SJC LIVING

GUEST OPINION: By Paddy Fallon

The Five—Year Overnight Success: PARTY SHIRT Goes Viral on TikTok

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has left many people in a state of uncertainty, the government’s stayat-home order has allotted time for artists to hone their craft. In light of this new Renaissance period, San Juan Capistrano native Nick Iavarone and Australian Xavier Di Petta wrote and produced a song that would change their lives. The duo released the first single off their EP Liquid Powder under the stage name PARTY SHIRT, and the pair watched as their debut single “Dancing Tonight” hit No. 1 on the TikTok pop chart. Since then, the song has been featured in more than 50,000 TikTok videos and has accumulated more than 200 million views. Put simply: the song went viral, and we are now officially living in the PARTY SHIRT era.

Before topping the TikTok pop chart, PARTY SHIRT was born when Di Petta (“X”) and Iavarone (“Ivy”) met in a USC dorm room in the summer of 2016. The two music producers immediately knew

GUEST OPINION:

Moments in Time by Jan Siegel Recognizing The Ecology Center

Adozen years ago, a young man came to San Juan Capistrano with a dream of making agriculture sustainable, usable and workable for an entire community. Evan Marks had run an organic farm in Costa Rica and taught agriculture in Nigeria before returning to his home in Southern California.

The City had purchased the Kinoshita Farm and the entire area including the historic Congdon House, which was part of our Open Space. Twenty-seven acres of the area was being used as an organic farm. The one acre surrounding the Congdon House was vacant. Marks leased the land from the City. That one-acre they wanted to work together after bonding over a mutual appreciation for music, acting, and fashion. They set out to build a multidimensional brand that could encompass all of their shared passions, and PARTY SHIRT was the result. With their versatile and polymathic approach, X and Ivy embody the DIY ethos of the 21st century artist: they produce SNLinspired skits that get hundreds of thousands GUEST OPINION of views; they model By Paddy Fallon for established apparel brands including Von Dutch; they write catchy electronic music for a devoted following; and they do it all from their tiny Hollywood apartment across the street from Rock & Roll Ralphs. lot soon became known as The Ecology Center, a nonprofit organization that worked with the farm to bring agriculture into the 21st century. In 2018, the City Council unanimously voted for The Ecology Center to take over all 28 acres and to become a model for the future of community farming. Marks had realized his dream.

The Ecology Center has been recognized by the California Association of Nonprofits as a California Nonprofit of the Year for all that it has done for the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. San Juan Capistrano is extremely fortunate to have a large working

MOMENTS farm right in the middle

IN TIME By Jan Siegel of the community. Before COVID-19 changed our lifestyles, one could go to The Ecology Center, walk through the rainbow arches, stop and pick your own vegetables. The ability to walk through the farm is not possible during the pandemic.

While music is the foundation of PARTY SHIRT, it is the unique chemistry and synergistic relationship between X and Ivy that separates them from the rest. Xavier Di Petta is a serial entrepreneur from Shepparton, Australia who has been featured in “The 15 Smartest Teens on the Planet” by Forbes and “Top 25 Under 20” by The Times for his precocious advertising career that began in his early teens. Iavarone, meanwhile, balanced academic and athletic pursuits before committing to music production full-time. He had been enrolled in Whittier College to play lacrosse, but left when his college advisor informed him that the school did not recognize electronic music as an art form within their music program.

The idea to make comedy sketches for Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok came

when PARTY SHIRT’s cinematographer, But that does not mean that you cannot experience farm-fresh vegetables.

The farm stand is still open for anyone to stop by and purchase farm-fresh fruits and vegetables.

The Ecology Center still has what they call Farm Share. You sign up online for either an individual or family-size box, which has 8-10 garden-fresh fruits and vegetables every week or bi-monthly. The boxes are filled randomly, so every one of them is different. The amount of produce is for two or more people, depending on appetites, for a week. The other item that you can order is pizza—organic pizza with fresh vegetables. There is only one recipe each Tuesday and Thursday, and it changes according to the produce. Sounds like a great way to get your children to eat those veggies!

All information for The Ecology Center, Farm Share and pizza of the day can be found on their website: theecologycenter.org. Hours and prices are listed. And, of course, all is subject to change in this pandemic world.

Spend a Moment In Time going to The Ecology Center and see how the dream

San Juan native Nick Iavarone (left) and Australian Xavier Di Petta are viral sensations as the entertainment duo PARTY SHIRT. Photo: Deanie Chen

Pedro Camgro, watched as their friend, David Dobrik, rose to fame for his YouTube videos with the “Vlog Squad.” X and Camgro watched as Dobrik became an established star in Hollywood, and recognized the power of social media engagement and viral content. PARTY SHIRT’s blend of original music production and sketch comedy content have quickly established them as social media powerhouses with a rare capacity to achieve virality.

