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Arts & Entertainment

Party Benefits Local Art Groups

The backyard event raises money and awareness.

What do oil-covered seabirds in the Gulf of Mexico, Vitality City, poetry and  succulents have in common?

All were topics of discussion at the Cultural Afternoon Garden Party, a fundraiser for the Redondo Beach Art Group and Friends of Redondo Beach Arts that was held June 18 in a backyard in South Redondo. 

Nina Zak-Ladden, 2009 Redondo Woman of the Year and Art Group founder, beamed with pride as more than 70 people mingled among the art, sipped wine and paused to listen to a passionate poem by Barbara Rabinowitz about the oil spill.

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Lenore Bloss, a member of the Beach Cities Health District's strategic planning committee, chatted about the possibility of Redondo Beach being chosen as a Vitality City in a nationwide competition sponsored by health care companies Blue Zones and Healthways to promote physical exercise, healthful eating and a holistic way of living.

"Art is vitality," Bloss said. "It is so valuable for our community and a huge part of what already makes us a Vitality City."

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Redondo newcomer Jessica Alexander was so moved by Charles Perera's reading of the poem "Stranger" that she placed the winning bid at the party auction and went home with a handwritten first-edition copy.

Landscape artist Cathie Goldberg told the crowd about how 25 of her "living spheres" of succulents had been ordered to decorate Riviera Village. Goldberg's Water Smart Demonstration Garden is located at Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach.

The Redondo Beach Art Group is composed of 120 artists, most of whom live locally. President Georgette Gantner said the group's goal is to eventually create a permanent cultural arts center in Redondo. In the meantime, the organization and the Friends of Redondo Beach Arts regularly host small fundraising events such as the exhibit currently at the health district called "In Motion"; the annual artists' home tour; and the ever-popular Power of Art weekend, which will be held Aug. 13-15 this year at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center.

Vanessa Poster is a Redondo Beach resident and president of the Beach Cities Health District board.

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