Fall Faire fares well

Noaki Schwartz

NEWPORT BEACH -- Just hours after the Environmental Nature Center’s Fall

Faire began on Sunday, the pumpkin patch was little more than a patch of

grass.

“This was the best turnout ever,” said Bo Glover, the center’s executive

director. “The pumpkins sold out after a couple hours.”

The Fall Faire is the center’s largest annual fund-raiser and features

food vendors, crafts and a silent auction. The money raised from the

event will support the center’s operations and go toward their expansion

efforts, Glover said.

That “Save Acres for Nature” campaign to expand the center was launched

last year. After raising $1 million, representatives plan to purchase a

one-acre parcel of land adjacent to the center.

Before the fair, the center had raised over $700,000 through foundation

grants, donations and fund-raising activities. Sunday’s fair pushed them

a bit closer.

“We raised well over $20,000,” Glover said, adding that organizers had

not yet added up the exact number.Even as the last moments of the fair

dwindled away, countless children and their parents made their way

through the activity and food booths scattered throughout the grounds.

Children made corn husk dolls, decorated recycled bottles and made silly

putty. They also sampled appetizers, entrees and desserts which were

donated from many local restaurants, including Blue Water Grill,

Autobistro, Haute Cakes Cafe and the SunFlour Natural Bakery.

The Environmental Nature Center was founded in 1972 to educate children

about nature. It features trails, an interpretive center and offers

walking tours through replicas of California habitats such as a redwood

forest, a desert and a freshwater marsh.