Garden Club Program Coordinators Helen Plutner and Lynnell Hallock are bringing an outstanding lineup of gardening experts to the Scripps-Mesa Garden Club.

Farmer Roy of the Sunshine Garden in Poway leads off the new year schedule for the club. Roy will present his extensive knowledge and experience in cool season vegetable gardening at the January 28 meeting. Club member Susan Castellana will present her plans for outings and tours of local gardens that will take place later in the growing season. Helen Plutner will share the news about the innovative program for a Seed Library now underway at the local city library. Plutner will explain how this program to share seeds among local gardeners will work. Garden Club members will also be electing a slate of new officers for 2020 at this first meeting of the year.

In February, author Kevin Espiritu is scheduled to share information from his book “Urban Gardening.” Growing plants in small spaces and in containers are his specialty. Those of us who live in apartments and condos will especially appreciate his expertise.

At March’s meeting, many people’s favorite flowers will be Chuck McClung’s topic. He is author of “How Orchids Rebloom.”

Scripps-Mesa Garden Club meets most months at the Community Room of the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library at 6 in the evening on the fourth Tuesday. Local gardeners are welcome to come by and join the group as they have a short social time, a brief business meeting, an informative presentation on gardening skills, a plant share and a drawing for a useful garden tool. Membership dues are only $30 for the year. Contact Bob Gale at rgale1943@gmail.com for more information about the club.

Friendship, family, and the trials and tribulations of romantic entanglements set the stage for a night of laughs when Scripps Ranch Theatre (SRT) presents the romantic comedy “Italian American Reconciliation,” now through Feb. 16 at Scripps Ranch Theatre on the campus of Alliant International University, 9783 Avenue of Nations.

Written by the award-winning John Patrick Shanley in 1988, “Reconciliation” tells the story of Huey, divorced from the shrewish Janice, who shot his dog and even took a bead on him.

Huey feels he must woo Janice one more time, if only to regain his “manhood” and move on in his life. He enlists his lifelong friend, Aldo, to help, even though Aldo thinks Huey should stick with his new lady friend Teresa, a usually calm person who gets fired up once she learns what Huey is up to. 

“It all takes place in Little Italy in New York and it’s full of very colorful characters and colorful language,” director Charles Peters said while talking about the show before its opening. “Although there’s no foul language!”

Playwright Shanley wrote the 1998 movie “Moonstruck,” winning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Peters said the story of “Reconciliation” is different from that movie, but people who enjoyed the film will likely also enjoy the play.

“The feel of it and the elements and the relationship ideas are in there,” Peters said. “That’s really what ultimately this show is about.”

As part of the committee that selects what plays SRT produces, Peters said he was impressed with the play’s personalities and the dialogue.

“I read it and was struck with the language and the characters and the way they spoke and communicated deep ideas,” he said. “These characters are – in their own way – very eloquent and very romantic and very poetic and they talk about these deep emotional subjects but in a very entertaining way. I was struck by the strength of the characters and the simplicity of the story.”

The play includes a balcony scene humorously reminiscent of Cyrano de Bergerac.

“It’s an entertaining story, it’s nothing hard and heavy,” Peters said. “(Audiences) are going to have fun and the cast is fun to watch and the dialogue is witty and entertaining.”

In the play, Marco Kengott, plays “Huey,” SRT newcomer Lynnia Shanley plays “Janice,” Gina Maria Cioffi plays “Teresa,” John DeCarlo plays “Aldo” and Rhiannon McAfee plays “Aunt May.”

“All the actors are tremendously talented,” Peters said. “And, as it turns out, a good handful of them are Italian.”

Savannah Philyaw finds success with her first full length album.

Savannah Philyaw, local Scripps Ranch resident and recording artist, followed her gut instinct to pursue her dream of making music full time, and it’s paying off. Philyaw recently released her debut full length album “A Whisper in the Wind.” It has gained more than 64,000 streams on the music sharing platform Spotify. 

The album can best be described as easy listening, nostalgic and uplifting indie-folk music. Philyaw said she draws inspiration from her environment right here in Scripps Ranch and San Diego: the collaborative music environment and consistent sunshine provide her the ability to write happy, upbeat music. 

“The title comes from a lyric from the song ‘Go Alone’ that is the first track on the album. That song is all about following your intuition and your inner truth in order to live the life that you came here to live,” she said. “The line a whisper in the wind is all about noticing the subtle signs and nudges that are around us that are pointing us in the direction of where we really want to go. Those are the same signs that are easy to ignore. A whisper in the wind is about paying attention to those feelings and those signs.”

