In The Arts

Ushers to find their bearings

Even ushers need to learn how to find their way around a place.

Soka University in Aliso Viejo will hold an orientation session on Saturday for people volunteering to serve as ushers at the campus’s new Performing Arts Center.

Those interested in serving as volunteer ushers should be at least 15 years old, be able to work 3-hour to 4-hour shifts a few times monthly and make a one year commitment to volunteering at the Center.

The session will start at 11 a.m. Soka University of America is at 1 University Drive, Aliso Viejo.

Those interested in becoming a volunteer should fill in an online Volunteer Interest Form at https://www.performingarts.soka.edu/volunteer or email their name, address, and phone number to volunteer@soka.edu, according to a news release.

A public reception for local boys and girls, whose art work is on display at Gallery Q in the Susi Q at the Laguna Beach Senior and Community Center, is to take place there from 6 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 25.

The “Reflections of Growth,” an exhibition of art made by members of the Boys & Girls club of Laguna Beach opened on Oct. 1 and continues till mid-December at the center, 380 Third St. According to a news release, the kids expressed their interpretation of growing up through painting, pastels, printmaking and ink.

The release listed the names of the young artists as follows: Vickymar Erazo, Jenna Townsend, Skylar Sexton, Tess Booth, Luciana Smith, Diego Ruiz, Jordan Trautwein, Angelina Dyrnaes, Sofia Hefter-Smith, Katherine Outhwaite, River Sandoval, Brooklyn Bryan, Kael Bittner-Brown, Emily Hayden, Autumn Moreland, Alyssa Decker, Makena Minailo, Paris Ruzicka, Gage Robben, Jilleah Channels, Jada Handy, Jameson Roller, Tatiana Tobin, Andrea Osburn, Hana Ford, Madison Wold, Elisa Dobrow-Isaza, Nadine Maida, Lalia Garcia-Amini, Mia Brisker-Vines, Garret Robben, Amber Proctor, Clarissa Rojas, Aaron Weiss, Eric Calderon, Jacob Castro, Andrew Tran, Ty Endres, Dylan Kang, Quinn Butler, Andre Nunn, Evelyn Alonso, Kiara Flores and Yamna Anaya.

The viewing hours for “Reflections of Growth” are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

The National Parent Teacher Assn. invites children in grades K-12 to submit entries for an art contest. Dubbed “Reflections,” the National PTA contest focusing on the theme of diversity is accepting submissions in six categories through Oct. 20, including photography, film and video and visual art.

Students from Laguna Beach Unified schools who take part in the contest, will have their artwork displayed at a reception in November.

Rules for the contest and entry forms can be downloaded from the National PTA website at https://www.pta.org/reflections. For more information, emailjenniferm.baker@verizon.net.

The Laguna Concert Band will put on a “Musical Spooktacular” at the Laguna Playhouse, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 30.

The show will feature songs from “Harry Potter” and “Pirates of the Caribbean,” according to a flier for the event.

Tickets are $10 and may be purchased at the box office or by calling (949) 497-2787. The Laguna Playhouse is at 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach.

— Imran Vittachi

Nike sponsoring LCAD course

The Spring 2012 semester at the Laguna College of Art and Design swill offer a Nike-sponsored course on digital sports and theOlympics.

The Beaverton, Ore.-based athletic gear maker has picked LCAD as one of among four participating colleges, college President Jonathan Burke announced at Tuesday’s Laguna Beach City Council meeting.

The course will explore how digital media will change the Olympic experience.

“Students will be working with Nike to learn developmental skills and best practices and [be] directly critiqued by Nike designers throughout the project, Burke said. “The outcome will be an experimental digital sport team platform.”

Nike’s chief executive officer and the company’s global creative team initiated the partnership, Burke said.

A team of Nike and LCAD representatives will select 15 to 20 students from applicants for the upper-level course, which will be taught at the Big Bend campus in a structured environment, Burke said.

The course will also be taught at the Art Center, the College for Creative Studies in Michigan and Northumbria University in Newcastle, England.

— Barbara Diamond