CITYSCAPE ROUNDUP:Laguna Playhouse gets $400K grant

The Laguna Playhouse has been awarded a grant of $400,000 from the James Irvine Foundation. The grant will support the theater’s mission by funding a new communications program designed to “develop meaningful and sustained relationships with younger and diverse communities of theater-goers, while also deepening the theater’s relationship with its existing audience,” executive director Richard Stein said.

In January, the foundation invited the playhouse to apply for support from its new Arts Regional Initiative, a program designed to help California arts organizations build capacity.

The playhouse was selected as a finalist in April and underwent a foundation-directed process of assessment to identify opportunities for capacity-building that met the theater’s long-range goals. This led to the submission of a comprehensive proposal in August.

“Having just completed a strategic-planning process, the Laguna Playhouse was well-positioned to articulate its capacity-building priorities,” Stein said. “We determined that, if approved, the James Irvine Foundation grant would provide us with the opportunity to implement a critical new communications strategy needed to strengthen our relationship with current theater-goers while improving our ability to attract a new, younger and more diverse audience that will sustain the playhouse in the future.

“We are deeply grateful to the James Irvine Foundation for their generous support.”

The Laguna Playhouse is one of the region’s largest nonprofit resident professional theater companies and is the oldest continuously operating theater company on the West Coast, founded in 1920.

Since the 1980s, the playhouse has envisioned the expansion of its facilities to include a second theater space in addition to the 420-seat, city-owned Moulton Theatre on Laguna Canyon Road.

In 1998, the playhouse purchased an office complex at 580 Broadway, next door to the Moulton Theatre, an ideal place for expansion. The playhouse is actively engaged in planning its new facility and will announce those plans at a later time.

For more information, go to www.LagunaPlayhouse.com.

Labor dispute settled for trash haulers

A possible strike among trash haulers who service Laguna Beach has been averted.

Members of Teamsters Local 396 have accepted a new, five-year contract offer from Waste Management of Orange County. The employees had initially rejected the contract offer, and managers were preparing for a possible strike, said Sarah Huoh, public relations manager.

On Oct. 20, the employees voted on proposed five-year contracts as successor agreements to the contracts that expired Sept. 30. The employees who work for the company’s Santa Ana operations voted to ratify the contract, but those in Irvine — who service Laguna Beach — did not.

The company released the following statement late Wednesday: “We are very happy to report that our employees in Irvine have joined along with their colleagues in Santa Ana in voting to approve the proposed contract. Waste Management’s goal was to reach an agreement that keeps its workers among the highest paid in the industry, with strong benefits, while preserving its ability to provide competitively-priced service in Orange County.”

For more information, visit www.wmorangecounty.com.

Fall Festival Sunday at Methodist Church

The Laguna Beach United Methodist Church is hosting its annual Fall Festival on Sunday from 11:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. All community members are invited to come and participate. Children can wear their Halloween costumes and enjoy games and crafts. There will be a bounce house with a slide and obstacle course, creative game booths, cotton candy and costume contests.

Admission is $15, including unlimited carnival games and a hot dog or chili lunch plate. The annual holiday bazaar will be held for holiday shopping.

The church is located at 21631 Wesley Dr., behind Lang Park. For more information, contact Joy Ostensen at (949) 499-3088, ext. 21.

2nd Annual Halloween Main Beach Parade

The Laguna Beach Parents Club invites families to show off their little one’s costumes before Halloween.

Parents and their children should gather at the Main Beach playground on Monday at 3:30 p.m. for a walk along the boardwalk to the lifeguard headquarters and back to the playground.

Halloween treats will be provided at the lawn next to the playground.

For more information about the club, visit www.lagunabeachparents.com.

Nix Nature Center dedication Nov. 4

The James and Rosemary Nix Nature Center site will be formally dedicated on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. with various activities planned.

Free parking at remote locations will be provided, with shuttle service to the center. Attendees may park at the Laguna College of Art & Design, 2222 Laguna Canyon Rd.

The nature center is located in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park’s Little Sycamore Canyon at 18751 Laguna Canyon Road. Details are available at (949) 844-7275 or www.lagunacanyon.org.

Seniors planning for January ball

Laguna Beach Seniors, Inc. is planning its first Legacy Ball on Jan. 26 and is seeking members to work on the planning committee.

The committee, chaired by Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider, will meet once in November, twice in December and three times in January. Committee members will also be asked to help stage the event.

The Legacy Ball will honor two key members of the community who have left a legacy for the city.

The theme will be “retro” and will include a sit-down dinner and dancing to music from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s. Attendees are encouraged to dress appropriately.

The event will help fund annual operating expenses of the Laguna Beach Seniors organization and new facility.

Anyone interested in participating in the meetings should call Pearson-Schneider at (949) 497-7128.

Toy drive to help children in Darfur

A Laguna Beach couple are spearheading an effort to collect toys for refugees in Darfur, Sudan.

Collette and Phillip Kaplan say they also want to raise awareness and funds to assist the displaced in the region.

Donations must fall into the following categories: building blocks; coloring books; paper for drawing; crayons or colored pencils and single pencil sharpeners; balls (with pumps if inflatable); jump ropes; baby rattles; and checkers (no other board games).

Boxes for toys will be placed in front of Latitude 33 Books, 311 Ocean Ave., and The Colony Co., 384 Forest Ave. through Sunday, Nov. 12.

The toys will be sent to the International Medical Corps, a Santa Monica-based organization that runs Jewish World Watch medical clinics in Darfur.

For more information, contact Jewish World Watch, (818) 501-1836 or visit www.JewishWorldWatch.org.

Cindy Sheehan to appear in Laguna

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, author of “Peace Mom: A Mother’s Journey through Heartache to Activism,” will be speaking from 7-9:30 p.m. Monday at Hennessey’s Tavern (upstairs), 213 Ocean Ave. Sheehan will be on hand to encourage people to vote in the upcoming election, Tuesday, Nov. 7.

For more information, call Rick at (949) 497-5672.