Born and raised in Scripps Ranch, Philyaw said she started writing songs when she was in eighth grade after looking up to her older brother who played acoustic guitar. She said she kept her songs to herself for a couple of years, eventually playing some of her music for her family. While away at college in Virginia, she focused her studies on education. However, she said she felt like her passion and heart were telling her to pursue music. Philyaw transferred to Berklee College of Music online and graduated with her degree in music business. In addition to her music business courses, she also enrolled in songwriting and other music classes.

“When I was 16, I started recording songs, but I had only released a single or little EPs of three to five songs. I had never done a full length album. I had gotten to the point that I was writing so much and writing with other songwriters that I decided I would love to put these into a project. This album is a little snapshot of time of how I write and what’s going on in my world and the world of those around me,” Philyaw said. 

Philyaw has collaborated with notable songwriters on her debut album including the Eagles’ songwriter Jack Tempchin. Philyaw and Tempchin co-wrote the song “Somehow You Were There for Me.” Philyaw said she is extremely proud of this album and all of the work that she and her collaborators put into the music.

“I’d say my highlight on this album and a great introduction to my music is ‘Running to You.’ It’s the most freeing and joyful and falling in love type of song,” Philyaw said. 

“The Pleasure of Your Company” music series kicks off 2020 with the Deuterium Jazz Quartet on Sunday, Jan. 12, at 2:30 p.m. in the informal and intimate setting of the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library Center.

Deuterium has been pleasing listeners since 2001 with its mix of classic jazz and new pieces. Led by pianist and Scripps Ranch resident Yasha Susuoff, the group also includes Gregg Carpenter on bass, Diego Armijo on saxophone and Dan Lancelot on drums. All are versatile musicians adept with a wide range of musical styles.

Yasha Susuoff, a veteran of jazz, bar and Tex-Mex bands who has backed up a number of famous musicians, is also a current member of the show band The Legends.

Gregg Carpenter attended Berklee College of Music and has toured with bands ranging from jazz to soul-funk.

Diego Armijo studied music at the University of New Mexico. He plays pop, rock, soul, blues and jazz, and is a regular at the Baja Blues Festival.

Dan “Dano” Lancelot, best known as a founding member of RCA recording artist Gloritone, currently performs in his band, Dano's Island Sounds, and continues to write instrumental music for film and television.

There is no charge for the concert, which is sponsored by Scripps Ranch Friends of the Library, although donations are appreciated.

Meet the musicians at a complimentary reception following the concert.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) continues its decades-old mission of keeping track of Santa Claus and his reindeer on their journey from the North Pole to every home in the entire world to deliver presents on Dec. 24, Christmas Eve.

Santa will land his sleigh on each roof, drop into each home and leave Christmas presents overnight. NORAD, buried deep within a shelter in Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs, is the only organization in the world with the tracking capability to keep an eye on Santa’s incredible trek throughout the world.

Today, NORAD will continue its Santa Claus mission.

A different kind of bar is thriving in a Scripps Ranch industrial park.JuneShine, a San Diego- based company, is serving its unique brand of hard kombucha at a tasting room at 10051 Old Grove Road. 

Although the business park is a rather unorthodox gathering spot for a tavern, the location was already established as a premier location. JuneShine purchased the 25,000 square foot brewing facility from Ballast Point Brewing Company earlier this year. 

Instead of bistros and pubs, JuneShine’s Scripps Ranch tasting room is surrounded by neighbors such as WD40, Latitude Pharmaceuticals and LG Electronics. But its kombucha bar, the in-house eatery named Enclave, and patio are drawing a large and enthusiastic crowd of customers who seem to be seeking something new.

Whether it’s the product, including up to 30 unique flavors of fermented organic green tea and honey, or the ambience and lifestyle statement, which appeals to fitness-minded patrons, the tasting room is packing in patrons. 

On a recent Saturday evening, more than 70 people gathered casually on the premises, including many fitness enthusiasts – several with rolled yoga mats in hand. The brewer’s slogan is “honest alcohol for a healthier planet.” Its kombucha contains no artificial coloring, GMOs, pesticides, or processed corn or rice syrup.

Sucha Kumar, creator of a meet-up group called “Live Blissed,” was hosting a “Move Eat Drink” event at JuneShine to provide her followers hearts, bodies and minds with balance and support for long-term health.

“This is the perfect fit for us,” she said. 

A restaurant called Enclave has teamed up with JuneShine to offer diners what it calls “adventurous super food,” with a menu that includes organic brisket and chicken, grass-fed steak and nitrate-free bacon. Enclave claims its values are “completely aligned” with JuneShine’s mission of providing more transparency in food, beverage and alcohol while making a positive social and environmental impact.

