The Video Club’s “2021 Goldies Awards,” an hour-long compilation of all 10 of the 4-minute entries in the Video Club’s Annual Short Video Contest, along with interviews with the three winners, airs on Village Television Sundays at 2:30 pm throughout May. The show was produced and edited by Suzanne Savlov. Light-hearted commentary is provided by hosts Susan Wheeler and Bill Hemburger.
The contest, open to club members, was held via Zoom on February 18, with top awards going to Stephanie Brasher, first place, for “The Brig Pilgrim”; John Glassco, second place, for “Lego Houdini”; and Don Hill, third place, for “The Year 2020 in 4 Minutes.” Fifty-two participants attended with members present voting for the awards – which were dubbed “Goldies” in 2020 in honor of the club’s benefactor, the Golden Rain Foundation, as well as club members themselves – “golden oldies.”
This year’s offerings were varied, including a stop-motion animation, a travelogue highlighting lions at rest and play in Africa, and a mini-documentary focusing on lighthouses along the Oregon coast.
A “surprise” video was played during the vote-counting, when Vice President Tom Nash introduced Nikol Ivanova, a 15-year-old photography student from Bulgaria, who had submitted a two-minute video, having heard about the contest through her photography school. Although, as a non-member, Nikol was not not eligible to compete, she was up at 5 am Bulgarian time to attend the Zoom meeting. In her video, “Passion,” a young girl plays the piano and shares her love for music.
Normally the Short Video Contest is the centerpiece of an elegant sit-down banquet, complete with live music and wine at every table. This year would have been the club’s 11th Annual Awards Banquet, according to President Steve Carman, who emceed the evening on Zoom, describing the 2021 crop of entries as “some of the best ever.” Actual presentation of the Goldies may take place at the club’s Annual Summer BBQ, tentatively set for Thursday, August 19, at 5 pm in the Pocket Park behind the Video Lab.
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In May, “Beyond the Gates,” seen Wednesdays at 11 am on Village Television, features the Balboa Peninsula and Balboa Island of Newport Beach. With co-host Susan Wheeler and Bill Hemberger, you will learn about the history and current operations of the Balboa Island Ferry. You will visit historic Balboa Pavilion, the two piers, miles of beautiful white sand beaches, and the “wedge” — famous for high waves. At the Balboa Island Museum of Newport Beach, you will learn that seven of the eight islands in the harbor are man-made and how they came to be made. As always, you will discover great ideas of places to visit all within a short drive of the Village.
“Beyond the Gates” is produced and edited by Suzanne Savlov with Tom Nash as advisor to the show. Among the crew are Jack Crawbuck heading photography with John Glassco as a camera operator. Wolfgang Kutter was this month’s segment producer. Segment producers are needed to help plan individual “Beyond the Gates” shows. If you have knowledge of a local community and would like to get involved, please contact Suzanne at sedonasue1@gmail.com. No technical skills are required.
View some episodes of “Beyond the Gates” on this YouTube playlist.
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“Laguna Woods Stories” airs on Village Television Wednesdays and Sundays at 12 noon, hosted and produced by Tom Nash. The May show features a re-run of a show about the 2019 Centenarian Photo Project, when 16 Laguna Woods Village residents over age 100 were photographed in portraits composed to match pictures of their younger selves and were interviewed on video about their lives.. Tom talks with co-directors of the project Lucy Parker and Mark Rabinowitch and Betsy Martin, who coordinated centenarian scheduling. The Centenarian Photo Project was co-sponsored by the Thrive Task Force and the Video and Camera Clubs.
Videos containing interviews with all of the participating centenarians may be viewed on Village Television’s YouTube channel.
View some episodes of “Laguna Woods Stories” on this YouTube playlist.
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“Jazzing Around,” a new half-hour, monthly music TV series produced by Fred Harshbarger, Facilitator of Video One Productions, airs Sundays at 6:30 pm on Village Television. The performances are all original videos shot by Fred at West Coast jazz festivals and other venues. In May, “Jazzing Around #2” features Gino with Todd Morgan playing “Rock Around the Clock,” Uptown Low Down JB playing “Doctor Jazz,” High Sierra JB playing “Winin’ Boy Blues,” Bay City Swing Band playing “In the Mood,” and Larry Fresch playing “Mack the Knife.”
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“Video Club Spotlight,” produced by Video One Productions Facilitator Fred Harshbarger, features a half-hour of short videos by Video Club members. It airs Sundays at 4 pm. “Spotlight #10” for May will include videos on golf by Sunshine Moody, on baboons by Fred Harshbarger, and on Spain by Suzanne Savlov.
In June, “Spotlight #11” will include a video on Turkey by Tom Nash, “Mucki and Max” by Chuck Hale, a video on Maasai dancers by Fred Harshbarger, and the 2021 Goldie Award-winning video “Lego Houdini” by John Glassco.
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“Welcome to My Home,” a half-hour, monthly series produced by Suzanne Savlov with the Video One Productions team, continues in re-runs Mondays at 9:30 am and Thursdays at 10 am on Village Television. The series features Village residents born and raised outside the United States who invite viewers into their homes to share their cultures and foods. In May’s program, we meet Russian-born Vladamir Manyak. Shooting has been halted during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Suzanne plans to resume production when possible and is looking for residents born and raised abroad who would like to participate. Contact her with suggestions at sedonasue1@gmail.com.
View some episodes of “Welcome to My Home” on this YouTube playlist.
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DISCOVERING LAGUNA WOODS – Wednesdays and Sundays at 9:30 am. Learn what’s new and interesting in the Village. In May, Video Club member Cyndee Whitney, host of the show, meets Ellyce Rothrock, editor of the Village’s quarterly full-color magazine, The Village Breeze. A member of the Village Management Services Marketing and Communications team, Ellyce has been a writer and editor for over two decades and studied professional writing at Purdue University. This show is produced by Village TV.
To view past episodes of “Discovering Laguna Woods,” click on this YouTube playlist.
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THE WRITE NOW SHOW – Sundays at 12:30 am, Mondays at 11 am, Fridays at 10:30 am. Meet local authors and other creative types in this long-running show. Hosts are Video Club members Charlie Redner and Judy Saxon, who interview the author of In Pillness and in Health, Henriette Ivanas. She Zoomed in from Winnipeg, Canada. In addition to discussing her drug addiction and two kidney transplants, she talks about her success with self-publishing. Her book reached number one on Amazon for the transplant category. This show is produced by Village TV.
To view past episodes of “The Write Now Show,” click on this YouTube playlist.
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THE THRIVE SHOW – Thursdays at 9:30 am, Sundays at 10:30 am. Find out how residents are thriving in the Village. Produced by Village resident and professional videographer Scott Marvel, a Video Club Past-President and instructor. In May, Scott shares a re-run of the hijinks enjoyed during the Village’s 2018 Woodstock celebration.
To view past episodes of “The Thrive Show,” click on this YouTube playlist.
To keep up with current Laguna Woods Village Television programming, view or download the monthly schedule .
videocluboflagunawoods.com 
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