The annual Spirit of the MACY Awards, founded in 1969 to encourage and celebrate achievement in Southern California high school musical theater, were held May 28 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Judges reviewed 58 musicals at 44 schools this year.

The Macy honors shows as well as students, with honors bestowed in categories such as best (for top performances), highest achievement (for skill and professionalism above the norm), outstanding achievement (for exceptional merit in a demanding role), achievement (for distinction in a demanding role of central importance), special recognition (for performers who shine in specialty roles) and bright spot (for performers who bring something to a small role).

The MACY also sends two students each year to the Jimmy Awards in New York, which brings together top musical theater performers from around the country for a week of workshops and a performance on a Broadway stage. Over the past eight years, Southern California performers have won the Jimmy five times.

Adrian Villegas of Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts and Maggie Gideen of the Orange County School of the Arts were named best actor and actress at this year’s MACY Awards and will represent the MACY at the Jimmy Awards in June.

The 2017 Spirit of the MACY Award winners are:

Aliso Niguel High School, Aliso Viejo, “Shrek the Musical”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Robin Valdez

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Alexandros Ruppert, Carly Rude, Michael Ouimet, Shayla Stensby

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Alysha Highleyman

ACHIEVEMENT, Martin Perez

ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Jeremiah Jaw

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, CJ Avne, Kassidy Ordish, Salina Chin, Samantha Sedor, Savi Nasiri

BRIGHT SPOT, Brigitte Espenschied, Kaitlyn Elpedes

Anaheim High School, Anaheim, “The Little Mermaid”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Alexia Rosa, Stephanie Chavez

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Emiliano Torres

ACHIEVEMENT, Ashley Dorado, Lorenzo Belmontez, Steven Rojas, Teffanie Amador, Victoria Ahuatzi

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Fernando Calvillo

BRIGHT SPOT, Andrew Gutierrez, Jose Cuevas

Brethren Christian High School, Huntington Beach, “Jane Eyre”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Abigail Heilman, Joshua Gorrell

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Charis Sanders

ACHIEVEMENT, Ashley Thinnsen, Freddy William, Nicole Donahue, Sarah Peters

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Amber Duren, Elijah Sanders, Joelle Roque, Luke Montgomery, Spencer Hill

BRIGHT SPOT, Gabriel Sanders, Jakob Welch, Joyce Hong, Kate Johnson, Rebecca Koenig

Capistrano Valley High School, Mission Viejo, “Urinetown”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Maddy Cole, Nico Zani, Sara Neal

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Jane Huish, Jennifer Hardy, Jonathan Campisano

ACHIEVEMENT, Olivia Wolff

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Garrett Vallejo, Katherine Lubinski, Valarie Sloan

BRIGHT SPOT, Kayla Bryant, Natalie Hill, Zachary Andrus

Capistrano Valley Christian School, San Juan Capistrano, “Shrek The Musical”

STARLIGHT (show award), Darren Huntting

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Benjamin Jeltema, Carissa Huntting, Patrick O’Connor

ACHIEVEMENT, Amelia Ascroft-Franks, Faith Peponis, Nathan Castillo, Talia Knowles

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Alyssa Monji, Chloe Dingwall, Christian Harris

BRIGHT SPOT, Claire Landino, Ella Landino, Preston Ketel

Carlsbad High School, Carlsbad – “Little Shop of Horrors”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Ben Little

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Abigail Yi, Kaylen Lash, Kira Davis, Thalia Morales

ACHIEVEMENT, Brandan Rovelo, Harrison Schwartz

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Baylee Taylor, Jack Tunney

BRIGHT SPOT, Breanna Lehman, Michaela Edgin

Carlsbad High School, Carlsbad, “The Drowsy Chaperone”

THE SPIRIT OF THE MACY (show award), Monica Hall

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Abigail Yi, Alexis Dytko, Ben Little, Carter Knight, Sophia Marks

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Brandon Blackman, Breanna Lehman, Rob Forward, Thalia Morales

ACHIEVEMENT, Brandon Rovelo, Harrison Schwartz

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Matt Gonzalez, Nolan Palm

BRIGHT SPOT, Brynn Wightman, Maya Alexander

Corona del Mar High School, Newport Beach, “Into the Woods”

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Annika Quist, Blake Weise, Makena Harper, Violette Remington

ACHIEVEMENT, Andres Delgado, Crystal Hernandez, Joshua Flores, Kiki Sawan, Matthew Beyrooty

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Brittany Weinstock, Maxwell Remington, Xeno Muller

BRIGHT SPOT, Phoebe Alva

Costa Mesa High School, Costa Mesa, “Beauty and the Beast”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Esperanza Hart

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Caitlyn Room, Dario Askari, Katie Bordelon, Shawn Conrad

ACHIEVEMENT, Isabella Coyle, Jacob Jones, Liam Cavanaugh, Sebastian Sosa

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Nova Wood

BRIGHT SPOT, Brooklyn Soto, Cian Eckman, Isabella Holden, Milady Rojas, Santiago Hart

Dana Hills High School, Dana Point, “The Sound of Music”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Kate Simpson

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Dylan Avillanoza, Jeremy Ingraham, Kaitlin Wright

ACHIEVEMENT, Clay Walker, Libbie Louis, Maeve Wilson, Parker Keeley, Taylor Evans

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Amy Valencia, Maya Hahn, Nicola Wilson

BRIGHT SPOT, Jacob Harkey

Diamond Bar High School, Diamond Bar, “In the Heights”

TEATRO DEL ARTE (show award), Beatrice Casagran

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Amanda Revilla, Ariana Gonzalez, Chloe Reyes, Jaden Campbell, Riley Mawhorter

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Kelly Liu

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Amelia Anijielo, Daniel Durkee, Mary Thomas, Nicholas Azurin, Pilar Alcazar

ACHIEVEMENT, Matthew Lee, Niamh Velosa

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Julianna King

El Dorado High School, Placentia, “The Little Mermaid”

BEST STUDENT COSTUME DESIGN, Kathleen Switzer

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Camryn Burns, Katarina Blagojevic

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), McKayla McCune

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Alex Avilla

ACHIEVEMENT, Hannah Oertwig, Kyle Colby, Lee Hurst, Sam Pietenpol

ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Siobhan Sahadat

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Aimee Asch, Jason Gonzales, Jay Lawrence

BRIGHT SPOT, Abby Klausmier, Ashley Jones, Carissa Hamann, Julia Chau, Kristin Shim, Lia Mimun, McKayla McCune

El Rancho High School, Pico Rivera, “Little Me”

THE SPIRIT OF THE MACY (show award), Stan Wlasick

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Ethan Sepulveda, Olivia Ball, Xcaret Estrada

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Ivy Castillo

ACHIEVEMENT, Erik Cortez, Ernesto Castro, Jose Acala, Rodrigo Aguilar

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Jaime Lugo, Linette Valenzuela

BRIGHT SPOT, Brando Williams, Sophia Flores

Estancia High School, Costa Mesa “Godspell”

BEST ENSEMBLE, Pauline Maranian

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Kayla Mercure

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Brianne Cooke

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Amber Marroquin, Angel Trujillo, Brian Martinez, Brianne Cooke, Claire Leenerts, Dion Howard, Esmeralda Martinez, Hannah Smith, Hannah Thurnstrom, Hayley Hopp, Julia Paluch, Julie Makley, Michelle Herrera, Spencer Cowan, Sydney Corrigan

Fullerton Union High School, Fullerton “Kiss Me Kate”

MUSICAL RHAPSODY (show award), Michael Despars

BEST MALE VOCAL, Josiah Haugen

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Alex Gotch, Janine Lutfi, Josiah Haugen

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Fifi Rodriquez

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Ana Bane, Daniel Chaderjian, Michael Laverde

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Joefferry Wenderlich

ACHIEVEMENT, Cody Zeigler, Desmond Roberts, Emma Kremer, Samuel Derro, Tate Heinle

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Adam Ritter, Allison Jeu, Cobe Romero

Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts, Huntington Beach “Jekyll and Hyde”

THE MACY (show award), Tim Nelson

THE SPIRIT OF THE MACY (show award), Tim Nelson

BEST ACTOR, Adrian Villegas

BEST DRAMATIC ACTRESS, Allison Bossart

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Adam Blanchard, Adrian Villegas, Allison Bossart, Autumn Thelander, Marcus Veyette, Victoria Romero

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Austin Schulte, Kat Lewis, Sophia Courtemarche

ACHIEVEMENT, Dorothea Seibert von Fock, Patrick McCormick, Will Boyer-Montgomery

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Damon Williams, Lukas Tolly, Sam Melvin

BRIGHT SPOT, Ben Ransom, Darla Jacobs, Elizabeth Hearn, Mackenzie Jones, Malia Merrill, Matthew Rangel

Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts, Huntington Beach “The Producers”

THE SPIRIT OF THE MACY (show award), Tim Nelson

BEST COMEDIAN, Coleton Ray

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Adam Blanchard, Adrian Villegas, Allison Bossart, Austin Schulte, Coleton Ray, Marcus Veyette

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Sam Melvin

ACHIEVEMENT, Annalise Fox

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Blake Laszlo, Calvin Procker, Kai Arroyo

BRIGHT SPOT, Autumn Thelander, Malia Merrill

Irvine High School, Irvine “Cinderella”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Grace Simmons, Ryan Lee

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Evelyn Pham, Jake Akita, Kayleigh Sherman, Mathew Telles, Sarah Heil

ACHIEVEMENT, Colin Rinard, Megan Brown

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Candace Sarangay, Grace Smith

BRIGHT SPOT, Gabriella Alvarado, Haley Ainsworth, Kate Koeckritz

JSerra Catholic High School, San Juan Capistrano, “Beauty and the Beast”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Nini Guerry

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Cassidy Wendell, Griffin Howard

ACHIEVEMENT, Hailey Zehren, Isabelle Pichler, Jack Devenny, Todd Mortenson, Trevor Keenan

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, John Kheriaty

BRIGHT SPOT, Didrik Thordarson, Jacob Shreiber, Megan Kelley, Natalie Barrios, Nicholas Hendrick

La Habra High School, La Habra, “Guys and Dolls”

SPOTLIGHT (show award), Brian Johnson

BEST MALE ENSEMBLE, Brian Johnson

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Isabela Wouters, Josh Bates, Zach Fogel

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Gabriel Taylor, Justine Sombilon, Michael Reehl, Nathan Schultz, Ron Gutterman

ACHIEVEMENT, Paul Smith, Wyatt Logan

BRIGHT SPOT, Abby Oxley, Hannah Rhode, Jake Rhode, Michael Lars

La Habra High School, La Habra, “Peter Pan”

MAGICAL JOURNEY (show award), Brian Johnson

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Mercy Thornton, Michael Reehl, Wyatt Logan

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Isabella Wouters, Samantha Hollar

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Atalia Zahrndt, Jessica Lopez

BRIGHT SPOT, Gabriel Taylor, Hannah Mendoza, Hannah Rhode, Joah Bates, Justine Sombilon, Katie Ludlam, Ron Gutterman, Silas Ten Elshof

Laguna Beach High School, Laguna Beach, “Cinderella”

LIMELIGHT AWARD (show award), Paul Nygro

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Ellie Glade, Wyatt Shipp

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Michelle Percival

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Ava Pacheco, Bayley Thomas, Hunter Mills, Seryne Aryeh, Vivian Gould

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Kate Palino

ACHIEVEMENT, Carmen Fernandez, Jordan Burton

BRIGHT SPOT, Haley Conley, Malin Glade, Rylee Bullington

Laguna Hills High School, Laguna Hills, “Little Women”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Sabrina Astle

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Julie Reames, Linsey Schreck, Natalie Teuton, Sophie Martin

ACHIEVEMENT, Dean Smith, Luke Morris, Nick Steffenhagen, Nikolai Taylor

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Maggie Belfield

BRIGHT SPOT, Kaila Adams, Sophie Frayne

Laguna Hills High School, Laguna Hills, “Nice Work If You Can Get It”

