Summer Sizzles at the OC Great Park
Sizzling summer nights heat up with dance parties and concerts under the glow of the Orange County Great Park Balloon at the Flights & Sounds of Summer Festival at the Orange County Great Park. Performance schedule for the month of September includes:

Friday Night Dance Parties
September 3rd – Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums with Miss Carmen Getit (Swing, West Coast Jump Blues, R&B)

September 10th – Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys (R&B, Rockabilly)

September 17th – The Jerry Mandel Swinging the Standards Jazz Band (Music of Gershwin, Cole Porter, Sinatra)

September 24th – Waltz Me: A Night in Vienna (Strauss Waltz and Ballroom Dance)

Saturday Night Concerts
September 4th – Scrap Arts Music (Featuring instruments made from recycled industrial scraps.)

September 11th – Blind Boys of Alabama (Gospel, Soul, Blues, Funk)

Septemeber 18th – Donavon Frankenreiter (OC Musician & Professional Surfer)

September 25th – BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet with Big Chief Monk Boudreauz and the Mardi Gras Indians (Mardi Gras in the OC)

The Orange County Great Park is located off the 405 or 5 Freeways at Sand Canyon and Marine Way in Irvine. Admission to the Flights & Sounds of Summer Festival is free - parking is $10.

Conservancy Donates Shade Trees to OC Great Park
As the OC Great Park continues to grow, the Great Park Conservancy continues its support for the park. Recently, the Conservancy was presented with an unexpected opportunity to make a donation of Sycamore and Olive trees to be used at the Great Park.

For each of the past five years, thanks to generous support from Valley Crest Companies, the Conservancy’s annual Jewel of Orange County fundraising event has been enhanced with many lovely trees and shrubs on loan for the event. This year, the trees used to decorate the Jewel were donated to the Conservancy, providing us the opportunity for Valley Crest and the Conservancy to work together to make available these beautiful shade trees to the OC Great Park.

Conservancy Director Rick Hume, a professional landscape architect, worked with OC Great Park CEO Mike Ellzey, to arrange for the planting of 20 large Sycamore Plane Trees (Plantanus x acerifolia ‘Columbia’) in the lawn area surrounding the Balloon Park. Platanus x acerifolia ‘Columbia’ is a handsome tree with structural character that can grow to 50 feet in height. These Sycamore Plane Trees will offer welcome shade to park visitors. An additional 70 Olives (Olea ‘Majestic Beauty’) will be planted around the perimeter of the park’s popular Farm and Food Lab. Attractive and refined in appearance, Olea ‘Majestic Beauty’ is a perfect companion plant to any Mediterranean garden.

Many thanks to Valley Crest Companies for their vision in supporting the Great Park Conservancy’s work to generate public support and private contributions for the development and operation of the Orange County Great Park.

Posted September 1, 2010

Jewel Event Celebrates Arts+Culture Center
The Great Park Conservancy’s 5th annual “Jewel of Orange County” fundraiser on Saturday, July 31 highlighted progress made by the independent foundation that supports Great Park development and celebrated the beginning of construction of the park’s new Arts + Culture Center, a Conservancy-supported project that will be completed in 2011.

The elegant evening was held overlooking the glowing Great Park Balloon at historic Hangar 244.  A highlight of the evening was the launch of construction for the park’s new Palm Court and Squadron Complex.

To inaugurate the transition of the aging World War II squadron headquarters and vacated warehouses into an experimental public art and culture space, the Conservancy presented an original dance and circus production staged by aerial artists and former Cirque du Soleil choreographer Bianca Sapetto. With aerial dancers swaying from the rafters, stilt walkers towering above the crowd and German wheel and trampoline artists moving to the raucous rhythms of the Pacific Youth Symphony’s Saxophone Quartet, new life was infused in the long-deserted loading docks of the former Marine air station.  Henry Korn, the park’s director of arts + culture, provided guests with a preview of the new exhibition space, artists’ studios and the elegant, shaded Palm Court – all of which will open at the Great Park in the summer of 2011.

Conservancy Chairwoman Marian Bergeson gave special praise to the evening’s hosts, Michelle and David Horowitz who oversaw planning for the event and commissioned the special entertainment.  “In so generously commissioning this evening’s dazzling performance, you have introduced a hint of artistic magic into the Great Park,” Ms. Bergeson said. “By next year, that magic -- with a little help from the engineers, architects and contractors of the Great Park, and donations from the private sector -- will transform the empty warehouses and decaying concrete into Orange County’s newest center for the creative arts.”

The mission of the Great Park Conservancy is to serve as the Great Park’s private fundraising arm and to generate and maintain public and private support throughout Orange County and beyond for the parks development and operation.

Posted August 2, 2010

Great Park Conservancy Presents
5th Annual Jewel of Orange County
The Great Park Conservancy continues its vital role of generating countywide public support and private contributions for the Orange County Great Park. On Saturday, July 31, 2010, the Conservancy will present the 5th Annual Jewel of Orange County – an enchanting summer evening at the OC Great Park. Please join us to nurture the growth, support the plan and help turn a great dream into reality.

Delight to the romantic music of Bulgarian virtuoso guitarists Triada Guitar Trio as you sip hosted cocktails and sample from our wine and cheese tastings. Enjoy a sumptuous dinner created by Chef Azmin of Sapphire, Laguna Beach as you watch the Great Park Balloon rise into the night sky. Your magical evening concludes with dancing under the stars to a musical medley of songs performed by 2,000 Lbs of Blues.

