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Chef 's Corner FOUR SEASONS April SPOTLIGHT Generous Gift Covers the Whole Place By Randy Balt By Cindy Graves & Sheldon Craig The last several months have been extremely difficult for the community in terms of the passing of several precious residents. One in particular, who shall remain nameless, has left the Homeowner's Association quite a surprise. He, evidently, had been a very humble and relatively nonchalant gentleman and most residents who knew him would have never have guessed that he was a man of such means. In any case, since he loved this community and especially took pride and enjoyment in so many of the amenities and activities here, he has earmarked a rather large sum (in the millions of dollars) to be invested in the community for upgrading and adding to the community's entertainment. The largest earmarked sum given to the HOA was for a new community theater. I guess this means that we won't be worrying about the acoustics in the Ballroom for much longer. Discussion has started on building a 400-seat theater on an area of property that hasn't been set aside for housing. Picture a state-of-the-art theater with large cushiony theater seats (comfortable!). Now imagine a fullsized stage complete with a hydraulic orchestra pit that gives us a larger stage if there's no orchestra. There will be a scene shop under the stage that the hydraulic lift could use to bring heavy set pieces to stage level. Additionally, the theater would boast a 75 stage lighting package, and a computer-controlled light cue board. A top-notch sound system rounds out the theater's stage equipment – a system that would make the McCallum Theater in Palm Springs 10 green with envy. In fact, to ensure that each and every resident partake of each and every performance, there will be loudspeakers that will be broadcast throughout the community via 30 foot towers erected on each and every corner. We don't want you to miss a thing! Plus there will be enough parking for all 400 theater-goers! Tennis was also one of this man's loves in his early days, so he earmarked the second largest allocation of monies for the building of a Four Seasons Tennis Stadium. He wanted at least eight new courts built, an exclusive tennis locker room, a Pro Shop, tournament audience bleachers and shade awnings. The challenge for the Board of Directors will be to find the appropriate location for such a structure. It is thought that perhaps a space where the new Lodge will be built might provide some land for this project. This is going to take some time working with the city, K. Hovnanian and Architects to come up with an acceptable place to begin the plans. However, he hated walking in nature so all the trails will be paved and wild area planted with grass. Another good sized sum was set aside for a new Amphitheater Pavilion. There has been a greater and greater demand for the concept of moonlight summer evening entertainment during the summer and our "kind benefactor" recognized this demand and loved the concept of an Amphitheater himself. His request was to have additional space which would include built-in bench type seating for those that were unable or unwilling to carry their own lawn chairs to events. He also wanted overhead, FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | APRIL 2013 | community News hardscaped shade sails to guard against the summer sun's last biting rays before sundown. He had been a red-head (as a young man) with fair skin and was constantly concerned about skin cancer. The ESC will help act as consultants in much of the technical details that will need to be considered for all of these projects, especially in the aspects of sound, staging and lighting. Finally, because of our benefactor's fair skin, he wanted to do something to protect every resident in his beloved community of Four Seasons from the sun's damaging rays, so he designated part of his gift for a special purpose. In his honor, a retractable dome will be erected over the entire community of Four Seasons, including the soon-tobe-developed portion. In the summer when we are experiencing extreme heat, the tinted dome will close and an air cooling and filtration system will ensure residents enjoy a constant 79 degree, healthy breeze. These are exciting times for the Association, growing both in new residents and new prospective projects. If you have any background or expertise that would be helpful as we more forward in the planning of these projects, please make yourself known, so we can call on you for ideas. I do want to remind you that April 1st is the day for telling tall tales and trying to get innocent people to believe them. April Fools! (But don't you think it would be great if we were able to do some of these great projects!) Thanks for reading and happy April. Creamed Corn I was told this simple creamed corn recipe is supposed to be the same one used at Gulliver's Restaurant in Orange County. I can't confirm that, but I can confirm that it's very tasty in its thick sweet sauce. This is not a low-fat side-dish for calorie counters, but once in a while you must live it up! Course: Side Dish • Servings: 8 •Preparation Time: 5 min • Cooking Time: 15 min. •Level of Difficulty: Easy INGREDIENTS • • 2 Pkgs. (24 Oz. Ea.) Frozen kernel corn 8 Oz. (1/2 Pt.) Whipping cream Directions • • • • 8 Oz. (1/2 Pt.) Milk 1 Tsp. Salt 1/2 Tsp. Accent 6 Tsp. Sugar • • • Activities Director Corner April is one of my favorite months of the year. The feeling of spring and promise of warmer weather, along with the fragrant flowers, baby birds and longer days make me welcome this great month; plus my birthday is this month, so being grateful for life comes naturally in April. Enough flowery talk and on to business, which, in my department, means fun. The first new and entertaining event is the Friday April 5 show, "Readers Theater Show." The Performing Arts Club has put together this fun and free show that you will enjoy while eating your dinner from Smitty's or sipping on your favorite beverage. The event will be dinner theater style, so you can have a relaxing evening with your friends. The show starts at 6 pm and doors open at 5:30 pm. Tom Shelley will be heading up this Reader's Theater. Come and enjoy a different kind of show. The second big event this month is the Corks, Clicks and Canvases. For new Combine all ingredients except last two in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes. Blend butter with flour, add to the corn, mixing well. Remove from heat. Enjoy! Pinch cayenne pepper 2 Tbsp. Butter, melted 2 Tbsp. Flour By Cindy Graves residents, this is a collaboration of the Wine, Camera and Art Clubs. We will have wine tastings sponsored by the Taste D'Vine Club as well as some wine education. The other two clubs will have art and photos on display throughout the evening. We have a acoustic guitar player named Glenn Smith who will be wooing us with his smooth melodies. Appetizers and sweets will be the piecede-resistance of the evening. This is all brought to you free of charge by your Four Seasons HOA. The final big entertainment event in April will be the HOA Garage Sale on April 27. This is not billed as purely an entertainment event, but it should be. The Lodge Parking Lot Garage Sale is the hub of the party and each of the other individual home garage sales are the additional party destinations. It's like bar hopping, only early in the morning, getting an adrenaline buzz from all the great deals. Some years it has actually snowed in the morning, adding a sparkling party atmosphere to the event, albeit a bit too invigorating at times. The treasure hunt begins at 8 am and goes until 2 pm. Happy hunting! Speaking of hunting, we are hunting for a friendly resident who is computersavvy and would love to share their knowledge with our computerchallenged residents. This person would find great fulfillment in passing on their generous gift of knowledge and so much so that payment by others would be out of the question… meaning we need a volunteer. If you are that special resident or know someone who might be interested in teaching a computer class here at the Lodge, let me know. I would look forward to meeting you. Keep your eyes peeled on the calendar and the flyers, because we have more happenings than I can list here. Don't forget to keep eating your Wheaties throughout the spring and summer because you'll need all of your strength to deal with the multitude of entertainment opportunities coming your way. Take care and see ya around the Lodge! Community News | FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | APRIL 2013 11

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