THE SPIRIT OF THE MACY (show award), Susan Lord

BEST DANCER MALE, Nikolai Taylor

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, Eli Buckels

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Eli Buckels, Julie Reames, Linsey Schreck, Nikolai Taylor, Sophie Martin

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Daniele Kelly

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Justin Lobaton

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Cayley Busenkell, Vee Woldridge

ACHIEVEMENT, Matthew Shamas, Morgan Hall, Noah Estling, Peyton Goings

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Hailey Rogers, Nick Steffenhagen, Sean Smith

BRIGHT SPOT, Natalie Teuton

Los Alamitos High School, Los Alamitos, “Guys and Dolls”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Rylee Burchett

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Christian D’Alessandro, Connor Franzen, Danny Bird, Melanie Tanaka, Micaela Erickson

ACHIEVEMENT, Kayhan Bakian, Louis Cogan

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Cambryelle Getter, Cole Scheider, Kaitlyn Sugihara, Owen Marubayashi

Marina High School, Huntington Beach, “Hairspray”

TEATRO DEL EXTRAORDINAIRE (show award), Eric Graham

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP DESIGN, Eric Graham

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, Sarah Bielicki

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Cole Temple, Isabella Saporito, Matheus Noguiera, Sarah Bielicki, Tessa Wilson

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Bradley Miller, Cole La Brake, Emily Ashcraft, Michael Kriesel

ACHIEVEMENT, Valentina Riffel

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Gabrielle Guerrero, Jeannie Skidmore, Robin White, Sophia Flores

BRIGHT SPOT, Jacob Kurihara, Quinn Ragan, Sarah Foutz

Mater Dei High School, Santa Ana, “Into the Woods”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Alden Hodgdon, Cassidy Sledge, Courtney Hays, McCallister Selva

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Keely Gaeta, Natalie Wojtaszek, Nick Van Dalsem

ACHIEVEMENT, Steph Lee, Vicente Saintignon

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Aidan Mulholland, Chris Rodrigues, Grace Whitley

BRIGHT SPOT, Andrew Estrada, Lucy O’Hara

Mater Dei High School, Santa Ana, “Thoroughly Modern Millie”

CLASSIC MASTERPIECE (show award), Scott Melvin

BEST VOCAL FEMALE, Cassidy Sledge

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Cassidy Sledge, Courtney Hays, Harrison Patri, McCallister Selva

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Annie Flati, Chris Rodrigues, Dyllan Le, Steph Lee

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Alex McIntosh, Carelyn Price, Cat Silvey, Coung Le, Courtney Fiduccia, Elizabeth O’Toole, Jonathan Huynh, Kat Delaney, Lauren Sundine, Vicente Saintignon, Vincent Luu

BRIGHT SPOT, Madeline Frank

Mission Viejo High School, Mission Viejo, “Thoroughly Modern Millie”

THE SPIRIT OF THE MACY (show award), Kathy Harris

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Ben Sellers, Bree Ben-Joseph, Kayla Morgan

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Hope Spires, Mary Desmond, Ryan Livesay

ACHIEVEMENT, Jeff Baker, Katir Agrela, Parker Christian

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Cali Ben-Joseph

BRIGHT SPOT, Brady Phillips, Joey Perez, Rachel Heurlin, Sofia Migliaccio

Mission Viejo High School, Mission Viejo, “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown”

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Charlie Massey, Emily Boyer, Sarah Smith

ACHIEVEMENT, Baxter Bartlett, Carson Roman, Ethan Cox

BRIGHT SPOT, Adnan Maksoud, Brigit Colwell, Jenna Bowman, Maddy Watts, Rachel Golkin, Sandy Gearges

Newport Harbor High School, Newport Beach, “Legally Blonde”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Keishaun Burroughs

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Alina Aquirre, Jillian Brazelton

ACHIEVEMENT, Rebecca Bailey, William Haden

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Lilly McCarthy

BRIGHT SPOT, Diego Rivera, Nate Hall, Samantha Nowak

Northwood High School, Irvine, “Shrek the Musical”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Katherine Paladichuk

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Janay Sukkarieh

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Calvin Calilung, Vonnie Wei, William Chinn

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Hazar Eldick, Khai Hoang

ACHIEVEMENT, Ian Gibson

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Akash Seramreddi, Caroline Candy, Colleen Moore, Joy Lee, Kairey Wang, Kaylie Jacobs, Lincoln Cameron, Skylar Wilk

Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, “Footloose”

THE SPIRIT OF THE MACY (show award), Jeff Paul

BEST ACTRESS, Maggie Gidden

BEST ORCHESTRA, Jeff Paul

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Ceci Balagot, Kian Morehead, Mack Hubbard, Maggie Gidden, Owen Jeeves

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Emily Baggarly, Logan Gould, Mikayla Thrasher, Sammy Gayer

ACHIEVEMENT, Bianca Turner, Jake Meyerson

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Brandon Calderon, Joey Sable, Kolton Heskett, Nathan Burke, Riley Dunn, Shane Norys

BRIGHT SPOT, Alyssa Carol, Callie Bixby, Matthew Kontour, Oliver Schumacher, Sheindl Spitzer-Tilchin

Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, “Guys and Dolls”

THEATRICAL EXCELLENCE AWARD (show award), Karen Rymar

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY, Karen Rymar

BEST COMEDIENNE, McKenna Wells

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Jared Machado, Makeala Zeran, McKenna Wells, RJ Higton, Zachary Balagot

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Esme Burrows

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Carly Perez, Christian Cantrell

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Blake Huntley, Carissa Dahlia

ACHIEVEMENT, Ethan Clayton, Seena Poormehr

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Alexa Kushner, Nathan Figueroa, Nathan Levy

BRIGHT SPOT, Barrett Figueroa, Brooke Steuckrath, Joey Sable

Orange Lutheran High School, Orange, “Anything Goes”

SPECTACULAR EPIC (show award), Chelsey Everhart

BEST DANCER FEMALE, Natalie Conn

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Brayden Martino, Jacob Kent, Linsey Urrea

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Amanda Dayhoff, Bree Moreno, Charlie Battaglia, JayLee McClain, Matt Hutnyan

ACHIEVEMENT, Kyle Hill

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Carson Inouye, Eliana Maietta, Jacob McRee, Mandy Nelson, Natalie Conn, Nick Abuzalaf, Nick Wise

BRIGHT SPOT, Manny Gonzalez, Mia Battaglia, Raymond Vasquez, Vincent Xu

Orange Lutheran High School, Orange, “Beauty and the Beast”

CURTAIN RISER (show award), Chelsey Everhart

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Alexis Sawyer, Amanda Dayhoff, Brayden Martino, Charlie Battaglia, Matt Hutnyan

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Bree Moreno, Carson Inouye, Gavin Burke, Jacob Kent

ACHIEVEMENT, Anysa Wilson, RJ Pullen

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Karli Wise, Katrina Reta, Linsey Urrea, Sam Hood

BRIGHT SPOT, Kate Pullen, Kyle Hill, Mackenna Borba, Mia Battaglia

Pacifica High School, Garden Grove, “Once Upon a Mattress”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Peyton Hill

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Evan DeCock, Kayla Wandelt

ACHIEVEMENT, Andrew Case, Megan McCall, Sophia Barajas

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Kalissa Bair, Minjae Matt Kim, Sean McDowell, Tressa Bair

BRIGHT SPOT, Samantha Kingsfield

Rancho Buena Vista High School, Vista, “Curtains”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Brooke Eyler, Jake Bradford

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Chloe Schott, Emma Wooley, Mikayla Elliott, Sierra Tsementzis

ACHIEVEMENT, Emmett Morrow

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Harrison Smith, Zachary Allies-Hershey

BRIGHT SPOT, Gabby LeBaron

San Clemente High School, San Clemente, “Into the Woods”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Cassidy McCleary, Sophia Didier, Tamara Armstrong

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Delaney Marchant, William Brown

ACHIEVEMENT, Carlie McCleary, James Ustick, Justin McCoy

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Adam Bell, Ryley Steel

BRIGHT SPOT, Braxton McGrath, Lainey Reyland, Lucas Harper

San Clemente High School, San Clemente, “Mary Poppins”

THE SPIRIT OF THE MACY (show award), Laurie Mason

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Cassidy McCleary, Delaney Marchant, Jack Katke, Tamara Armstrong

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Shea Donnelly

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Carlie McCleary, Lainey Reyland, Maggie Anderson, Zach Thomas

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Maya Howe

ACHIEVEMENT, Justin McCoy, Kyra Kuhn, Sophia Didier

ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Annie Reyland

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Brooke Davis, Lucas Harper

BRIGHT SPOT, Erin Reyland, James Ustick III, Taylor Mason, Viviana Moiso

San Juan Hills High School, San Juan Capistrano, “Fiddler on the Roof”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Charlie Lindberg

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Charlie Lindberg, Julia Gordon

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Anna Moneymaker, Hailey dePoto, Jaymes Macabale

ACHIEVEMENT, Jenna Husli, Katherine Singer, Zain Faruqi

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Audrey Schreiner, Calista Henson

BRIGHT SPOT, Edward Kemp, Noah Salviati

San Juan Hills High School, San Juan Capistrano, “Into the Woods”

BEST STUDENT SET DESIGN, Cambria Beilstein

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Calla Chung, Charlie Lindberg

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Brent Arciniega, Celina Gigliello, Mariana Barrera

ACHIEVEMENT, Delaney Puthuff

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Adam Wright, Jacqueline Brooks, Jenna Husli, Zain Faruqi

BRIGHT SPOT, Amanda Rooker, Anam Faruqi, Anna Moneymaker, Hailey dePorto, Jaymes Macabale, Noah Salviati

Santa Ana High School, Santa Ana, “The Addams Family”

BEST CHORUS, Terry Schwinge

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Bryan Reyes

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Delmis Rubio, Jazmin Alvarenga, Samantha Sanchez

ACHIEVEMENT, Carlos Ochoa, Joshua Juarez, Leslie Barron

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Leo Ortiz

BRIGHT SPOT, Adriana Casteneda, Dylan Gardener, Irma Silva, Isiah Benitez

Santa Margarita Catholic High School, Rancho Santa Margarita, “Fiddler on the Roof”

LITERATURE BROUGHT TO LIFE (show award), Amy Luskey-Barth

BEST DRAMATIC ACTOR, Dylan Field

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Alec Melosini, Devon Hunt, Dylan Field, Sabrina Boyd

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), K C King

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Andrew Senkowski, Hannah Baker, Hannah Loessberg, Katie Flores, Lauren McNair

ACHIEVEMENT, Eric Renna, John Grayson, Louise Griffin

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Drew Schlingman, Elyse Angel, Emma Polonsky, Ethan Leahy, Griffin Webb

BRIGHT SPOT, Honor Clarkin, Miranda Zakhar

St. Margaret’s Episcopal School, San Juan Capistrano, “Children of Eden”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Blake Stevenson, Daisy Sellas, Katherine Parrish, Tyler Ashman

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Anneka Miller, Bryce Victor, Garrett Higgins

ACHIEVEMENT, Jaden Cloobeck

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Jack Westhead, Jacob Kuljis, Katherine Sele, Nathan Soto, Tyler Jones

BRIGHT SPOT, Alden Copps, Casey Healy, Lulu Arundale, Michaela Xu, Mitra Alikhani, Rylan Rodrigues-Zahn, Tyler Genevay

Sunny Hills High School, Fullerton, “The Addams Family”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Sydney Highter

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Joseph Hanson, Maddy Githens, O. Fiona Pratt-MacDonald

ACHIEVEMENT, Josh Acosta, Marcus Reveles, Zoe Thomson

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Daniel Park, Jake Cirrit

BRIGHT SPOT, Anais Lino, Angelica Song, April Brown, Helena Hallstrom, Kassidy Hughes, Lauren Gerdetz

Temecula Preparatory School, Winchester, “Bonnie and Clyde”

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Carissa Eagan, Meredith Bell, Ridge Wyatt

ACHIEVEMENT, Joseph Hardin, Samuel Sorenson, Tony Arambula

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Addyson Mansperger, BreeAnna Adner, Priya Mapleton, Taylor Kuriakos

