GETTING OUT/PAGE

The List

What’s going on in and around town this week

THE CAPISTRANO DISPATCH

FRIDAY | 28

LIVE MUSIC AT SAN JUAN HILLS GOLF CLUB 6:30-9:30 p.m. Vinyl Vault will perform. Stop in to listen and dance, perhaps after playing a round of golf. San Juan Hills Golf Club, 555 North El Camino Real, San Juan Capistrano. 949.565.4855. sanjuanhillsgolf.com.

HALLOWEEN PARTY AT EL ADOBE 9 p.m.-midnight. El Adobe de Capistrano is hosting a Friday night party to celebrate spooky season. There will be a costume contest. The cover charge is $10. El Adobe de Capistrano, 31891 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 949.493.1163. eladobedecapistrano.com.

SATURDAY | 29

DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS ALTAR AT THE MISSION 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Venture out to Mission San Juan Capistrano to remember your loved ones by placing their name on the altar or ofrenda. The altar will be on display through Oct. 30. Mission San Juan Capistrano, 26801 Old Mission Road, San Juan Capistrano. 949.234.1300. missionsjc.com.

DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS AT BLAS AGUILAR MUSEUM 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The Blas Aguilar Museum, which houses information about and artifacts from San Juan Capistrano’s early people and days, is hosting this annual Day of the Dead event. There will be altars, crafts, demonstrations and other activities. Blas Aguilar Museum, 31806 El Camino Real, San Juan Capistrano. 949.493.1239.

‘SPOOKTACULAR’ HALLOWEEN NIGHTS AT HENNESSEY’S 9 p.m.-midnight. Celebrate the Halloween weekend with drinks, a DJ and

Editor’s Pick SATURDAY | 05

COMPOST GIVEAWAY 9 a.m-3 p.m. OC Waste & Recycling is hosting this free compost giveaway in San Juan Capistrano to encourage use of recycled green waste in yards and gardens. Residents should bring a shovel and container/bag to fill. Proof of Orange County residency is required. Quantities are limited, and staff will be on-site to assist. Capistrano Greenery at Prima Deshecha Landfill, 32250 Avenida La Pata, San Juan Capistrano. oclandfills.com.

The Ghosts & Legends Tour on Los Rios Street is a time when people can learn about the macabre lore of San Juan Capistrano, though the storytime strolls aren’t too scary. Photo: Collin Breaux

SATURDAY | 29 GHOSTS & LEGENDS TOUR Times vary. The annual Ghosts & Legends Tour sponsored by the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society is a fun way to explore the Los Rios Historic District during the Halloween season. Come learn about local history through eerie stories and reenactments. Attendees must reserve a time slot beforehand. The event is family-friendly and will also be held on Friday, Oct. 28. San Juan Capistrano Historical Society, 31831 Los Rios Street, San Juan Capistrano. 949.493.4056. sjcghosttour.com.

costume contest. The nighttime event continues on Sunday and Monday. Hennessey’s Tavern, 31761 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 949.441.4777. hennesseystavern.com.

SUNDAY | 30

CONCERT AT THE COACH HOUSE 7 p.m. Live music is featured at this popular South Orange County venue. Former members of new wave band Oingo Boingo will perform a special Halloween show. Audience members are welcome to wear costumes. Tickets are $38. Doors open at 5 p.m. The Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 949.496.8930. thecoachhouse.com.

MONDAY | 31

BRIDGE GAMES 12:30 p.m. The South Orange County Bridge Club hosts bridge games, Monday through Saturday. The club is a nonprofit owned by the members and welcomes people to use their minds and develop new friendships. They also offer classes for bridge players of different levels. 31461 Rancho Viejo Road, Suite 205, San Juan Capistrano. galesenter@cox.net.

TUESDAY | 01

DAY OF THE DEAD DINNER CELEBRATION AT YSIDORA 6 p.m. Have a celebratory dinner in honor of loved ones who have passed. Inn at the Mission San Juan Capistrano’s restaurant, Ysidora, is hosting this specially curated dinner for Día de los Muertos. The dining area will be adorned with skulls, candles and colorful decorations while patrons enjoy live music. Guests will be invited to write down the names of loved ones who have passed to add to two grand altars nestled beneath the grounds’ olive trees. A reservation must be made beforehand to attend. Ysidora Restaurant and Lounge, 26907 Old Mission Road, San Juan Capistrano. 949.503.5720. ysidora.com.

