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Archive for the 'Special events' Category

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Santa Tour returning to Villa Park

November 29th, 2011, 2:02 pm by

Santa Claus is making his annual visit to Villa Park on Saturday to take Christmas wishes.

The annual Santa Tour is slated to begin at 8 a.m. with Santa Claus getting ferried via OCFA Engine 23 from the Villa Park Towne Centre. City Manager Lori Sassoon said the engine will make 27 pre-determined stops throughout the city.

“At each stop, Santa comes of the truck and sits on a chair and children are encouraged to tell him their wishes,” Sassoon said.

Children – and parents – are also able to take pictures with Santa Claus and children receive a candy cane. Each stop lasts between five and 15 minutes.

The tour was shortened from 36 stops in 2009 to 27 stops in 2010 and the route changed to ensure the tour would be finished before sunset. Sassoon said the route is the same as last year.

“People appreciate consistency,” she said.

To see the route map and timeline are available on the city’s website, click HERE.

 

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Stores, shoppers get jump on Black Friday

November 22nd, 2011, 4:55 pm by

Retail outlets – and shoppers – are leapfrogging Thanksgiving and getting an early jump on the Christmas shopping season by starting Black Friday early.

For the first time, every retail store at The Outlets at Orange is opening at 12:01 a.m. Friday. Last year, 17 stores in the outdoor mall opened at midnight – or earlier.

Blake Windal, the mall’s general manager, said retailers were enthused about opening early for Black Friday.

“They all wanted to open at midnight,” Windal said. “Many of them had been trying to open early for a long time.”

In all, there are about 100 stores in the outdoor mall.

“We’re the only Orange County center to be open at midnight,” Windal said.

The Old Navy store is getting a jump on other stores. The trendy clothing store will remain open through Thanksgiving and Friday, Windal said.

“They debated on closing early and re-opening on Thanksgiving,” he said. “But as of now, they’ll be open all day Thanksgiving and all day Black Friday.”

Additionally, Dave & Busters and Café Tu Tu Tango will open early and serve breakfast wraps to hungry shoppers, Windal said.

National retail electronics chain Best Buy is opening all of its stores – including the two in Orange – at midnight.

By 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, the location at 3741 W. Chapman Ave. had about 15 tents of customers waiting in line. Will Torres of Santa Ana was the first in line at the store at 3741 W. Chapman Ave. at 9 a.m. on Monday.

Torres, 21, said he and a friend will switch off camping out through the week when Torres goes to work at his job at an auto parts store.

“My boss thinks it’s crazy,” Torres said. “It’s worth it for a 42-inch TV for $200. I’m tired of the little TVs.”

Brandon Flora, a customer solutions manager at the Orange store, said customers arrived a couple of days earlier than in past years.

Flora said that advertising deals in advance could have contributed to the early rush of customers.

“Everyone is looking for a deal,” Flora said. “And we welcome them.”

Adan Zuniga, 20, and his three friends arrived outside the Orange store just before noon on Tuesday. Zuniga, who lives in Orange, said he and his friends plan on taking shifts to go eat with their families on Thanksgiving.

“And we’ll bring back some leftovers,” he said.

None of the campers were concerned about a forecast of rain for Thursday. “The rain is not going to stop you,” Zuniga said. “Maybe people will leave or just stay home.”

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Pulitzer winner has photographed every president since Nixon

November 15th, 2011, 7:32 pm by

imageWhen Jimmy Carter was inaugurated as president in 1977, David Hume Kennerly had already won a Pulitzer Prize and photographed multiple presidents, including Gerald Ford.

During a lecture at Chapman University on Tuesday afternoon, Kennerly showed multiple photos of Richard Nixon, Ford, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, but just five that included Carter.

A student asked why there were so few of Carter and why Kennerly didn’t want to work as Carter’s photographer when he had worked under Ford.

“Two words: Jimmy Carter,” Kennerly quipped. “I didn’t like him. He beat my boss.”

Kennerly, 64, spoke to two history classes at the invitation of California TV icon Huell Howser, who had previously lectured at Chapman.

Kennerly spoke about his career, which included winning the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for his work in Vietnam, as well as photographing every president since Nixon.

When approached by Ford to become the president’s personal photographer, Kennerly said he asked for all access to Ford, to report directly to the president and not be censored.

“He kind of looked at me, he smoked his pipe and he said ‘You don’t want Air Force One on the weekends?’” Kennerly said. “To go from the outside to the inside was … like Alice in Wonderland falling down the rabbit hole.”

After Ford was defeated by Carter, Kennerly shot for Time magazine, continuing his work in photographing presidents, including Obama.

