“You know what? I’m thinking about going to Torrey Pines and going for a hike. Does anybody want to come with me?”

Scripps Ranch resident Avalon Hartman was providing and example of the kinds of posts one might see on her Facebook page titled Life 2.0.

It was this past Memorial Day weekend when the idea of creating this page came to fruition for Hartman. While previous years might have spent poolside barbequing with the family, she said this past year felt particularly lonely. Hartman said she has no family living in the area and has recently experienced divorce.

“It was obviously a hard transition to have the family break apart and I really found that, even though I had a really great set of friends, Scripps Ranch is just not a mecca for single women,” Hartman said.

While many people may think single women would be in pursuit of a better dating life, Hartman said this wasn’t her primary concern. As somebody who had always been very tight with the Scripps Ranch community, Hartman said experiencing divorce made it difficult to connect with people the way she previously had.

“(Scripps Ranch is) a very family-oriented place,” Hartman said. “So, I found that I was not meeting other single women who were going through this hard time in their lives. I just needed girlfriends. All of my girlfriends were kind of married.”

This is how Hartman came up with the idea of creating a Facebook page for recently divorced women. The Life 2.0 page has 32 members. However, Hartman said, the goal of creating the group was never for it to be massively popular.

“Whatever it ends up being is perfect,” Hartman said. “Even though it’s a small group, it’s amazing how similar we all are when we just sit down and start talking and getting to know each other.”

She said the group may see the occasional motivational post, however, most women seem to be looking for company more than anything.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” Hartman said. “It’s a way for someone who may not have plans over the weekend but wants to go to a concert for them to post on (the page).”

For Hartman, one of the most important things for her to remember is that divorce is not the end of life, but the start of a new one, she said. With this in mind, the name Life 2.0 made a lot of sense.

“In my generation, it feels like there’s a stigma (of divorced women),” Hartman said. “And, we’ve got to shift that mindset. We matter and our lives can be just as happy and just as meaningful.”

To find the page, search Life 2.0 Scripps Ranch on Facebook. This is a closed Facebook group only for single women who have experienced divorce; therefore, requests to join will be filtered by Hartman.

Scripps Ranch music fans are in store for a harmony-filled trip back in time when Back to the Garden featuring Eve Selis performs a free concert at Scripps Ranch Symphony in the Park from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 9 at Hoyt Park.

This show is a tribute to the music of the Laurel Canyon scene. For those not familiar with the term, Laurel Canyon is a Southern California neighborhood in the hills above Los Angeles. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the area was home to a number of musicians and saw the birth of the singer-songwriter movement and the rise of huge stars who were either solo singers or members of folk and rock bands. Many of these artists played on each other’s records and spent time together off stage.

Award-winning local singer/songwriter Eve Selis will perform as a guest vocalist for this show and is an admirer of the Laurel Canyon scene’s time and its music.

“The music was so shaping our world during that period,” Selis said. “Artists like James Taylor, The Byrds, The Eagles, all of them lived up there in that area, and there was a whole resurgence of going to someone’s house or going to a small little restaurant and all these famous musicians would come in and play together. It was a magical time.”

Back to the Garden band members include Cactus Jim Soldi, Marc Twang Intravaia, Sharon Whyte, Larry Grano and Rick Nash. The band’s Facebook page makes a point of highlighting that Back to the Garden is not a tribute band concerned with mimicking the looks and costumes of famous musicians, but instead focuses entirely on getting the music right.

Selis is very familiar with all the musicians in the Back to the Garden band — they are the backing band for her when she performs as a solo artist. Selis said she has performed with Back to the Garden before, but she’s been working with guitarist Intravaia for 27 years and has been playing with the full group as a backing band for about 15 years. 

“They’re amazing musicians, super fun, and this show will bring you back to a time when you remember these songs on the radio or, for some of us, what you remember others (like parents or older siblings) listening to,” she said.

