Crystal Cove
Alliance's Prohibition Party
Discovery Science Center's "Out of This World" Gala and Arts Orange County's Arts Awards Raise Funds for Good Causes; Pacific Symphony Celebrates Carl St. Clair's 20th anniversary with the Orchestra
BY DONNA BUNCE, Register Columnist
The Crystal Cove Alliance took its 410 guests on a trip back in time for its "Prohibition Party and Jazz on the Beach" party Saturday night, September 26th, at the Crystal Cove State Park Historic District in Newport Coast. They transformed the beach into an exclusive speakeasy to celebrate the Cove's unique history and raise funds, later estimated at $180,000, for their mission of restoration and education.
CCA's President and CEO Harry Helling filled me in on the Cove's rum-running history during Prohibition in the '20s and '30s when the first cottages were being built. "The rum runners thought the Cove was the ideal spot to bring liquor to shore because it was dark, close to a harbor and far from the city," Helling said. "The early Cove kids, who scoured the beaches for bottles of alcohol that the rum runners dumped overboard if they thought they were being pursued, would sell them for a couple of bucks."
Students from Chapman University's CAST theater group set the tone for the party dressed in period costumes. Serving as official greeters, they later enticed guests to the dance floor with their spot-on Charleston and jitterbug dancing. The "Heidi Ho" password led guests through the speakeasy door and onto the beach, where white linened dinner tables sparkled on the sand as the waves lapped the shore and the sun was setting and spreading its rosy-hued rays over the cove. Guests, many of them dressed in period clothing, posed for photos in front of a 1926 red liquor truck loaded with liquor barrels and sampled the period cocktails selected especially for the event, including a version of a bathtub gin fizz that I can vouch was good! Dinner, inspired by the cuisine from the era, was created by the executive chefs from the St. Regis Resort, Frederic Castan, The Resort at Pelican Hill, Jean-Pierre Dubray, and Montage Resort, Matt Leonard.
The Brenna Whitaker Jazz Orchestra, which entertained throughout dinner and later for dancing, played music from the '20s and '30s, including popular tunes of the day, Is You Is, or Is You Ain't My Baby, It Had to be You, I'll Be Seeing
You, and Cow Cow Boogie. The seven-item live auction, with KOCE-TV's Ed Arnold at the helm, featured a two-night stay in Crystal Cove Cottage #22, the newly-renovated Park and Marine Research Facility. Interior designer Carol McMahon provided luxury furnishings, Helling will lead a tidepool exploration, there is dinner at The Beachcomber, and a massage on the ocean-view deck. The package sold six times for $3,500 a pop!
CAA Founder and President Emeritus Laura Davick, who now serves on the board as Director of Public Affairs, is happy about the way things are moving forward. "We've secured $3 million in funding and will soon begin our Phase II restoration effort, which includes restoring the outdoor education commons and making the Beaches Cottage into a museum, among other things," she said. "After that, all that will be remaining will be the north beach area and the restoration of the 17 cottage rentals."
Davick's parents met as teenagers at Crystal Cove and later, when they married, acquired Cottage #2, now known at the Shell Shack, when Laura was one-year-old. "I feel like every day I get to work on Crystal Cove to make it a better place keeps a smile on my face," said the committed Davick.
For current information relating to our ongoing educational endeavors
please click on the direct link below . . .
CrystalCoveBeachCottages.com/education/
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Sponsored by Crystal Cove Alliance and Crystal Cove State Park
The following educational programs will be offered between July 1 and September 15, 2009
The Great Plein Air Art Experience!
Time: 1 time 5-hour course. Wednesdays, July 1, 15, 29; August 5, 19; 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Cost: $50 adults (16 yrs and older); $40 for Crystal Cove Alliance members
Where: Meets at the Crystal Cove Alliance headquarters - cottage #45.