BRIGHT SPOT, Saul Esqueda

Temecula Preparatory School, Winchester, “Tarzan”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Anthony Arambula, Katelyn Walsh, Saul Esqueda

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Samuel Sorenson

ACHIEVEMENT, Samantha McDonald

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Aidan Heslin, Riley Waterman

BRIGHT SPOT, Breeanna Adner, Joseph Hardin, Priya Mapleton

Temecula Valley High School, Temecula, “Godspell”

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Allyson Park, Emily Ramos, Grace Guy, Stephanie O’Connor

ACHIEVEMENT, Katelyn Downs, Madie White, Saraya Danielson, Solona Husband

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Christine Davis, Gaby Wade, Maggie Rubin

Tesoro High School, Las Flores, “The Drowsy Chaperone”

THE SPIRIT OF THE MACY (show award), Cheryl Des Palmes

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Alexander Trevisan, Eve DeVault, Matt Davies-Morris, Megan Kerrigan, Michal Bogucki

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Britain Hope, Carson Preusse, Chelsea McCormick, Eliza Schmidtt, Julia Pacific, Michael Kline, Nick Garabedian

ACHIEVEMENT, Tristan Zadravecz

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Jason Swanson

Trabuco Hills High School, Mission Viejo, “Once Upon a Mattress”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Ethan Haden, Olivia Quail

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Brianna Beller, Gabby Schoen, Jordan Murillo

ACHIEVEMENT, Jon Bristol, Scott Rydelski, TJ Lynn

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Jayde Mora

BRIGHT SPOT, Breanna O’Neill, Cappie Asato, Diego Ruiz, Laney Heien

Tri-School Theatre, Anaheim, “Bye Bye Birdie”

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Ezra Tafua, Hayley Johnson, Sierra Warner

ACHIEVEMENT, Andy Van Driesen, Erik Mercado, Isabella Rivera, Joanna Juarez, Molly Renze

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Alec Mercado, Allison Perea, Jillian Sarni, Maria Braatz

BRIGHT SPOT, Pierce Denning, Sydney Lagman

University High School, Irvine, “The Addams Family”

THE SPIRIT OF THE MACY (show award), Renae Bettger

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Corinne Alsop, Dalton Nguyen, Ellena Eshrafhi, Sarika Mande, Shaden Ahadi

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Ana Fujimoto, Mitchell Rogers

ACHIEVEMENT, Benjamin Sui, Franklin Duffy, Rose Koo

ACHIEVEMENT (technical theater), Darrius Estigoy, Lauren Bee

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Erik Diaz, Kerri Pelekoudas

BRIGHT SPOT, Benjamin Gomez, Christie Sung, Isaac Kopstein, Julia Cheng

Vista Murrieta High School, Murrieta, “Footloose”

BEST SMALL ORCHESTRA COMBO, Cory Finch

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Dylan Wager, Raquel Deporto

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Cassidy Finch, Colin Acda, Jacob Rivera, Kailey Bosna

ACHIEVEMENT, Annabella Cusimano

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Gavin Martin

BRIGHT SPOT, Caleb Batchman, Kiara Harris, Natalie Calderon, Patrick Calderon, Robin Frieberg

Vista Murrieta High School, Murrieta, “Into the Woods Jr.”

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Cassidy Finch, Dani Arribere, Jacob Rivera, Kailey Bosna, Natalie Calderon

ACHIEVEMENT, AnnaBella Cusimano, Gavin Martin, Jack Hutchens

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Erin LaMay

BRIGHT SPOT, Andi Moring, Caleb Batchman, Geoffrey Geoghegan, Raquel Deporto, Sarah Bennett

Whittier Christian High School, La Habra, “Godspell”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Alli Gainer, Samantha Gainer, Torri Estrada

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Aimee Ordaz, Ashlynn Hernandez, Megan Kovats, Ryan Long

ACHIEVEMENT, Evanne Subia

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Kaitlyn Wallace

BRIGHT SPOT, Alex Paepke

Whittier Christian High School, La Habra, “Thoroughly Modern Millie”

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Ryan Long, Torri Estrada

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Elisabeth Rangel, Trevor Gray

ACHIEVEMENT, Evanne Subia, Kaitlyn Wallace

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Fiona Liu, Regan Vombaur, Tony Wu

BRIGHT SPOT, Ashlynn Hernandez, Faith Grant, Grace Grant, Katrina Stump, Zoe Poulis

Yorba Linda High School, Yorba Linda, “9 to 5”

COMEDIA DEL ARTE (show award), Cathy Petz

HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT, Caleb Huston, Carlie Pitcher, Julia Massey, Kaitlyn Kraack

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, Ian Dembek, Macy Warner

SPECIAL RECOGNITION, Claire Marshall, Daniel Pietenpol, Rose Pell

BRIGHT SPOT, Madison Fung

CONTACT VARSITY ARTS: 714-796-2258 or varsityarts@ocregister.com

One thing would certainly ease a major Southern Californian economic concern: extra choices for those seeking adequate housing.

Well, the region’s chronic housing shortage didn’t get much help last year, as five local counties — as well as the state — continued to trail the nation’s pace of creating new living quarters.

I tossed new Census data into my trusty spreadsheet to see if a recent upswing in construction activity was making a significant change in how much housing — for ownership or for rent — was available. What I found was that Southern California added 34,000 housing units in the year ended July 1, 2016, to 6.4 million.

Yes, Southern California’s new housing in 2016 approximates the combined additions in Alabama, New Jersey and Wisconsin. But the 0.53 percent increase last year — yes, better than 0.41 percent average annual rate in the previous five years — again trails the U.S. pace.

Nationally, 910,300 housing units were added last year to 135.7 million. That’s a 0.68 percent jump vs. 0.45 percent annual average in 2010-15.

Southern California fared only a bit better than statewide patterns: 73,300 units were added last year to 14.1 million. In terms of raw increase, California was third best among the states behind Texas and Florida. And while California’s 0.52 percentage increase was an improvement above 0.43 percent-a-year seen in 2010-15, last year’s statewide housing-creation pace was topped by 28 other states including Texas, the nation’s best, at 1.58 percent.

The local pacesetter was Orange County, Southern California’s only county to top last year’s national housing creation pace.

Orange County added 9,200 units last year — just about the additions in either Iowa or Illinois — to 1.1 million. Orange County sped up its housing creation, growing 0.85 percent in 2016 vs. a 0.59 percent annual average in 2010-15.

Los Angeles County added 16,600 units last year — roughly Utah’s total additions — to 3.5 million. But that surge looks small considering L.A.’s huge size: housing grew 0.47 percent in 2016 vs. 0.33 percent annual average in 2010-15.

Riverside County suffered a mild slowdown. It added 4,600 units last year — just about Hawaii’s pace — to 831,400. That’s up 0.56 percent but below the 0.62 percent-a-year pace of 2010-15.

San Bernardino County added 2,600 units last year — slightly more than New Mexico’s growth — to 714,300. That’s up 0.37 percent vs. 0.33 percent-a-year in 2010-15. In Ventura County, 1,000 housing units were added to 286,900 — a 0.34 percent increase vs. 0.29 percent a year in 2010-15.

So is Southern California making progress? The five counties did combine to add more housing units since the recession ended in 2010 than fast-growth states such as Arizona or Colorado or Washington or Virginia in the six-year period.

But if the region had built at the national pace over the past six years, there would be 22,000 more housing units here. Or, look at regional growth this way: The six-year tally is slightly fewer new units than Texas added … in just the past year.

On the move

Newport Beach native Michael Mulroy has been appointed president and CEO of Asterias Biotherapeutics. From 2003 to 2011, Mulroy was at the law firm Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth in Newport Beach, where he served as a partner from 2004. Steve Cartt, the company’s current president and CEO will step down as of June 25. In a statement the company said Cartt wanted to “allocate more of his time to additional business and personal activities.”

Cartt and Mulroy, the company said, worked closely together at Questcor Pharmaceuticals, a company they built along with Asterias Chairman Don Bailey and CFO Ryan Chavez, before its eventual sale in 2014 to Mallinckrodt plc for $5.6 billion.

Asterias Biotherapeutics, based in Fremont, is a biotechnology company in the field of regenerative medicine.

Jason Griffitts has been hired as Tustin-based Logomark’s new director of marketing. Griffitts comes from Lands End, where he worked for three years as digital marketing manager. He will be heading up all of Logomark’s marketing platforms.

Scott Aston has been promoted to senior vice president and partner of Burnham Benefits Insurance Services in Irvine. Aston joined Burnham Benefits in 2012 as a vice president.

Sean Kingston and Jenna Warden have joined Fisher Phillips law firm in Irvine. Fisher Phillips now employs 35 attorneys in its Irvine office and a total of 82 attorneys in California. Kingston represents public and private employers in class action and single-plaintiff matters in many areas of labor and employment law. Warden has defended a broad range of litigated claims, including premises liability, insurance and construction claims.

New Ventures

Costa Mesa resident Terry Leon has launched Savi Style, a two-part activewear accessory that combines a bracelet with an elastic hairband. Leon’s concept so far has raised $20,000 on Kickstarter. The funding campaign ends Wednesday. The bracelet, which comes in three colors, is made of medical-grade silicone which is flexible and easy to clean, Leon says. While the bracelet combo will retail for $29, Leon says early bird contributors at Kickstarter can get the bands for as low as $17.

RedNight Consulting, an Aliso Viejo-based IT support provider, has been granted $150,000 million in the Cal Competes Tax Credit program awarded by Gov. Jerry Brown’s Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz). The CCTC funds are designed to help California companies expand and add jobs in the state. Rednight will hire 22 people over five years.

Dr. Chris Koutures and Dr. Keith Gladstien, pediatric and sports medicine specialists in Anaheim, are rebranding their practice as ActiveKidMD.

Santa Ana auto repair shop Swedish Asian Auto Service has rebranding itself as The Auto Service. After 37 years in business, the shops’ owners decided to rename the business following the expansion of vehicles they are equipped to service. The shop is at 800 S Grand Ave.

Milestones

Javier Verduzco received the Driver of the Year award in the large industrial category from the National Waste & Recycling Association. The NWRA honors the industry’s best drivers for exemplary safety records and customer service. Verduzco began his driving career with Republic Services’ Huntington Beach division in 1980. He drives an average of 220 miles per week, in the service of more than 600 customers, collecting over 95 tons of waste.

SnowPure Water Technologies, a San Clemente-based manufacturer of water purification equipment, has been awarded the president’s “E” Award for exports by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The award is the highest recognition any U.S. entity can receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports. SnowPure has increased size by nearly 20 percent since 2008 with exports averaging 80 percent to 95 percent of its business. SnowPure has distributors and service centers in several countries including Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, India and Europe. SnowPure was the only California company of the 32 U.S. Secretary Ross honored.

Good works

The Orange County Family Justice Center Foundation has received a $5,000 grant from the Huggins Dreckman Insurance Agency in Los Alamitos as part of its 2017 Safeco Insurance Make More Happen award. The foundation provides direct assistance, empowerment and prevention resources to victims and families whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault and elder abuse. Jolynn Mahoney, an independent agent for Huggins Dreckman Insurance Agency, and her husband, Patrick, have supported the Orange County Family Justice Center Foundation since 2007.

Coming up

Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour will host a hiring fair through June 3 at its Buena Park location. Applicants can stop by between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily. The restaurant, which is undergoing a renovation and will reopen in June. Positions available include servers, hosts, bussers, cooks and candy makers. Address: 8650 Beach Blvd.

Vanguard University is hosting a conference June 1-3 in Irvine focusing on creating healthy organizations. During the three-day event, academics and practitioners will dive into topics such as workplace transparency, interpersonal leadership, the psychopathology of leadership, mental health in the workplace and more. The event will take place at the Wyndham Hotel at 17941 Von Karman. Conference registration is available at $235 for students and $395 for professionals. Awards breakfast tickets are available for $55. For more information on the Creating Healthy Organizations Conference or to purchase tickets, go to vanguard.edu/choconference.

