The Repertory East Playhouse will open the highly anticipated "81 Series" on Friday, April 20, at 8:00pm with the award-winning drama, Spinning Into Butter by Rebecca Gilman. Spinning Into Butter explores the dangers of both racism and political correctness in America today. When one of the few African-American students at liberal Belmont College begins receiving hate mail, the campus erupts - first with shock, then with mutual recrimination as faculty and students alike try to prove their own tolerance by condemning one another.

It's springtime again when windows are raised and gentle breezes bring the fragrance of her blooms to beckon us outdoors. And no bloom beckons us like the Queen of Flowers - the rose. On April 29, the Santa Clarita Valley Rose Society kicks off the spring season with tours of two private rose gardens at members' homes, followed by other exciting events throughout the year.

Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital recently paid tribute to its volunteers, recognizing them for going the extra mile to make a difference in their community by helping staff and patients at the Valencia hospital. During the special luncheon held April 18 at the Hyatt Valencia, Roger Seaver, the hospital's president/CEO, praised the Henry Mayo's approximately 270 volunteers for unselfishly giving their time for the betterment of their community.

7pm at Robinson Ranch Club House
Meet and mingle with Santa Clarita's finest singles crowd while enjoying $9 appetizers like coconut shrimp skewers, crab-stuffed mushrooms and baby back ribs. Guests of Robinson Ranch's singles night, held in the exquisite Club House, can also partake in wine specials ($6 a glass), $6 apple martinis and cosmos, and a large variety of on-tap beers ($5).

Robinson Ranch
27734 Sand Canyon Road
Santa Clarita, 91387
661-252-8484

7pm at the Vines Restaurant & Bar
Meet and mingle at the Vines Restaurant & Bar, located inside the Hyatt in Valencia. Enjoy drink and appetizer specials while looking for Mr./Ms. Right.

Vines Restaurant & Bar
Located inside the Hyatt Hotel
24500 Town Center Drive
Valencia, California 91355
661-799-1234

City Manager Ken Pulscamp took the title of Newsmaker of the Year (and not far off, Assistant City Manager Ken Striplin wiped away a tear of joy). Scott Wilk, the Susan Lucci of the Newsmakers, finally went home with a prize, too; he won for Behind the Scenes. And who's that sexy man who traded his normally plaid attire for a bona fide suit? Yes siree, that's one of Inside SCV Magazine's own publishers, Wayne Crawford (he also owns a little company called Santa Clarita Concrete), who won the award for Community Service.

Break out the bell-bottoms, dust off the love beads and put some flowers in your hair. We're not going to San Francisco, but we are headed for the Soroptimists' "Flashback to the Sixties" fundraising auction. The 32nd installment of the annual event promises to be groovy, says Cynthia Eichler, who serves as auction chair for the Santa Clarita Valley Chapter of Soroptimists International. "We try to keep it fun and light-hearted so our donors can come and have a good time while helping us raise money," she says.

When Santa Clarita resident Colleen Shaffer learned in 2002 that her breast cancer had spread, she also learned she'd live six months unless her body responded to treatment. But Shaffer is a fighter. She is a cancer survivor. She will probably be on chemotherapy for the rest of her life, but today that life knows no predictable time limits. Statistics do not define her, and you won't find her measuring life based on somebody else's actuary table. If you're looking for Colleen Shaffer, you will find her doing what she has done since her battle with breast cancer began in 1999.

7pm at the TPC Valencia
TPC at Valencia will host our next popular singles event and will provide a sophisticated setting for the 100 plus singles in attendance. Warm up with appetizer and drink specials, then search out your lucky match. This event is free and we look forward to meeting you!

TPC Valencia
26550 Heritage View Lane
Valencia, 91381
661-288-1995

It's a summer sight even those who don't follow sports can't miss. Hundreds of thousands of the world's most rabid cycling fans line the roadways of rural France for a glimpse of cyclists whizzing by at speeds in excess of 60 miles per hour. By the race's end, most of those fans spill into Paris, hoping to catch sight of the rider wearing the yellow jersey - the rider who will win the Tour De France. On February 24, residents of Santa Clarita will find themselves in the grips of a similar bicyclers' paradise when the second annual Amgen Tour of California will run stage six of its seven-stage, eight-day racing event. The stage starts in Santa Barbara, winds 105 miles through Ojai and Santa Paula, and completes a trio of circuits through Santa Clarita before finishing at Valencia Town Center.

