Deer Valley High’s Divine Voices sing at Moscone Center on Monday, December 15, 2014.

Deer Valley High’s Divine Voices performed for an audience of 3,600 during the 83rd annual California School Boards Association education conference, held in San Francisco’s Moscone Center on Monday, December 15.

The award-winning group was one of only two school choirs to be asked to perform. About 30 other high school choirs submitted audition tapes.

Superintendent Donald Gill, who was in attendance during the live performance said “They were phenomenal.”

The three-song performance, which was streamed live throughout the state, was given a standing ovation.

Special thanks to Antioch School Board Trustee Barbara Cowan for providing this information and photo.

Dear Editor:

On behalf of El Campanil Theatre Preservation Foundation, I would like to thank all of those involved with our recent Gift Basket Raffle Fundraiser. Our goal was to sell 1000 tickets and raise $10,000. We met our goal and exceeded it by nearly $500! We congratulate our winners Floyd Furgeson of Discovery Bay, Leslie Munson of Antioch and Ali Shironi of Antioch.

A very important part of any raffle is the prize donors. We are very thankful that Southwest Airlines, Disneyland and many local businesses donated the wonderful prizes which were a part of each gift basket.

I want to let our Executive Director and Board know how much their time and support in procuring prizes and selling tickets is appreciated.

Finally, we are all eternally grateful to every person who purchased at least one raffle ticket during these past few months.

As a Board, we are committed to do everything possible to continue to sustain our local landmark and treasure, El Campanil Theatre, bringing quality entertainment close to home at affordable prices.

Ron Yarolimek

Foundation Board President

By Vicki Dendy

The Arts & Cultural Foundation of Antioch is proud to present The 10th Annual Local Artist Collection, featuring 35+ local artists at the Lynn House Gallery from November 22nd – December 13th. The exhibit is a diverse, non-themed mixed media exhibit of artworks featuring paintings, photographs and more. In its 10th year, the show is a local favorite and provides the community an opportunity to view and purchase local art during the holiday season.

The Contra Costa Open Studio event will be held Saturday & Sunday, November 22nd & 23rd (same day as the Local Artist Exhibit opening and artist reception). ACFA will be promoting their event and they will be promoting ours. It will be a great artistic weekend for participating artists and artist supporters. Our hours for the weekend will be 11-5 PM both Saturday and Sunday. This is a great opportunity for those artists who do not have a studio to be part of the annual tour.

ACFA will still celebrate the opening of the Local Artist Collection exhibit with our standard artist reception from 2-4 PM on Saturday, November 22nd. This is the chance for artists to bring their friends and family and meet other participating artists.Participating artists are: Amy Schmidt, Angela Denise Allen Simms, Betty Espindola, Beverly Knight, Beverly Turner, Carol Jurczak, Dan Kennedy, Easy Gonzalez, Gloria Cannon, Joel Summerhill, Julia Starr, Kay Kirby, Michele Eakin, Paul Schorr, Shirley DiMercurio, Richard Meyer, Sandy Gangwer, Anna Chunn, Ron Kronewitter, Sherry Cullison, Milian Correa, Richard Edwin Meyer, Jessica Boriack, Arturo Garcia, Clyde Cox, D.D. Chabot, Mary Negrete, Prudence Capelle, Elizabeth Westfall, Michele Brady, Adele Boyer, Karen Nelson Kelly and Paul Yang.

The Lynn House Gallery is located at 809 West First, in downtown Antioch. For more information, visit http://art4antioch.org/Local-Artist-Collection.asp, or contact Diane Gibson-Gray at the Arts & Cultural Foundationat (925) 325-9897 or e-mail Diane@art4antioch.org

The Lynn House Gallery is located at 809 W. 1st Street in Antioch (across from the Amtrak Train Station) and is open Wednesdays and Saturdays during exhibits from 1-4 PM.

Delta Blue by Robin Mayoff

Adamina by Rosalinda Grejsen

Local artists welcome the public into their studios and galleries the weekend of November 22 and 23 during the popular Contra Costa Open Studios event. Visitors are invited to meet the artists, enjoy a wide variety of original fine art and shop for unique, creative gifts. Many of the artists will be demonstrating their techniques and some will offer hands-on art activities.

Five studio groups and two galleries are participating, with locations in Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley and Discovery Bay. The Lynn House Gallery will be open special hours, November 22 and 23, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., to showcase its 10th Annual Local Artist Collection. The public can meet those artists at a free reception Saturday, November 22, 2 to 4 p.m. at the Lynn House Gallery, 809 West First Street in downtown Antioch.