The Orange County Small Business Development Center, an economic development program of Rancho Santiago Community College District,  will host several business-oriented workshops in June. They include:

June 6: Human Resource Laws You’re Not Complying With; 6-8:30 p.m. at Cielo – Golden West College – Student Services Annex, Room 125; 15744 Goldenwest St. , Huntington Beach. No cost.

June 8: Small Business Jump-Start, 6-8:30 p.m., Brea Chamber of Commerce 1 Civic Center Circle, Conference Center, Brea, 92821. Cost is $10.

June 21: “Export Essentials for Business,” 4-7 p.m., Garden Grove Community Meeting Center, 11300 Stanford Ave., B Room, Garden Grove. Cost is $25.

June 29: The Art and Science of Creating a Successful Business Plan, 6-8:30 p.m., Brea Chamber of Commerce 1 Civic Center Circle, Conference Center, Brea. Cost is $25.

Make reservations for any of the workshops by phone at 714-564-5200 or online at ocsbdc.org.

A decade ago, Orange County-based hardcore band Eighteen Visions played its final show in front of a sold-out crowd at Anaheim all-ages club, Chain Reaction.

After grinding away, releasing a handful of albums on independent labels and winning over fans within the local scene alongside acts such as Atreyu, Death by Stereo and Avenged Sevenfold for a dozen years, Eighteen Visions called it quits just nine months after it released its self-titled major label debut via Epic Records.

“It was an emotional moment that didn’t seem real until it was really over and we were getting ready to walk off of the stage,” vocalist James Hart said of the last gig during an interview in downtown Santa Ana earlier this month. “It was just sad because you put so much time, effort and hard work into something and to have it finally run its course to the end. … It really was a sad moment.”

On April 20, exactly 10 years to the day after its final performance, Eighteen Visions reintroduced itself to the music scene via a blistering new track and accompanying music video for “Oath.” The band, now a trio with Hart, guitarist Keith Barney and drummer Trevor Friedrich, also announced it would be dropping a new record, “XVIII,” on Friday, June 2, via Rise Records and throwing an album release party at the Observatory in Santa Ana that same day.

“The response has been amazing because we got this ridiculous amount of views on YouTube just within a week,” Barney said of the “Oath” video, noting that back in the band’s prime, MySpace was still all the rage and artists had just barely begun to interact with the public via social media sites and apps like they do today.

“It’s crazy now how we can get things to people so fast,” he continued. “(In February) we posted just a 30-second teaser with the song “Crucified” on Instagram and we hadn’t done any press or posted anything else anywhere and it got picked up all over. There was this huge buzz of off that little clip and that really set the tone for everything.”

Back in 2006, Barney said that even though it looked as if the band had “made it” by signing to a major label, they weren’t stoked on how the album was being rolled out. The band members butted heads with the label bigwigs creatively, first wanting to hit the public with its heavier song “Victim,” while the label wanted something a little lighter and more poppy and demanded they lead with “Tonightless.”

“It’s still our record and we’re super proud of it,” he added. “We just thought like, all right we’re on a major now, we signed up for this and we should play the game a little bit. We wanted to do the rock song and they wanted a ballad right away and it just didn’t make sense.”

“They had no idea what kind of band we were,” Hart added. “Our A&R guy did, but the rest of the staff that were making the decisions, they had no idea. They came to see us in New York City when we were on tour with Avenged Sevenfold and they were like ‘Oh, you’re like a heavier rock band, like metal.’ Well, yeah and then they realized they should have gone with ‘Victim’ first. It was like tug of war and they never got to know our band, what we were about or what our fan base was.”

Scrambling to figure out what to do with the band, the label eventually did release “Victim,” which did well on rock radio, but then moved immediately on to push the cut, “Broken Hearted,” for about five weeks.

“When that didn’t work, they dropped us,” Barney said. “When they dropped us, I had a conversation with Ken Floyd (former Eighteen Visions drummer and then guitarist) about how the band was on its way up until that point and if it ever stopped or peaked or started to go down, we all said we’d call it quits.”

Eighteen Visions scheduled its final batch of shows and never looked back. Each member went on to join different bands or pick up a variety of day jobs. Bassist Mick Morris died in 2013 of a pre-existing heart condition at the age of 35 at his home in Salt Lake City, Utah. There was talk among band members in 2012 about possibly getting together to write more material, but nothing ever came to fruition then.

Five years later, however, Barney said that he became interested in writing Eighteen Visions-style music again and hit up Hart with some ideas.

“It just blossomed back into this, which has been more than any of us ever anticipated,” Hart added.

With the creative juices flowing, they got back into a recording space and the material came easily. They went in with zero expectations, unsure of what exactly would come out of these sessions.

“We started demoing in early September and recording in November or December and it did just come together so easily,” Hart said. “I think it was easy because it was fun.”

When it came time to share the music with the public, they knew “Oath,” the final song they had written and recorded for the record, had to be the first taste offered to the general public.

“We wanted to put out a real rager,” Barney said. “The first half of the song is totally chaotic, which is kind of older, more classic Eighteen Visions and the last half is just simple, heavy with this huge anthem on it. We knew we wanted to be super aggressive and we wanted to come out of the gates with guns blazing, which would be something unexpected for people who heard our last record.”

The rest of the album is a diverse mix of music with multiple layers, something Eighteen Visions was known and celebrated for back in the day within the metal and hardcore genre.  The next song the guys released was “Crucified,” a track Hart said he felt was important for the band’s loyal straight-edge followers.

“I wanted a straight-edge anthem song,” he said. “I wanted to write about coming back and still saying that we’re firm in those values and to express that we hold on to these important things. We’ve had a lot of people over the last 10 or 5 years that have stopped living that way that were firmly planted in it, but I wanted to say that we’re still what we were 10 years ago in that way.”

The band also paid tribute to Morris via the song “Live Again” and gave a subtle nod to its fallen member in the video for “Oath,” as a bass guitar sits unplayed, leaning up against a stack of amps.

“We didn’t know that (a tribute) would come out in a song necessarily,” Barney said of “Live Again”. “We thought maybe we’d do a shirt as some kind of dedication from us, but there was just this opening in the song and we needed some lyrics and it just came out so easily for me. It was easy, but it was also very hard. I felt like we had a lot to say there.”

Eighteen Visions

When: 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 2

Where: The Observatory, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana

Tickets: $20

Information: 714-957-0600 or ObservatoryOC.com

JUPITER, Fla. — Police say golf great Tiger Woods has been arrested on a DUI charge in Florida.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office says on its website that Woods was booked into a county jail around 7 a.m. Monday, May 29.

Jail records show Woods had been arrested by police in Jupiter. He was released just before 11 a.m. on his own recognizance. He has been charged under a Driving Under the Influence statute.

No other details were immediately available. Messages left for a Jupiter police spokeswoman were not immediately returned.

In James Chiao’s imaginative world, mannequins come to life. And if given the chance, they’d surely use their fiberglass and polyurethane hands to applaud their dedicated creator and his latest pursuit.

Chiao is the co-owner of CNL, a successful Buena Park-based business that manufactures mannequins in his native China to ship to retailers and apparel companies around the world.

But that’s only Chiao’s day job, the one he left to his wife Lily’s stewardship during the past two years so he could pursue a master of fine arts degree from California Institute of the Arts — at the age of 67.

His pursuit at CalArts is a reflection of his other preoccupation, the one he calls “Tenor By Night” and hopes to turn into a Broadway musical or theatrical movie.

Register readers might remember his backstory from an article published in 2013.

The son of an accomplished composer and younger brother to a trained classical singer, Chiao survived banishment in 1968 to a remote island during the upheaval of China’s Cultural Revolution. Freed from the stooped labor of 12-hour days in a rice field nine years later, Chiao continued his education and eventually immigrated to the United States where he earned a degree in information systems.

He married Lily Chiao back home in China’s Guangzhou province and the two launched their business here in 1989, first making clothing hangers and then the kind of stylish mannequins on display in places like Bloomingdale’s at South Coast Plaza.  They raised two college-educated children, Brian and Amy.

But Chiao always longed to express himself with the same musicality of his father, a tenor whose compositions embodied Chinese folksongs, his mother, a soprano, and his brother, also a tenor.

So Chiao began to sing at home and in the factory – and everywhere else – developing his voice well enough to be able to perform with father and brother in Southern California’s Chinese immigrant community as The 3 Chiao Tenors. They also put on three concerts in China before patriarch Fei Chiao died in 2011.

In 2013, James Chiao produced a “Tenor By Night” concert – a mix of Broadway tunes, Chinese folk songs, and classical numbers woven around his personal story at Luckman Fine Arts Complex on the campus of Cal State Los Angeles. Not one to stop pursuing his dreams, Chiao wanted to compose – and make his music accessible beyond the local Chinese community.

“In America, people sing their own songs,” he says. “They perform their own songs. I thought it would be wonderful if I did that.”

Ever supportive, Lily Chiao was still a bit flabbergasted at her husband’s latest desire: “At first I’m thinking, are you serious? I’m saying, are you sure? Who’s going to take care of the company?”

Chiao pointed at her, she recalls. “You are.”

Lily Chiao had been an IT project manager for an insurance company before coming to work alongside her husband seven years ago at CNL, which stands for Creative New Leader. She was OK with handling stateside business, but worried about the overseas manufacturing  and design of the mannequins.

The couple’s son helped out, as did CNL production manager Harry Feng and other staff. James Chiao still oversaw the planning and development of new products for trade shows and squeezed in phone calls to his wife during breaks between classes and at lunchtime.

Chiao had initially considered USC, where his son earned a degree in psychology, but the university would require him to go through its undergrad music studies before applying for the master’s program. Too much time away from the mannequins and his family, he thought.

So, he tried CalArts in Valencia, a school renowned for encouraging experimentation and development of the kind of creative genius that defined its founder, Walt Disney.

“I thought, ‘Oh, I should do that!’ I was thinking about turning the concert into a musical.”

Chiao showed up to his audition before a three-judge panel in January 2015, dressed in a tuxedo and accompanied by a pianist wearing a floor-length gown. He was more than twice the age of the average CalArts student. His wife came along. Then he sang.

“He was in quite remarkable vocal shape for someone his age,” says Jacqueline Bobak, co-director of the CalArts voice arts program. “But it didn’t seem at first he fit in at CalArts.”

Told that the school emphasizes creativity and exploration, Chiao had something else to show them: He sang an Italian aria choreographed to tai chi movements. He also talked about his business and his ideas for telling his story in a way that could involve the mannequins.

“We were like, well, this guy is actually quite interesting,” Bobak says. “We chatted with him and Lily for quite a long time.”

When Chiao didn’t hear back for more than a month, he sent a heartfelt email to Bobak explaining how he was someone who had been creative and experimental for his entire life and could tinker with his “Tenor By Night” concept. Except he used an incorrect email address.

At the same time, Bobak was trying to get back to Chiao and finally reached him through his company’s email address.

“I felt this is like fate and meant to be,” Chiao recalls. “In a way, the mannequins helped.”

He carried a full schedule of classes and made the drive to campus – at best an hour, at worst three – from his home in Cerritos four days a week, often not returning until close to midnight. When he wasn’t on campus, lugging a backpack like other students, Chiao was studying and doing school-related work.

He might not have caught on as quickly as younger classmates, but he worked hard and shared his wisdom.

“My advantage is my experience, my stories,” Chiao says. “For them, it’s black and white; I know the gray areas.”

Both he and Lily Chiao began attending student performances and other projects at CalArts.

“I’m sure a lot of it was rather unusual for them at first,” Bobak says. “They kept coming and James got a lot of ideas. He really became part of the community. He seems fearless that way and doesn’t let anything daunt him or get in his way.”

Chiao finished enough of his credits to walk in the graduation ceremony earlier this month. True to the CalArts mission, students were encouraged to display creative flair as they accepted their diplomas.

With the help of Feng, Chiao devised something that perfectly captures his story and personality: They took the torso of a fiberglass male mannequin with a muscled bare chest and cut it so that the 5-foot-4-inch-tall Chiao could strap it to his back and walk on stage backwards, giving the illusion of the mannequin striding toward the audience.

