News Briefs

Canyon Lake Triathlon and Fitness Club to Jan. 1 Polar Swim

A chilly January 1 tradition in Canyon Lake is back after a COVID-19 hiatus. Canyon Lakers looking for a thrill will jump into the lake as part of the Canyon Lake Triathlon and Fitness Club’s Polar Swim.

The January 1 event will take place at 10:00 a.m. at Sunset Beach.

After the plunge, hot chocolate will be given to each swimmer. Wetsuits are optional.

For more information, contact organizer George Hicks at 310-480-3401

Super Zinggs Santa Helpers accepting letters for Santa

Hey moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, it’s that time of year again. For the fifth year in a row, Canyon Lake’s Super Zinggs, Mike and Robyn Zingg along with agents Kristine Gonzales and Brenda Lou Zingg, are Santa’s little helpers. They are ready to help Santa send a personalized letter to each child, grandchild, niece, nephew or any other kiddo that might like to hear from Santa.

Here’s how it works. Just have the child write a letter to Santa and they will receive a letter back. If the letter is a family letter, then include all the children’s names and each child will get his or her own personalized letter.

“If you want to receive your letter to Santa back, then please let us know and we’ll send it back in a separate envelope,” Bren Lou said. “Santa knows how you like to keep those little momentos, so he’s happy to have them sent back to you.”

Every year, it seems more and more little ones write to Santa, so the Super Zinggs are asking that the letters be dropped off in Santa’s mailbox at 23211 Canyon Lake Drive North no later than Dec. 18.

Letters from Canyon Lake have already exceeded the 80 sent in from last year, so helpers are gearing up for even more letters this year.

“Santa says he enjoys getting letters from the parents, too,” Brenda Lou said. “He’s so touched by the warm sentiments that he receives in those personal letters.”

One mom wrote to Santa telling him that her young son was almost out of the believing stage and she hoped that a letter from Santa would help him believe just a little longer. Even those kids who live outside of Canyon Lake can participate. They can email their letters to  brendalou@coldwellbankerab.com and she’ll pass it along to one of Santa’s helpers.

“You can also take a photo or two of your little one dropping their special note to Santa in his mailbox and send it or email it to me,” Brenda Lou said. “I promise to forward those over to Santa’s helpers so Santa can see them.”

Letters have already started coming in and one mom said that her girls wrote letters last year and it was such a huge hit at their home getting letters back from Santa.

Deadline Wednesday for Family Matters Club Santa letters

The Canyon Lake Family Matters Club, along with local businesses, are teaming up to make Christmas special again for Canyon Lake’s children. Children who write letters to Santa will receive in return a letter and gift back from Santa as well as a reindeer food packet that can be sprinkled on lawns prior to the Big Day. Those writing letters should include their names, addresses and ages. Santa and his helpers will write the little ones back and those helper elves will pick an age-appropriate gift that will be handpicked for each child.

Letters must be dropped off no later than Wednesday in order to give Santa’s helpers time to respond and get those little gifts sorted out for the young ones.

Letters can be dropped off at 23457 Canyon Lake Drive North in Santa’s big mailbox.

The club said it would like to give a special thank you to the sponsors that are donating so these gifts can be distributed. They are Canyon Hills Plumbing, Patriotic Arms, Canyon Lake Hair Designs, Lake Lyf, Hauger Plumbing, Real Deals, Daisy Dukez, The Canyon Lake Women’s Club, Street Carts of Canyon Lake, Mr. Stix Moving, Bradley Morton, American Cancer Fighter and the Canyon Lake Family Matters Club.

2022 Concerts at the Lodge Series tickets on sale

Jim Messina is one of the four performing acts of The Canyon Lake POA 2022 Concerts at the Lodge Series. The recording star is known for his songs while half of the Loggins and Messina duo. Tickets for all four of the season’s concerts are now on sale on the Canyon Lake POA website.

The line up starts on Feb. 12 with David Nail, a country music star with four studio albums, 12 charted hit singles and 13 music videos. He was an ACM nominee twice and a Grammy nominee once. His concert  promises to be a powerful acoustic show.

Jim Messina will take the Lodge stage on April 16. In addition to his superstardom as Loggins and Messina, he also played previously in Buffalo Springfield and Pocco. He has sold 16 million records including five platinum albums and two gold albums. The April concert will feature a full band playing with him.

Don Dokken will be the third Lodge concert. He will perform on June 18. He is an iconic hard rock star who performed the lead vocals and was the front man for the glam metal band Dokken. The band has sold more than 10 million albums.

The Blasters will be the final concert of the 2022 season. The band will perform on Aug. 27. The Blasters are a rockabilly alternative rock and roll band and have six recorded albums. It is known for its sold out high energy live performances.

Tickets for the concerts can be purchased at canyonlakepoa.com/concerts.

Senior Center to hold New Year’s Eve party

Tickets are now available on Mondays from 10:00 a.m. to noon for the Annual New Year’s Eve party at the Canyon Lake Senior Center which will be taking place on Dec. 31. The big party, open to all in the community’s seniors, includes a gourmet dinner that will be served in addition to an evening filled with lively entertainment and dancing.

The party begins at 6:00 p.m. and won’t conclude until the New Year countdown and champagne toast at 10:00 p.m. Tickets are $37.50 each.

The sit down and served dinner will be prepared by a gourmet chef. The menu includes, Appetizer: caprese skewers, tomato bruschetta, assorted cheeses; Salad and rolls; Dinner: Crusted chicken breast, shrimp skewers, rice pilaf, grilled vegetables; and Dessert: cheesecake or trifle.

“A DJ will be playing the great music that all seniors love,” the center’s Marjean Marich said. “Everyone especially enjoys the different types of dancing. People are on their feet ‘mixing and mingling’ all evening…a truly amazing way to start a new year.”

Elegant decorations, party favors, and a group picture are all part of the party. Dress is semi-formal.

Tickets can be purchased on Mondays from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the Senior Center. Or tickets can be purchased by contacting either Fran Tibbets at 951-609-6553 or Pat Hermann at 515-371-1382.

For other information contact Marjean at 951-333-9918.

Family Matters Club to give volunteer scholarships

Anyone and everyone of any age, can earn scholarship money for college simply by volunteering with the Family Matters Club. This is a perfect opportunity for teens who need to get mandatory volunteer service hours to graduate and it’s a fun and easy way to give back to the community while earning those hours.

Hours will be tracked live on the Clubs FaceBook page until June 1st when hours will be calculated. All participants can track their hours and see their standing now through the June 1st cut off date. The scholarship and Presidential medal winners will be invited to an award ceremony and dinner event set for mid June.

There will be an Elinor Martin Volunteer Scholarship in the amount of $1000.00 awarded to the top volunteer. An Ed Strong Volunteer award in the amount of $500.00 will be awarded to the next top volunteer along with ten $100.00 scholarships going to the next ten volunteers who helped the most after the top two awards.

P.E.O. seeking women with interrupted education

Women whose education has been interrupted and who find it necessary to return to school to support themselves and/or their families, may be eligible for scholarships. The Canyon Lake Chapter of P.E.O, an international philanthropic and educational organization, is eager to speak with anybody in such a situation, Peggy Clark, of the club, said.

Qualified applicants would need to have at least 24 consecutive months as a non-student and have completed enough education to be within 18 consecutive months of completing their educational program.

To apply for the scholarship, contact Peggy at 951-244-1107 or Linda Card at 951-244-9232.