Scripps Ranch military veterans seeking fellowship with those who have served in the armed forces are invited to join the Veteran of Foreign Wars’ Fred Lewis Kent Post 7907 in Poway.

Located at 12342 Old Pomerado Road, Post 7907 is the closest VFW facility to Scripps Ranch and already includes several Scripps Ranch members, according to Post Commander and 30-year Navy veteran Bill Morrison.

“I look at our place as a treehouse in the woods,” Morrison said of the popular gathering point abutting scenic Bette Bendixon Park. “It’s nice and quaint, but somewhat hidden and out of the way. We would like more of our neighbors on the south end of Pomerado Road to know we’re here.”

Founded in 1959, the Fred Lewis Kent Post offers “a great place” for vets to connect and share a sense of comradery, said post bartender and Scripps Ranch resident Tracy Perreault.

“It’s a special place for sharing and healing with a very outstanding group of people,” she said. “Folks here will do anything and everything to support our troops. I get goosebumps just talking about it.”

The VFW is a nonprofit veterans service organization comprised of veterans and military service members from the active, guard and reserve forces, and dedicated to securing and protecting their rights and benefits. There are 30 VFW posts in San Diego County. Post 7909 is the closest one to Scripps Ranch.

“We’re the only post and canteen serving the Interstate 15 corridor between MCAS Miramar and Escondido,” Morrison Said. “There is a post in Rancho Bernardo, but it doesn’t have the capacity for entertainment that we do here.”

The Fred Lewis Kent Post boasts a bar, and an adjacent hall and kitchen that Morrison said can be rented out for weddings, birthday parties and special events. Proceeds from such rentals benefit Post 7907 and services to its members. Many events there, such as the post’s weekly “Burger Burn” on Friday evenings, are open to the public.

“It’s hard to find a better meal at a better price this close to Scripps Ranch,” said member Jason Widmer, a Desert Shield veteran and founder of KIC Restoration Inc., a general contractor serving the local area.

Attendees enjoy fresh food and beverages along with karaoke and great customer service, he added.

Named in memory of Lieutenant Fred Lewis Kent, USN, who was killed in action during the Allied invasion of the Gilbert Islands in World War II, Post 7907 is one of the leading posts in California and is “number one” in its district in terms of membership, Morrison said. It has more than 1,000 members including its associated VFW Auxiliary, and just adopted the new F-35 stealth fighter unit at MCAS Miramar. The post hosted its “Adopt a Unit Dinner,” serving an authentic Cajun supper on April 20.

“We’ve had a steady flow of younger vets from Miramar joining us in recent years,” said Post Quartermaster Alan Helton. “But a lot of our older members are passing away. We would really like to get the word out to people in Scripps Ranch who may not know of all the great things we’re doing here to serve the veteran community.”

What started out as a small group of families bringing their own chairs to Hoyt Park or to the home of their then-pastor to gather for Sunday mass in the fall of 1985 has since flourished in to a robust parish community with a beautiful, award-winning church campus on Blue Cypress Drive. Saint Gregory the Great (STGG) Catholic Church is now home to more than 3,100 parishioner families, at least 65 active groups and ministries, and a school that offers Catholic education to children from preschool through grade eight. Over the years, the ability of STGG to continue to expand its offerings to the community has relied heavily on fundraising activities. Notable among them is its annual fundraiser gala, which will be held this year on May 18 at the U.S. Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego.

Dubbed the “Diamond Gala: Cheers to 10 Years in Catholic School Education,” this year’s event celebrates the 10th anniversary of STGG Catholic School’s opening in 2009. Since that time, the school has grown in its number of grades and students taught, including the most recent addition of its preschool in February 2018. The campus has also seen improvements, including technology in its classrooms, sod on its playing field, a library and a science lab.

Brie Atwater is a parent at the school, and this year’s gala chair.

“This year’s gala is special to me, personally, because it was very important for us to choose a parish that had a school connected to it. We’re very much invested in our daughter’s Catholic education,” she said.

Volunteering her time to help raise funds for both the church and school – as event proceeds are split evenly between the two – is a worthwhile endeavor for Atwater because it is an opportunity for her to give back to a parish and school community that has been very welcoming to her family.

