In October, the Dana Point Robo-Techs - a 7th grade robotics team from Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Niguel - presented their 2015 World Championship winning VEX IQ Middle School STEM Research Project to hundreds of guests at the Team Kids Innovative Thinkers Forum in Dallas, Texas.
The team of eight highly motivated, committed young individuals chose to research how robotic devices could be engineered to help people heal and focused their research on robotic devices - including robotic exoskeletons - designed to help paralyzed veterans recover their mobility, rise up to eye-level, and even walk again.
Exoskeletons offer many possible benefits to those with spinal cord injuries such as improving muscle mass, bone density, circulation, bowel and bladder function, as well as reducing spasticity, pain, and increasing one’s dignity by allowing veterans to stand on their own two feet again. Paralyzed veteran U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Gary Linfoot walked for the first time with his EKSO Exoskeleton on Veteran’s Day, 2013. He says “to have the chance to walk again, to see my wife Mari eye-to-eye, and hug my children heart-to-heart is a feeling I cannot begin to explain.”
The Dana Point Robo-Techs now speak publicly in the community to create awareness and advocate action through an online petition to encourage the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide robotic mobility devices, like exoskeletons, to these heroes injured in the line of duty protecting our freedoms.
Enter a fantastical winter wonderland beyond imagination at Disney On Ice presents Frozen.
Presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt. The heartwarming Academy Award®-winning tale you love is now LIVE and skating into your town. Be magically whisked away to wintry Arendelle by dazzling special effects and astonishing skating as you sing and dance along to inspiring songs including “Let It Go.” Join royal sisters Anna and Elsa, the hilarious snowman Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven as they journey to discover that true love is the most magical power of all!
Hosted by Mickey and Minnie, with special appearances by beloved Disney Princesses and characters from favorites like Disney•Pixar’s Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Disney’s The Lion King.
Get warmed up for the show and learn the snowman dance at the Stonyfield YoKids and Disney Magic of Healthy Living Dance-Along Pre-Show. This unforgettable celebration of love and friendship will leave your family with memories to last a lifetime.
When it comes to deciding between hand battered and fried calamari, bufalo mozzarella appetizers, mini chicken, garlic and pesto pizzas or incredible wine paired with the best company and live music, I mean, you can’t choose just one thing!
We know we’re lucky to have such great relationships with our amazing advertising partners and editorial contributors and that getting together is always a celebration each month! We feel lucky to do what we love, and hope that you enjoy South County Magazine as much as we do!
On display through January 2016, this exhibit highlights five of Southern California’s leading landscape painters. The exhibition spans more than 40 years of artwork highlighting paintings of the majestic coastline from San Clemente to Newport Beach. Let me know if you would like to come check out the exhibit.
About the Artists
Born of Italian parents in New York, artist Dante Liberi (1919-2004) spent the last 20 years of his life in Laguna Beach, where he moved his family as he felt it was the closest to his wife Nevalda’s homeland of Italy. He would return to Italy every year to paint and exhibit his work. Throughout his years painting in Southern California, his work retained a vividly European feel.
Michael Logan has been painting for more than 50 years. Influenced by the early California impressionist such as Granville Redmond, William Wendt and Edgar Payne, Michael started painting and moved to the flourishing art colony, Laguna Beach, at the age of 18. That move shaped his life as an oil painter. He has gone on to travel the world and has held numerous group and one-man shows with a local and international following.
In addition to her editorial, curatorial and design jobs, Vanessa Rothe is a fine artist exhibiting the last 15 years alongside the nation’s top artists in galleries, art clubs, as well as museums. She is a signature member of the American Impressionist Society, Artist Member of the famed Salmagundi Art Club New York, California Art Club and LAPAPA. She hails from Laguna Beach.
A member of the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, award winning artist Jeff Sewell was born and raised in Newport Beach. Growing up in Orange County has attached Jeff deeply to the ocean lifestyle, which he captures in his remarkable seascapes.
Patrick Donovan Tobin (1950-2006) was raised in Laguna Beach. During his life he traveled and painted throughout Europe, Mexico and Hawaii, returning every year to his hometown where he would show his work at the Festival of the Arts, distinguished art galleries such as Diane Nelson, Richard Challis and Gallery McCollum. He felt this tiny stretch of coastline was as good as any, with the light comparable to Southern France, where his greatest influences, such as Henri Matisse and Andre Derain had lived and painted.
The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel is located at One Ritz-Carlton Drive in Dana Point.
The BFAB program builds hi-tech “smart homes” for service members returning from war who have been catastrophically injured.
Carpet One Floor & Home, and its manufacturing partner Mohawk, have committed to providing flooring materials and installation for 46 of these “smart homes.” Each store’s customers are invited to share information about the program with others, and make a personal contribution to the store site.