FRIDAY | 04

FARMERS MARKET IN SAN JUAN 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Enjoy the farmers market in town every Friday. Check out the produce, breads, cheeses, artisan craft vendors, and more. Farmakis Farms, 29932 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 949.364.1270. farmakisfarms.com.

LIVE THEATER AT CAMINO REAL PLAYHOUSE 7:30 p.m. Get ready to chuckle and watch actors perform in downtown San Juan Capistrano. Camino Real Playhouse is staging Death by Design, a murder mystery comedy set in a 1930s English country manor. The show runs through Nov. 6. Camino Real Playhouse, 31776 El Camino Real, San Juan Capistrano. 949.489.8082. caminorealplayhouse.org. 12TH ANNUAL REMEMBRANCE MASS 9:30 a.m. The Capistrano Historical Alliance Committee is hosting a remembrance Mass at Old Mission Historic Cemetery in honor of the local area’s ancestors and those who have died. Bishop Kevin Vann, Father Eamon O’Gorman, Monsignor Michael McKiernan and Father Martin Yslas are scheduled to attend. The cemetery will be open the day before, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m,. for people who want to prepare their family grave sites prior to the Mass. A potluck will be held afterward at the Blas Aguilar Museum. Old Mission Historic Cemetery, Los Cerritos Street, San Juan Capistrano. 949.496.8782. capistranohistoricalalliancecommittee.com.

SUNDAY | 06

‘KOCKTAILS FOR KITTENS’ 1-5 p.m. The Ark of San Juan is hosting this annual fundraiser. The event will feature appetizers, wine and cocktails, live and silent auctions, live music and other entertainment. Funds raised from the event will go toward the Ark’s animal rescue efforts. Ticket price information is available on the Ark’s website. Marbella Country Club, 30800 Golf Club Drive, San Juan Capistrano. 949.388.0034. arkofsanjuan.org.

WEDNESDAY | 09

TRIVIA NIGHT AT THE BREWHOUSE 6:30-8:30 p.m. The BrewHouse hosts a trivia night every Wednesday. Test your knowledge when it comes to music, movies and other subjects. The BrewHouse, 31896 Plaza Drive, Suite D3, San Juan Capistrano. 949.481.6181. brewhousesjc.com.

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AT THE MOVIES ‘Tár’ Gets Awards Season Finally Going

BY MEGAN BIANCO, THE CAPISTRANO DISPATCH

Cate Blanchett’s latest Oscar-friendly tour-de-force, Tár, is also the much-anticipated and hyped return of actor-turned-filmmaker Todd Field.

Following the well-received In the Bedroom (2001) and Little Children (2006), Field surprisingly vanished from the public eye for unknown reasons for the next 15 years, but he is finally back to share his vision and talent with movie lovers.

A fancy character study set in the orchestra community with one of the greatest living leading ladies of our time sure sounds like a great way to come back to the big screen. And for the most part, neither artist disappointed.

Taken place mainly in modern day Berlin, Germany, Lydia Tár (Blanchett) is the most respected, successful and talked-about symphony conductor and composer of her generation. She has a big concert coming up, while also fighting to control personal demons.

Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features

Away from the stage and music school auditorium, Lydia is a wife and mother, but she is also obsessed and dedicated to her career the same way a lot of her male peers are.

The middle-aged star is haunted by a former student committing suicide after Lydia declined to recommend her for a conducting position, and she’s fixated on a new, young cellist, Olga Metkina (Sophie Kauer), who’s studying to join the Berlin Philharmonic.

It’s a testament to Field’s strengths as a storyteller that Tár pretty much succeeded where I thought Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky’s The Good House failed (i.e., centering a lot of serious and relevant issues around a successful older woman).

We see right away in Tár that Lydia is not a nice person. She’s blunt, divisive and difficult to her peers. Through Lydia’s eyes, we’re given the effects of fame-induced anxiety, perfectionism of an artist, midlife crises, and “cancel culture,” the latter of which is interestingly portrayed.

Does Lydia deserve her backlash? Is she a reliable narrator, or are we biased toward her as a viewer? Field is wise enough to be subtle with his direction and not pander too much to one side or defensively deny the other.

In a way, I think this is probably the safest, most realistic way to go, and choosing a complicated woman instead of a man is less on-the-nose as well.