When Chiao turned around, he threw out his arms and burst into the aria “Nessun Dorma” from Puccini’s “Turandot.”  Lily Chiao ran out on stage with a bouquet of flowers to plant a kiss on her husband and slip around to do the same for the mannequin.

It lasted about 20 seconds. His son Brian, who helped Chiao with his musical studies and has stepped in to replace his grandfather in The 3 Chiao Tenors, says he won’t forget it: “I thought that was really cool. It was the best costume in the whole graduation. Everyone went wild.”

Chiao will finish his credits next fall at CalArts, along with performing a recital. He plans to spend the summer focusing on business at CNL and crafting songs for his expanded concept of “Tenor By Night” that incorporates digital media and more sophisticated dramaturgy.

He’s added an evil magician, Chinese acrobats, and a finale featuring a chorus of dancing mannequins. He’s written numbers with titles like “Rice is Life.”

“He has a different story now, highs and lows, and obstacles and how to get through the obstacles,” says Paul Berkolds, Bobak’s counterpart in the vocal arts department at CalArts and a mentor to Chiao.

What will ultimately happen with that story is uncertain, Berkolds says, but he’s not underestimating Chiao and his can-do attitude.

“I marvel at him every day. He seems simplistic, but there’s something deeper inside.”

Long before it was popular to name something after John Wayne, current Palisades Tennis Club owner Ken Stuart opened the first facility named after the legendary movie star who lived in Newport Beach for several years.

In 1974, the Duke himself joined forces with Stuart to launch the John Wayne Tennis Club, and about two decades later Stuart purchased the club and renamed it Palisades, in honor of longtime tennis mentor, coach and aficionado Charlie Eaton, who once had a tennis club in the area in the 1960s called the Palisades.

Stuart has always been known to honor others, but this year the spotlight turns to him.

The Orange County Register has learned that Stuart, of Newport Beach, will be inducted in the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame on Oct. 1 at UCLA.

“When they called me I asked if they were sure they had the right Ken Stuart,” the affable Stuart said. “I am obviously more than humbled by this honor. My focus always has been and always will be on the members of my club. This honor is something I never dreamed could happen to me. I hope they don’t change their mind.”

As a small example of his leadership and community impact, Stuart hosted the Roy Emerson Adoption Guild Tennis Tournament over Memorial Day weekend and helped the tournament increase its number of participants and revenue by 20 percent this year, according to a letter to Palisades Tennis Club members. Proceeds from the tournament benefit Holy Family Services.

An entrepreneur and inventor, Stuart, a former No. 1-ranked tennis player in Southern California, wanted to return to tennis on a full-time basis following a successful business career, and in 1974 consulted with two architects to help design the tennis facility adjacent to the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach and 9-hole Back Bay Golf Course. Stuart served as the Wayne Club’s Director of Tennis, General Manager and Head Professional during the sport’s boom in the 1970s.

Stuart has owned four different tennis clubs at times in the area – John Wayne, Racquet Club of Irvine, Palisades Tennis Club/Costa Mesa and Palisades Tennis Club/Newport Beach, his current club. His clubs have hosted numerous tournaments, including the 1997 U.S. Davis Cup matches.

In 1991, Stuart opened the Palisades Tennis Club behind the Acapulco restaurant on Bristol Street in Costa Mesa with five courts and no lights. With a strong and loyal membership base, but leased land about to expire and become storage units, Stuart closed the small club, purchased the John Wayne Tennis Club in 1995 for a reported $1.4 million and moved his members to the current facility on Jamboree in Newport Beach. With the merger and renaming, the new Palisades Tennis Club has thrived in the community and served as an ideal location for hosting events.

Stuart had come full circle from the time in 1973 when he was chosen over 1,200 candidates to design, build, program and manage the hip John Wayne Tennis Club. In 1975, Stuart sent his innovative match-making design to the United States Tennis Association asking for help developing a universal rating system as the Wayne Club was bursting at the seams, hosting over 700 guests per month and requesting assistance in rating tennis players from around the nation. Stuart’s outline and contribution to the USTA provided one of the formats used today in the National Tennis Rating System.

Stuart will be inducted into the USTA’s Southern California Tennis Hall of Fame along with 11 others, including 11-time Grand Slam champion Rod Laver, Bill Kellogg, Stella Sampras-Webster, Bob Kramer and posthumously Bobby Riggs.

“I never had any interest in being in the business of tennis,” Stuart said. “At the end of 1971 when I came off the men’s ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour I was only interested in completing my master’s degree at Long Beach State. I took a job teaching tennis across from the university at an apartment complex. A couple of years later I was selected from nearly 1,300 applicants to be the Head Tennis Pro, General Manager and Director of Tennis at the proposed John Wayne Tennis Club.

“At that exact moment, Mr. Joe Bogdanovich was my mentor and best friend who sponsored me on the men’s tour. He owned Star Kist Tuna Co. He informed me that they had created a position for me at Star Kist. I had a very difficult decision of taking that path, which guaranteed certain wealth or pursue a career in tennis. The rest is history and I have never looked back and wouldn’t change a thing.”

The SCTA Hall of Fame ceremony is black-tie optional with dinner at the new Luskin Conference Center on the UCLA campus.

A lot can change in 30 years, especially a shopping mall. Especially as the Internet reshaped how most of us shop.

In recent years, the 21st-century mall has evolved across Orange County, where retail thrives. Aging and traditional malls are saying goodbye to longstanding anchors and hello to hipster food concepts, entertainment venues and residential units.

This theme is playing out in Santa Ana, where MainPlace Mall has retooled its retail space several times under different owners. This year, it celebrates 30 years with an eye on expansion.

The mall, which started with just three restaurants and a modest food court when it opened, has lost what were once key anchors — Bullocks, Robinsons-May, the Macy’s Mens store and Nordstrom. Its newest owner, Centennial Real Estate, has doubled down on entertainment and more food options, creating an experience for consumers to lure them away from their computers.

“The retail landscape is evolving constantly,” the mall’s general manager Jonathan Maher said. “The biggest difference from malls today is malls 30 years ago were retail focused. Now, with computers, people are looking for an experience.”

Restaurants at the mall include Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ, Wokcano Asian Fusion Restaurant & Bar and Dog Haus. Entertainment and fitness options were added when the former Macy’s Men’s and Home store close shop and seven tenants moved in, including 24 Hour Fitness and Round 1 Bowling & Amusement.

Lucille’s, which opened in December 2015, has benefited from the tenant shakeup.

“They brought in a lot of new faces, new names and the mall itself is in a great area, in a great location,” Lucille’s assistant general manager Nick McMahon said.  The Garden Grove resident has been going to the mall for years.

“The change since we’ve been here too has been great,” he said.

Extending the mall

Centennial Real Estate took over MainPlace Mall from Westfield at the end of 2015.

The mall operator has since been acquiring surrounding land it will develop in the future.The group so far has bought the parking lots surrounding the mall on Main Drive, with the exception of the Wells Fargo building lot.

Plans have not been finalized, but Maher said possibilities for the area include a hotel, offices and apartments.

“Malls now have more components,” he said.

It’s a similar story at other neighborhood malls in Orange County. Laguna Hills Mall is making a similar play.

The dated mall is adding luxury apartments, a movie theater, park and indoor and outdoor shops. Merlone Geier Partners bought the property from Simon Property Group in 2013.

Big players leave malls

As big-store anchors like Nordstrom, JCPenney and possibly Sears exit the malls, operators are reimaging the space left behind.

That scenario is playing out at Mainplace, where the former Nordstrom, which closed in March after 29 years, will likely see multiple tenants in its place.

“I’m less excited about putting one tenant in as I am about bringing in new uses,” Maher said.

To make room for even more new tenants, MainPlace will shift the Olive Garden restaurant across the street to City Place.

Irvine Spectrum Center was one of the first local malls to demolish what once was a key anchor to make room for multiple vendors. In 2016, its landlord Irvine Company tore down Macy’s and is nearing completion on a new construction that will be home to roughly 20 new shopping options.

JCPenney’s downsizing has left a hole at the Village at Orange. The store will shutter mid-June. It’s the only retail store in Southern California among 138 so far marked for closure nationwide by the company.

Tim McMahon, a leasing broker with CRBE, said the group is looking for a single tenant at the small Orange mall but remains open to the option of dividing the space.

The next big shoe to drop in retail will be the demise of Sears. The struggling retailer has hired Eastdil Secured to market and sell at least $1 billion of real estate properties.

If Sears does sell off its stores, retail analyst Greg Stoffel said area malls would most likely have first dibs, giving them a chance to redevelop the area with new concepts, particularly entertainment and experience-oriented stores.

Stoffel said MainPlace “took out” other nearby centers when it first opened.

Initially, the developers thought of the center as a high-end mall, but it has ultimately has appealed to lower-income demographics, he said.

“MainPlace is not in the upper tier of upscale centers in Orange County. South Coast Plaza, Fashion Island, the Shops at Mission Viejo and Brea Mall occupy that space. MainPlace is a solid B center, still better than Buena Park downtown and Westminster,” Stoffel said. “But the center’s busy. For what it is, it looks well tenanted. They just need to continue to do a really good job of meeting the needs of the customers who live in close proximity.”

Focus on events

MainPlace Mall will take advantage of its parking lots and proximity to the 5 freeway to host more events in the months ahead. In recent years it has hosted a handful of events including a fall food festival and a Latin music festival

“It’s the next phase in what makes a mall worth going to,” Maher said. “You can bring your family and stay for the day.”

Activities at the mall bring more people to the restaurants, McMahon at Lucille’s affirmed.

“Malls have always been a community gathering place and that’s becoming more important,” Maher said. “The bigger companies can’t be as nimble. They’re into national marketing campaigns but we are local.”

Upcoming events include Halloween Dia de los Muertos on Oct. 28 and Taste of Santa Ana on Sept. 30.

For the 33rd year running, it’s the biggest one-day event in the city — the Tustin Street Fair and Chili Cook-off.

Some 35,000 folks are expected at the street festival on Sunday, June 4. There, they can sample around 50 different chili offerings while engaging in nonstop contests all day long.

Try the pie-eating and jalapeno-munching challenges. Or line-dancing. Or even test your arm at a beer-stein-holding match. Maybe your vintage car will take first place in the car show at Enderle Center.

Of course, the main competitions involve chili. Pros with the Laguna Niguel-based International Chili Society will do the official judging, but everyone can have a say in People’s Choice. Ten bucks will get you 10 samples and a ballot.

“Obviously, the rules are a lot looser for People’s Choice,” said Marilyn Buescher, recreation supervisor for the city. “You can use canned chili and win. Who knows?”

But despite those just-for-fun perimeters, the first-place winner nabs serious money — $500.

This year’s festival offers a few new features, such as a watermelon-eating contest for kids in Peppertree Park. As always, adults can get their own fill — on the main stage at El Camino and 2nd Sreet.

Also new this year: craft beer and food served under a tent so visitors can take a shady break; free shuttle buses running every few minutes from the Columbus Tustin Gym parking lot at 17522 Beneta Way; and wine tasting for a dollar a sample.

Enjoy a variety of music at every corner, including Willie Nelson songs performed by the popular True Willie Band.

Proceeds from the event, which is sponsored by Smart & Final, fund local organizations. Last year’s Chili Cook-off raised more than $22,000.

“It’s become a tradition that’s fun for kids as well as their parents,” Buescher said. “Tustin is such a tight little community — everyone here takes pride in their city.”

If you go

When: 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, June 4

Where: Old Town Tustin, including Peppertree Park, 230 W. First St.

