Aladdin Comes to LV Rec Center

Plus: New Mural at Access, Inc., LV News Briefs, Farmers Market Grand Opening, Rollin Roots Vendor at Farmers Market, and Start of Summer Book Recommendations

If you are interested in being entertained by excellent actors and singers, there is no need to travel beyond Linda Vista.  Forget about Broadway, or even the La Jolla Playhouse, because on June 15, 16, and 17 our very own Linda Vista Recreation Center (7064 Levant Street) will be the site for a production of Aladdin, An Arabian Musical.  The production is being presented by the LV Recreation Center’s Linda Vista Theatre Arts Program.

According to the show’s director, K J. LeCesne, the production can be described as one in which Disney’s Aladdin meets Lin Manuel-Miranda’s Hamilton, with original music adapted to new lyrics in order to tell the story.

The show will feature 22 actors, including 19 young actors ranging in age from 16 to 8 years old doing the singing and acting.  These young actors are from such schools as Kearny High, Madison High, Montgomery Middle, the Creative Performance and Media Arts Middle School, and the El Cajon Valley School District.      

The cast members have been working on the production since last summer when they began a Theatre Arts Workshop at the LV Rec Center (check out one of our previous newsletters here), which was eventually followed by auditions. In preparation for opening night, they have been rehearsing 3 times a week, with occasional weekend workshops.

LeCesne, a San Diego Parks and Recreation Department Leader and a 4-year veteran of the La Jolla Playhouse, enthusiastically commented that the production “will be very impressive.”  He added, “Everyone in the cast has worked hard to master the play.”    

Enhancing the production will be an elaborate Arabian-themed set that has been assembled by parents and volunteers. Funding for the setting and props came from volunteer donations, the LV Recreation Council, parents, and sponsors. Official sponsors for Aladdin include the Linda Vista Recreation Council, the San Diego Parks Foundation, Great Western Recreation, Game Time, Randy’s Custom Screen Printing, and Rose Donuts

Cast members include Evanna Heredia, Eva Lester, Jolisa Samaniego, Kelsey Kruse, Green La Fond, Leia Viray, California Iacino, Natalie Gibson, Michelle Travis, Vanessa Limon, Janine Perry, Sofia Avila, Helena Villegas, Arianna Denogean, Talia Pena, Carolynn Tran, Willow Brown, Julianna Burgoin, Sarina Weiss, and Amanda Alvaraez.  

Details on how to reserve tickets for each night’s production of Aladdin can be obtained by using the 3 different QR codes on the above flyer.  Tickets are $5.00 and available for pre-sale only. Only ticketed patrons will be permitted into the auditorium. So don’t waste time. Order your tickets now!

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There’s a New Mural in Town

Araya Komai and mural in progress

Linda Vista is a bit more colorful these days! The addition of a bright new mural on the side of the Access, Inc building at 2612 Daniel Avenue is a welcome addition to the landscape of the community. This work of art was created this past Saturday as the artist Araya Komai invited local residents to help with the design and painting. Komai also happens to work at Access, Inc. as a case manager who recruits BIPOC youth for jobs in the construction sector.

Part of the completed mural

According to Komai, this “community mural” reflects community ideas solicited to create equitable representation. “Linda Vista is home to many indigenous peoples of Oaxaca (The Mixtecs, or Mixtecos are indigenous people of Mexico inhabiting the region of known as La Mixteca or Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montana region and Costa Chica regions of of the state of Guerrero). This mural incorporates plants native to San Diego, native people, and concepts that honor the land that we are on—Kumeyaay land.”

You can check out more details about Komai’s artistry on her website located here.

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LV News Briefs

—LVTC General Meeting for June

The Linda Vista Town Council (LVTC) will hold its next monthly meeting on June 15 at 6:00pm. The meeting will take place at the Baha’i Center (6545 Alcala Knolls Dr). Guest speakers will include two Linda Vista businesses: Sur Coffee and Caspar Jiu Jitsu Academy. The public is invited. Take advantage of this opportunity to network with LV residents and business owners. For further details about the LVTC, go to the organization’s Facebook page here.

—LV Resident is new USD Women’s Tennis Coach

Congrats to Linda Vista resident Nadia Abdala who was recently hired as head coach for the University of San Diego Women’s Tennis team. Nadia has served the past eight years as assistant coach for the team. She lives in the Fashion Hills neighborhood of LV. The Linda Vista Update featured her in an issue of the newsletter published nearly a year ago. You can reach back into our archives and read the article here.

—Love, Linda Vista Farmers’ Market Has Grand Opening

Local representatives and Famers Market board members

The Love, Linda Vista Farmers Market had its official opening/ribbon cutting ceremony last Thursday. Representatives from the offices of District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo, Mayor Todd Gloria, State Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber, and Congresswoman Sara Jacobs were in attendance to mark the occasion and recognize the efforts of the board members who helped organize the Farmers Market in such a relatively short amount of time. A proclamation from the San Diego City Council recognized June 2 as Love, Linda Vista Farmers Market Day.

The Farmers Market will continue today (May 9) and every Thursday from 2:00pm to 7:00pm. Come on out and support the local vendors and help make the Farmers Market a success.