Checking her copy of the set list, Selis said music fans can expect to hear favorite, or at least familiar, songs by artists including Linda Ronstadt; America, Crosby, Stills & Nash; Neil Young; The Byrds; The Monkees; and Three Dog Night.

“A lot of these songs are very harmony-centric songs, and that’s one of the things that Back to the Garden does best,” Selis said. “Not only are they possibly the best musicians in San Diego but they have the harmonies down on these beloved songs.”

It’s important to note that a big part of Scripps Ranch Symphony in the Park’s mission is to provide funds to the music programs at Scripps Ranch schools. The directors of these programs have been invited to receive charitable donations from Scripps Ranch Symphony in the Park on stage prior to the Sept. 9 concert at Hoyt Park.

The fall season of the “Pleasure of Your Company” music series will open with a performance by concert pianist Bryan Verhoye at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 9 at the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library Center. His program will include works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Rachmaninoff.

Verhoye trained at the USC School of Music, the Aspen Music School and the Peabody Conservatory. He has won first-prize awards from the International Piano Recording Competition and the Carmel Music Society, as well as multiple awards from the Musical Merit Foundation of San Diego. His performance in Carmel of Stravinsky's “Three Movements from Petrouchka” was broadcast on National Public Radio's syndicated “Performance Today” program.

In addition to numerous appearances with the San Diego Symphony in both classical and jazz settings, Verhoye is in demand as a solo recitalist, accompanist and chamber music performer in San Diego and throughout the West Coast. He is also a frequent adjudicator in piano competitions in San Diego and Southern California.

A published composer and arranger, he is also the accompanist for the San Diego Master Chorale, music associate/pianist at Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church and adjunct professor of music at Grossmont College.

Meet the artist and mingle with fellow music lovers at a complimentary post-concert reception. There is no charge for the concert, which is sponsored by the Scripps Ranch Friends of the Library, although donations are appreciated.

Get ready for an entertainingly confounding, comedic, stage thriller when Scripps Ranch Theatre (SRT) opens its new season with Alan Ayckbourn’s “Communicating Doors,” Sept. 7-Oct. 7.

Written by acclaimed playwright and director Ayckbourn, “Communicating Doors” tells the story of three women who all have business in the same hotel suite. One of the women has narrowly escaped being murdered, one is about to be murdered, and the other was murdered two decades before. That may seem a little confusing, time-wise, until you realize that the door in the corner, the “communicating door” that connects two hotel rooms, leads back to the same suite 20 years earlier.

“It’s a thriller with a time warp,” said Jacqueline Ritz, who is directing the play for SRT.

Ritz, who previously directed “Accomplice” at SRT, is excited to direct Ayckbourn’s time-shifting thriller in the local theater space.

“We’ll have characters two feet from the audience! You’ll feel like you’re in the suite with them. That close-in seating is good,” Ritz said. “The theatrical elements, including what we do with the door and what happens when the time changes will be very exciting for the audience.”

With its time shifting elements, the play covers a 40-year period — the present day, 20 years in the future, and 20 years in the past. “Communicating Doors” was originally set in the year it was written, 1994, so characters were going back to 1974 and up to 2014. The Scripps Ranch Theatre version is set in 2005, so the past is 1985 and the future is 2025.

“For 2025, it was interesting to think about how people will dress, how they will move,” Ritz said. “Going back to 1985, we’re having a lot of fun with that design time and the big hair and the colors and things people carry around like big phones.”

The director believes the way that the play goes back and forth in time to illuminate the plot and present possible alternative realities for all of the characters involved presents questions ripe for contemplation.

“For me, it’s about the little moments that can change our future. If you make a choice in the past, it impacts your future,” Ritz said. “So what is the door? Is it a force? Does it give you a chance to go back? If it does, do you want to?”

The cast is led by Kate Rose Reynolds as “Poopay” and Wendy Waddell as “Ruella.” Also featured on the production are Charles Peters, Sibongile Ngako, Wendy Waddell, Paul Morgavo and John W. Wells III.