As the event chair, Atwater works with a team of other volunteers, parish clergy, staff and school administration to organize event logistics and secure participation from the community. The gala is an evening cocktail attire affair comprised of a three-course meal, musical entertainment, dancing, a silent auction, a live auction and a raffle. According to Atwater, more than 200 items have been donated by members of the community, including parishioners, school parents and students, and local business owners.

Noteworthy contributions made by local families and STGG parishioners include the Korn family, which helped to secure the event venue; the Collins family of Collins Family Jewelers, which donated a diamond necklace valued at more than $7,000 that will be featured in the silent auction; and long-time parishioner Ray McKewon of Xceptional Music Company who will provide musical entertainment at the gala. Atwater is still actively seeking event sponsors, and will also continue to accept contributions for the silent auction up until the week before the event.

Atwater expects approximately 400 attendees. Beyond the STGG community, both STGG School Principal Maeve O’Connell and STGG Pastor Father Nicholas Clavin, wish to extend a hand of hospitality and invitation to the greater Scripps Ranch community.

“The gala allows us an opportunity to welcome people with open arms,” O’Connell said. “We are here to share the message that we are a faith-based-community and all are welcome.”

Clavin shared an even deeper emphasis on community as he reflected on the 2003 Cedar Fires when the STGG church and parish hall became a refuge and outreach center for hundreds of families in the community.

“It forged a great bond between the greater Scripps Ranch and the Catholic community,” he said. “Hospitality is the hallmark of our parish and of our school. We welcome one and all, Catholic and non-Catholic, alike.”

This season marks the 40th anniversary of Scripps Ranch Theatre, the local playhouse that survived early years of uncertainty on its way to becoming an award-winning arts organization and a vital part of the Scripps Ranch community.

Scripps Ranch Theatre (SRT) is a volunteer-run nonprofit organization with a stated mission of “producing quality and entertaining theater, consistently.” An executive board handles fundraising and finances, while an operational board oversees things like producing; creative direction; and box office, season ticket and database management.

Funding for the theater comes from a combination of ticket sales and fundraising, and the playhouse has about 900 season ticket holders, according to current SRT Executive Director Dave McClure.

Over the years, SRT productions have garnered a number of Aubrey Awards from the San Diego Association of Community Theaters as well as other accolades. Most recently, the theater won two Critics Choice Awards from the San Diego Union-Tribune for “She Loves Me” and “Dancing Lessons.”

Selected by a play-reading committee, the annual list of SRT productions focuses on offering seasons mixed with comedies, dramas and musicals.

“Our audience likes comedies, so we do a lot of those,” McClure noted. “Musicals are more expensive to produce, so we only do one of those every one or two years.”

In addition to its regular schedule of plays, the theater hosts the annual “Out on a Limb: New Plays from America’s Finest City” festival, spotlighting plays by San Diego writers. Additionally, the theater’s Education and Outreach Program works to preserve San Diego’s arts and culture community by bringing live theater to children throughout the San Diego area. The program includes performances for students at local middle and high schools as well as a summer camp and a six-week children’s program held in partnership with the Rancho Family YMCA. 

Much of what is known about the theater’s history is recorded on the SRT website in a three-part series of articles by Sharon Hays.

According to that information, SRT’s origins go back to 1978, when Scripps Ranch resident and local stage actor B.J. Scott got tired of having to drive long distances to plays she was in. She advertised in area newspapers for people interested in meeting to discuss and organize a community theater in Scripps Ranch. Soon, bylaws were in place and the charter officers of the new Scripps Ranch Community Theatre (SCRT) were B. J. Scott, president; Gretchen Timmermans, vice president; Luraine MacLeod, secretary; and Jerry Oen, treasurer. SCRT’s first production, in June of 1978, was the classic play “Our Town,” directed by Teri Eriksen and starring Scripps ranch residents.

The early years saw the fledgling SCRT struggle to find a home, staging productions at a changing list of venues. Performances were held on the campus of United States International University (USIU, now Alliant International University), Wangenheim Middle School in Mira Mesa, the Scripps Ranch Swim and Racquet Club and even the parking lot of the Vons shopping center.

SRT found its current home, the Legler Benbough Theatre, in1992, after USIU ended its theater program. The university’s then-president, a Scripps Ranch resident, knew about the playhouse’s search for a permanent home and offered the organization a lease.