Check out our latest feature on a Farmers Market vendor in the article below.

—No LV Update Next Week

The Linda Vista Update will take a break next week. Our next issue will come out June 23rd.

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Rollin Roots at Farmers Market

Well, it finally arrived – the Grand Opening of the Love, Linda Vista Farmers’ Market! After four weeks of soft openings, the ribbon was officially cut on June 2nd.  Of course, we were there to celebrate, and you can read more about the grand opening elsewhere in the Update.  It was very successful and two of the vendors we previously featured in this newsletter — Sweet Cravings by Paula, and Argos Bakery — sold out. Just saying!

In terms of who to feature next, we had a lot of new vendors to pick from.  You can see a list of all vendors mentioned in last week’s Update by clicking here.

We brought our Carnivore sidekick with us thinking he could give us a review of some meat products, but he was fascinated by a vendor called Rollin Roots which advertised vegan comfort food.  Consequently, I decided that I would interview the owner of this business to see what I could find out. 

The owner’s name is Avonte Hartsfield.  He has been doing this for about 2 years, although he has over 10 years of restaurant experience.  He has a restaurant in Los Angeles, and a food truck in Miramar, and has plans for expansion.   Avonte said he himself is not vegan, but he has devoted his life to helping the planet by trying to get people to eat less meat.  His food is plant based. He said he also has an interest in hydroponics.  The ingredients used are locally sourced, and organic, and the recipes are quite innovative. His food is also gluten-free .  Avonte says he learned to cook from family and adapted the recipes to be vegan.  According to articles I have researched, Avonte gives back by being involved in the foster youth program and has other charitable endeavors such as giving food to those who cannot afford it. You may have seen him featured on local TV such as KUSI.

Rollin Roots menu consists of items such as Texas in Cali which is vegan BBQ jackfruit, slaw, pickles, tomatoes, fries, BBQ sauce; Daikon Love, which is a vegan banh mi sandwich; a spicy Po’ Boy, which is a spicy buffalo “Chikun” (oyster mushroom) sandwich; truffle fries; mac n cheese balls; seasoned fries; deep fried cauliflower wings; and more.

The carnivore ordered the Spicy Po’ Boy.  The sandwich was huge as you can see from the picture.  It included slaw, fries, the deep fried breaded oyster mushrooms, and spicy sauce.  He said it was delicious and almost too much to eat, but not so much that he offered me any.

The Carnivore gives his enthusiastic approval of Spicy Po’ Boy

A friend of mine went to the Farmers Market later that afternoon and wrote me that she had the Daikon Love Banh Mi and loved it.  She will definitely be there again this week.

 If you are vegetarian, pescatarian, flexitarian, or none of the above, I think you should stop at Rollin Roots and give it a try.  You will be glad you did. Make sure you tell Avonte you first heard about his food in the Linda Vista Update.

Tomorrow another new vendor will join the Love, Linda Vista Farmers’ Market.  Majestic Kulture is a veteran owned famiy business selling natural gemstones, minerals, crystals, custom jewelry and more.  Come out and give a Linda Vista welcome to our newest vendor.

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Two Start of Summer Book Recommendations

Looking to find some good summer book recommendations for fun reading at the beach or poolside, or while traveling by air to your vacation destination? Check out the books below recommended by two of our favorite newsletter readers — Marla M. and Martha B..

Marla M. had this to say about Nora Roberts’ novel The Obsession:

Naomi Bowes is the 11 year old daughter of a local church deacon. One evening, she followed her father into the root cellar, in hopes of getting a peek at the bike she was certain her father was assembling for her birthday. She uncovered a nightmare- a bloody woman chained up and naked. The revelation that her father is a serial killer, changed her life forever. These unspeakable events continued to threaten her happiness. Years later, Naomi changes her name in hopes of erasing her past. She becomes a successful photographer, and finds peace in her new home in a small town, until her world is shattered again by a series of events that catapults her back to her past. Obsession is packed with suspense, romance, and affable characters that makes this a page turner.

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Martha B. chose a non-fiction book to recommend to our readers:

The non-fiction book, Under the Banner of Heaven, by Jon Krakauer tells the true story of a gruesome murder of a mother and her baby by members of her extended family.  As described by the author, it is a fascinating study of faith and fanaticism among devout Mormons and the much more extreme Mormon fundamentalists who are still practicing polygamy along with a nearly Taliban-like patriarchal culture in swaths of the U.S..  The book was recently made into a seven episode television series, called by the same name, which is streaming on Hulu.  

Jon Krakauer’s numerous non-fiction best sellers make a worthy reading list.  An additional two of his books are particularly well known.  Into Thin Air is the story of a disastrous climb up Mount Everest about which Krakauer was commissioned ahead of time to write a magazine article.  The events of the climb were so mesmerizing and horrible that the article was later expanded by Krakauer into a book and then two movies, the latest of which was the commercially successful film Everest, released in 2015.  Into the Wild, the account of a young man who disappeared while on a quest into the wilderness of Alaska, was made into an award winning film by Sean Penn.

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The Linda Vista Update wishes to thank Marla M. and Martha B. for sharing their book recommendations.

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