There are just some things you grow to count on in the movin' and shakin' world of Santa Clarita. Dessert in the Hyatt ballroom will always taste like cheesecake, even if it's called Peach Flan Fondue. Cheri and Don Fleming will always be the first to leave an event so that Don can get his beauty sleep. And Shelley Hann's hair will always be longer than Bob Hudson's bar tab. Except that Hann turned our world of truisms upside down on New Year's Eve at Tournament Players Club when she arrived without her signature uber-long strands.

If you have reason to visit the Providence Holy Cross Health Center in Valencia anytime soon, you're going to catch an interesting sight inside the center's main lobby. You're going to see 16 pieces of very special art, created by very special people for a very special cause. The art pieces represent the best of a wealth of pieces created by nearly 150 children from Santa Clarita's Sulpher Springs School District as part of the newly-formed Art of Healing program.

Love. We all want it. More addictive than illegal narcotics and tougher to find, love is the most intense emotion. From the roller coaster ride of a budding romance to the favorite-jeans feel of a long-established relationship, love has led to wars, dethroned kings and inspired poems. Without love our world would be as gray as cloudy winter's day. Love confounds us. We celebrate Saint Valentine's Day, but scholars aren't sure which Saint Valentine prompted the holiday. The origins are shrouded in mystery like love itself; we can't describe how to create love any more than we can explain how to dream. For something everyone has experienced love is awfully puzzling.

With food this good, you'll wish that Cupid's mandatory meal out came more than once a year.

Yummy "to-go" call-ahead breakfasts Jodi's Breakfast Burrito (scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage or chorrizo, potatoes, cheese and black beans with sides of sour cream, guacamole and salsa). Abbey Lane Cafe is located at 25810 West Hemingway Avenue in Stevenson Ranch; 661-254-3090

7pm at the Roast House
Cupid might strike early this year if you attend our popular singles events! Join the fun at the Roast House as over 100 fantastic singles mix and mingle while enjoying appetizer and drink specials, live music and more.

Roast House
26532 Bouquet Canyon Road
Santa Clarita, 91350
661-296-3866

What can $10 buy you these days? Perhaps lunch, or coffee for a couple of days, or maybe a few gallons of gas. It seems like an almost insignificant amount of money when measured against everyday living expenses. But $10 goes a long way at the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center, which offers a wide array of services designed to help more than 30,000 local seniors maintain their independence, dignity and quality of life. So, it's not surprising why the center's annual campaign currently under way is named $10 Bucks to a Better Future.

It's Friday evening and you're thumbing through the local movie theater listings. Nothing new there - a pair of predictable sequels, another inane romantic comedy and a handful of big-on-the-budget, small-on-the-story "blockbusters" you'd rather wait to catch on DVD. Disappointed, you set the paper aside and resign yourself to another Friday-night pilgrimage to Blockbuster or worse, another night sacrificed on the altar of cable or satellite TV. But it doesn't have to end like this.

It's the new year! Time to get back into the swing of things and make a resolution to enjoy delicious meals out on the town at the many fine Santa Clarita Valley restaurants listed below. This month's selections will make your mouth water; dine on!

At this time of year we joyfully revel in tradition. Decorating a tree, sharing a family meal, singing carols; they're all part of the season. But the carols were written long ago. This is the 21st century. Our modern world has lost the meaning of those songs from bygone eras. Look at "The Twelve Days of Christmas." In our super-sized society, it's unlikely any lords, much less 10 of them, will leap any appreciable distance. And no one gives birds as gifts anymore. Geese? Not only does the humane society recommend against animal gifts, but have you looked at a modern SCV tract house lot lately?

Yeah, there were plenty of photogenic people who attended the Boys & Girls Club's Festival of Trees this year, but the award for "best dressed" didn't go to any of them; it went to the stars of the fest: the trees. Still, since this column is called "Movers & Shakers," we figured that the tree closest to our theme was the Loose Goose/RSVP wine tree. See, after you partake in its grapey goodness, you'll be a'movin' and a'shakin'. Ha! Ha?