Ritz describes “Opening Doors” as a dynamic play that offers something for everyone.

“You walk in thinking it’s one play, but then it turns into something else,” she said.” It’s unpredictable, surprising and has a lot of heart. You’ll invest in these characters and you’ll experience it like you’re in the front row.”

Danceable tunes are generally the standard when it comes to the Scripps Ranch Symphony in the Park concert series. With a variety of bands taking the stage for the Aug. 12 show, attendees can expect to revisit dance moves from every genre and decade since rock began.

The August Symphony in the Park show is unique. Instead of one or two bands, expect a showcase of Scripps Ranch talent, featuring bands Wolff, High Tide Society and Breez’n.

The night will begin with the niche but nostalgic sounds of yacht rock from High Tide Society. For many, the term “yacht rock” probably doesn’t ring a bell. However, chances are these songs will hit a particularly soft spot for anybody from their mid-30s to their late 70s.

“This music was so good, these hits were so big and it was played on the radio so much,” said John Perkins, High Tide Society founder and drummer.

In describing the genre, Perkins was quick to cite classic acts such as Hall and Oates, Steely Dan and Kenny Loggins.

While this style of music was most popular from the 1970s to the early 1980s, Perkins made it clear that we’re in the midst of a yacht rock revival. For the Scripps Ranch show, he said attendees can expect a more up-tempo approach to these generally smooth tunes to ensure danceability.

For those who relish the sounds of this era, keep an eye out for the folks in the nautical outfits on Aug. 12.

The sounds of the night will begin to diversify as Breez’n takes the stage, bringing in music from as far back as the 1950s.

“We could play for an 80-year-old’s birthday party or we could play for an 18-year-old’s birthday party,” said band leader and founder Vince Petrucci.

If the group sounds familiar, it's probably because they are. Breez’n permeated the airwaves of San Diego from 1996 to 2008, playing for San Diego’s smooth jazz station 98.1. Aside from that, they have deep roots in the Scripps Ranch community.

Petrucci said not to expect anything too flashy, as members of Breez’n pride themselves on being musicians over showmen. However, he said, this does not mean attendees will have their butts glued to their seats.

Highlighting the end of the show will be Wolff, a group that is bound to make the scene at Hoyt Park feel more like one from across the pond.

“We’re a power trio,” band leader Steve Wolff said. “We try to pick songs that people know but that not a lot of bands around town, if any, would play.”

A former resident of London, Wolff continuously cited groups such as U2, The Clash and The Kinks when describing the band’s style. When it comes to being a variety band, Wolff said he likes to keep their music choices lively and original.

“We don’t feel like the world needs another ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ cover band,” Wolff said.

Another group that is focused on harnessing a sense of nostalgia, Wolff said attendees can expect to hear the songs from their childhood that they once loved, but may have forgotten about. He also said that when members of the audience get up to dance, they won’t be alone.

“I’m always sweating furiously no matter what the weather is,” Wolff said, describing the lively nature of the group.

Enjoy this free ride through the genres of the decades in Hoyt Park on Sunday, Aug. 12 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

A group of Scripps Ranch friends and neighbors have teamed up to bring a long-awaited local dining and social experience to their community. Public House 131 – whose name pays homage to zip code 92131 – promises to deliver a familiar, neighborhood vibe where patrons will feel more like friends than customers, while enjoying locally-sourced, farm-to-table food, and local San Diego craft brews and spirits. Final touches and preparations are underway at the new restaurant, which is set to open in early August at 10393 Spring Canyon Road in the Scripps Ranch Marketplace.

Owner-operators Bob Adamson and John Lancia are Scripps Ranch residents who have lived in the community for more than 20 years. Adamson is a restaurant industry veteran who is part owner of Legacy Brewing Tap & Kitchen on Miramar Road, as well as Luigi’s at the Beach in Mission Beach.

