Catch the Spirit picnic launches centennial celebration of Pilgrim Place

Pilgrim Place officially launches the build-up to its centennial anniversary with this year’s Catch the Spirit of Pilgrim Place. The event, scheduled for Saturday, August 17, will celebrate with an old-fashioned picnic.

“Pilgrim Place first opened its doors in 1915 in Claremont as a home for missionaries on furlough,” Bill Cunitz, Pilgrim Place president and CEO said. “Since then we have expanded our residents to include retired missionaries, clergy and those serving in religious or charitable organizations. Today, we have 330 residents on our 34-acre facility and we reach out into the wider community in many, many ways.”

Activities for Catch the Spirit begin at 5 p.m. on the grass in front of Porter Hall. Participants are encouraged to wear vintage clothing of the period.

Several current residents portraying people who played significant roles in the founding of Pilgrim Place. There will also be music, games and volunteer recognition.

Tickets are $35 each, $20 of which is tax deductible. A picnic-style meal will be served. Purchase tickets online at www.pilgrimplace.org or call Viki Battaglia at 399-5573. 

Ben Harper to perform acoustic show at Bridges Auditorium

Bridges Auditorium will present An Acoustic Evening with Ben Harper on November 6, 2013 at 8 p.m. (Doors open at 7 p.m.) Tickets are $30 to $65, depending on seating.  

The performance in Claremont, Mr. Harper’s hometown, is the first of 6 acoustic shows he will perform throughout the west coast. He will showcase songs spanning his 20-year career, from his 1994 debut Welcome to the Cruel World to his latest album, Get Up!

General sales for the Bridges show began on Friday, August 9 at 10 a.m. via www.pomona.edu/bridges.

Hillcrest retirement community hosts open house

The public is invited to a special weekend open house on Saturday and Sunday, August 24 and 25, at Hillcrest retirement community, located at 2705 Mountain View Dr. in La Verne. The event takes place from 1 to 3 p.m. on both days. RSVP for the event by no later than Thursday, August 22. Reserve your spot by calling 392-4375 or email dgronna@hillcresthomes.org.

Love is in the air at Fairplex

Love is in the air at the Fairplex. Inter Valley Health Plan will host the “To Love Again—Finding the Love of Your Life and the Life You Love” conference on Saturday, August 24 from 9 a.m. to noon in the Sheraton Fairplex Hotel & Conference Center.

Whether you are looking for the love of your life or just want to understand your current relationship, this conference provides tools to help you love and be loved again. Keynote speakers will also discuss “Sex as You Age” and “Online Dating.” There will be several local vendors, door prizes, dating games and refreshments. To register, call 623-6333, ext. 625. The Sheraton Fairplex Hotel & Conference Center is located at 601 McKinley Ave. in Pomona.

Star gazers, the Claremont Public Library has an offer for you

The Claremont Public Library has added to its inventory with the donation of a second Orion StarBlast Reflector telescope, available for rental a week at a time.

The Orion StarBlast, brought to the library courtesy of the Friends of the Claremont Library and the Pomona Valley Amateur Astronomers, is a sturdy tabletop telescope appropriate for beginners. For more information on the telescope or for your turn viewing the skies, call 621-4902 or visit the Claremont Public Library, located at 208 N. Harvard Ave.

VNA expands service area

Marsha Fox, president and CEO of VNA Hospice & Palliative Care of Southern California, recently announced the transfer of the hospice division of Inland Empire Home Health and Hospice to the VNA. This transition will return the hospice to a nonprofit community-based program with the intent to operate under a new name, Arbor Hospice. The hospice will continue to serve the same geographic area, which includes Hemet, San Jacinto and the surrounding communities of southwest Riverside County.

Horticultural Society honors Claremonter with green thumb

Claremont resident Dave Lannom has been named Horticulturist of the Year by the Southern California Horticultural Society. Mr. Lannom will be honored at a reception on Thursday, September 12 at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.

Mr. Lannom, who is a professor at Mt. San Antonio College, completed coursework at Mt. SAC in ornamental horticulture, then transferred to Cal Poly Pomona, where he received a bachelor’s degree in the same field. He worked as Cal Poly’s first greenhouse manager/technician while completing a master’s degree, then began his teaching career at Cal Poly.

After a short detour into nursery management at La Costa Nursery in Encinitas and Deigaard Nurseries in Santa Barbara, Mr. Lannom returned to Mt. SAC as a professor in 1985, teaching a variety of classes. He eventually became the chair of the agriculture department. He received the Mt. SAC Outstanding Faculty Member Award in 1996 and the Faculty of Distinction Award in 2005.

For more information on the awards banquet, please visit http://schs.memberlodge.org.

Scripps College gets high marks on annual Forbes list

Scripps College comes in at number 15 on Forbes’ annual “top 25 best western colleges in the United States” ranking.

The women’s liberal arts college has appeared several times on previous Forbes listings, including the “World’s Most Beautiful College Campuses” and “America’s Best Colleges.” Three other Claremont Colleges undergraduate schools also appear on the list. Pomona College ranks number 2, Harvey Mudd takes number 7 and Pitzer places number 25.

“It would seem that the epicenter for American higher education is shifting west, away from the northeastern Ivies, as many of the top schools are now found in The Golden State,” according to Forbes.com.