Around Town: Chili cook-off coming to downtown Huntington Beach

The Huntington Beach Downtown Business Improvement District is hosting its annual Chili at the Beach and Dude’s Day Out Fair events on Saturday, June 17.

The Chili at the Beach event will be on the first three blocks of Main Street and feature live music, vendors, community partners and children’s activities. Wristbands can be purchased for $15 in an online presale, or $20 at the event, to sample more than 20 chili creations and help crown the People’s Choice winner.

A portion of the ticket sales will benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley and the Huntington Beach International Surf Museum.

On the same day in Pier Plaza, the Dude’s Day Out Fair will feature more than 30 vendor booths with products, services and programs for men and fathers.

For more information, visit hbdowntown.com.

Pacific Airshow tickets on sale now; event set for Sept. 29-Oct. 1

Tickets to the Pacific Airshow, the nation’s largest airshow by attendance, are on sale now. The annual spectacle is scheduled from Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 in Huntington Beach. The airshow will feature the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, Canadian Forces Snowbirds and, for the first time in Huntington Beach history, the F-22 Raptor Demonstration team.

Though the Pacific Airshow also offers free viewing to the public, the show is expanding its general admission viewing area from the pier to Beach Boulevard with more than 20,000 tickets each day, which will allow for additional food options, activations and displays.

General admission tickets are $25 each, with pier seating available for $50 on Friday and $75 on Saturday and Sunday. Other options include premiere club seating, a reserved table for up to 10 guests, cabanas, chalets and RV camping.

For more information, visit www.pacificairshow.com.

John Wayne Grit Series is Saturday, June 3 in Newport Beach

The John Wayne Grit Series, featuring 5K, 25K and 50K races, return this weekend to Newport Beach’s coast. Originally scheduled for earlier in the year, the event was pushed back due to substantial trail damage from the storms in April. Runners will be running one of three courses on Saturday, June 3, starting in the lower parking lot of Crystal Cove State Park. Participants will get a chance to meet people from the John Wayne family, and enjoy a beer in the beer garden at the finish line after the race.

“My father loved Newport Beach. For 50 years, he spent much of his free time there and lived there for 14 years before his death,” said Ethan Wayne, director of the John Wayne Cancer Foundation in a statement. “The scenery on the John Wayne Grit Series Newport Coast course can’t be beat, and we’re proud to use it as a backdrop for raising funds for cancer research.”

The series also has races scheduled for Sept. 23 in Ridgway, Colo.; Oct. 21 in Lone Pine and Nov. 11 in the Fort Worth Stockyards in Texas. To learn more, visit johnwayne.org/pages/grit-series-general.

Balboa Island Parade this Sunday, beginning at 11 a.m.

The Balboa Island Parade is returning this Sunday at 11 a.m. with the theme of “Horsin’ Around Island Style.” Those attending are encouraged to dress up with cowboy boots and hats and in vacation gear to join in the festivities. The parade will begin on Marine Avenue, and an after party is expected to be held in front of the fire station on the island. The bridge will be closing at 10:45 a.m., so head over to the island to secure your spot early.

American Coast Theater Co. announces 2023 summer season

American Coast Theater Co., the professional resident theater company at Vanguard University, is hosting two productions as a part of its 2023 summer season at the Costa Mesa campus’ Lyceum Theater.

Forever Plaid, an off-Broadway musical revue written by Stuart Ross and arranged by James Raitt, tells the story of high school friends in a barbershop quartet-style group who die in a collision with a bus filled with Catholic schoolgirls traveling to see the Beatles’ 1964 appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. The show debuted on May 26 and runs through June 18.

Following that, danger, romance, and comic surprises abound in a whirlwind in “Around the World in 80 Days,” which features character Phileas Fogg’s death-defying journey to cross the globe to win a bet, based on the novel by Jules Verne. It runs June 23 through July 9.

General admission is $30. Seniors and groups of 10 or more pay $18. For more, visit actctickets.com.

Susan Brooker named artistic director of ABT Gillespie School

Segerstrom Center for the Arts announced this week that Susan Brooker has been appointed as the artistic director of the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School, effective Aug. 1.