Each location will have its own unique personality, so visitors are encouraged to plan a fun weekend of studio-hopping. All locations will be open Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For a complete guide to the artists and a studio map visit www.contracostaopenstudios.com.

Smartfood Popcorn And Movie Critic Ben Lyons Celebrate National Popcorn Month By Unveiling America’s At-Home Movie And TV-Watching Habits

PLANO, Texas (Oct. 7, 2014) – In celebration of National Popcorn Month, movie critic Ben Lyons and Smartfood Popcorn, the No. 1 ready-to-eat popcorn brand* from PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division, went to the polls with a survey on American at-home movie and TV-watching habits, honoring America’s go-to popcorn eating occasion. Among the interesting results, the survey revealed more than two-thirds of respondents are staying home and prefer a movie night from the comfort of their couch over a night out at the movie theater, and 70 percent of respondents indicated they prefer to pace themselves rather than marathon-watch a television or movie series. Additionally, when asked when they would most likely reach for the popcorn while watching a movie, 78 percent of respondents indicated they get a hankering for the snack during exciting or happy moments, as opposed to only 22 percent during sad or scary moments.

“Throughout the year I spend lot of my time at film festivals and big movie premieres, but the truth is, I also love a relaxing night at home enjoying a good movie or my favorite TV shows,” said Ben Lyons. “I’m not surprised that in the survey, Americans agreed that buying the right variety of snacks is the best way to make a movie night at home feel special. So, a fun way for movie fans to celebrate National Popcorn Month is to stay at home with some Smartfood popcorn and enjoy a great film.”

Additional survey results revealed:

·         Not feeling nostalgia:  The all-important decision between watching a new movie or an old favorite swayed in favor of the latest and greatest, with 62 percent of respondents indicating they most often watch new movies versus old ones.

·         Book vs. movie – A battle of the sexes:  With so many literary works turned into movies, men and women stand divided on what should be enjoyed first – the book or the movie.  Sixty-two percent of women say reading the book is a must before watching the movie version, compared to 53 percent of men preferring the move first.

·         Slow and steady beats marathon viewing:  When choosing to binge-watch movies or a television series, the average number of episodes enjoyed per sitting is a whopping seven, however, 70 percent of Americans indicate a preference to pace themselves rather than taking on a marathon session.

As a smart snacking choice that’s air popped with great taste, and doesn’t use artificial flavors or preservatives, Smartfood is a flavorful snacking choice and the perfect complement to at-home movie night. For a reduced-fat** snacking spin, Smartfood Delight Popcorn offers snack fans a tasty way to enjoy delicious flavors at 35 calories per cup. Available in two varieties, Sea Salt and White Cheddar, Smartfood Delight popcorn is 100 percent whole-grain popcorn, gluten free and contains no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.

To celebrate National Popcorn Month, Smartfood and Lyons invite popcorn fans to enjoy a Smartfood flavor with their favorite kind of “flick:”

·         Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn – perfect for a family favorite

·         Smartfood Movie Theater Butter Popcorn – perfect for an action-packed Hollywood blockbuster

·         Smartfood Kettle Corn Popcorn – perfect for a romantic comedy

·         Smartfood Cinnamon Brown Sugar – perfect for a holiday classic

·         Smartfood Delight Sea Salt Popcorn– perfect for a critically acclaimed film

·         Smartfood Delight White Cheddar Popcorn – perfect for a feel-good chick flick

Wakefield Research conducted the Smartfood National Popcorn Month survey online with 1,000 nationally representative U.S. adults ages 18+ from September 15, 2014 – September 19, 2014.

For more information, visit www.smartfood.com or www.facebook.com/Smartfood.

About Smartfood

Smartfood is one of the many brands that make up Frito-Lay North America, the $13 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY.  Learn more about Smartfood at www.facebook.com/smartfood  and Frito-Lay at the corporate website, http://www.fritolay.com, the Snack Chat blog, http://www.snacks.com/ and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fritolay.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $66 billion in net revenue in 2013, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our goal to deliver top-tier financial performance while creating sustainable growth in shareholder value. In practice, Performance with Purpose means providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; finding innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment and reduce our operating costs; providing a safe and inclusive workplace for our employees globally; and respecting, supporting and investing in the local communities where we operate. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

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* Smartfood® is America’s #1 Selling Popcorn Brand based on 2013 retail sales data from Information Resources, Inc.

** Regular Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn has 10 g of total fat per 1-oz. serving. Smartfood Delight Sea Salt Popcorn has 7 g of total fat per 1-oz. serving. Smartfood Delight White Cheddar Popcorn has 5 g of total fat per 1-oz. serving.