Graduate School of Management at Northwestern

University in 1991. Throughout her career she has been actively

involved in industry and public/community organizations, serving on

numerous boards of directors. She also dedicates a significant

percentage of her free time to mentoring university-level students

pursuing careers in hotel and restaurant management.