Brooker will oversee all levels of the ABT Gillespie Children’s and Pre-Professional divisions, as well as the O.C. Young Dancer Summer Workshop, master class series, and summer dance programs at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

Brooker is a graduate of the London College of Drama and Dance, where she specialized in Cecchetti Ballet. She went on to become co-director of the Hamlyn School of Dance De Vita – Lukens in Florence, Italy; director for the School of Dance Connecticut in Hartford, Conn.; director for the BalletMet Dance Academy in Columbus, Ohio; and director for the UNCSA School of Dance in Winston-Salem, N.C. For the past 15 years, she has served as an artistic advisor, teacher, and examiner for the American Ballet Theatre’s National Training Curriculum.

UC Irvine names new vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion

Officials at UC Irvine recently announced Dyonne Bergeron has been named chief diversity officer and vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion following a nationwide search.

Bergeron will oversee the Office of Inclusive Excellence and serve as the university’s senior executive responsible for providing a holistic and integrated vision of all major diversity, equity and inclusion endeavors on campus and at UCI Health.

She comes to UCI from the University of Colorado Boulder, where she was acting vice provost and associate vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement. Bergeron will assume the post on July 3.

Pacific Symphony brings sweet sounds to Costa Mesa June 18

Members of the public are invited to attend a free concert at the Balearic Community Center Lawn on June 18 at 7 p.m., when the Pacific Symphony brings its mobile stage for a “Symphony on the Go!” performance.

The mobile community concert experience, funded by the office of Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, features a brightly wrapped traveling stage on wheels with colorful images of Pacific Symphony musicians and Music Director Carl St. Clair.

All concerts are presented weather permitting. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets to the event. The Balearic Community Center is located at 1975 Balearic Drive in Costa Mesa.

Costa Mesa’s Parks and Community services hiring in June 10 job fair

Want a job that has tons of potential for excitement, growth and fulfillment? The city of Costa Mesa’s Parks and Community Services Department is offering a variety of opportunities for people of all ages to work in youth, teen, adult, senior, aquatics, facilities and fields programs.

All positions receive competitive salary, starting at $20, earned paid time off, onsite training and flexible hours in a fun work environment.

The department will host a job fair at City Hall on Saturday, June 10, from 9 a.m. to noon. For more, visit costamesaca.gov, then click on “Government” followed by “Departments and Divisions,” then “Parks and Community Services” and “Job Opening/ Employment Information.”

Costa Mesa Run Club starts Tuesday, June 6

All ages are invited to join the Costa Mesa Run Club, which starts June 6 and continues until Aug. 28, meeting at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesdays at TeWinkle Park, by the playground.

The group will leave at 6:35 p.m. to run or walk the fairgrounds. Options available for 2- and 5-mile routes.

Volunteers sought for Flag Day celebrations

Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley put out the word this week that she’ll be holding a Flag Day ceremony on Wednesday, June 14 and is seeking volunteers for flag installation, manning community booths and breakdown work after the event.

The celebration will feature 248 American flags in honor of the U.S. Army’s 248th birthday and military personnel, firefighters, police officers, medical personnel and first responders. Volunteers can sign up at tinyurl.com/KF-FlagDay-23.

O.C. Press Club names journalist Fred Swegles as 2023 Sky Dunlap Award Recipient

The Orange County Press Club Board of Directors announced Friday the group will posthumously recognize Fred Swegles with the 2023 Sky Dunlap Award at the 2023 Excellence in Journalism Awards at 6 p.m. on June 15 at Anaheim Hills Golf Course.

The award is the Press Club’s highest honor and will be presented in conjunction with its “In Memorium” tribute to recently deceased journalists, which also includes baseball writer Jean Hastings Ardell and Los Angeles Times reporter Greg Yee.

Swegles died on Oct. 23, 2022, after suffering health complications because of a brain tumor. He was 74. His work spanned more than 50 years, having previously reported for the Daily Sun-Post and Orange County Register. He launched his CoastLines column with San Clemente Times five years ago.

“Fred Swegles is an institution in Orange County journalism. His tireless efforts over five decades to cover his beloved hometown of San Clemente are a testament to the impact one journalist can have on their readers. Our board’s decision to honor Fred was unanimous and we sincerely wish it had arrived before his passing,” said Daniel Langhorne, president of Orange County Press Club.