Early last summer, Adamson began actively pursuing the idea of opening another restaurant. He said that he had always had his eye on the Scripps Ranch Marketplace as a potential location, but no space was available at the time. When Pizza Rev departed unexpectedly in August of last year leaving a vacancy, however, he knew it was time to work on securing investors and making his vision of a neighborhood restaurant in Scripps Ranch a reality.

Lancia, who is heading up marketing for the new establishment, explained that he and his partners are very much focused on delivering a local ambiance.

“We want it to be like Cheers in Boston, where everybody knows your name,” he said.

Adamson added that another key element of the local focus is in the sourcing of their ingredients.

“Our objective is to try to source everything locally,” he said. “We have a pig farmer in Bonita, and we’ll get our beef from Escondido. The beer is all going to be local – we won’t have anything from outside of San Diego County. We’re going to source a lot of the spirits from local distillers in San Diego. We’ll have farm-to-table food; everything will be made from scratch.”

Leading the kitchen at Public House 131 will be Chef Scott Floyd, who has served as executive chef for a number of restaurants in Los Angeles and Orange County, including Salt Creek Grille in Dana Point, where he worked for six years. According to Adamson, Floyd has also been involved with opening five brewpubs in southern California.

Floyd and Adamson collaborated on designing a well-rounded menu that caters to everything from the casual diner stopping in for a quick lunch to a couple out for a delectable date-night dinner to a Little League team seeking to replenish after a game. Casual meal offerings include a variety of gourmet salads, soups, sandwiches and custom burgers, including vegetarian options. Steak, seafood and pork dishes are among carefully-crafted entrée choices. Of course, plenty of small bites on the menu complement a collection of local craft beer and spirits, which will be served during lunch, dinner and a late afternoon happy hour.

In community online forums, where initial buzz about the new restaurant began several months ago, some expressed confusion over whether the establishment would be an extension of the similarly-named Public House La Jolla. Adamson explained that there is no affiliation, stating that “public house” is simply a term like “gastropub” and does not refer to a specific brand or chain of restaurants. While literally defined as “a tavern,” according to Dictionary.com, the restaurant’s owners do not intend for the establishment to be known merely as a bar.

“Our priority will be families,” Adamson said. “We’re going to have not just a kid’s menu, but a teen menu.”

Lancia added that all of the restaurant’s investors have children of their own, ranging from elementary school through recent high school graduates, so they are personally invested in ensuring that the restaurant provides a welcoming environment for the many young families in Scripps Ranch. A quick stroll through the dining room revealed the presence of high chairs, offering some evidence of their commitment.

Hiring of wait staff, hosts and bartenders is in progress, and in keeping with the restaurant’s neighborhood vibe, the owners have made an effort to attract local talent. Some positions have yet to be filled, however, and they welcome members of the community to apply.

Further details will be added to the restaurant’s Facebook page as it becomes available, including hours, menus and date of opening. Visit Facebook and search “Public House 131” for more information.

Scripps Ranch Theatre presents its seventh annual “Out on a Limb – New Plays from America’s Finest City.”

“Out on a Limb” is designed to create and stage new one-act plays, and strives to develop and produce new work that will engage playwrights and theater artists. This year’s festival runs July 13-22.

Founder and artistic director of the festival Robert May and producers Charles and Jenn Peters issued this joint statement: “We continue to look for ways to encourage development of new works from our diverse community that draw from various themes. … We’re so proud to once again support area playwrights with their new work and have them produced on our stage.” These are the new plays:

“Monsters of the American Cinema” by Christian St. Croix; directed by James P. Darvas; featuring Thonie Lee and Aaron Lugo: When his husband dies, Remy Washington finds himself both the owner of a drive-in movie theater and a caregiver to his late husband's 16-year-old son, Pup. Both enamored with classic monster movies, their relationship is warm and witty, but not without strain.

