Local student artists win awards at county fair
Point Loma and Ocean Beach students from Francis Parker School shined during a San Diego County Fair visual arts display recently, capturing Best of Class in various categories.
The fair, which draws over 1.2 million visitors each year, is the largest annual event in San Diego County and one of the most well-attended fairs in the United States.
Point Loma resident Emily Hill took Best in Class in acrylics, while Andrew Saarni, also of Point Loma, claimed Best in Class in ceramics.
Ocean Beach resident Danielle Bidegain, claimed Best of Class in black-and-white photography, while fellow OB student Mackenzie Gaura took Best in Class in general woodworking.
“Only student artwork considered the cream of the crop is selected for competition at the county fair,” said Barry Cheskaty, Parker’s Visual Arts Department chair. “Year after year, Parker artists seem to garner more awards and recognition. Earning a Best in Class or Best of Show award at the fair is just icing on the cake for those students who pursue their artwork with passion and a commitment to excellence.”
Discovery Shop moves
to new, larger location
The Point Loma Discovery Shop will soon be celebrating bigger digs. The Discovery Shop, owned and operated by the American Cancer Society, has now moved into a more spacious location at 3609-C Midway Drive.
The quality resale boutique is now located across the parking lot from its previous location in Point Loma Plaza.
According to shop manager Tami Rose, the new facility has added room for furniture and housewares.
Rose said in the past that furniture donations were turned away.
There will also be a waiting room and larger quarters for a wig salon. The salon provides free wigs for women who are undergoing cancer treatment and who cannot afford wigs.
To celebrate the move, Discovery Shop officials will hold a grand opening on Saturday, Aug. 18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is scheduled to include entertainment and refreshments donated by local mnerchants.
“We’re so excited to show off our new location,” said Rose. “Our volunteers are happy with the extra space, we have room to display more merchandise and in a more appealing manner. Our new floor plan allows us to process donations more efficiently.
Rose also issued a plea for additional volunteers to work the larger facility.
Help is needed in the areas of sales, unpacking and sorting or pricing merchandise. The Discovery Shop also relies on volunteers to make local phone calls from home, reminding customers of sales and special events, Rose said. Aside from two co-managers, the shop is staffed entirely by volunteers.
An estimated 2,000 volunteers work the 40 Discovery Shop locations across California. Public donations allow the Cancer Society to fund research, provide education and family service programs and to wage the battle against cancer.
The shop’s hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Wednesdays through Fridays; and noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
For more information, call (619) 224-4336.
Church to host outdoor concert on Sunday
Brian Verhoye, a San Diego pianist, will entertain residents Sunday, Aug. 11, as he headlines an outdoor festival concert featuring jazz and pop music on the veranda of Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church.
Joining Verhoye will be vocalists Shelly Marie Verhoye and Peter Duncan. Other performers will include Nuvi Mehta, a violinist and lecturer with the San Diego Symphony, bassist Glen Fisher and drummer David Zedaker.
Participants may make a free-will offering. Church officials said nursery care is provided and refreshments will accompany the outdoor concert.
For more information, call (619) 223-1633.
Psomas volunteers tackle
trash at Sunset Cliffs Park
Nearly 30 volunteers converged on Sunset Cliffs Park on Saturday, July 28, to participate in the recent Psomas Annual Volunteer Day. Workers gathered for a parkwide and beachwide trash-collection campaign.
Psomas volunteers, working in association with members of the San Diego Coastkeeper and the Surfrider Foundation, scoured the area for refuse ranging from cigarette butts to bottles to construction debris, according to event organizers.
Child volunteers were also treated to a scavenger hunt, helping add to the interest and excitement of the environmental campaign, organizers said.
Psomas, a consulting engineering firm that specializes in the transportation, water and land-development markets in the western U.S., has an employee volunteer day to give back to the communities where they live and work.
For more information, visit www.psomas.com.
San Diego Blood Bank to hold local drive Aug. 19
San Diego Blood Bank is holding a public blood drive on Sunday, Aug. 19, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Point Loma Community Presbyterian, 2128 Chatsworth Blvd.
All blood donors will be rewarded with a special San Diego Blood Bank High School Challenge T-shirt at the drive.
Participants will also be able to join the San Diego Blood Bank’s “Donor Difference” program, through which participants can access an online store and track their cholesterol, pulse and blood pressure after donating.
The San Diego Blood Bank, San Diego’s largest blood-collection agency, was established in 1950 to serve patients in 50 hospitals throughout Southern California.
Eligible blood donors must be at least 17 years old and weigh a minimum of 110 pounds.
Donors are advised to eat a good meal before giving blood.
For more information or to make an appointment to donate, contact the San Diego Blood Bank at 1 (800) 4MY-SDBB, or visit www.sandiegoblood-bank.org.