Around Town: Donate your unused bike to help brighten a child’s holiday

TZone Fitness & Pilates in Costa Mesa is collecting bicycle donations on behalf of FACT (Families and Communities Together, Orange County). The nonprofit charitable organization will provide bikes to at-risk kids and teens who are recipients of program resources with the goal of giving a kid something they would never dream of getting. The group is dedicated to the prevention of child abuse.

All sizes of bikes will be accepted at TZone at 333 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa until Dec. 23 between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and on Saturday from 8 to 11 a.m. Call (949) 689-0925 for more information.

Foley spearheads drive for new children’s coats

Join Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley in spreading holiday cheer and keeping kids in our community warm during winter for the 14th annual New Coat Drive for Kids, which runs through Dec. 15.

New coats or jackets for children can be dropped off at various locations during normal business hours: Foley’s office at the Hall of Administration (400 W. Civic Center Drive, Santa Ana), Costa Mesa City Hall and after hours and on weekends at the Costa Mesa Police Department headquarters at 77 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, the Orange County Employees Assn. at 830 N. Ross St., Santa Ana, and the Foley Group, PLC, at 2755 Bristol St. Suite 110, Costa Mesa.

Donations support local organizations like the Boys & Girls Club — Central Coast, Marshallese Youth OC, SOY (Save Our Youth), and families identified in need by local schools.

Contact (714) 834-3220 for more information or to partner and host a collection box. Locations are updated daily at d2.ocgov.com.

Patrick’s Purpose Foundation plans 4th annual Walk With Us, seeks participants

Community members are invited to participate in the fourth annual Walk With Us fundraiser for the nonprofit Patrick’s Purpose Foundation. The event takes place on Saturday, Dec. 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The walk is staged at 1641 Ford Road, Newport Beach. The event is held to bring awareness to teen mental health, the importance of talking about it, and to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Patrick Turner, who died in 2018 of suicide.

The walk covers approximately two miles in the Harbor View Homes or “Port Streets” community.

Register at www.patrickspurposefoundation.org. The cost is $35 per person; $125 for a family of four. Registration includes a T-shirt and TK Burger lunch.

Snoopy House returns to Costa Mesa Friday, holiday light contest winners to be named Dec. 23

The grounds outside Costa Mesa City Hall have been undergoing a holiday makeover as city staff prepare for the return of the annual Snoopy House Dec. 16 to 23, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

In addition to a special light display, the event will feature photos with Santa from 6 to 8 p.m., train rides, stage performances, carolers and a miniature sledding hill (waiver required) on Dec. 16 through 18, from 6 to 8 p.m.

This year’s event culminates on Dec. 23 with the announcement of winners of the annual citywide Holiday Lights Contest, a collaboration between the city of Costa Mesa and local Realtor Kendra Fisher.

Residents and business owners are encouraged to brighten their neighborhoods by participating. To enter, email a photo of your decorated Costa Mesa home or business to Tatiana.madrid@costamesaca.gov by Wednesday. For more, call Costa Mesa Parks and Community Services at (714) 754-5300.

Costa Mesa’s Balearic Park will become a ‘Snowland’ on Dec. 17

Families looking for a winter wonderland this season need look no further than Balearic Park in Costa Mesa, which will be transformed into “Balearic Snowland” with 40 tons of snow and plenty of holiday fun.

Started in 1989 by the owner of Torelli Realty as a sort of neighborhood block party, the annual event survived the pandemic and has grown to include photos with Santa, a live deejay, bounce house, face painting and a snow play area.

The event takes place Dec. 17, from 9 a.m. to noon, outside the Balearic Community Center, 1975 Balearic Drive, Costa Mesa. For more, call (714) 540-7355 or email snowland@torellirealty.com.

OCMA director to host conversation Tuesday with artist Lily Stockman

Los Angeles artist Lily Stockman, whose work currently appears in the Orange County Museum of Art exhibits “California Biennial 2022: Pacific Gold” and “13 Women,” will be speaking with OCMA Chief Executive Heidi Zuckerman in a conversation Tuesday at 6 p.m.

She will discuss how she draws from her affinity for nature and interest in the organizing principles of structure — from the meter of poetry to musical form — to create arrangements of biomorphic shapes, planes and borders.

OCMA is located at 3333 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa. Admission is free, but tickets must be reserved online through ocma.art/calendar/artist-talk-lily-stockman/.

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