Cost: $1 per chili sample; $6 for beer or wine; free admission

Information: tustinchilicookoff.com

Special events

CHILDREN’S THEATER: Kids in grades K-6 will have barrels of fun with “Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing” at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa. Judy Blume’s popular book hits the stage with hilarity and fun sibling rivalry. Through June 4. scr.org

‘DOC McSTUFFINS’: Doctors-in-training can visit the McStuffins Toy Hospital E.R., Pet Vet and Nursery to learn the duties of a doctor along with healthy habits, empathy and nurturing care at “Doc McStuffins: The Exhibit” at Discovery Cube in Santa Ana. Through Sept. 4. discoverycube.org

INTERACTIVE FLIGHT: “Above and Beyond – The Ultimate Interactive Flight Exhibition” at Discovery Cube celebrates the power of innovation. The aerospace exhibit, sponsored by Boeing, offers simulations, design projects, and stories from past and present innovators. Kids can design and test-fly a supersonic jet, pilot a drone into the eye of a hurricane, experience flight as a bird or futuristic wing-flapping aircraft and take an elevator ride to the edge of space. Through Sept. 10. discoverycube.org

PARENTS NIGHT OUT: Parents can take a break while the kids have fun of their own during Creative Kids/Parents Night Out at the Bowers’ Kidseum in Santa Ana. Tickets are $15 for one child, $25 for two and $35 for three. Reservations are required. 6-9 p.m. June 2. bowers.org

ART FEST: The Irvine Fine Arts Center hosts the Studio Arts Festival in Heritage Park. Southern California artists showcase their works in ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, painting, photography, fiber and glass. There’s also music, art demonstrations and food, including ice cream sundaes served in handmade collectible ceramic bowls. Admission and parking are free. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. June 3. cityofirvine.org

SUMMERFEST: Join the Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary in Modjeska Canyon for the two-day Summerfest, featuring arts and crafts by local artists, nature tours, kids’ crafts, art classes, music, and barbecue. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. June 3-4. tuckerwildlife.org

ALL ABOUT WHEELS: Kids will get a kick racing Hot Wheels and taking in some ice cream, face painting and balloon art at the Huntington Beach Concours d’Elegance at Huntington Central Park. Cars on display date from the early 1900s to current day. Admission is $10 for adults, free for ids under 16. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. June 3 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. June 4. surfcityusa.com

PET ADOPTION: Pet rescue groups and animal shelters will bring more than 600 homeless dogs, cats, rabbits and other small animals for adoption in the Super Pet Adoption at the Irvine Animal Care Center. Vendors, food trucks, a bake sale, a silent auction and low-cost microchipping are also on tap. Leashed and vaccinated dogs are welcome. Event proceeds benefit the Irvine Animal Care Center. Parking is free, but suggested donations are $2 per person and $5 per family. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. June 4.cityofirvine.org

ARTS FEST: The Yorba Linda Arts Alliance holds its Celebration of the Arts, showcasing jewelry, photography, woodworking and ceramics, along with music and kids’ activities. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. June 4. artsyl.org

CONCERT: Singers, dancers and artists are set to perform in the OC Pop Concert. The concert raises funds for the Melody Makers Scholarship Foundation, which benefits underserved teens and children with special needs. It takes place at the Orange County School of the Arts’ Margaret A. Webb Theatre in Santa Ana. General seating tickets are $25; reserved seats are $40. June 11. melodymakersoc.com

CHILI AT THE BEACH:
Kick off Father’s Day weekend at the Surf City Chili at the Beach party in downtown Huntington Beach. Enjoy fun and food, entertainment, a kids’ zone and, of course, chili and salsa tastings. Admission is free; chili and salsa tastings are $10 in advance, $15 day of event. Proceeds benefit the Boys &Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. June 17. surfcityusa.com

FUN WITH DAD: Spend Father’s Day at Pretend City Children’s Museum in Irvine and participate in a shaving contest, a relay race, a dance-off, and story-time. All that fun is included with museum admission. June 18. pretendcity.org

RUN FOR VETS:Run, jog, trot, walk or stroll on Father’s Day at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. The college’s Veterans 5K & Kids Ruck run supports student veterans. Kids 12 and under can race within their age group or take part in the Kids Ruck run. Same-day registration is 6-7:45 a.m.; the 5K starts at 8 a.m., and the kids’ run starts at 9 a.m. June 18. saddleback.edu/vets

SUMMER READING: “Celebrating the Blues” during the Summer Reading Program with Brother Yusef at the Newport Beach Central Library. It is an interactive program designed to introduce young people to the African-American tradition of the blues. It includes singing, dancing and instrument playing. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Space is first-come, first-seated and is limited by room capacity. 10:30-11:30 a.m. June 24. newportbeachlibrary.org

IT’S MAGIC: Mix live doves and rabbits, levitation, tricks, comedy and audience participation, and you get “Illusions by Allen,” a magic show for all ages at Newport Beach-area libraries. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Space is first-come, first-seated and is limited by room capacity. June 26 at the Mariners Branch Library, June 27 at the Central Library, and June 29 at the Corona del Mar and Balboa branch libraries. newportbeachlibrary.org

OCEAN EXHIBIT: Kids can put on a scuba mask and watch live creatures of the sea in Ocean Zone at The Children’s Museum at La Habra. Tickets are $8; children 2 and younger get in free. Through Jan. 7. lhcm.org

Theme park news

Disneyland: Join forces with First Avenger, Star-Lord, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America, Spider-Man and Groot. See if you have what it takes to become an Avenger. And dare to ride Guardians of the Galaxy-Mission: Breakout! Disney California Adventure is celebrating Summer of Heroes. There will also be themed merchandise and food. Through Sept. 10. disneyland.disney.go.com

Knott’s Berry Farm: The new virtual reality experience “VR Showdown In Ghost Town” is now open at Knott’s Berry Farm. Go on a time-traveling adventure to a futuristic version of Knott’s Western town of Calico and face off against robotic enemies to defend the town. knotts.com

Out-of-town enjoyment

Beaumont Cherry Festival: The Riverside County city’s annual cherry festival has carnival rides, games, booths, music, food and all things cherry. June 1-4. beaumontcherryfestival.org

Temecula Balloon Fest: The sky over Skinner Lake in Winchester turns vibrant with color as hot-air balloons rise in the Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival. Hot-air balloon lifts begin at sunrise. Children 5 and younger get in free; for kids 6-12 admission is $5. June 2-4. tvbwf.com

San Diego County Fair: Learn how to saddle up, rope and ride-’em cowboy; pan for gold; or set up camp out on the prairie and tell tales around the campfire. Plus there are carnival attractions and top-name bands. June 2-July 4. sdfair.com

Pacific Islander Festival: The diverse cultures of the Pacific Islands are on display at the Pacific Islander Festival at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Enjoy craft demonstrations, music and dance performances. 9-5 p.m. June 3-4. aquariumofpacific.org

Singalong ‘Sound of Music’: Calling all nuns, goat herders and baronesses: Sing along with Maria and join in the chorus of “My Favorite Things” as the Hollywood Bowl presents the Oscar-winning movie. Pre-show starts at 6:30 p.m.; movie at 8 p.m. June 24. hollywoodbowl.com

Sports

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: The Angels have home games against the Minnesota Twins (June 1-4), the New York Yankees (June 12-14), the Kansas City Royals (June 15-18), the Los Angeles Dodgers (June 28-29) and the Seattle Mariners (June 30).

1. Cheer on the rebranded Orange County Soccer Club at its new venue. The United Soccer League pro team, formerly known as the O.C. Blues, is now playing at the Orange County Great Park as part of its rebranding. It starts its season in temporary digs at the park before moving around July 1 to its new pop-up 5,200-seat stadium there. The team has 10 home games on its schedule from late June to early September, and ticket prices start at $10. orangecountysoccer.com

2. Celebrate Fountain Valley’s 60th birthday at Summerfest: This year’s event, June 22-25 at the Recreation Center and Sports Park, is part of the city’s bigger birthday party. Summerfest features carnival rides and games, entertainment, food vendors, a classic car and truck show and more. fvsummerfest.com

3. Light up the bay on a glowing paddleboard. The Pirate Coast Paddle Co. offers guided SUP Glow Night tours of Newport Bay on Friday and Saturday nights in the summer. Each board has waterproof LED lighting, which lets boarders see marine life in the calm waters. Cost: $45 per person. piratecoastpaddle.com.

4. See the wiener dogs race on German Heritage Day. One of the key attractions at Huntington Beach’s Old World Village is the dachshund races., The races are free at the German Heritage Day celebration from 2 to 6 p.m. July 9. There is also free food for the first 500 guests, as well as performances by the Donau Schwaben Folk Dancers and the German American Brass Band, carnival games and face painting. The short-legged puppies race on other dates as well, about once a month, now through Oktoberfest. oldworld.ws

5. Watch a movie under the stars. Several communities offer outdoor family film screenings on giant screens for free in the summer months. Families bring beach chairs and blankets and enjoy the show. Venues include parks in Brea, Dana Point, Fountain Valley, Irvine, Lake Forest and Placentia.

6. Cruise down to the San Clemente Ocean Festival. Billed as “The Greatest Show on Surf,” this year’s festival takes place July 15 and 16 at San Clemente Pier. The event includes a stand-up paddleboard championship, a beach run, a rubber duck race, a youth pavilion, a sand-sculpting competition and a family beach party. oceanfestival.org

7. Go ahead and jump. Kids (and adults) can get their wiggles out at several trampoline places throughout Orange County. Other activities depending on venue include dodgeball, basketball, foam pits and an arcade area. Check with each venue as to “open jump” times, special events, liability waivers and sock requirements. Venues: Sky Zone, Anaheim Hills and Westminster; Big Air, Buena Park and Laguna Hills; Get Air Surf City, Huntington Beach; Sky High Sports, Costa Mesa; and Rockin’ Jump, Santa Ana.

8. Visit the Cypress Community Festival. This is one of the largest one-day festivals in Orange County, attracting more than 20,000 people a year. It kicks off with an early-morning 5K/10K run and pancake breakfast, and also features a car show, a chili cook-off, family games, food booths, children’s rides, arts and crafts booths and entertainment. It all takes place July 22 at the Cypress Community Center. cypressfestival.com.

9. Explore at Discovery Cube Orange County. Upcoming this summer are two new exhibits: “Above and Beyond: The Ultimate Interactive Flight Exhibition” (May 27-Sept. 10) and “Doc McStuffins” (May 27-Aug. 28). Cost: $17.95general, $12.95 kids 3-14, kids 2 and under free; memberships available. oc.discoverycube.org

10. Pop over to the La Habra Corn Festival. The annual Lions Club event, set for Aug. 4 to 6, features rides and attractions, food, game and craft booths, entertainment, lots of contests and lots and lots of corn on the cob. The venue is El Centro Lions Park. lahabracornfestival.com

11. Hit the right note with Symphony in the Cities. The Pacific Symphony’s summer tradition of offering evenings of free music and fun continues. Schedule: July 16 at Newport Beach Civic Center; July 22 in the Village Green at Mission Viejo’s Oso Viejo Community Park and July 23 at Irvine’s Mike Ward Community Park in Woodbridge. pacificsymphony.org

12. Have a beach bonfire. The number of fire pits on Orange County beaches has diminished the past few years, but there’s still plenty around to enjoy this tradition. The stretch of Bolsa Chica State, Huntington City and Huntington State beaches have the most fire rings, and Corona del Mar, Balboa Peninsula, Aliso Beach, Doheny State, San Clemente City and San Onofre State beaches also have them.

13. Go all in for “Farm Fresh Fun” at the OC Fair. Wednesdays through Sundays, July 14 to Aug. 13. Celebrating its 127th year, the 2017 version is 23 days and nights of entertainment, food (especially of the deep-fried variety), rides, shopping, exhibits and animals. There are headline performances at the Pacific Amphitheatre and several events at the Action Sports Arena. General admission: $7 to $14; kids 5 and younger free. ocfair.com

14. Roll on down to the rink. Fountain Valley Skating Center and Holiday Skate Center in Orange have open public skating hours, family skate specials and learn-to-skate classes. There are theme public events, too, such as R&B Night and Flashback Skate Night. Fountain Valley Skate admission: $7 to $9, $19 for a family of five. Holiday Skate admission: $6.50-$8.50. Skate rentals cost extra.