“It’s hard to believe that one person could have taken all those photos,” Kennerly said. “And I was that one person.”

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Veterans need support at home, too

November 11th, 2011, 5:24 pm by

The annual Veterans Day celebration Friday afternoon at Depot Park was a show of support and gratitude local members of the Armed Forces who have served both abroad and at home.

The keynote speaker, retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. Thomas G. Stein, urged the crowd of about 150 to show support and gratitude by helping solve the problem of unemployment among former military.

“It is costing American taxpayers $750 million annually in unemployment benefits to unemployed veterans,” Stein, an Orange resident said.

“They put all at risk to protect us. We need to focus on our fair share to help our veterans.”

Stein suggested that residents contact state and federal representatives to ask for legislation helping veterans get re-trained, as well as find jobs. Additionally, Stein encouraged veterans to take advantage of available funds for college tuition.

“Education is one of the keys to success,” he said.

Among the honorees was Navy Reservist Glenn Ichikawa, an Orange resident who was introduced by Mayor Carolyn Cavecche.

Ichikawa returned from being deployed in Iraq and like many Orange residents currently serving abroad, had a banner in his honor hanging from a street light. Cavecche gave Ichikawa his banner.

“It is my hope that this is the first of many,” Cavecche said.

Posted in: Old Towne • Special events | Comments Off

Old Towne: Christmas Tree Lighting

December 7th, 2009, 8:39 am by

dscn0284“There’s something magical in the air. Can you feel it?” Mayor Carolyn Cavecche greeted the crowd, huddled together around a sparkling Orange Plaza.

About 8,000 men, women and children — bundled up in sweaters, hats and scarves — gathered Sunday night to watch the 15th annual Tree Lighting Ceremony and Candlelight Choir Procession.

Rosemary Price — who came with her husband, their son and the son’s girlfriend — has been attending the traditional event for three years.

“It’s really festive and Christmas-y, and it’s a great way to start the holiday season,” Price said.

Her favorite part of the evening is listening to the choir and orchestra, which can be heard from a block away.

“We were here at 2:30 to get seats, but we forgot it started at 5,” laughed Price.

From the back of an old-fashioned fire engine, Santa and Mrs. Claus rode around the Circle, waving to spectators seated in front of the Candlelight Orchestra.

Citizen of the Year Joe Fortier led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance, before Mayor Cavecche surprised musical director Michael Short by inviting him and his family to light the trees.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” the crowd counted down.

Two trees, one by the Citizens Business Bank and the other by the fountain, burst into light while revelers joined the Candlelight Choir in a rendition of “O Christmas Tree.”

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Posted in: Old Towne • Special events | 1 Comment »

Old Towne: Firefighters are helping to spark some love

November 21st, 2009, 8:22 am by

The Orange Fire Department is participating in the Spark of Love Toy Drive through the year, said Ed Engler, deputy fire marshal.

Spark of Love is a holiday toy drive that distributes donated gifts to needy children throughout the community. Gifts are needed, especially in this economy.

“Gift-giving was strong last year in spite of the economy. There are probably more needy people than in years past to give the gifts to,” Engler said.

Anyone can drop off a new, unwrapped gift at any fire station in the county. Dropping off gifts past Christmas is OK, as they will be used for distribution later.

ABC-TV is a main partner along with CVS Pharmacy stores. Volunteers from the Orange Park Acres Trailblazers help along with grade-school and junior-high children from the Orange Park Acres community, Engler said.

“We came up with the idea of getting the kids involved – they’re learning about how to help other people who are less fortunate,” he said.

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Posted in: Citywide • Old Towne • Special events | 3 Comments »

Special election: Voter explains how he chose Assembly candidate

November 17th, 2009, 11:27 am by

EDITOR’S NOTE: Chapman University interns are interviewing voters leaving the polls in today’s special election to replace Assemblyman Mike Duvall.

dudeIt was a dislike for Linda Ackerman that prompted Orange resident Fred Richards’ vote.

Richards believes that Ackerman, a Republican candidate in the 72nd Assembly election today, has been “carpet-bagging.”

“She lives in Irvine, but she’s renting a place out here in Fullerton,” he said after voting at Orangeland RV Park.

In fact, her most aggressive campaigning tactic proved counterproductive for Richards.

He ended up voting for Republican Chris Norby because of all the letters Ackerman had sent out attacking him.

“Ackerman is accusing him of doing all these nasty things and she’s the nasty one,” he said.

– Rachelle Yeung

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Posted in: Citywide • Special events | 2 Comments »

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