The tasting room is pet friendly, and Enclave offers “zero waste dog food” on its menu.

JuneShine’s biggest draw, however, appears to be the hard kombucha. Ordering sampler sets of three five-and-a-half ounce servings, Drew Johnson, a first-time visitor to JuneShine, tried to define the taste.

“It’s sort of like hard cider or a spritzer,” he said. “It’s not as filling as beer, and its full of probiotics and antioxidants. I really like it.”

JuneShine’s organic, gluten-free, non-GMO flavors range from a very light and subtle strawberry to the bolder blood orange mint, which the bartender said was among their most popular offerings. Other blends included a jalapeña margarita (with a slight pique) to a cinnamon-infused grapefruit spice with a festive holiday accent. The hard kombucha is 6 percent alcohol by volume. 

Staff at JuneShine’s Scripps Ranch tasting room say that many people still come in looking for Ballast Point, so the company carries five different beers on tap “so that we don’t have to turn anyone away,” the bartender said. JuneShine also serves hard cider and non-alcoholic kombucha, although it’s not their brand. 

JuneShine offers retail sales of hard kombucha in a can at the Old Grove Road location. Its products also sell at BevMo and Whole Foods Markets. The company has another tasting room on El Cajon Boulevard in San Diego’s North Park community. 

A  heartwarming tale of family love, loss and life comes to Scripps Ranch when Scripps Ranch Theatre (SRT) presents “And Neither Have I Wings to Fly,” Nov. 8-Dec. 8 at the theatre’s home on the campus of Alliant International University.

The play tells the story of a family dealing with the loss of its matriarch after a long illness. One daughter struggles on to decide if she’s making the right decision as her wedding nears. Her sister had been hiding a scholarship application and now has to decide whether to pursue that or stay to care for her grief-stricken father while also dealing with emerging feelings for a new man in her life. 

Written by Ann Noble, the play was first staged in Chicago in 1995. It was there and then that Jacquelyn Ritz, director of the SRT production, first saw the play and liked it so much that she returned the next night to see it again. It was Ritz, herself, who suggested the play to SRT Artistic Director Jill Drexler and lobbied for its addition to this year’s season. In lauding the play’s script, Ritz described the characters as captivating.

“All of the characters become very close to you,” she said. “We can all identify with at least one, if not a couple, of them because there’s two generations – the parents and the young adults – and there’s this group of seven people who are all pursuing something. They’re all on this journey where in a week they get to know each other a little better and change each other’s lives.” 

While the play deals with serious issues like loss of a spouse and mother, Irish storytelling throughout the play and familial comedy add laughs to the story. 

“So many of (the characters) love to make each other laugh, so there’s humor in it, but it’s not a comedy,” Ritz said. “The laugher comes from real human connection.”

Ultimately, however, it’s a story about life, relationships and the struggle of grief.  

“So much of this play is about forgiveness, having honest and beautiful relationships with the people around you, and being strong and digging deep to figure out how to keep going when the world gets dark,” Ritz said.

The cast of the play includes Walter Ruskin as Peter Donnelly, Sara Jane Nash as (the ghost of) Moira Donnelly, Kate Rose Reynolds as Eveline Donnelly, Katee Drysdale as Kathleen Donnelly, and Paul Eddy as Charlie Doyle. 

Taking the reins of the play is Ritz, who has previously directed “Accomplice” and “Communicating Doors” at Scripps Ranch Theatre. 

The “Pleasure of Your Company” music series, sponsored by the Scripps Ranch Friends of the Library, welcomes back jazz flutist Lori Bell, performing with Trio de Janeiro, on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 2:30 p.m. in the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library Center. 

Award-winning musicians Lori Bell on flutes; Ron Satterfield on guitar, vocals and piano; and Tommy Aros, percussion, come together with a high energy, Brazilian tinged, straight ahead trio with an original approach to jazz standards, Brazilian, original compositions and folk music. 

With their latest project “James Taylor Reimagined,” the group explores a plethora of grooves from samba, swing, fusion, jazz modal, odd times and more.

Equally fluent in both jazz and classical idioms, flutist Lori Bell has earned acclaim from both peers and critics for her artistry on stage and in recordings. The Grammy Award panel has recognized Bell’s excellence with selections in several categories, among them Best Instrumental Arrangement, Best Composition, and Best Instrumental Solo. She has also won three Global Music Awards.

The “Pleasure of Your Company” music series, sponsored by the Scripps Ranch Friends of the Library, welcomes back Trio Arpavioluta for a performance on Sunday, Oct. 20, at 2:30 p.m. in the informal and intimate setting of the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library Center.