“Desert Oasis Garden Club” by Gabino Cabanilla; directed by Don Loper; featuring Dori Salois, Pamela Brittain, Connie Terwiliger and M. Eliane Weidenaur: Marge lives in a retirement community. She is alone and her deceased husband left her with enormous debt. Her two BFFs have a solution to supplement Marge’s income. They invite her to join the Desert Garden Club.

“Anomaly.exe” by Salomon Maya; directed by Hannah Logan; featuring Amara Young and John Carroll: Valerie and Brad have the perfect house, perfect marriage, perfect life. In the-not-too-distant future, technology allows the couple to build the perfect son, yet they realize perfection, or at least the pursuit of it, might very well disrupt the very symbiotic relationship they tried to maintain.

A visual oasis sits nestled within a small business park a short distance from Scripps Ranch. Artist Erin Hanson moved from Los Angeles to Scripps Ranch a little more than a year ago and carefully selected this spot at 9705 Carroll Centre Road to open The Erin Hanson Gallery.

Hanson is one of the fortunate people in the world who chose where they wanted to live and can work in a career they truly love. She lives seven minutes from her studio and paints until around 11 p.m. each day. The 6,000 square foot space was gutted when she started building the interior of the gallery. Now, it contains an elegant reception area, warehouse, photo room, office space, art studio and gallery displaying her paintings.

Hanson said she has three brothers who were Boy Scouts, so she spent lots of time with her family outdoors hiking and backpacking.

“That was a big part of my life,” she said. “So, landscapes, this was what I wanted to paint. I used to sit under the pine trees drawing them all by myself at the top of the mountains. Those are my fondest memories.”

Hanson employs oils to paint in a style she calls open impressionism. She prepares a limited palette of four or five colors which she mixes before she begins. She applies the pigment with lots of texture upon a light underpainting that acts as a toned surface.

“I’m not layering at all when I paint, so the brush strokes are laid side by side,” she said. “The thing that people love about my paintings is how much texture is in them. The way I retain the texture is I don’t overwork the painting.”

While they are landscapes, her finished paintings are full of energy. They seem naturally illuminated, and it’s not difficult to imagine any of them mounted in the center of a lovely Scripps Ranch home.

Hanson’s business acumen is nearly as impressive as her artistry. Besides producing about 20 art pieces per month and selling about four per week, she prints and sells calendars, books and canvas prints featuring her creations. She employs five people who help her keep the business running.

None of this came without effort. Electing to carve out a living by selling used items on eBay, Hanson first built her own business instead of using her degree in bio engineering. Her success re-selling items was such that she was able to slowly transition into her art career, and it’s been a gratifying journey.

“The people who love my work really do love it and are really passionate about it,” Hanson said. “I love being able to make that reaction in people.”

DSB is a band that performs the impressive song catalog of Journey as a tribute, and it will liven up Hoyt Park starting at 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 10, playing the first in the annual series of free, live concerts in the 2018 Scripps Ranch Symphony in the Park series.

While Journey’s popularity reached its height in the 1980s, its songs continue to bring joy to music lovers to this very day. Anyone familiar with Journey’s song list knows that hits like “Don’t Stop Believin’” will latch on to your mind in continual rotation long after listening to it. Perhaps it’s this familiarity that keeps their songs alive and DSB (using the acronym for “Don’t Stop Believin’”) will continue to land gigs and remain popular.

“Everybody loves it, whether you’re a hard rocker or a pop music connoisseur,” said DSB lead vocalist Juan del Castillo. “There’s middle ground there for anyone who loves music. It’s melodic rock.”

“The younger generations recognize it from video games and television, whereas the older generations remember it from the radio and actually grew up with it,” del Castillo explained. “It’s timeless music and, lucky for us, it keeps us busy.”

The five-member group doesn’t dress like the members of Journey or try to imitate them. Instead, the performers try to sound as close to the original recordings of each song as possible, trying to keep the music authentic.

