The Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club is meeting on Wednesday, May 30th at 5:30 p.m. for a special Annual Meeting at the Clubhouse. This meeting is critical to the election of directors and officers for the 2012-2013 fiscal year which begins on June 1st. A review of past operations and current finances will be presented, as well. If you live in Rancho Santa Fe and want to make a difference in your community, consider volunteering to serve in the Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club. An active community organization, the Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club hosts monthly speakers and events and provides support for residents who want to garden at their Rancho Santa Fe homes.

Upcoming club events include Great Decisions, Pot Luck Bridge, Mah Jong, Senior Gleaners, Dames at Sea North Coast Rep Theater, Rancho Days, Petals and Prose, and much more. Volunteers can help with field trips, hospitality, mailings, programs, publicity, photography, and in many other areas, so bring any talents and experience you possess and join in with like-minded individuals at the Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club. Attend the upcoming meeting to find out how you can participate or click here or call 858.756.1554 to learn more.

May 10th is a busy day if you live in Rancho Santa Fe! Along with being a hectic week of STAR testing for Rancho Santa Fe School District students, it is also the day to support Rady Children’s Hospital Auxiliary, through the Rancho Santa Fe Unit. Park Hyatt Aviara Resort and Ranch & Coast Magazine will be hosting a pre-Mother’s Day fundraising reception that evening, on Thursday, May 10, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. If you want to enjoy an evening away from your Rancho Santa Fe home while supporting a worthy cause, this may be the perfect event for you.

Designer jewelry created by Roberto Coin allows attendees the chance to find the perfect Mother’s Day gift, while wine, appetizers and opportunity prizes provide even more opportunities to contribute to the Rady Children’s Hospital. A true delight, Moms can view and even try on pieces from the Roberto Coin collection and create a wish list (including photos), making it easy to share which selections they would enjoy. Gift “givers” will then have the opportunity to review the list and make purchases, as appropriate. Ten percent of funds generated by that evening (and by May 31st) will be donated to the children’s hospital by Roberto Coin. You can RSVP (required) here.To find out other ways you can donate directly, please click here.

The Rancho Santa Fe Community Center has plenty to keep your active children (pre-school and older) busy and learning, ALL summer long, if you live in Rancho Santa Fe! Classes are offered with a variety of start times and on multiples days, giving you the best chance to plan a great summer!  Registration has already begun so take the time to go through the catalog now so you can sign up for the classes, camps and workshops that will most benefit your child, close to your Rancho Santa Fe home.  With many engaging and interesting topics to explore and talents to learn at the Rancho Santa Fe Community Center, you may find your summer keeps you very close to home this year!

Camps and classes begin June 18th and run through August 24th and are offered at a wide variety of times, from water sports and fitness to music and crafts, Legos and safaris. The summer catalog is chock full of amazing opportunities for your children. Classes are offered for on weekdays and are determined by age and skill level. To learn more, call the Rancho Santa Fe Community Center at 858.756.2461 or click here.  Office hours for RSFCC are Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

This year’s annual Rancho Santa Fe Community Center 2012 Annual Gala is scheduled for Saturday, May 12th, from 5 to 11 p.m. Plan now to join in the glamour at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe where you can enjoy hors d’oeuvres, dinner, and drinks, followed by dancing courtesy of Atomic Groove! An evening of excitement and friends near your Rancho Santa Fe home, the night’s theme is Club 92067 and is sure to be a hit! Dress in your best “Rock Star Glam” or Cocktail Attire to better match the theme. Spread the word to all your friends who live in Rancho Santa Fe as this will be a night to remember. Ticket prices are $250 per member and $275 for non-members.

The Gala will include both a live auction and silent auction, as well as an opportunity drawing for all attendees. This event raises funds to keep the more than 100 programs offered through the Rancho Santa Fe Community Center active and well-staffed.  You can support the Gala through your attendance or through a personal or corporate sponsorship and/or auction donation. You can access event sponsorship and donation forms by clicking here. Please call 858.756.2461 with any questions regarding event sponsorship, tickets or other details or e-mail Events@RSFCC.org.

The Rancho Santa Fe Library Book Club is featuring The Sandalwood Tree by Ellie Newmark as their May Book Club selection. Join this group of engaging adults for an animated discussion near your Rancho Santa Fe home on Friday, May 11th at 2:00 p.m. The novel takes place in a war-torn India in 1947, when an American anthropologist, Martin Mitchell and his wife Evie journey to India to study. This novel will transport you far from your home in Rancho Santa Fe as you experience the exotic tastes and cultures of Bombay without even having to travel.

While there, alternate plans take them to a small village where Evie finds a series of letters from nearly a decade earlier that share a fascinating story of love and war. Evie discovers dark secrets and intrigue as she explores bazaars and the temples of India and the society of the British Raj, as she tries to piece together the story told by the letters. Amazingly vivid detail imagery of India combined with the intrigue of betrayal and forgiveness, fate and love, create a quite unique tale.The library is located at 17040 Avenida de Acacias and you can get more information about their various programs by clicking here.