Comprised of flutist Cathy Blickenstaff, harpist Laura Vaughan and violinist Päivikki Nykter, the musical heritage of these three artists is immediately apparent in their sublime music and natural rapport.

The trio, which has delighted audiences with their performances since 2010, will present a program featuring works by composers ranging from Telemann and Donizetti to Ibert and Cui.

There is no charge for the concert, although donations are appreciated. Meet the artists at a complimentary reception following the concert.

Owners of Nutmeg Bakery and Café have chosen this family-friendly community to open its second family restaurant, even as they prepare to expand their family as well.

Following a year of planning and preparation, Drew Hoffos; his wife, Michka; and her mother, Shirin Soroushian; are finally serving customers at their new Nutmeg Bakery and Café location in the Scripps Ranch Marketplace where Pick Up Stix was once located. 

The ideal corner space in the heavily trafficked retail center is their second location. It is east of the Vons grocery store and west of Public House 131. The entrepreneurial trio has owned and operated another café by the same name – just three miles away in Sabre Springs – for close to seven years now.

“We love the Scripps Ranch neighborhood,” Drew said. “It’s a super family-oriented, tight knit community.”

Drew, Michka and Shirin had been looking to expand their business for a while and had scouted dozens of locations before they were approached by their new landlord. 

“It took some negotiations, and there were a few delays, but then everything just fell into place,” Drew said. “It’s a bold step forward. Since we do wholesale baking, this gives us more space to expand.”

According to Michka, she, her husband and mother had outgrown their 2,000-square-foot Sabre Springs location. They doubled the size of that café four years ago to accommodate increased business, but soon decided that they would require even more space. 

Michka and Drew will soon be doubling their number of children as well. Michka is about seven months pregnant and is due with their second child in November. 

“I’m ready for the challenge,” she said. “I work well under pressure and Since Drew and I got married, we’ve always been busy.”

Having a business partner who is also a grandmother helps a lot. Soroushian said she, Drew and Michka have “always operated as a team.” Originally an accountant who wasn’t happy with her job, she has been the visionary for Nutmeg Café and Bakery. 

A former resident of Italy, Soroushian possesses a passion for baking and a taste for fine food developed over 20 years amid the panetterias, cucinas and bistros of Bologna. That has resulted in an emphasis on quality, she said, and an effort to seek locally grown, environmentally friendly ingredients wherever possible.

“We believe in our product,” she said. 

The Nutmeg Bakery and Café serves cuisine that appeals to a broad variety of diners, including vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians and those who require gluten-free or dairy-free items on the menu. Soroushian said that because of the restaurant’s family atmosphere, the staff often feel like family too.

“I think that’s why many of our employees have been around for four or five years,” she explained.

Michka, a former interior designer, runs the front of the restaurant and is responsible for the ambience and décor. Drew, a former high-end chef, runs the kitchen. Their new restaurant will serve breakfast, brunch and lunch. It is open from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, and from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on weekends. 

The 20th annual Family Oktoberfest will be held at the Scripps Ranch Swim & Racquet Club, 9875 Aviary Drive, on Saturday, Oct. 5 from 4 to 9 p.m. Club members may attend. Guest may attend when accompanied by a member. Guests tickets are $10, or they may use a guest pass. 

Highlights include a climbing wall, quad pod, wrecking ball game, carnival games, AstroJump, toddler obstacle course, pony rides, henna tattoos, giant 12-person LED foosball table and hi-striker. There will be a photobooth. The playground will be a pumpkin patch. Food Trucks will sell a variety of offerings. They include American Flavors (burgers and grilled cheese); Taco Picasso (tacos); LouZiana (authentic Cajun); and Hunter Steakhouse (tri tip and pulled pork).

Craft beers and wines will be available for purchase. Mocktails will also be available. Drink tickets are available at the Aviary front desk the week prior. No personal alcohol is allowed. For more information, call (858) 271-6222. 

Young student musicians taking lessons at School of Rock Scripps Ranch gave a spirited performance at the school’s second show group concert, titled So Cal Summer, on Sept. 22 at the Spark@Encore venue, 8255 Ronson Road.

This small location hosted an intimate event attended by friends and family members of the various student performers. The audience was enthusiastic and supportive of the kids in the show. The youths who performed were focused and provided excellent renditions of numerous summertime rock favorites. As in the school’s first show in June, these youngsters created fascinating versions of the highly popular songs selected for this showcase. Seeing these child rockers perform, and witnessing the audience reaction, is an uplifting experience that is highly recommended.