Around Town: $60,000 grant will benefit ocean education in Newport Beach

A $60,000 grant from Irvine-based First Foundation Inc. will be given to the Discovery Science Foundation to help fund the Discovery Cube’s Ocean Quest in Newport Beach for ocean-science education.

The check will be presented to Discovery Cube’s Ocean Quest in a ceremony Wednesday at the Balboa Fun Zone in Newport Beach.

Activities on the Discovery Cube’s education vessel and on-land programs in topics such as storm water, pollution and renewable energy will be available for students.

First Foundation Inc. is a financial services company. The Discovery Science Foundation is the program-development and fundraising arm for science learning centers in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Event to share heart-healthy cuisine with seniors

Local senior citizens and their families will get a chance to sample food considered beneficial to their cardiovascular and overall health at a “Love Your Heart” event from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at MBK Senior Living’s Huntington Terrace, 18800 Florida St., Huntington Beach.

Guests will learn about key ingredients of a healthy diet.

“Heart disease is the No. 1 killer among Americans and yet there are simple ways you can improve your heart health today,” Geoff Davies, corporate director of dining services for MBK Senior Living, said in a statement.

Newport Beach Film Festival to award its U.K. Honors on Thursday

The Newport Beach Film Festival will present its third annual U.K. Honors for British cinema on Thursday in London, with photographer David Bailey, actors Miranda Richardson and Charles Dance and the movie “I, Daniel Blake” receiving awards.

Other honors will go to the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Pinewood Studios, Creative Scotland and the Ink Factory.

“The Newport Beach Film Festival has, since its inception [in 1999], had a strong focus on celebrating U.K. film,” festival Executive Director Gregg Schwenk said in an article in Variety.

The festival has featured a “strong array of the very best in British cinema,” he said.

The first U.K. Honors film award was given in 2015 to “The Imitation Game.”

This year’s Newport Beach Film Festival is scheduled for April 20 to 27.

Newport bests 3 other coastal cities in surfing contest

Newport Beach emerged as the winner over three other Orange County cities in the West Coast Board Riders Cup Series for surfers held Saturday on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier.

Almost 100 surfers from Newport, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach and Seal Beach turned out for the event, the second of its kind.

The competition offers no prize money but gives a trophy to the winner.

O.C. Fair community programs receive awards

The OC Fair & Event Center’s We Care Wednesdays and Friends of the Fair programs have been honored with the Western Fairs Assn.’s Merrill Award, which acknowledges innovation, vision and excellence in the fair industry.

Each summer, Friends of the Fair offers a free and private fair experience for people with special needs.

In We Care Wednesdays, guests who bring donations for organizations partnering with the fair receive free admission and one complimentary carnival ride. Last year, the program provided 28 tons of food to Second Harvest Food Bank, more than 56,000 books to Share Our Selves, about 37,000 pounds of clothes to Goodwill Industries and more than 150,000 items of school supplies to Think Together, according to a news release.

Pacific Life Foundation expects to give $6.25 million in 2017

The Newport Beach-based Pacific Life Foundation announced recently that it plans to give $6.25 million in charitable funding this year.

The foundation’s initial 2017 grants were presented to Southern California organizations Jan. 18 at Pacific Life’s headquarters.

Grants this year — which will concentrate on fields such as arts, education, health and human services — will primarily support communities where Pacific Life employees live and work, including greater Orange County, Omaha, Neb., and Lynchburg, Va.

Career conference for veterans set at UC Irvine

UC Irvine and Military Connection, a website with directories of military and veterans resources, will present the Veteran Talent Career Planning Conference from 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. March 4 at the Pacific Ballroom in the university’s Student Center.

The event will include a resource fair, one-on-one coaching and an employer/veteran networking reception.

Admission is free for veterans and active military personnel. To register, visit veteran.uci.edu.