The theater was renovated between the 1999 and 2000 seasons with money from a grant from the Legler Benbough Foundation. The renovation brought a new stage, sound booth, lighting, seats and carpeting, resulting in the intimate 118-seat venue it is today.

“It’s a good space, but we’ve outgrown it,” McClure said.

The local theater’s growth and success amidst challenges reached a new level around 2003, when the theater transitioned from being, technically, a community theater (of all unpaid staff) to a professional one after the still-unpaid board made a decision and commitment to pay actors, set designers and crew among others involved with the productions. 

There’s still time to get in on the fun of “Return Engagements,” a classic comedy presented by Scripps Ranch Theatre through April 28.

Written by Bernard Slade, the same playwright who wrote “Tribute” and “Same Time Next Year,” “Return Engagements” similarly follows a set of characters over the years, sharing with the audience all the laughs and lessons learned along the way.

The first act introduces three different couples: “a tipsy actress and the bellboy who bedded her the night before, a gutsy Polish woman who has survived World War II and the carpenter she chooses to father her baby, and an acid-tongued columnist and his cool psychotherapist wife.”
In Act II, the audience catches up with the couples 20, 25 and 30 years later.

“The Pleasure of Your Company” music series presents the exciting jazz duo of guitarist Peter Sprague and vocalist Rebecca Jade on Sunday, April 14 at 2:30 p.m. in the informal and intimate setting of the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library Center. Hear why Rebecca and Peter’s Cole Porter album earned them a 2018 San Diego Music Award for “Best Jazz Album.”

Peter Sprague studied classical and jazz guitar in Boston. He has recorded four albums with Charles McPherson and later established a long-standing performing and recording relationship with Chick Corea and has also performed and recorded with Dianne Reeves, Sergio Mendes, Hubert Laws, Billy Childs and David Benoit. In addition to a prolific recording career, Sprague taught at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood and the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles and has published several books of his own works and teaching, and of his transcriptions of Chick Corea's piano compositions.

Rebecca Jade grew up in a musical home, where she was exposed to a vast assortment of artists, genres and styles by her mother, who is also a vocalist. She has performed with the most sought-after musicians and at some of the best venues across the nation and the world. Known as a versatile performer, described by many to have a chameleon-like quality to her voice, Rebecca is able to deliver each song in a unique way, transferring the emotion of each song to her listeners. She has more than 25 years of recording studio experience.  Her group project and sophomore album, “Rebecca Jade and the Cold Fact,” earned San Diego Music Awards in 2014, 2015 and 2017 and a “Best of San Diego” Award in 2016.

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.

Four simple ingredients: Grinding stone, Sumi ink stick, Japanese brush and Washi paper are used to create masterpieces through the ancient art form of Sumi-e Japanese ink painting.

Once a week at the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library, locals learn the art of Sumi-e Japanese ink painting from instructor Michiyo Kirkpatrick, MFA. This free course provides students the opportunity to delve into the complexities of Sumi-e.

Kirkpatrick grew up in the Nara, Kyoto, Osaka area of Japan where she was inspired by the works of her late grandfather as she began painting at a very early age.

“My grandfather was a known Japanese ink painter in Japan. Though he passed away before I was born, hundreds of his works of scrolls and screen paintings donated to temples remained. That inspired me,” Kirkpatrick said.

Kirkpatrick continued her passion for art and has taught college level art and design courses including Sumi-e. The Scripps Miramar Ranch Library class is offered through San Diego Community College Continuing Education. Students can register to join anytime in the class that started in the Summer of 2018. Kirkpatrick described the class and learning environment as friendly and uplifting.

“Japanese ink painting is unique because you paint with only one brush if you know how. Class is taught slow-paced, step by step, and really relaxed,” she said. “In my Sumi-e class, I teach how to draw from the thinnest hairline to the widest bamboo calm, how to make lightest gray to darkest black and create various textures to depict the essence of nature. Students grind Sumi stick on the stone to make their own color.”

Matt Belden, local Scripps Ranch resident, said he tries to fill his free time post-retirement with learning experiences, and the Sumi-e painting course fit the bill.

“I’ve always loved the way these paintings looked, so I took the opportunity to give it a try. The fact that it was being offered at the nearby Scripps library was the icing on the cake,” Belden said.