Though some in the orchestra field might have to suspend some disbelief regarding the accuracy of the conduction, Tár delivers as a showcase of cinematic artistry. CD

GUEST OPINION | The Cowgirl Designer by Marlene Holmquist

he morning of June 9, 2015, was Right now, today, we are creating our filled with more anticipatory own history here in San Juan Capistrano. butterflies than I could have ever Ranches have gradually disappeared, but imagined. In less than 12 hours, our love for horses has never waned. CalI was to experience the thrill of riding ifornia alone has more than 700,000 of horseback across Hyde Park in London, them. And surprissee the Royal Mews at Buckingham ingly, only 28% of Palace, and feel the overwhelming awe horse owners have of the play Warhorse at The New London a salary topping Theatre. That was a bucket list ‘horse $100,000. Fifty miles day’ for this cowgirl! of horse and biking

According to Wikipedia, a mews is “a trails, our existing row or courtyard of stables and carriage and planned horse houses with living quarters above them, stables, and the built behind large city houses before Rancho Mission motor vehicles replaced horses in the Viejo Riding Park, early 20th century.” London still has keep strong our standing as “The Horse rows of mews right in the middle of Capital of the West Coast.” Is it in our the bustling city, as you can see in the future to become the “Barndominium” photo of us saddling up before we took capital? our ride. The feeling of imagining others Marlene Holmquist, ASID, owns Luxdoing the same thing, in the same place ury Ranch Interior Design, a full-service hundreds of years ago, actually gave me interior design company specializing in goosebumps. remodels for residences and small busi-

In 1989, U.S. real estate developer Karl nesses. An avid equestrian known as “The Nilson coined the term “Barndominium” Cowgirl Designer,” she is a member of the (the modern-day mews) as he planned San Juan Capistrano Equestrian Coalition a development to convert horse barns and Las Vaqueras Women’s Riding Club. into homes. In the last 10-12 years, the luxury-ranch.com or concept has again gained momentum, as thecowgirldesigner.com. CD has barnwood for flooring and furniture. Even if you do not own a horse to stable on the first floor, the convenience of a combined-use residence provides function and economy.

The Mews and Rise of the ‘Barndominium’ T

THE COWGIRL DESIGNER

BY MARLENE HOLMQUIST PLEASE NOTE: In an effort to provide our readers with a wide variety of opinions from our community, The Capistrano Dispatch provides Guest Opinion opportunities in which selected columnists’ opinions are shared. The opinions expressed in these columns are entirely those of the columnist alone and do not reflect those of The Capistrano Dispatch or Picket Fence Media. If you would like to respond to this column, please email us at editorial@thecapistranodispatch.com. Photo: Courtesy of Marlene Holmquist

THE CAPISTRANO DISPATCH ADOPTABLE PET OF THE WEEK Are you looking for an active canine

Scarlet companion or adventure buddy? Scarlet might be just what you’re searching for. This 10-month-old pup is full of fun energy and has a great personality. Scarlet also gets along with most dogs and loves a puppy play date. Could she be the one for you? If you are interested in adopting Scarlet, please visit petprojectfoundation.org/adoptions to download an adoption application form, and you will be contacted about making an interaction appointment.

CD

Sudoku

BY MYLES MELLOR

SOLUTION: Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9x9 grid that has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3x3 squares. To solve the puzzle, each row, column and box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. Puzzles come in three grades: easy, medium and difficult. Level: Medium

Playoff Push

All four city high school football teams have playoff implications at hand in regular-season finales ahead of Sunday bracket reveal

BY ZACH CAVANAGH, THE CAPISTRANO DISPATCH

As the calendar turns to the final week of the high school football regular season, every single San Juan Capistrano team entered its Week 10 game with playoff or league championship implications at play.

In this new era of the CalPreps rating algorithm determining the CIF-SS playoff divisions at the end of the season, automatic league playoff berths have become paramount. The at-large selection process has become an increasingly risky proposition, especially for teams with sub-.500 records.

Four-team leagues, such as the Sea View League with San Juan Hills, or five-team leagues get two automatic playoff berths. Six-team leagues, such as the Trinity League with JSerra, or seven-team leagues, such as the Orange Coast League with St. Margaret’s, have three automatic playoff berths.

The CIF-SS divisions are dictated by those automatic qualifiers. After Division 1, each of the other 13 divisions will be created based on groupings of 12 or 13 automatic qualifiers. Once a division’s 16-team bracket is seeded based on the CalPreps rankings of the automatic qualifiers and filled in with at-large selections, the next division begins with the next highest-ranked automatic qualifier.

CIF-SS playoff divisions and brackets will be revealed on Sunday, Oct. 30.