Rancho Santa Fe home owners and their dogs can enjoy Hornblower Pet Day on the Bay on May 12th. A fundraiser for the Helen Woodward Animal Center, this event allows your canine to cruise in style for an hour-long tour at 10:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m., or 1:30 p.m., although pictures and actual boarding starts thirty minutes before cruise launch time. Adults cost $23, but dogs are free for the cruise (one dog per adult, please). Each participant will enjoy the one-hour narrated cruise focusing on the landmarks of San Diego as well seeing military ships and plenty of marine life. It’s a great way to spend the day away without traveling too far from your Rancho Santa Fe home.
A towel & blanket fundraiser will take place aboard the Adventure Hornblower, as well, if you can bring one. Both indoor and outdoor seating is available and a well-stocked snackbar will be available for the purchase of snacks, adult beverages and soft drinks, along with souvenirs and photos. This event is sponsored by Petco and Port of San Diego and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Helen Woodward Animal Center. All dogs over six months old are welcome, provided they and their owners follow the rules. Guidelines for dog and human behavior can be found here. Call 619.686.8700 for more information.

Mainly Mozart has added more performances to their schedule and one will be happening close to your Rancho Santa Fe home!  Sunday, April 29th, you can join talented performers at The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe for Mozart’s Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, K. 478, and Beethoven’s Piano Quartet in E-flat, Op. 16.  Part of the San Diego Mainly Mozart Festival, this concert is a rare treat for families who live in Rancho Santa Fe to be able to listen to performers from Opus One, featuring Ida Kavafian on the violin, Steven Tenenbom playing viola, Peter Wiley playing cello, and Anne-Marie McDermott accompanying with the piano. The evening will begin with a pre-concert wine reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by the 6:30 p.m. concert and tickets are available for $75.  A dinner following the concert is available for purchase as well for $70. The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe will sponsor another Mainly Mozart series on Thursday, May 31, 2012, if you are unable to attend this month.

Mainly Mozart is an organization dedicated to bringing the music of Mozart and other Masters to San Diego residents. By blending leading musicians from top orchestras and chamber ensembles from throughout the nation, Maestro David Atherton and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott have been able to introduce magnificent musical presentations on a very local level. To find out more about the Mainly Mozart organization, please click here.

Youth and their families who live in Rancho Santa Fe have some exciting activities coming up later this month.  On Friday, April 20th, third through sixth graders can join in some dodge ball fun at the Rancho Santa Fe Community Center Gym.  Third and fourth graders can play from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m. and sixth graders can have the court from 5 to 6:30 p.m under the guidance of Coach Mike Rausa. Cost is $20 per child and $15 for each additional sibling for a great time near your Rancho Santa Fe home.

The Rancho Santa Fe Community Center will also be holding a Family Lip Synch contest on Friday, May 18th, but sign ups start next week on Tuesday April 17th, at 3 p.m.  That gives you just enough time to pull together your family act so you can all be stars!  This year’s theme is #1 Hits from the past thirty years and songs must be less than ninety seconds in length.  To register, at least one participant must be present at the signups and all participant fees must be paid ($25 each).  Each participant will receive a hot dog, drink and chips as part of the entry fee, and onlookers will be charged $10 the night of the event and receive a meal as well.   The last day to sign up as an act is April 24th and you can call James Northum at 858.756.2461 for song ideas.  Click here for more details.

Parents with children can sometimes find it difficult to secure childcare and learning opportunities for their young children not yet in school.  This week a long-standing institution of Rancho Santa Fe, Happy Time Nursery School celebrated it’s 50th birthday!  If you live in Rancho Santa Fe, you’ve likely heard the praises sung of this unique “magical” private preschool, which teaches listening and speaking skills alongside pony rides and afternoon teas.  If you haven’t heard of Happy Time Nursery School and have a home in Rancho Santa Fe and a child between two and a half and six years of age, you’ll be happy to know that they currently have one opening.

Offering music, Spanish, gymnastics, tidiness and good manners, Happy Time Nursery School has earned a reputation of excellence and is well loved by the families and children that attend.  A garden, chickens, story and sandbox time all are part of the curriculum as well, as Owner Mary Ann Tessary and her staff of nine seek to provide a well-rounded and enjoyable learning environment to all students.  To learn more about Happy Time Nursery School and view photos of daily routines, click here.  You can also call Happy Time Nursery at 858.756.3694 to find out more information.

Planning a trip away for Spring Break but aren’t sure where to take your pets?  Club Pet, at the Helen Woodward Center’s Campus near your home in Rancho Santa Fe, offers the best in care for your critters.  Seeking to provide your dog, cat, bird or exotic pet a “home away from home,” you can rest assured that your animal will be tended to emotionally, physically, safely and attentively.  Even if you are not going away, you can take advantage of the premier “daycare” and grooming packages offered so close to your Rancho Santa Fe home.

At Club Pet you can even keep an eye on your animal while you are away through their webcam service, 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Medical needs, walks, interactive play and even snuggle time are all offered at Club Pet, allowing your dog or cat a fun time while you vacation, too.  Plus, proceeds from your pet’s stay benefit the pets in need  at the Helen Woodward Center.  Keep in mind that you need to book your pet’s stay as soon as possible, as space does fill.  You can check here for a coupon redeemable through May 24th.