Belden has been pleased with the class and had high praise for his instructor, Kirkpatrick, his fellow students and the overall experience.

“You don’t have to be any good at this to extract great benefits from this learning experience. I believe humans need to be creative and this class is a great way to express that creativity,” Belden said.

For Kirkpatrick, this art form and course offers more than just an opportunity to learn how to paint.

“I am always fascinated by the accidental beauty created by ground Sumi mixed with water on Washi paper,” she said. “It seems like a moment of special experience that one would feel being part of the universe.”

March is International Women’s Month. It’s a month that has generated conversations among Women’s Club members of times when they were mentored or supported by other women. Below are true stories from two of our members.

One member shared her story from years ago when, as a recent college graduate, she was mentored by an older woman. The younger woman had applied for a job as a switchboard operator, thinking this was the only available job in her location. The job interviewer saw a greater potential in the young woman and offered her an unadvertised job that involved managing 20 people. The older woman also guided this younger woman through the internal politics of the organization to help her be successful.

Another Women’s Club member shared a story about her concerns of her ability to return to graduate school while working in order to earn an advanced degree. This woman’s mentor was her boss, who said things to her such as, “Of course you can do this. I know you can.” These two women and other club members who have experienced support and mentoring are now giving back by volunteering in their community.

"Return Engagements" by Bernard Slade runs at Scripps Ranch Theatre through April 28. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm

The first act is comprised of three vignettes showing separate couples: a tipsy actress and the bellboy who has bedded her the night before; a gutsy Polish woman who has survived World War II and a carpenter whom she chooses to father her baby; and an acid-tongued columnist and his cool psychotherapist wife.

In Act II, we meet the couples 20, 25 and 30 years later, as we learn how they ended up. Their stories are all linked together.

Return Engagements is directed by Charles Peters and the cast includes Robin Thompson, Morgan Carberry, Ruth Carlson Russell, Adam Daniel, Julia Giolzetti, Natalia Maggio, Samuel Young and Nick Young.

For tickets, visit scrippsranchtheatre.org or call (858) 578-7728.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Scripps Ranch!
While Scripps Ranch might not host a big St. Patrick’s Day parade, hold an Irish street fair or turn any of this community’s ponds green, some of the local establishments will celebrate in their own way. Here is a brief list of their offerings and events today.

Dry Irish Stout returns
Celebrate the return of Make Your Own Luck Dry Irish Stout with $4 pints at Savagewood Brewing Co. on March 17. Enjoy green beer all day. Free pizza served at 2 and 6 p.m. Open 1 to 8 p.m. Sunday. Savagewood Brewing Co., 9879 Hibert St., suite F.

St. Patrick’s Day Yappy Hour
Newtopia Cyder will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by helping charity with a dog adoption event. On Sunday, 20 percent of cyder sales and 10 percent of food sales will be donated to It’s the Pits Dog Rescue. Cuddle some cute adoptable pups while sipping cyder and eating delicious BBQ from Coal & Barrel. Celebrate Yappy Hour 3-5 p.m. Sunday. 10045 Carroll Canyon Road, suite A.

Corned beef & cabbage
The word is that Filippi's Pizza Grotto Scripps Ranch will put some Irish on it’s menu Sunday by offering corned beef and cabbage in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Open Sunday 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; 9969 Mira Mesa Blvd.

Celebrate at Old Grove
Say cheers to Ballast Point Scripps Ranch, known by locals as Old Grove, with a keep the pint offer and old school pricing this weekend through Sunday, March 17.

The Scripps Ranch brewery on Old Grove Road gave Ballast Point Brewing Company the opportunity to take one step toward reaching its goals. Since then, the Scripps Ranch community has participated in events at Ballast Point Scripps Ranch like the Barking Brigade dog walks to nearby Newtopia Cyder.  Soon, Ballast Point Scripps Ranch will turn the keys over to local kombucha producer JuneShine later this spring.

Now it’s time to celebrate all the award-winning beers and brewers that have flowed through the brewery as the team remembers the “good old days” on Old Grove Road. Grab a commemorative pint glass with the keep-the-pint special and enjoy your favorite drafts with old-school prices from the summer of 2013. Ballast Point Scripps Ranch, open Sunday 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m., 10051 Old Grove Road.