Paddy Fallon is a writer based in Los Angeles. CD

PLEASE NOTE: In an effort to provide our readers with a wide variety of opinions from our community, The 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 Dispatch or Picket Fence Media. If you would like to respond to this column, please email us at editorial@thecapistranodispatch.com. The Capistrano Dispatch and Picket Fence Media do not publish content that is defamatory.

of one person became an important community development. We are lucky to have such a treasure in our community that not only shows us the way to the future, but recognizes our past history and culture.

Jan Siegel was a 33-year resident of San Juan Capistrano and now resides in the neighboring town of Rancho Mission Viejo. She served on the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission for 13 years, has been a volunteer guide for the San Juan Capistrano Friends of the Library’s architectural walking tour for 26 years and is currently the museum curator for the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society. She was named Woman of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce in 2005, Volunteer of the Year in 2011 and was inducted into the city’s Wall of Recognition in 2007.CD

PLEASE NOTE: In an effort to provide our readers with a wide variety of opinions from our community, The 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 Dispatch or Picket Fence Media. If you would like to respond to this column, please email us at editorial@thecapistranodispatch.com. The Capistrano Dispatch and Picket Fence Media do not publish content that is defamatory.

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GARAGE SALES

GARAGE SALE—AUGUST 15 Start time is 7 a.m. Collectibles, jewelry and plants as well as house hold items will be for sale. 1024 Las Posas, San Clemente.

GARAGE SALE LISTINGS ARE FREE! Email your listing to info@thecapistranodispatch.com Deadline 5pm Monday. No phone calls.

EVENTS

ART SHOW- ORIGINAL OIL ARTIST BARBARA BRIENT 11:00 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, August 22. Please wear a mask. 33561 Via De Agua, San Juan Capistrano.

HELP WANTED

PART TIME CAMPAIGN LIAISON NEEDED Part Time / WORK FROM HOME - flexible schedule. $13 - $17 an hour (depending on experience). Work eligible high school and college students welcome! Contact Paloma Chacon: 949.312.2944 or Paloma@MaryottForCongress.com

Do you want to reach 24,150+ people in the San Juan + Rancho Mission Viejo area?

Then you need to be in The Capistrano Dispatch. Ca us today!

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SPORTS & OUTDOORS STORIES, SCORES, SCHEDULES AND MORE

Capistrano Unified School District athletic teams will finally get a chance to return to organized activities on Aug. 18, when schools can open Phase 1 conditioning camps. School athletics have been shut down since midMarch. Photo: Zach Cavanagh

CUSD to Begin Conditioning Camps on Aug. 18

BY ZACH CAVANAGH, THE CAPISTRANO DISPATCH O nce again, another new timeline has been established for a return to some semblance of organized athletic activities for high school sports teams.

Following the California Department of Public Health’s latest guidelines on Aug. 3 that allowed the resumption of youth sports training, the Capistrano Unified School District announced on Friday, Aug. 7, that it would return to its plan for Phase 1 Conditioning Camps starting on Aug. 18, the first day of instruction for San Juan Hills High School.

“CDPH and Orange County are allowing youth sports training and conditioning under specific circumstances,” the CUSD release said. “Using plans developed for our original July 6 return date, site athletic directors, with District staff, will work to develop a conditioning plan that appropriately adheres to the most up-to-date health and safety guidance.”

High school sports have been completely shut down since mid-March, and while Orange County had released guidance on June 15 that said youth sports practices were allowed to resume, CUSD had held off. CUSD later announced that it would open conditioning camps in a limited Phase 1 on July 6, but those plans were subsequently canceled just days before the camps were to open. On July 8, the state restated a full shutdown of youth sports until further guidance was provided on Aug. 3.

The CIF State’s and CIF-SS’ revised schedules announced on July 20 have still pushed back full practices and the start of game schedules to December, but with CUSD’s latest announcement, coaches and players seem to be set for a return to valuable in-person training, which will be a welcome change for many after months of distanced and disconnected video chats.

While further details will be worked out with individual athletic directors and coaches, CUSD’s release provided several regulations that schools will follow.

These camps will still be limited to conditioning exercises and individual skill drills. No equipment will be used during the Phase 1 workouts, and no full-on camps, competitions or games are permitted.

These conditioning workouts will only be conducted outdoors with no use of gymnasiums, indoor weight room facilities or any other team rooms. With proper 6-foot distancing in place, there will be limits of only 50 total participants on a full football field and 20 total participants on baseball and softball fields or the pool deck. Those totals will be made up of smaller groups. No spectators of any kind, including parents, other students or media, will be permitted at the athletic facilities.

A point of emphasis on the release stated that participation during the online learning or hybrid model of instruction is voluntary for all student-athletes. Those who did wish to participate would need a physical and submit their online athletic clearance.

Face coverings are mandatory when arriving or exiting the facilities. Athletes will arrive in small groups at assigned times, which will be staggered by 15 minutes to allow physical distancing. Upon arrival each day, all athletes and coaches will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms. With each arrival and exit, coaches and athletes will wash their hands or use hand sanitizer.

It’s not normal or extensive, but athletic activities are returning to San Juan Hills High School. CD