15. Head on out to the ballyard. Grab the kids, grab a hotdog, and enjoy Angels baseball. Maybe you’ll catch a foul ball, or a T-shirt launched into the crowd by the Strike Force. Fireworks are planned after every Saturday home game, and “Kids Run the Bases” (ages 5 to 14) after every Sunday home game. Single-game tickets start at $15. losangeles.angels.mlb.com

16. Pack on the mud at Adventure Playground. Situated in Huntington Beach’s Central Park, Adventure Playground lets kids ages 5 to 12 raft on a small pond, climb across a rope bridge and slide down a mud slide. They will get wet and muddy, so bring a towel and change of clothes.  Open June 19-Aug. 18 (closed July 4), Admission: $3. huntingtonbeachca.gov

17. Try the other Adventure Playground. Yes, there are two with the same name in Orange County. The Adventure Playground at Irvine’s University Park is not a traditional playground: It’s all about unstructured play, where kids use their imagination to build, create and interact. Cityofirvine.org

18. Check out the Vans U.S. Open of Surfing. The celebration of surfing and surf culture returns to Huntington City Beach south of the pier for nine days, July 29 to Aug. 6. Beyond the surfing, the event features competitions by skateboarders and BMX riders. vansusopenofsurfing.com

19. Go a few rounds (miniature golfing). Boomers in Irvine and Fountain Valley and Camelot Golfland in Anaheim offer fairways on a kid-sized scale. All three places also have go-karts, bumper boats and other rides, and an arcade and food. Both Boomers locations have batting cages; the Irvine location adds laser tag and the Buccaneer Cove water park. Camelot has a water slide area. At all three places, admission is free, but activities have individual pricing.

20. Rent a bike/surrey/pedal boat. For $12, you can by an annual pass with Wheel Fun Rentals. You pay full price for your first rental, but get an extra half-hour free, and then 50 percent off all future rentals for one year. Locations include Doheny Beach in Dana Point, Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley and Yorba Regional Park in Anaheim. wheelfunrentals.com.

21. Watch as masterpieces are brought to life. “The Grand Tour” is the theme for this year’s Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach, taking place July 7 to Aug. 31. Tickets: $15-$230 (Pageant tickets give you unlimited access to the Festival of Arts Fine Art Show). foapom.com

22. Stick around for a staycation. Mix things up and be a tourist in your own town for a night or two. Check with local hotels or join their loyalty programs to find out whether they offer “locals only” rates so you can really get the “visitor” experience. (A recent example: At the new Pasea Hotel in Huntington Beach, a room that is regularly $249 a night was available for $159 through their locals only email promotion.) Of course, then you can take advantage of the hotel’s amenities as well as check with the concierge for any tips before you venture out around town. The good news is you live there, so you use what you learn long after your staycation glow fades.

23. See some Shakespeare by the Sea. This year, “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Macbeth” will be performed at the popular annual outdoor festival. Shows start at 7 p.m. Schedule: Rush Park in Rossmoor, July 22-23, Birch Park in Santa Ana, July 27, Eisenhower Park at Seal Beach Pier, Aug. 6, Soka University, Aug. 9 and Crown Valley Park in Laguna Niguel, Aug. 13. Shakespearebythesea.org

24. Explore the world at the Orange International Street Fair. It’s a Labor Day weekend tradition, featuring 15 ethnic-themed streets in and around the Orange Circle, with food booths, arts and crafts and entertainment. The fair includes Children’s Street, featuring games and crafts. The 2017 event dates are Sept. 1-3. orangestreetfair.org

25. Watch the sun set. Some great spots to catch the nightly sky show include Little Corona del Mar State Beach ,with its unique arch rock formation, through the cave at 1000 Steps Beach in Laguna Beach (check to make sure it’s low tide), the Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach or Balboa piers, Top of the World Park in Laguna and the bluffs or the beach at Strands Beach in Dana Point. With miles of coastline, there are plenty of other options to catch the sun go down on another perfect Orange County summer day.

Sunday: Every Sunday (and Saturdays, too), the Orange County Great Park in Irvine offers Creation Stations. Kids can play, create and explore at self-directed stations. The hands-on activities emphasize divergent thinking, problem-solving skills and innovation. Families with children of all ages are welcome. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. cityofirvine.org

Monday: Military veterans, active-duty personnel, their spouses and children age 11 and older can take part in the Veterans Art Project – free ceramics classes offered through Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. Kids younger than 16 must be accompanied by an adult. The 10 sessions are 6-10 p.m. Mondays from June 5 to Aug. 7. saddleback.edu/ce

Tuesday: Every Tuesday, join the crowds that pack the streets of downtown Huntington Beach for the Surf City Nights Street Fair and Farmers Market on Main Street between Orange Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway. The event includes food vendors, street performers, bounce houses, and free musical entertainment. 5-9 p.m. huntingtonbeachevents.com or surfcitynights.com

Wednesday: Learn about marine mammals at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, where sick and injured sea lions and seals are rehabilitated and nursed back to health. The center is open to visitors daily. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. pacificmmc.org

Thursday: Families can make a day of it every Thursday at the Downtown Anaheim Certified Farmers’ Market & Craft Fair. Shop for local fresh fruits and vegetables and handcrafted items by local artisans at Center Street Promenade and Lemon Street. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. downtownanaheim.com

Friday: Art galleries and venues in Fullerton open their doors on the first Friday of every month. The Downtown Fullerton Art Walk brings art exhibits, music acts, performance art and free art activities, all within walking distance. Free refreshments are provided throughout the evening at many of the stops. The art walk starts at 6 p.m. fullertonartwalk.com

Dana Point has a Movie in the Park every Friday evening. Bring low-back chairs or blankets to watch the free kids movies in Lantern Bay Park and enjoy free popcorn, too. June 2: “Moana,” June 9: “Zootopia,” June 16: “The Jungle Book,” June 23: “The BFG” and June 30: “Pete’s Dragon.” The pre-movie entertainment starts at 7:30 p.m., and the evening ends at 10 p.m. danapoint.org

Saturday: Every first Saturday of the month, take a free tour of the Bolsa Chica wetlands. Tours run every 15 minutes from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Every last Saturday of the month, join the Amigos for a Bird Talk & Nature Walk at Bolsa Chica. The walk takes place from 9 to 11 a.m. Both tours leave from the south parking lot. Email info@amigosdebolsachica.org to RSVP. surfcityusa.com

By DAKE KANG

CLEVELAND — The city of Cleveland has fired one police officer and suspended a second involved in the shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.

Police Chief Calvin Williams announced the discipline Tuesday against officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback related to the shooting of the boy at a recreation center in November 2014 as he held a pellet gun.

Williams said Loehmann, who shot Rice, has been fired. Frank Garmback, who was driving the cruiser that skidded to a stop near the boy, has been suspended for 10 days.

Loehmann was fired for inaccurate details on his job application, not for the Rice shooting. Garmback was suspended for violating a tactical rule involving his approach to the gazebo where the boy was shot.

A message was left with the police union about the discipline.

Menifee man’s satisfaction with HERO Program mirrors experience of tens of thousands of homeowners

Shortly after Bill Haas dutifully paid his property taxes early this year, the Menifee homeowner got a phone call.
The call was from a representative of Renovate America’s HERO Program notifying Haas that his five-year, HERO-financed HVAC system had been paid off.
Haas says it was well worth the temporarily higher property tax bill to improve his home with a brand-new HVAC system.
“I didn’t even know it was paid off,” he says of that phone call. “It’s a really good feeling. I’m so glad I got involved with HERO.”
There’s been plenty of good news to go around since HERO exploded on the scene in December 2011, offering Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing to homeowners for making energy-efficient and other sustainable improvements to their properties.
With no money required upfront and the ability to finance such improvements via assessments on their property taxes over the useful life of life of a product, preserving other lines of credit and allowing for possible tax benefits, homeowners like Haas have embraced PACE, a public policy initiative designed to help reduce emissions, lower utility bills and create local jobs.
“It works great,” said Haas, who as President of the Mariposa at Menifee Community Association Inc. has recommended HERO to many neighbors in his 241-home community. In 1988, Haas and his wife bought a brand-new, three-bedroom home with a loft and an office. In 2012, they decided to purchase a new heating and air conditioning unit, along with new air filters.
They heard about HERO through the contractor they hired, We Care Plumbing, Heating, Air and Solar of Murrieta.
Haas, a retired manufacturing and industrial engineering manager, is not alone in his satisfaction with HERO.
A total of 447 communities within 50 of California’s 58 counties have adopted HERO, which since its inception has financed $2.36 billion in home energy and efficiency improvements in 96,700 homes.
And with HERO’s growth have come numerous improvements that protect consumers, as well as a major study that shows the program has a positive impact on home values.
HERO has adopted disclosure standards that are on par with the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s “Know Before You Owe” disclosures for homebuyers.
HERO has enhanced protections for seniors and has developed a Property Advisors team to help with transactions involving homes with a HERO assessment, and HERO has eliminated pre-payment penalties.
HERO also has tightened standards for its partner contractors, introducing a data-driven Contractor Quality Rating system that tracks customer satisfaction, how quickly contractors resolve complaints, and quality issues. Contractors who don’t live up to such high standards are dropped from the program.

To take advantage of HERO™ or find out if it is available where you live, visit heroprogram.com or call 855-HERO-411. HERO’s program service representatives are available to take your call seven days a week.

You’ve gotten a three-day notice to “PAY OR QUIT.”

Over the next few weeks, more notices arrive, filled with legal jargon and bearing labels like “COMPLAINT-UNLAWFUL DETAINER.”

You are not a person, but the “DEFENDANT.”

Finally, a sheriff’s deputy shows up at your door and hands you a sheaf of papers labeled “NOTICE TO VACATE.”

Rich or poor, people value their home.

Now you’ve got just days before yours will be taken away from you.

What should you do?

At this stage of the game, your options are few, and none of them are good.

But, evictions can move fast. Experts say the earlier you take action, the better. Here is a brief guide.

Pay the rent: Generally, a lawful tenant has the same rights to his or her home as homeowners do to their property. Tenancy gives you the right of possession, subject to the terms of your lease or rental agreement. Pay your rent on time, follow the reasonable and legal rules of your contract, and you’re chances of being forced to move out are slim.

The Eviction Defense Network website advises against using cash and that tenants get a receipt.

Even if you do faithfully pay the rent, landlords still can order you to leave your rental by giving a formal notice of 30 or 60 days before the end of your lease or month-to-month rental term, depending on how long you have lived there and whether you live in a rent-controlled city like Los Angeles or Santa Monica.

“Three-Day Notice to Pay or Quit:” This gives you three days to pay up your rent or move out. If you make a payment, the landlord must accept it. Don’t ignore these notices. The count starts the day after your notice was delivered and includes weekends and holidays, although you have until the following business day if it ends on a weekend or holiday.

Failure to pay the rent is the primary reason for such orders, but landlords also can order tenants to leave for such rental agreement violations as having unauthorized pets, being a public nuisance or illegal activity.

“Unlawful detainer” complaint: An “unlawful detainer,” or UD, is court jargon for eviction.This is the start of the eviction process.

A landlord must go to court to evict you and can’t force you out by other means such as changing your locks, cutting off utilities, seizing your property or removing windows or your front door.

You might be able to stop the eviction by paying your rent, but after the first three days expire, the landlord doesn’t have to accept payment.

Tenant response: Tenants then have the right to a trial before an eviction can take place. But once an eviction complaint has been served (delivered to the tenant), tenants have five days to file a written response with the court clerk — or 15 days if someone else on the premises is served on behalf of the tenant or if the complaint is served by certified mail.

The tenant should have a valid defense to fight an eviction. Such defenses could include:

• Proof that the tenant paid the rent or tried to pay the rent before the three-day notice expired.
• The notice or complaint was defective.
• The tenant made needed repairs and deducted the cost from the rent.
• The landlord is retaliating for complaints made or the landlord is discriminating against the tenant.

If tenants don’t respond on time, a judge will enter a “default judgment” — that is an eviction order without any hearings. Judges also can order tenants to pay back rent, fees, costs and damages.

Notice to vacate: After an eviction order is filed, the sheriff’s department delivers a “notice to vacate,” giving the tenant five days to move out.

Race to the courthouse: There still are some options left for tenants to delay the eviction. They can request an “ex parte” hearing to request a “stay of execution.” But time is short. They must give notice to the landlord by 10 a.m. of the day before the hearing.

You need a good reason to ask for more time.

