Tag Archives: Entertainment

2017 Bucket List – Coachella

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Coachella

California has been a magical dreamland of wonder. When I first moved here, I had visions of beaches and palm trees but I had no idea it was such an endless world of entertainment. Sure, I was aware that it was home to movie premieres and countless celebrities, but I didn’t realize that I would attend ballets, musicals, and concerts on a regular basis. One major entertainment event that reminded on my list all this time, though,  is Coachella. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. From the best people watching in the world to world class art, Coachella offers numerous experiences to enjoy along with the music. So this year, I decided it was time to cross it off my list.  Continue reading →

Hornblower Dinner Cruise in Newport Beach

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Hornblower Dinner Cruise, Newport Beach, California Hornblower Cruises are always visible in Newport marina. They are like a moving billboard for themselves. The guests appear happy, the boats look luxurious, and the location is ideal. We figured it was time we gave them a try for ourselves. They market celebrations like birthdays and anniversaries, but we like to celebrate every day. Rather than waiting for a special occasion, we like to bring the special occasion to us. We booked a Saturday night dinner cruise including a 3 hour yacht cruise, four-course dinner, a boarding glass of champagne, soda, coffee, tea, and water included, private tables, DJ entertainment, and a dance floor. We cruised Newport Beach in style, dined on scrumptious food, and danced until the music stopped. It was like New Year’s Eve but it was February 27th. Continue reading →

Excited for Upcoming Events in SoCal

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segerstrom center for the arts

After three weeks of nonstop travel, we’re back home in SoCal and excited for upcoming local events. Starting tonight, I have an amazing line-up of musicals, ballet, and extravagant shows. Here’s what’s to come in SoCal: Continue reading →

It’s A Snow White Christmas at Laguna Playhouse

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A Snow White Christmas

Photo Credit: Cathy Cunningham

We’ve been making our holiday entertainment rounds since returning from Thailand and tonight was Athena’s most interactive experience. We went to A Snow White Christmas at Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach and Athena was clapping and singing near her seat the entire night. A Snow White Christmas is a musical show based on the fairytale with pop culture references thrown in. It’s an interactive production where audience participation, including that of children, is strongly encouraged. The show encourages children and adults to interact with the performers and the adults get the pop culture references and subtle jokes. While there was very little reference to Christmas, as the name implies, we were clapping, yelling and laughing from our seats all evening.
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Celebrating One Year in Southern California

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segerstrom center for the arts

It’s been a year since we moved back to California. Our anniversary is this month. We could have chosen anywhere in the world to live and southern California was our first choice. We’re often asked if we’ll ever return home, to eastern Canada, but our answer is consistently the same – this is our home now. SoCal has so much to offer. Its beauty is undeniable and the opportunities are even more prevalent. I love to travel and it will always be as much a part of me as family and friends but it’s never discouraging to return home. As an anniversary celebration to California, I attended The American Ballet Theatre’s world premiere of The Sleeping Beauty. The world is at our doorstep in California; living in Orange County is like awaking from a long sleep and opening my eyes to a handsome dream prince and a castle of possibilities. Continue reading →

He’s a Mean One, but a Charmer – The Grinch Musical

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Segerstrom Center - L to R - Brance Cornelius, Serena Brook, Brooke Lynn Boyd, Stefan Karl, Rebecca Prescott and Ryan Knowles - Photo by PaparazziByAppointment

She did it! 90 minutes of no-intermission and not a tear in her eye or a whine in her voice. No, not Athena! She clapped loudly after every scene and sat wide-eyed with excitement as the Grinch won her heart along with Cindy Lou’s.

Last night, we attended Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” at Segerstrom Center for the Arts and it showed me that children are more capable than we give them credit for. Continue reading →

Yes, This is Actually How I Spent My Day

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Laughing with “Extra's” Maria Menounos

This is actually me laughing it up with with “Extra’s” Maria Menounos. Marriott’s Newport Coast Villas offer an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of “Extra” through Have Fun Tours in Newport. I had so much fun today that I fell asleep with Athena when I put her down at 6 pm. I haven’t done that since she was a newborn. Continue reading →

Hilarious in a Bad Way – The Book of Mormon

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The Book of Mormon - Charlotte

How could a show get away with people giving God the middle finger? Or sexually explicit baptisms? Or even more inappropriate… holy books being shoved into unmentionable parts? Then there’s female genital mutilation, dysentery, AIDS, and unspeakable acts done to babies and frogs. And in such a religious area as Charlotte nonetheless. Well, The Book of Mormon did it and did it well. The entire Belk Theater was teary-eyed from laughter during opening night in Charlotte. All of these blasphemies are set to song and dance in a performance that I will not soon forget.

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Cirque Dreams Holidaze – Where Even Seeing is Still Too Hard to Believe

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From the moment the curtain goes up until the last bow, Cirque Dreams Holidaze is tooCIRQUE DREAMS HOLIDAZE amazing to believe even when witnessing it with your very own eyes. It’s a dreamland of tinsel and glitter and candy cane flair. Acrobats twirled. Reindeer skipped. Gingerbread men flipped. Penguins teeter-tottered atop endless cylinders. And I sat in continuous awe while constantly saying, “oh my god!”, “wow”, “oh no they can’t be about to…”, and “holy sh**”. Cirque Dreams Holidaze makes the impossible, possible. Continue reading →

No Preparing for The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged)

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There are no words to describe The Ultimate Christmas Show by The Reduced Ultimate Christmas Show Shakespeare Company that would truly prepare you for what’s to come. The slapstick interfaith holiday variety show and pageant sounds cute and family friendly, but the level of inappropriate social irreverence was extremely shocking yet absolutely hilarious. Continue reading →