Event co-Chairs, Michelle & David Horowitz and Honorary Chair, Marian Bergeson wish to thank the many generous sponsors of this year’s Jewel of Orange County fund raising and friend raising event. A very special thanks goes to Presenting Sponsor Microsemi Corporation. Additional corporate sponsors include: Sprouts Farmers Market, Orange County Business Bank, MacGillivray Freeman Films, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, Hoag Hospital. Valley Crest Landscape Companies, Discovery Science Center, Envelopments, Signature Party Rentals, Blue Ice Vodka, Bacchus’ Secret Cellar, Coast Magazine and Tahoe Ridge Winery.

Individual sponsors to date include: Brenda & Bob Currie, Michelle & David Horowitz, Barbara & Greg MacGillivray, Donna & Doug Neff, Marilyn & Tom Nielsen, Anoosheh & Alan Oskouian, Sheila & Jim Peterson, Janet & Walkie Ray, Teddie Ray, Michael Ray, Danah & Alex Stimpson, and Keiko Sakamoto & Bill Witte.

For more information, or to purchase tickets to the event, please call the Great Park

Conservancy offices at 949.653.1775 or go to JewelOC.com.

Posted May 28, 2010

Natural History Lectures
7:00 p.m. at the Great Park Conservancy
Free Parking & Admission

The Orange County Great Park will be a new center for experiencing our natural world, and understanding how people and our environment can advance together. The first expression of this mission is the free public evening lecture series offering new insights into our natural and dynamic world of Southern California. Our speakers this spring will confront issues critical for us to have a sustainable world.

Directions to the Great Park Conservancy: Lectures will be held at the offices of the Great Park Conservancy, and the Great Park thanks the Conservancy for their continuing support. Take the I-5 or I-405 to Sand Canyon and head north. Turn right on Trabuco Road, and turn left at the end. Take the first right to the Conservancy offices.

Admission is free. For more information please call (949) 724-7420.

Lecture Schedule

The Role of Plants in Urban Ecosystems
Thursday, April 8, 7:00 p.m.
Presented by Professor Diane Pataki, University of California, Irvine
What are the environmental benefits of urban green space? What species are best to plant? Can we plant trees and save water at the same time? Learn about research that measures plant physiology, water use, and greenhouse gas emissions from backyards, parks, and street trees.

Dangerous Liaisons? When Cultivated Plants Mate with Their Wild Relatives
Thursday, April 22, 7:00 p.m.
Presented by Professor Norm Ellstrand, University of California, Riverside
People have genetically changed the plants we use for food and fiber for thousands of years. New scientific techniques have produced plants whose genetically “engineered” traits are spreading to nearby wild plants. Learn about this topic, so central to the Great Park’s agricultural and ecological missions.

Citrus Goes Global
Thursday, May 13, 7:00 p.m.
Presented by Dr. Tracy Kahn, University of California, Riverside
Citrus is so important in California’s agricultural heritage. The University of California, Riverside has one of the most extensive living collections of citrus in the world with over 1,000 different types. The extraordinary diversity includes “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.” Come “taste” the diversity!

Amphibians and Reptiles of Southern California
Thursday, June 10, 7:00 p.m.
Presented by Bradford Hollingsworth, Ph.D., San Diego Natural History Museum
Frogs, salamanders, lizards, snakes, and turtles… How did geological forces create these incredible animals? Learn about their amazing biodiversity and forces that shape their lives. In addition, our region’s diverse topography and numerous ecosystems allow for the evolution of new species.

Posted April 5, 2010

Great Park Conservancy Board Taps Hon. Marian Bergeson
Hon. Marian C. Bergeson has been elected chair of the board of directors of the Great Park Conservancy, a non-partisan, non-profit organization whose purpose is to generate public support and private fundraising to build and maintain the Orange County Great Park. “I am pleased to serve in this position because I strongly believe in the Orange County Great Park,” Bergeson stated. “The work that is now being done to plan and build the Great Park can produce a powerful, lasting imprint on our county. It will be a community resource that can serve future generations in perpetuity.”

The Great Park Conservancy’s new chair was the first woman ever to serve in both the California State Assembly and the California State Senate. Bergeson was a member of the California State Legislature from 1978-1995. She served on the Orange County Board of Supervisors in 1995-1996 and was the California State Secretary of Education from 1996-1999.

The Great Park Conservancy’s new slate of officers also includes: David Horowitz, businessman and philanthropist, vice chair; Robert Currie, former partner of Latham & Watkins, secretary; and John Katkish, President of First Management Group in Washington D.C., treasurer.

In addition, the Great Park Conservancy has added four new board members: Bob Magnuson, Doug Neff, Bill Witte and Mike Ellzey. Magnuson is currently president of Magnuson & Company, a strategic communications firm. Previously, Magnuson was president and CEO of InfoWorld Media Group, and before that he spent nearly 20 years at the Los Angeles Times. Doug Neff is a managing partner and president of IHP Capital Partners, where he has primary responsibility for the company’s operations. Neff was previously treasurer of the Irvine Company. Bill Witte is president of Related of California where he oversees all multi-family development activity in California. Prior to this, Witte was director of the Mayors Office of Housing & Economic Development in San Francisco. Mike Ellzey, who was elected as an ex-officio member of the Board, is the Orange County Great Park Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer. Prior to his position at the Great Park, Ellzey was the Executive Director and CEO of the Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority in San Francisco.

Marian Bergeson succeeds Michael Ray, who has been elected Chairman Emeritus of the Great Park Conservancy. Ms. Bergeson’s two-year term will correspond to the beginning of construction at the Orange County Great Park.

Posted November 21, 2009

A Place Where Inspiration Becomes Opportunity – the Orange County Great Park

In our effort to promote regional awareness for the Orange County Great Park, the Conservancy sponsored a public service announcement (PSA) that will run during intermission at the 2009-2010 Anaheim Ducks hockey games. Click here to view our latest PSA.

Posted October 20, 2009

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