“The fact that we do it accurately and keep the integrity of the music, I think that’s what keeps people coming back,” del Castillo said.

He said DSB enjoys playing outdoor concerts at venues such as Hoyt Park, and performed in the local series a few years ago.

“It’s been a couple of years, but we’re glad to be back,” he said. “I like it. … It was really a good-sized crowd last time we were there.”

Those in attendance on Sunday can expect to hear all of Journey’s big hits, plus a few less popular songs mixed in to provide the concert with a bit of ebb and flow, del Castillo explained.

“Journey has 12 bona fide hits. You’re definitely going to hear those,” he said. “We’re also going to mix in some of our own favorites. Some of them might be B-sides or deep cuts.”

These concerts draw large crowds, with many attendees enjoying picnics on the grass and often dancing in front of the band stand. Del Castillo is expecting a real mix of fans as far as age is concerned.

“I guarantee you you’re going to see people in their 60s jumping up and down, and people in their preteens or elementary school age jumping up and down,” he said. “I think the music of Journey is the perfect cocktail for a wonderful afternoon for the entire family.”

New beer alert!
On tap today at Savagewood Brewing Company: Exaggerated Resume is an American Brown Ale coming in at 5.8 percent ABV. Malty, nutty and refreshing.

Savagewood Brewing Company is at 9879 Hibert St., Suite F.

DJ Dale da Dred at Sanctuary
DJ Dale da Dred will be live at Sanctuary Lounge on Saturday night, June 9, from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

Have you ever wondered what or who inspired the great composers to write their masterpieces? Explore this theme by joining acclaimed international pianist Robyn Carmichael at the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library Center on Sunday, June 10, at 2:30 p.m. for her highly popular “Romantic Masters and Their Muses.” 

This program, the final concert of the spring season of the “Pleasure of Your Company” music series sponsored by the Scripps Ranch Friends of the Library, provides a rare glimpse into the lives of four great masters of the keyboard: Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Mendelssohn. Discover many new insights about these great geniuses in a program combining music, poetry, images and commentary.

Audiences and critics have praised pianist Robyn Carmichael for her “extraordinary poetry” and “lush, thrilling and intensely personal” performances. Carmichael's distinctive style has defined her concerts across the U.S. and Europe.

The life and works of the great Polish composer Chopin have always had a special significance for Carmichael because of her Polish/Scottish ancestry. In 2003, the International Fryderyk Chopin Society invited Carmichael to play at Ostrogski Palace in Warsaw and Chopin's birthplace home, Zelazowa Wola. She also played premieres of a rare Liszt work titled "Salve Polonia," in Poland and the U.S. under the auspices of the Liszt Society of Poland and the Polish Arts and Culture Foundation.

Carmichael has appeared at the Aspen Music Festival, the Grand Concert Hall at City Halls (Glasgow, Scotland), Ostrogski Palace Concert Hall (Warsaw, Poland), CAMI Hall in New York City, Denver's Municipal Auditorium, San Francisco's Nourse Theater, the Salk Institute, the Idyllwild Summer Music Festival, Radziejowice Palace (Poland), and many other music venues in the U.S. and Europe. She has appeared on radio and TV and has played chamber music with members of the New York Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco Opera Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra.

Meet the artist at a complimentary reception following the concert. 

Savage City beer release
Key City Brewing Company head brewer Zack Erickson was mentored by Savagewood Brewing Company head brewer Zachary Hayes before moving to Mississippi to run his own brewery. He came back out to San Diego for a visit, so naturally Zack and Zach (or Z-squared) wanted to get together for a cross country collaboration. What they created was a classic “Old World” saison.

What is Old World? It’s dry, earthy, balanced and herbaceous; slightly spicy and phenolic in a throwback to the classic intention of the style. This saison comes in at 7.9 percent ABV. This is a great hot weather beer, and it’s pouring on Saturday, June 2.