A RTS&E NTERTAINMENT OMfest tunes up its acts The 10th annual Oceanside Music Festival, OMFest, offers six concerts this year boasting a variety of music genre, showcasing both student and professional musicians from throughout Southern California. This year’s OMFest series opens with the Scholarship Gala at Oceanside Museum of Art on Oct. 12 and runs through Oct. 23, featuring a wide range of concerts including multicultural, Broadway, choral and classical music. The scheduled concerts include: — A Gala Scholarship Fundraiser begins at 6 p.m., Oct. 12 at Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way, with performances from the youth, music professionals and recognition of North County’s activists Joni Harris, Kathleen O’Brien, and Tom Brault for outstanding performance and lasting contribution in promoting music and the arts in North San Diego County. Tickets for this event are $30. — “It’s Broadway, Baby!” 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at Quantum Learning Network Conference Center, 1938 Avenida Del Oro. This is a music and dance spectacular, featuring Carlsbad Choraleers, Damsels in Distress, as well as local favorite singers, dancers, and talents student performers. The concert covers the history of the Tony Awards with familiar and new Broadway tunes. — Classical Kaleidescope, 3 p.m. Oct. 16 at First Christian Church, 204 S. Freeman St. The concert will offer light classical music featuring New Ground Chamber Music. The goal of this concert is “to do away with the formality and elitism and convention of classical concerts and make the experience of attending our concerts something that may deeply inspire and enrich the lives of our audiences.” — World Rhythms, 7 p.m. Oct. 21, at New Song Community Church, 3985 Mission Ave. This concert of international flavor features MiraCosta College’s Frequency Vocal Jazz Ensemble and Celtic music of Raggle Taggle complemented onstage with dancing from San Diego County’s finest schools of Irish dance. — High School Choral Showcase, 7 p.m. Oct. 22 at MiraCosta Concert Hall, Building 2400, 1 Barnard Drive. It’s the annual high school showcase of choirs and chamber singers. — Global Spirit, 2 p.m. Oct 23 at St. Mary’s Star of The Sea Catholic Church, TURN TO OMFEST ON A20
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RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS
OCT. 7, 2011
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Air Show still a place of fascination By Tony Cagala
A convoy of a different sort rolled through Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, with hazard lights on all vehicles flashing in the pre-dawn hours under the haze of a marine layer, running red lights and stop signs so as not to fall behind and out of sight of the lead Marine van. The convoy was rife with members of the media; the lead van taking us to an area just outside the base’s tarmac that had on it some of aviation history’s most iconic airplanes. The Marines had opened up their base for the 2011 MCAS Miramar Air Show media day. “It’s an opportunity we give to our media partners to come out…and get up and actually fly with some of our civilian performers,” said Sgt. Sean P. McGinty, an MCAS spokesperson. Before taking to the skies we all had to sign release waivers — what drew a nervous laugh from those selected few to fly the Russian AN-2 Colt, a rare, single-engine biplane, was the fact that they had to sign a second release waiver. I was one of those who received the opportunity to fly on the Colt. The plane is still in production today; new models can be purchased in China, but Colts can only be flown in the U.S. under the exhibition/experimental license. The Colt is the world’s largest single-engine biplane with a top speed of 100 miles per hour, carrying 1,000 horsepower. It does have the ability to take off and land on a very short runway, needing only
THE BIG PANDA The Russian AN-2Colt is rare to be flying in the United States. This single-engine biplane is owned by the Commemorative Air Force and is flown throughout the country, appearing in numerous air shows with pilot sponsor Bob Cable. Photo by Phil Makanna/GHOSTS
500 feet to take off. “It is taking a MAC truck and putting wings on it and saying, ‘fly,’” said the Colt’s devil-may-care pilot Bob Cable. “It’s proof that if you put enough power behind anything, you’ll get it in the air.” Cable went on to assure us passengers that smoke in the cockpit and fuselage was normal, even cool, at the beginning of each flight and that the loud noises and squealing brakes were perfectly fine. “It is like a megaphone,” he said. “It’s actually louder inside the plane than outside COME FLY WITH ME Bob Cable, pilot sponsor of the Russian AN- the plane.” 2 Colt, flies members of the media and 2011 MCAS Air Show sponsors The plane is a part of the over MCAS Miramar during media day Sept. 29. Photo by Tony Cagala Commemorative Air Force, an
organization dedicated to restoring, preserving and flying aircraft to educate and to present to generations interested in aviation and its history. Cable is the pilot sponsor of the plane. He and a crew are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the plane. Cable and his wife Suzanne do about 15 air shows per year with the plane; this is his fifth time at the MCAS air show. Learning to fly this plane wasn’t difficult, Cable said, just different. It took him about 8 to 10 hours to get the handle of the plane, adding that there’s a lot of using your feet to fly this plane. The inside of the plane spared no expense to retain its authenticity: A framed photo of Joseph Stalin was mounted near the cockpit and underneath, at the ready, was a replica AK-47 rifle. A number of aircraft took off before us, including the exciting Red Bull Helo, but there was a feeling, ours being the biggest and brightest on the tarmac, that this was the one to watch. As we prepared for takeoff aboard the Colt, the engine roared to life; the plane began to rattle and hum, it was all perfectly normal, Cable reassured. In a matter of moments we were airborne. Each passenger was able to take a turn sitting in the co-pilot’s seat during the flight, which cruised at an altitude of 1,000 feet and hit top speeds of approximately 80 miles per hour. It wasn’t breaking the TURN TO AIR SHOW ON A20
October filled with art and activities at OMA The Oceanside Museum of Art, at 704 Pier View Way, has a calendar full to bursting for the month of October. An exhibit by San Diegobased artist Becky Guttin will transform the OMA lobby with a playful installation inspired by memories of her childhood growing up in Mexico City. The exhibit, titled “We Can Work It Out: Becky Guttin,” opened Oct. 1 and runs through Jan. 5, 2012. It will launch with an artist’s reception from noon to 2 p.m.
JA-MAKIN’ ME HUNGRY Sean Paul visited Jamroc 101 Caribbean Grill Sept. 27 as part of radio station Jammin’ Z90’s Jamacain Me Lunch event. Winners and their guests were awarded the patio luncheon with the reggae/dancehall artist. Pictured from left, David DaCosta, Sean Paul, David’s daughter Rachael and wife and owner of Jamroc 101 Tina. Courtesy photo
Oct. 22 In keeping with the Halloween season, the museum presents “Memento Mori: Remember your Mortality from Oct. 15 through Oct. 30 in the Groves Gallery. Organized in conjunction with “Art After (Dark) Death” Oct. 28, this special two-week exhibition is a visual complement to the dark tableaux. The exhibition will feature artwork in a variety of media from painting and photography to sculpture and
fiber art from more than 15 regional artists. Beginning Oct. 22, running through Feb. 12 will be “A Matter of Space: Cathy Breslaw.” You can meet the artist, at 2 p.m. Oct. 22 and hear her discuss the process involved in and the meaning behind her work. Informed by the boundless concept of space, local artist Breslaw will create a site-specific installation in the TURN TO ART ON A20