San Clemente : Huntington Beach : Music Festival Planned as Library Fund-Raiser

A jazz and classical music festival will be given Sunday in an effort by the Huntington Beach Library Patrons Foundation to raise funds for a $1.5-million children’s wing for the city’s Central Library.

Children’s computers, video technology and additional books will be housed in the 18,000-square-foot addition, which was approved by the City Council last July.

The addition is intended to be a “total resource center” and will include facilities for children with learning disabilities, foundation member Diane Adams said.

Although the wing was approved in the city’s capital outlay budget, it is not a priority and will not receive funding until “sometime in the future,” when there is sufficient money, Huntington Beach City Councilman Peter Green said.

The fund-raiser will not only raise dollars for the children’s wing but also increase community awareness of the need for the new facilities, Adams said.

Thirty restaurants are donating food and drink to the “early “ Valentine’s Day party, scheduled for 3 to 6 p.m. at the library, 7111 Talbert Ave. The tickets are $15 per person or $25 per couple and include a choice of listening to classical or jazz music on the two floors of the library. Adams said the money raised from the party will be used as “seed money” to encourage private donors to pledge matching funds.