Spend a relaxing day capturing the beauty of Crystal Cove on canvas! This new program allows visitors to experience what it was like to be a plein air (open air) artist in Crystal Cove during the heyday of the movement in the 1920’s. Immersed in the sea breezes and shifting light, enjoy setting up your easel and palette, mixing and matching paints, observing (and becoming part of!) nature, and creating an original painting. No previous art experience necessary.
Shorty’s Historic District Fun Tour
Time: Fridays, 9:00 am – 11:30 am
Cost $25 adult; Free for children accompanied by parent; $20 for Crystal Cove Alliance members
Where: Meets on the blufftop deck in the Historic District (near cottage #34)
This fun 2.5-hour educational tour is a fun combination of group theatre and ‘who-done-it’ mystery as participants go back in time to see what really happened in Crystal Cove’s Historic District. Read for a 1930’s Crystal Cove film shoot, investigate the case of the ‘missing’ cottage, shop for candy from a 1935 beachside store, and determine if the Crystal Cove resident named Shorty really had a pet sea lion that lived in his bathtub. Crystal Cove’s beach cottages were built between 1920 and 1935 and, in their own wonderful way, tell the story of California’s history. This Living History program is a fun introduction to the colorful characters that lived in Crystal Cove’s Historic District.
Crystal Cove Junior Ranger Program
Time: Tuesdays, 9:00 am – 10:00 am
Cost: Free for youth 7 – 12 years (must be accompanied by an adult)
Where: Meets at amphitheater at P4
Join a Park Ranger for a fun introduction of the ecology of Crystal Cove State Park. This children’s nature program is a favorite in State Parks and allows visitors ages 7 - 12 to earn a badge for completing this mini-course. Don’t be surprised if the Ranger brings a live snake, some whale bones, or an artifact from the Native American tribes that lived in the Park. In addition, young explorers will also receive a Junior Ranger Adventure Guide, a self-guided nature program that covers geology, ecology, history, safety, plants, wildlife, and conservation and can be completed in only 1-2 days of exploring Crystal Cove State Park. Just take your completed Junior Ranger Adventure Guide to the Visitor Center or Park Store to claim your rewards!
Crystal Cove Family Art Club
Time: Thursdays, 9:00 am – 10:30 am
Cost: $35 for each Parent-Child pair ($30 for Crystal Cove Alliance members); additional children $15. Appropriate for ages 7 – adult.
Where: Meets in Crystal Cove’s Historic District - at the Crystal Cove Alliance headquarters - cottage #45…just look for the tent!
Pacific Coast Highway opened in 1927 and Crystal Cove soon became a favorite spot for tent campers. Families lived in tents, amongst the cottages, and enjoyed communal living on the beach from June through September. In one of those tents resided Aunt Kate’s Juice and Art Club, where Cove kids gathered to learn about art. We’re bringing back an updated version - the Crystal Cove Family Art Club – that brings together local professional artists, families, and, of course, a tent! Each week will bring a new art course including: Beach Watercolor Journaling, Marine Life Sculpture, Photo Mosaics, and Nature Photography.
Capturing the Nature of Landscape with your Camera
Time: 1 time 2.5-hour course. Wednesdays, July 22, and August 12; 9:00 am – 11:30 am
Cost: $40 adults (16 yrs and older); $35 for Crystal Cove Alliance members.
Where: Meets on the bluff top deck in the Historic District (near cottage #34)
There is no better place to improve your digital photography technique than beautiful Crystal Cove! Join National Geographic Traveler Magazine award winner J. Christopher Launi for a workshop that explores taking your camera off automatic and expanding the use of manual features. The workshop begins in the classroom and ends with field instruction in and around the beach, bluff, and Historic District landscapes. Some of the topics explored will be: selective focus techniques, achieving effects through shutter speed, flash techniques, and composition. Workshop focuses on first-time SLR owners, but point-and-shoot users are welcome. Participants should review camera manuals at least once prior to workshop.
Reservations at CrystalCoveBeachCottages.org/education/