Internationally acclaimed multilingual vocalist and recording artist Allison Adams Tucker returns to the informal and intimate setting of the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library Center this weekend. She will be performing “Jazz Mediterraneo,” her mix of jazz inspired by the sun and infused with the sounds of France, Spain, Italy and beyond in the “Pleasure of Your Company” music series on Sunday, March 10, starting at 2:30 pm.

Adams Tucker has been hailed by critics as “an astonishing singer with impeccable pitch and crystal clear diction,” with a voice as “supple as silk and smooth as cashmere ... like shaking hands with a smile,” and “...mesmerizing, whether in English, Japanese, French ...”

Featuring guitarist Joe Amato and drummer Claudio Rochat-Felix, their program will include gypsy jazz music of Django Reinhardt.     

Meet the musicians and mingle with fellow jazz aficionados 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.

Scripps Miramar Ranch Library Center is located at 10301 Scripps Lake Drive. Overflow parking is available on Meanley Drive off Scripps Ranch Boulevard. Visit srfol.org or call (858) 538-8158 for information.

Scripps Ranch resident Cliff Huckleberry devoted his career to making semi-conductors for 21-years. Upon retiring, he decided to write a book. A year-and-a-half later, he had a 600-page novel on his desk.

“I retired three years ago and just started writing,” Huckleberry said. “My wife and I are empty nesters; our kids are on their own. So, I got up one rainy day, poured a cup of coffee and had an idea for a fiction adventure story; and now it’s a published book titled ‘Indomitable.’”

“Because I was in technology, a lot of people were surprised when I came out with a fiction adventure book,” Huckleberry said. “Based on my background, writing a book was not a normal thing to do, but it stretched me, and I needed that.”

When this father of four began writing, he was advised to focus on a subject he was familiar with. Since he and his wife, Cathie, frequently traveled to exotic locations such as Spain, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, this became the perfect backdrop for his novel.

Scripps Ranch resident Christina Erdey returned to San Diego after having moved away for 13 years, only to find that her old friends were no longer in the area, and she was left with a sense of loneliness and isolation. 

After two years of living back in San Diego, Erdey decided it was time to make local friends, and also help other women find friends as well.

“Many people who live in San Diego are not originally from here,” Erdey said. “That, combined with the rise of primarily communicating through social media channels and the virtual digital world, people are losing the in-person connection that is important to socializing. ‘Non-digital’ socialization is needed to cultivate authentic friendships.”

Erdey has organized meet ups such as monthly outings to Yanni’s Bar & Grill, and monthly gatherings at the Scripps Poway Parkway Starbucks she calls “Coffee and Conversation.” Saturdays at 9 a.m. (except the third Saturday of each month), she also invites women to join Gaggle Girls on a walk at Miramar Lake. It was during one of these walks that Erdey came up with the name for the group, inspired by the geese at the lake.

“A gaggle is a flock of geese and they were gaggling away, just like we were, so I thought it made sense,” Erdey said.

While she leads in the organization of larger group events, Erdey still encourages all women who join Gaggle Girls to connect with each other individually, to engage outside of the group activities and to cultivate meaningful personal relationships.

“My ultimate goal is to just create a positive, nurturing environment that is all-inclusive and supportive,” Erdey said.

Gaggle Girls is varied in its members, but is made up of single women, women with and without kids, and mostly women between the ages of 35 and 70. Erdey wants to encourage younger women to participate in Gaggle Girls and take advantage of the wisdom and advice the diverse group possesses.

“Right now, I am completely focused on creating the baby steps that it takes for women to build authentic relationships with each other inside of this group,” Erdey said. “We women are too hard on ourselves and tend to have a negative voice in our head telling us that we don’t measure up in so many ways, so we need to create positive relationships with others to encourage each other.”

Gaggle Girls is a passion project for Erdey. While she earns no income from it, puts in several hours organizing events and maintains the Facebook page, Erdey feels tremendous satisfaction putting it all together and seeing the joy in the participants faces.

“People saying thank you to me is payment enough,” she said.

When she’s not helping cultivate relationships among women, Erdey spends time with her husband Jacques, who she said is just as adventurous and young at heart as she is. Jacques is a software engineer who is dedicating his free time to building the future Gaggle Girls website. Erdey is a self-employed information technology instructor.