Culver City Observer -

Here’s an opportunity to enjoy a great local trio: Next Tuesday, August 3rd from 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. the popular "Mystic Knights Trio" will perform for one evening only at Ugo Wine Bar,3865 Cardiff Ave., Culver City. You may have previously enjoyed their tunes at the Culver Hotel and Rush Street, so now you can grab some tasty Italian food and/or wine and hear Culver City's own Martin (Sonny "B") Bennett on percussion, Dave Melton on guitar, and Roger Handy on harmonica and vocals perform a wide variety of American Roots Music.

Wasn’t that Martha Stewart? Nope, it was Martha Roda‘s elegant table setting that caught everyone’s eye at last Thursday eve’s Culver City Music Festival in the City Hall courtyard. Some folks really know how to party!

Birthday greetings go out to Mike Landau, Steve Hadland, Ellen Plach, Darlene Wassertheur, Addison Myers, Nicole Rhoden, Stefanie Tepley, Marsha Heath, Christopher LaCroix, Donna Moore, David Webb, Evalon Witt, Barbara Williams, Ilene Cohen, John McBurnie, John Mandeville, Augustine Dominguez, Young Sook Lee, Kirsten Wagner, Susan Anderson, Asaka Ogihara, Kevin O’Sullivan, Dilshad Rahman, Albeina Estaban, Nikki Booker, Ilene French, John Johnson, Adriano Lim, Sean Markham, and Carlina Torres.

The Culver City Garden Club will hold its “Show Awards Potluck Dinner” next

Tuesday, August 3, 2010, at 7:00 p.m.in the Garden Room of the Culver City Veterans Memorial Building, 4117 Overland Ave. at Culver Blvd. There will be the usual Plant “Show, Tell & Ask”, session, but no Plant Raffle (this meeting only). Members are asked to bring their membership renewal form and payment and will be signing up for a two-hour shift at the club’s booth at the August 28-29 Fiesta LaBallona. For more information contact larryebner@netscape.net.

Happy Birthday wishes also go to Culver City Rotary Plaza, offering apartment living for more than 100 seniors and disabled adults, celebrating its 25th anniversary in August. It’s also the 50th anniversary of Retirement Housing Foundation (RHF), Rotary Plaza’s managing partner. The Culver City Rotary Club, working with the City’s Redevelopment Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) saw the need for affordable housing and RHF was contracted to manage the site in 1985. More than just a residential property, Rotary Plaza has served as a polling place as well as opened its doors to speakers, health clinics, and musical events. Want to join the party and help celebrate? Drop in next Thursday, August 5th at Culver City Rotary Plaza, 5100 Overland Avenue. For more information contact the office at (310) 559-2311.

Congratulations to new Culver City Lions Club president Elliot Heffler, who’s busily lining up members of the pride to work their water-and-t-shirt booth at the upcoming Fiesta LaBallona. The speaker at last week’s Lions luncheon meeting was well-received; popular CCPD Public Relations Officer Ron Iizuka provided statistics on the force, crime rates, and more. (Lt. Iizuka, who works the 6:00 p.m. – 4:00 a.m. shift, probably needed a nap, but was still able to present a great program!)

There’s lots of summer left, and still time for your tot to enjoy the Culver-Palms Family YMCA’s Summer Preschool Program. The YMCA Preschool offers Science, Multi- Cultural, Environmental Awareness, Character Development, Music and Movement and Language Development Opportunities. Well-rounded programs encourage independence, exploration, self-esteem and developmental growth in your child. The activities that are planned, the way the environment is organized, the selected toys and materials, and the daily schedule plan, are all designed to accomplish the goals of the High Scope Curriculum. For more information, contact Azmara Sourjah at (310) 391-2595. The Y is located at 4500 So. Sepulveda Blvd., next door to the Culver-Palms United Presbyterian Church, the preschool site.