In recognition of that support, members of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) - acting on their own initiative as ambassadors for the foundation - presented Kevin and Mary Gail with a specially designed shadowbox containing hallowed 9/11 steel from Ground Zero.
“We are truly humbled and honored that the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and members of FDNY - who were actually at Ground Zero on 9/11 and during its aftermath - traveled all the way from their home base to visit us and express their gratitude to us,” says Kevin. “In fact, we are the ones who are thankful to them for their dedication and service. That is why we are so thrilled to be a part of this impactful program that helps military heroes who have suffered the most devastating injuries.”
OC FAIR & EVENT CENTER in Costa Mesa: October 15 through November 29, 2015
KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities™ premiered to the world in Montréal in April 2014 and is Cirque du Soleil’s 35th production. Since its debut, the critics have been raving: “KURIOS is Cirque du Soleil’s strongest act in years…one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen on a stage” (Toronto Star) and “KURIOS is the best Cirque du Soleil show in a long time.” (San Francisco Chronicle).
Written and directed by Michel Laprise, KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities™ is a tale in which time comes to a complete stop, transporting the audience inside a fantasy world where everything is possible. In this realm set in the latter half of the nineteenth century, reality is quite relative indeed as our perception of it is utterly transformed. The name of the show refers to the humble and strange characters that inhabit the Seeker’s Cabinet of Curiosities.
In an alternate yet familiar past, in a place where wonders abound for those who trust their imagination, a Seeker discovers that in order to glimpse the marvels that lie just below the surface, we must first learn to close our eyes. In his larger-than-life curio cabinet, the Seeker is convinced that there exists a hidden, invisible world – a place where the craziest ideas and the grandest dreams lie waiting. A collection of otherworldly characters suddenly steps into his makeshift mechanical world. When the outlandish, benevolent characters turn his world upside down with a touch of poetry and humor in an attempt to ignite the Seeker’s imagination, his curios jump to life one by one before his very eyes.
Junior and Senior high school students interested in learning more about Soka University’s rigorous academic curriculum and international student body are invited to attend Lions Roar Student Campus Day on October 24th.
Soka offers a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and has a current undergraduate enrollment of 450 students from 35 countries. The average class size is 12 and the student-faculty ratio is 8:1. All students study a non-native language and must study abroad for a semester during their junior year. This is a requirement for graduation and the cost is included in tuition. Admission is selective and considers GPA, SAT or ACT scores, motivation (work on that essay!) and leadership. Soka
University provides a generous array of financial aid and grants based upon both need and merit – and students whose parents make $60,000 or less per year may be eligible for full tuition scholarships. Soka is ranked #4 Best Value for National Liberal Arts Colleges in US News and World Report’s “Best Colleges 2016.”
Curious? Lions Roar runs from 8:30 am – 3:00 pm and includes sessions on admission and financial aid, student life, study abroad and careers services. Guided walking tours of campus, a complimentary lunch and Student Talent Blast are also included in the program.
Students can register online at www.soka.edu/lionsroar. Questions can be answered by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling 949.490.4150.
Soka University is located at 1 University Drive, Aliso Viejo at the intersection of Wood Canyon Drive and University. For a map and driving directions see www.soka.edu/directions.
If your business serves local families and businesses in South Orange County, California, then South County Magazine is your outlet of choice. We have a strong presence in the community, with a 3-tiered distribution model that ensures maximum possible impressions throughout the month.
South County Magazine (circulation 65,000) is direct-mailed to residences and businesses in San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills, Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo and Mission Viejo. The magazine is also distributed on stands and at high-foot traffic locations (restaurants, coffee houses, car washes, etc.) throughout the area, while editorial content can be found here at the South County Magazine site.
In addition to widespread distribution, competitive rates and a quality product, at South County Magazine we enjoy connecting people – businesses to customers, businesses to businesses, community organizations to community members. Our advertisers are our friends.
Let us create an added-value advertising/editorial package that works for you. Contact Jody Robinson, publisher, for further information.
Jody Robinson, publisher
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
714-469-3495
CLICK HERE to see the SOUTH COUNTY MEDIA KIT.
CLICK HERE to download the EDITORIAL CALENDAR.
Dear Reader,
South County Magazine is a full-color, glossy format magazine published monthly and distributed to families and businesses throughout the South Orange County, California communities of San Clemente, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Aliso Viejo and Mission Viejo.
We cover business, community and lifestyle topics of interest to South Orange County residents and business owners. We are fortunate to have a wealth of editorial contributors who are experts in various fields, sharing news of industry trends and offering advice to our readership on a variety of topics. The South County Magazine local events calendar keeps readers up on what’s happening around the region.
Since launching in January 2011, our mission has been to be a true South Orange County community resource.
Find out more about advertising with South County Magazine here.
Thank you for visiting!
Jody Robinson
Publisher & Editor in Chief