If there’s another adult living in the home not named in the eviction case, he or she could come forward and request to be added to the case. That could delay the eviction, but that other tenant also ends up with an eviction on his or her record.

Sheriff’s lockout: If the tenant hasn’t moved out after five days, sheriff’s deputies come, give tenants a minimal amount of time to grab a few things, then lock up the home.

The landlord stores any possessions left in the home (and can charge reasonable storage fees). After 15 days, the landlord can auction off the possessions if the value is over $700. If the value is under $700, the landlord can dispose of the property as he or she chooses.

The top senior players in table tennis return to Laguna Woods Village on Thursday, June 1 for the Meiklejohn National Seniors Table Tennis Tournament’s 27th year.

Fans and looky-loos alike can enjoy table tennis players such as Yanjun Gao, ranked 10th nationally, and Shaw Cheng, Laguna Woods’ own “best player,” said Raymond Landis, Table Tennis Club past president.

“I think seeing any sport played at the highest level is just an incredible experience,” Landis said.

This year’s tournament will take place at 9 a.m. daily Thursday, June 1 through Sunday, June 4 at Clubhouse Five. Admission is free to anyone who wants to observe. There will be an estimated 230 players competing in the 30 events, ranging in skill level and age bracket, Landis said.

More than 40 table tennis players in this year’s tournament are rated 2,000 or higher, out of a possible 3,000, Landis said, with the top player at 2,550.

There are 24 Laguna Woods Village residents who are competing, he added.

“This is the only traditional table tennis tournament in the U.S. that is ongoing for seniors, and every sport has its age of what is considered a senior,” Landis said. “For table tennis it’s 40, so the tournament is for everybody over 40.”

One of the best aspects of table tennis, Landis said, is that it is a more accessible sport for seniors, especially those 90 and older.

“It’s kind of a unique tournament,” he said, adding that Laguna Woods residents account for many in the older age brackets.

Last year, resident and lifelong table tennis player Len Hauer won gold in four events – over 70 singles, over 75 singles, over 75 doubles and over 65 doubles.

“I never won more than one event in a tournament,” Hauer told the Register after last year’s tournament. “To win four events is the greatest achievement of my table tennis life.”

Landis said he hopes more residents come to this year’s tournament and, in the long run, more people get involved in the sport.

“I wish we were a little better known in the community,” he said. “If people want to see spectacular table tennis, they should come out and see some of the top players. I think they would really enjoy it.”

Funnel Cake Fries. Spinal Fluid Smoothies. Green Gamora-inspired tortillas. Hulky hero-size doughnuts.

The Memorial Day weekend launch of Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: BREAKOUT! at Disneyland California Adventure inspired the park’s culinary team to introduce more than 20 galactic-themed foods for its “Summer of Heroes” season.

Available through Sept. 10, the heroic-themed meals, desserts, and beverages are found mostly in Hollywood Land. Disneyland Resort executive chef John State said each food item is inspired by various characters from Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy — from Baby Groot to Captain America to Iron Man.

“We started with the characters: who are they and what sets them apart,” State said.

That led to such creations  “The Most Dangerous Tacos in the Galaxy,” a spicy barbacoa beef taco with green onion slaw and habanero salsa. Served on green corn tortillas, State said the tacos are a nod to the “sassy and fierce” green-skinned female Guardians’ hero Gamora. The park’s bakery partner, Boudin, is known for its Mickey Mouse-shaped sourdough bread. So, State said it was a no-brainer to choose the “cute face” of Groot for Boudin to mimic as a bread.

“Obviously Nachos” is made with blue corn tortilla chips and topped with chicken, red pepper cheese sauce, chipotle crema and green onions. The easy, street food dish was developed after Galaxy’s Drax, a big but “simpleton” warrior.

For breakfast, a few large “hero size” doughnuts are also available including the American Doughnut, a Captain America-inspired doughnut with red, white and blue streusel topping and apple filling.

Here’s a rundown of the more than 20 items, and where to find them at the park. In some cases, we sampled and posted our thoughts.

Award Wieners

The hot dog stand, known for its chili-slathered hot dogs, is selling two new desserts: a Hawkeye-inspired “Quiver of Funnel Cake Fries” (mango and raspberry coulis topped with whipped cream and funnel cake fries); a Baby Groot-inspired “Angry Little Pudding Cup” (chocolate pudding, chocolate sandwich cookies, whipped cream and funnel cake fries).

Schmoozies

The smoothie shop along the main drag of Hollywood Land features several themed smoothies: Terra-Berry, Rocket Fuel (mocha), Mango Mayhem, Strawberry Banana Breakout and Infinity-Ade (lavender lemonade) with a glow cube.

Desserts: Gamma-Size Doughnut (a doughnut with green Hulk-inspired icing and stuffed with blackberry-black currant); American Doughnut (apple filling with streusel topping); Spider Bite (a cinnamon-spiced doughnut with red glaze and webbing made of black icing), Local Favorite (a maple-bacon filled doughnut with maple cream and Friendly Neighborhood Macaron (filled with vanilla ice cream) Note: The doughnuts are available until 11 a.m. with the Hulk a daily item; the others will rotate.

Register favorite: The Terra-Berry is a showstopper, made with blackberries, raspberries, and peaches. Everyone stopped us to ask us where we got it. The Infinity-Ade is a sophisticated spa-like drink rimmed with sugar. The glow cube comes in various color options. We recommend the multi-color for full impact.

Bifrosties

The bar behind Schmoozies, formerly called Hollywood Lounge, is serving a number of shave ice beverages: Spinal Fluid (banana, mango coulis and chili-lime spice); Spider Venom (blue raspberry and cherry with condensed milk); Smash Ice (lime and grape); Whistle Blue (lime, blue raspberry and blue sugar); I am Shave Ice (root beer and vanilla) and Ice Reactor (strawberry and banana). Note: A scoop of ice cream can be added to any shave ice drink for an upcharge.

Register favorite: If you like Mexican street mango with a dash of serious chili powder, then the refreshing Spinal Fluid shave ice is for you. It’s piled high with ice and plenty of mango flavor.  We definitely recommend ordering any shave ice with a scoop of ice cream.

Studio Catering Co.

The food truck near the restrooms is offering a Super Hero Sized Sub (a foot-long Italian hoagie with locally sourced meats such as peppered salami, capocollo, Mortadella, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, pepperoncini and pickled onion on a hoagie roll, topped with red wine vinaigrette); Promising Future Falafel Pita (chickpea fritters with Red & Gold Slaw made of pickled red cabbage and yellow bell peppers and Charmoula sauce); and Savory Strength Falafel Pita (chickpea fritters with spinach, cucumber slaw and spiced yogurt sauce). Note: (The sub and the two falafel pitas can be found at the Cosmic Canteen in Hollywood Land until June 6.)

Chef’s favorite: State said the vegetarian “green” falafels, inspired by Iron Man and the Hulk, are a personal favorite. The pitas are jazzed up with garlic, cinnamon, cumin, honey, lemon and spiced yogurt. “It has so much flavor,” he said.

Register favorite: We tried both versions, and the Savory Strength was our favorite. It comes with a green mint and cucumber slaw that bursts with tang and texture. The Italian sandwich, served on a pillowy soft hoagie roll, was one of the best sandwiches we’ve ever eaten at any Disney park, including Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe.

Beverages/Desserts: The Milano (Fanta orange freeze with blue cream); Cherry Necroblaster (Cherry Coca-Cola Freeze); and Multiverse Parfait (chocolate cake layered with white and dark chocolate mousse and cherry jelly, and topped with chocolate ganache)

Fairfax Market/Pacific Wharf Café/Cosmic Canteen

These three locations are selling a Jalapeno-Cheese Groot-shaped Bread and a plain sourdough Groot-shaped bread made by Boudin.

Knowhere Eats

This stand, located between Cosmic Canteen and the Studio food truck, opens June 6. Until that stand opens, these offerings can be purchased at Studio Catering Co. and Cosmic Canteen.

It features Gamora green tortilla tacos dubbed The Most Dangerous Tacos in the Galaxy; Obviously Nachos (blue corn tortilla chips topped with chicken, red pepper cheese sauce, chipotle crema and green onions); and Space Outpost Tacos (chicken street tacos with chopped cilantro and onions). Note: A vegetarian version of the tacos features roasted cauliflower.

Beverages: Mythic Michaelada, Sol-Horchata (non-alcoholic), Hot Flare Margarita (jalapeño flavored) and Solar Flare Margarita (watermelon)

Register favorite: If you like bold flavors, go for the Dangerous Tacos, made with a generous portion of barbacoa beef topped with habanero salsa, pickled onions, purple cabbage and green onion slaw. For a spicy snack, go for the nachos.

Other Food News

The Catch’s executive chef Cory Rapp and sous chef Patrick Ruiz recently squared off against two other chefs in a Cooking Channel competition show dubbed Farmers’ Market Flip. The two chefs dazzled the judges with their flavors while cooking with fresh ingredients from the farmers’ market in Torrance.

Last week, Rapp updated The Catch’s menu with several new shared plates, main entrees and sides. One of the new sides, roasted corn with chorizo, was one of the winning dishes he created on the Farmers’ Market Flip show.

Other new dishes: Castroville Artichoke ($12.49 Charbroiled, chimichurri, romesco); Dungeness Crab Croquettes ($17.49 Baby arugula, lemon-poppy vinaigrette, old bayoli, pickled red onions); Chopped House Salad ($9.49 Shredded romaine, baby arugula, bacon, egg, avocado, oven roasted tomatoes, pickled red onions, green goddess dressing); Prime Short Rib Raviolis

New sides, all priced at $8.49, include: Sautéed Kale (bacon lardons, apple cider vinegar; Grilled Broccoli ( lemon, romesco, chimichurri); Oven Roasted Sunchokes (bourbon-cayenne glaze, marcona almonds, Roasted Corn Esquites (chorizo, crema, cilantro, lime, chile limon); Grilled Asparagus (spring onions, basil pistou, marcona almonds); Shishito Peppers (purple cauliflower puree, harissa, lime); Mashed Potato Casserole (broccoli-cheese fondue); Brussels (kimchi vinaigrette, gochujang aioli); Foraged Mushrooms, (brie, clover hjoney); and Broccoli-Bacon Mac & Cheese

New dinner and lunch entrees: Harissa Grilled Free Range Chicken, Prime Pork Chop “Chuleta,” Pan Seared Day boat Scallops, Blackened Scottish Salmon, Dungeness Crab Croquette Salad, Blackened Scottish Salmon Sandwich, Catalan Steak Salad, The Italian Hot Mess crispy chicken sandwich.

The Catch, a popular hangout before Angel games, is 2100 E Katella Ave. in Anaheim.

Winston Zuo, a Yorba Linda seventh-grader attending Fairmont Private Schools Historic Anaheim campus, correctly spelled “tendresse,” a noun meaning fondness, Wednesday morning, May 31, to advance to the third round of the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Md.

Zuo will return to the stage at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center later Wednesday for the third round.

Spellers correctly spelling their third-round word can be among the maximum of 50 spellers advancing to Thursday’s semifinals if their score on a test of 12 handwritten spelling words and 14 multiple-choice vocabulary questions is high enough.

The semifinalists are scheduled to be announced at about 3 p.m. Wednesday following the conclusion of the third round.

Zuo qualified for the National Spelling Bee by winning the Orange County Spelling Bee on Feb. 25. His final word was “terete,” an adjective meaning slender and smooth with a circular transverse section.

Winston said he really loves reading because it makes him relax and feel happy. He also said he likes writing, is good at math and science, and loves visiting natural history and science museums.

The bee is limited to students in eighth grade or below, with contestants ranging in age from 6 to 15. The field of 291 spellers consists of students who won locally sponsored bees in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, along with American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Department of Defense schools in Europe.

Six foreign nations are also represented — the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea.

The winner will receive $40,000 from Scripps, which owns television stations and newspapers; a $2,500 U.S. savings bond and complete reference library from the dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster; and $400 in reference works from Encyclopaedia Britannica and a three-year membership to Britannica Online Premium.

No speller from Orange or Los Angeles counties has won the bee.