Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue members will wear a 90^th Anniversary Badge on their uniforms for the remainder of the year to pay tribute to the valued history of over 90 years of service to the community, dating back to its origins as a volunteer fire department under the leadership the first Fire Chief Fred Brush.

“Like so many great ideas in the fire service, this one came from one of our talented firefighters, Engineer Scott Purcell,” said Fire Chief Dan Stefano. “He deserves the credit for taking his idea of a 90^th anniversary badge from its conception to full implementation. We are extremely proud of our storied history serving such an incredible and vibrant community and of Scott’s passion and dedication to bring the badge to life.”

Engineer Purcell, who worked with others on the design, sought input from the entire organization, in addition to working with our community partners.

“The badge encompasses multiple aspects from within our city, county and the fire service as a whole,” Engineer Purcell said.

The center of the badge pays tribute to the legendary Segerstrom Hall, with the lima beans and oranges on the sides representing the famed farming history of Costa Mesa and the County of Orange as a whole.

The bottom of the badge includes the individual identification number for each fire and rescue team member and the axes on either side of the badge are a signature tool of a firefighter.

The head of each axe highlights two significant numbers; the year the fire department was established and the number 343, which represents the number of firefighters that made the ultimate sacrifice on Sept. 11, 2001.

The City of Costa Mesa plans to roll out a brand new alliance between action sports enthusiasts and artists at the upcoming Action Arts in the Park event at TeWinkle Park on Saturday May 14.

The City’s Cultural Arts Committee came up with the idea of fusing the city’s thriving arts community with the equally thriving action sports industry.

“We are excited to transform the traditional Arts in the Park event into something newer and fresher,” said Tracy Taber, a Cultural Arts Committee member. “We want it to be exciting, interactive and full of energy. That’s why we chose TeWinkle Park and the Costa Mesa Skate Park as the backdrop of the event.  We hope that families enjoy a day in the park while appreciating plenty of arts, culture, entertainment and skating.”

Element Skate Brand has signed on as the title sponsor of this unique event and other supporters include the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers.

The free event that runs from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. will include live music from local bands and a DJ.

There will be skateboarding demonstrations, artist exhibits, a rock wall and a mechanical surfboard and interactive art stations.

Families can also visit a kids zone and there will be food trucks offering up a wide variety of cuisines.

The event will also include demonstrations by Costa Mesa-based Operation Clean Slate, which discourages youth from graffiti vandalism and instead involves young people with hands-on activities to channel their talents and improve their community through aerosol art inspired murals.

“Costa Mesa really is a melting pot for all types of art and culture,” said Justin Martin, the city’s Recreation Manager.  “There is something for everyone here and that is what makes the scene here so unique.  The goal of the Action Arts in the Park is to build on the uniqueness that is Costa Mesa art and really highlight why we are the City of the Arts in a whole new way.”

On Tuesday, March 22 a total of 284 students from four various neighboring schools graced the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall with a common love of musical theater bringing them all to one stage.

The Segerstrom Center for the Arts presented Disney Musicals in Schools “Student Share Celebration” that featured students grades 3-6 all whom performed from selected musical numbers before a crowd of enthusiastic friends, family and teachers.

For 17 weeks’ students, teachers and professional teaching artists worked collaboratively during after school sessions, learning, rehearsing and performing scenes, songs and dance numbers from some of Disney’s beloved musicals.

The objective being to create a continual theater program in the participating schools.

The culmination of all their efforts resulted in presenting and performing a live 30-minute Disney KIDS Musical performance on each individual campus. Following their respective performances, the student’s grand finale was a performance at Segerstrom Center for the Arts as part of the Disney Musicals in “Schools Student Share Celebration.”

This provided an extraordinary opportunity for them to showcase all their great efforts and perform a signature song from their musical in front of students, family members, faculty and associates from Disney.

Disney Musicals in Schools is designed to create sustainable musical theater programs in public elementary schools. School teams are provided with the training and tools necessary to support student productions and empower them to continue this theater tradition in their school for years to come.

As part of its 2015-2016 Family Series, the Segerstrom Center for the Arts is presenting a series of sensory-friendly performances with the hope that everyone in the community will have the opportunity to experience the joy of attending a live performance.

Showing in the month of March are “Big Bad Wolf” and “Egg,” both performances specially designed for sensory sensitivity.

These shows are designed specifically for patrons on the autism spectrum, and others with sensory sensitivity, to enjoy with their families; this is the perfect opportunity to introduce young children to live theater.

Sensory-friendly precautions are taken to help patrons enjoy their theater experience:

In advance of each performance, families will receive a social story—a visual introduction for the child of everything he or she will encounter so nothing is a surprise. From a picture of the parking areas to ticket takers and the inside of the theater, everything will look familiar when they arrive.

They will also receive information about the show itself so they know what to expect from the performance.

Various components are highly considered and alterations are made in areas such as: lighting, sound, seat configuration, staff training and being relaxed when it comes to movement and speaking during a performance.

For more information about the Center’s sensory-friendly performances, visit their website at www.SCFTA.org/sensoryfriendly, or email Access@SCFTA.org.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is preparing for its annual Six Days of Broadway summer musical theater camp for middle and senior high school students. Students participating in these week-long intensives are introduced to musical theater technique taught by some of the industry’s leading professional artists and instructors.

Classes will cover topics including musical theater performance, acting, dance, audition technique, acting on camera and introduction to the business of acting.  Sessions for students ages 11 – 13 will be held June 27 – July 2 and students ages 14 –19 will be held July 5 –10.

Enrollment is currently open and scholarships are available for both weeks of camp. These scholarships cover the full enrollment fee and are made available for families that require financial assistance.

(photo courtesy: Segerstrom Center for the Arts)

Tony Award nominee and Broadway/film star Erin Dilly returns to lead the program along with Broadway veterans Stephen Buntrock, Danny Gurwin, Hank Stratton, Emily Rozek and other notable guest instructors.

The program culminates with the talented cast of students showcasing their week’s efforts to invited family and friends. Classes will take place in the professional rehearsal and performance spaces of the Center’s education center located in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

For more information and to register, please visit www.SCFTA.org/SixDays, call (714) 556-2122 ext. 4333 or email classes@SCFTA.org.