Let’s check in with each San Juan Capistrano team in decreasing order of its projected playoff division:

JSerra (4-5, 1-3 Trinity League)

It’s probably best to start with JSerra, as it has the most possibilities around its situation.

If JSerra wins against Orange Lutheran on Friday, Oct. 28, at Orange Coast College, there will be a three-way tie for the final automatic playoff berth from

Every San Juan Capistrano high school football team had some CIF-SS playoff or league championship implications in its final game of the regular season. CIF-SS playoff brackets will be released on Sunday, Oct.30. Photos: Alan Gibby/Zone57

the Trinity League. Paired with Santa Margarita likely losing to second-place and nationally ranked St. John Bosco, JSerra, Orange Lutheran and Santa Margarita would be tied for third place at 2-3 in league play. The tiebreaking procedure would be an envelope draw.

In this scenario, the actual league seeding won’t mean much, as all three teams would make the playoffs in either Division 1 or Division 2. Whichever two teams don’t earn the automatic bid would still be easy locks for at-large selection.

However, if JSerra loses to Orange Lutheran, things instantly become more interesting and more dicey for the Lions.

A loss would drop JSerra to a sub-.500 record at 4-6 and would leave its fate entirely up to CIF-SS.

There has been debate all season as to what the size of the Division 1 playoff field will be, due to how top-heavy it is with Mater Dei and St. John Bosco crushing all comers. There was early talk of four or six teams for the Division 1 bracket, but in the final weeks, it seems set for either eight teams or 12 teams.

If it is an eight-team Division 1 bracket, JSerra, currently ranked No. 11, would drop into the Division 2 grouping, where there are possibly five at-large applicants for four at-large spots. Applicants with winning records are given priority over those with losing records, and if the Lions fall to the Lancers, JSerra would have the only losing record among those five teams, which could leave the Lions out in the cold.

If it is a 12-team Division 1 bracket, JSerra would likely be safe, either by being pulled into that Division 1 grouping or being selected as an at-large in Division 2. Although, that Division 2 selection would be predicated on JSerra falling below the top seed of Division 2 (No. 13) in the rankings, because CIF-SS rules stipulate that divisions cannot start with an at-large team.

San Juan Hills (2-7, 2-0 Sea View League)

While it has already climbed back from an 0-7 start to clinch a share of the Sea View League championship, San Juan Hills has not officially punched its ticket to the CIF-SS playoffs.

For the Stallions, things are pretty simple. A win over Aliso Niguel on Friday gives them the league title outright, and they’ll go into the CIF-SS playoffs in probably Division 5 or 6.

A loss would complicate things for San Juan Hills. If Aliso Niguel wins and Trabuco Hills wins over El Toro, as expected, there would be a three-way tie for the league championship, and based on the tie-breaking coin flips for seeding, San Juan Hills would be in third place and out of the automatic playoff berths. At 2-8, the Stallions would be extremely unlikely to earn an at-large selection.

If El Toro upsets Trabuco Hills, San Juan Hills will safely make the CIF-SS playoffs, but it would probably be best for the Stallions to take care of business themselves over Aliso Niguel.

Capistrano Valley Christian (7-1, 4-0 Mesquite League)

Last season, Capistrano Valley Christian dealt with the rough end of this new CIF-SS system. Despite an 8-2 record, the Eagles did not make the CIF-SS playoffs, as CVC played as a freelance team without a league and was squeezed out of an at-large selection in high-density division.

This season, Capistrano Valley Christian will have no such troubles coming out of the newly formed Mesquite League.

The Eagles have already clinched a playoff berth and a share of the league title, but they can lock down the outright championship with a win over Arrowhead Christian on Friday at Aliso Niguel High School.

Capistrano Valley Christian will likely slot into Division 11 or 12 when the brackets are released on Sunday.

St. Margaret’s (3-6, 3-2 Orange Coast League)

After an 0-6 start, St. Margaret’s clawed all the way back for a do-or-die opportunity on Thursday, Oct. 27.

The Tartans squared off with Calvary Chapel at Segerstrom High School in a de facto playoff game for third place in the Orange Coast League and the league’s final automatic playoff berth.

The result was not available at press time, but readers can find coverage of this game at thecapistranodispatch.com or on the South OC Sports social media feeds.

Both St. Margaret’s and Calvary Chapel found themselves in the same situation entering Thursday night’s game. With a win, they would clinch a playoff spot. With a loss, they would finish without an automatic spot and with a losing record, unlikely to earn an at-large bid.

If St. Margaret’s got the win, the Tartans would likely qualify into Division 12. CD