Reyes Adobe Days kicks off

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers GOOD TIMES—Grand Marshal Terri Nunn enjoys a moment during the Reyes Adobe Days kickoff party in Agoura Hills. The fourth annual Reyes Adobe Days, an Agoura Hills festival featuring entertainment, music, cultural activities and recreation for all ages, will feature several new events this year, city officials said during a Sept. 11 kickoff event.

The three-day festival will be Friday through Sunday, Oct. 3, 4 and 5. Activities will take place at various locations in the city, culminating at the Reyes Adobe historical site.

Amy Brink, director of community services, told guests at last week's kickoff at the Adobe that the historic rancho has been called the "little adobe that could."

Agoura Hills recreation manager Donna Conlin said Reyes Adobe Days has grown into a regional event. "People come from miles and miles away."

"Reyes Adobe Days is all about family and all about what the best of Agoura Hills is," Conlin said.

The annual "Hay Fever" event for teens on Fri., Oct. 3 will lure children ages 10 to 15 to the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center in Calabasas. A portable skate park and Comedy Sportz, improvisational comedy games, are added attractions this year, Conlin said. Kids will also be treated to henna tattoos and other goodies during the evening, which will run from 7 to 10 p.m. The event is co-sponsored by the cities of Agoura Hills, Calabasas and Westlake Village, as well as the community center.

"We need to get the kids out of the house," Conlin said.

Another new feature of the festival is "Night at the Adobe, Conlin said. Adults are invited to the historical site for a sneak preview of the weekend art exhibition, featuring local artists, while enjoying a candlelight reception and wine tasting sponsored by Wade Wines. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. An RSVP to the Agoura Hills Department of Recreation is required to attend Night at the Adobe. Call (818) 597-7361.

Agoura Hills Mayor John Edelston recognized the importance of the Sept. 11 kickoff date and thanked members of the local fire and sheriff's departments in attendance.

Edelston also thanked the large volunteer force that worked to put on the festival. He said the 160 volunteers worked hundreds of hours, which was comparable to having one person working full time for an entire year.

Chocolate art

Several artists will be showcased at the Reyes Adobe Days art gallery, including featured artist Sheldon Borenstein, a television and feature film animation artist, college professor at California State University San Jose and owner of Sheldon's Art Academy in Oak Park. Borenstein is the resident Artist for the Reyes Adobe Historical Site.

Borenstein's paintings are displayed at Catalina's Artists Market Gallery as part of the masters' collection. He plans on presenting a body of work at the Reyes Adobe Art Gallery in acrylics and water colors, titled "Agoura Hills: The Good Life."

Original paintings, he said, will be sold at print prices. "I want to price them reasonably so people can afford them," he said.

A master draftsman based on the Renaissance period, Borenstein teaches art from the same school as Michaelangelo, and, like the master artist, he is a rule-breaker. Despite his talent creating art in watercolor, oil, acrylic painting, colored pencil and chalk, Borenstein says he enjoys using melted dark chocolate Milky Way candy bars as a medium to draw classic Renaissance figures. The effect, he says, is like a pastel drawing.

"I get to eat it when I'm done," Borenstein quipped.

Rock 'n' Roll

Grand Marshal Terri Nunn, a member of the band Berlin, told guests that she's lived in many cities— Malibu, Marina Del Rey, Bel Air and other cities, but Agoura Hills is her "favorite place to live."

"Agoura Hills is beautiful, safe and intimate," Nunn said. "People are friendly and welcoming."

In a subsequent interview, Nunn said she "fell in love with the beauty (of the city)." Other cities, she said, don't offer the same feelings of "community and peace."

Nunn, who continues to tour with Berlin, will perform at The Canyon on Oct. 24 and said she will release a new album in 2009.

Nunn also contributed to a book titled "Cherry Bomb: How to Live Life as a Rock Star." Nunn gives readers some dating advice and reveals secrets about her love life. She said she wrote about "how I dated and how I dumped (men and women)."

Nunn is now married with three children, ages 4 to 16.