2018 November COLONY Magazine

LAST WORD
or some, it’s not Christmastime without
the Nutcracker, a ballet that was adapted by
Alexandre Dumas Pére’s of E.T.A. Hoffman’s story
and set to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovksy. A
Russian ballet, it premiered in western countries in
the 1940s and has remained a Christmas tradition.
North County Dance and Performing Arts
Foundation will present its annual production of
the Nutcracker ballet Thursday, Dec. 6 through
Sunday, Dec. 9 at the Templeton Performing Arts
Center on the campus of Templeton High School.
“It’s definitely a family tradition,” Director
Cheryle Armstrong said. “It’s a heart-warming
story. We try to keep it traditional, [though] we
twist it a little.”
The ballet tells the story of a young girl named
Clara who gets a nutcracker from her Uncle Drosselmeyer
on Christmas Eve and is transported to
another world in her dreams.
This year’s cast includes Kaela Tran as Clara,
Jenevieve Crossett as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Billy
Cusimano as Drosselmeyer and Samuel Fulk, a
guest artist from Sacramento, as the Cavalier.
By Heather Young
“He’s fantastic,” Armstrong said. “He’s very musical
and fun.”
The cast for the 2018 season of the Nutcracker
has a record number of dancers, which come from
throughout the entire North County. The cast has
nearly 75 people of all ages, quite a few more than
past years, North County Dance and Performing
Arts Foundation Vice President Cali Domenghini
said. Past years have had 40 to 50 cast members.
What changed it this year, Domenghini said is that
the foundation opened up participation to dance students
around the county. Main Street Dance owner
Jocelyn Willis is one of the production’s choreographers
and she has more than 15 dancers in the cast.
Another change to this production is the addition
of a new assistant director – Taylor Santero.
“Taylor is also our jazz company director,” Domenghini
said. “We’re excited to have her on board.”
While the rehearsals are held at Class Act Dance
in Paso Robles, dancers who train anywhere are
welcome to audition. The only requirement, Armstrong
said, is that dancers have at least one year of
training – that includes even the youngest dancers.
For more information, email
info@northcountyperformingarts.org
NUTCRACKER BALLET PERFORMANCE DATES
• Thursday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.
(open dress rehearsal and student night)
• Friday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 8 at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
• Sunday, Dec. 9 at 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Tickets are $29 for adults and $24 for children
12 and younger and seniors 62 and older.
For the open dress rehearsal, tickets may
be purchased at NCDPAF.org.
SUGAR PLUM TEA PARTY
• Dec. 2 at 11 a.m. at Cantinas on the Park
General admission is $18, get a VIP upgrade
with photos for an additional $5
AARP Card Club Offers Fun Three Times a Week
By Heather Young
The AARP Card Club has been meeting in
the building next to the Atascadero Lake Park
since 1961. The group meets three times a week
for Bridge on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
from noon to 3 p.m.
“When we say card club we mean Bridge,”
member Julie Hartman said.
The card club is open to anyone who would like
to play Bridge, whether they’ve played it before
or have never played it before. Before joining the
regular group, all new members are invited to attend
free Bridge lessons on Thursdays at 1 p.m.
with Virginia Carsley, who has been with the club
for many years. Bridge lessons are free and people
just need to show up.
When the club started in 1961, it met in the
Ewalt Bible School Building and had 73 charter
members and a board of officers.
Soon after the group started meeting on Oct.
13, 1961, George Ingham gave the group a lot he
76 Gas Station.......................... 23
A Beautiful Face........................ 09
American West Tire Pros........... 11
Arlyne’s Flowers & Gifts............ 09
Atascadero Greyhound
Foundation............................... 23
Atascadero Pet Hospital........... 21
Awakening Ways...................... 15
Baby’s Babble........................... 22
Bob Sprain’s Draperies............ 25
Bottom Line Bookkeeping....... 25
Branches of Wellness
Acupuncture............................. 12
Cal Paso Solar........................... 20
CASA......................................... 26
Diane Cassidy, Re/Max............. 09
City of Atascadero..................... 05
City of Atascadero - REC........... 19
Connie Pillsbury Cursive.......... 11
Five Star Rain Gutters............... 09
owned in the Atascadero Lake State Park. The
members donated money to constructing a building
on that land. That building has since been sold
to the Atascadero Kiwanis Club and renamed
from the AARP Building to Kiwanis Hall.
Now, the member is down to about 25 people,
with about 8 to 12 people coming to each
Bridge meeting. For those who want to play in
the regular Bridge games, it is required they call
805-461-4136 and leave a message in advance of
the date they’d like to attend.
Each Bridge meeting needs to have multiples
of four because four people are needed in order
to play. Hartman said that if there aren’t quite
enough people, there are people who come play
when needed.
“It’s fun,” member Carey Rogers said. “It’s a
great brain exercise.”
Member Virginia Carsley shared an article
called “Why play bridge?” from the book, Bridge
DIRECTORY TO OUR ADVERTISERS
Foss Electric.............................. 25
Foss Farms................................ 21
Frontier Floors.......................... 10
Glenn’s Repair.......................... 08
Greg Malik RE Group............... 07
Healthy Inspirations................. 14
Hearing Aid Specialists
of the Central Coast.................. 03
Holiday Gift Guide................... 17
Heather Desmond Real
Estate Group............................. 35
John Donovan State Farm
Insurance and Financial Svcs... 02
Las Tablas Animal Hospital...... 32
LivHOME.................................. 15
Lube N Go................................ 22
Michael’s Optical...................... 25
Natural Alternative................... 10
for Beginners and Beyond. In it, it says that playing
bridge can boost “your brain functions” and it
can improve basic reasoning skills and long- and
short-term memory.
Part of the reason it’s good for the brain is that
every hand is different and it exercises both sides
of your brain.
Carsley said that everyone puts in a dollar each
time they play and then they divide up the pot for
prize money. There’s a one-time fee of $10 when
joining the card club to help cover supplies.
The club also plays mahjong on Tuesdays and
Thursdays at 10 a.m. and pinochle on Thursdays
at 11 a.m.
Nautical Cowboy...................... 09
Odyssey World Cafe................. 21
Reverse Mortgage Pros ........... 13
Robert Fry, M.D......................... 20
San Joaquin Valley College..... 35
San Luis Obispo County
Office of Education................... 27
Señor Sanchos......................... 07
Solarponics.............................. 05
Spice of Life.............................. 11
Sue Hubbard,
Farmers Insurance................... 13
Templeton Door & Trim............ 11
The Carlton Hotel..................... 09
The Laundromat....................... 15
Triple 7 Motorsports................. 12
Triple 7 Tractor.......................... 05
Whit’s Turn Tree Service........... 15
Wine Country Theatre.............. 02
Writing Support Group............ 26
34 | colonymagazine.com COLONY Magazine, November 2018