The sob-fest that was the Man & Woman of the Year Award Dinner disclosed two newly-crowned and shiny-license-plate-holdered volunteer extraordinaires: Inside SCV Magazine Publisher Jeanna Crawford and longtime king among men Greg Nutter. Crawford, who credited her rise to the do-gooder calling in part to a voice coach who wooed her with gummy worms, used part of her speech to recite the lyrics from "The Greatest Love of All."

Hillary Clinton said "it takes a village" to raise a child. She had a point. It's not 1955 anymore. Kids' after-school activities don't usually include a stay-at-home mom in an apron and pearls pulling fresh cookies out of the oven. If a child is lucky enough to have two involved parents, chances are they're at work for 10 hours a day. Quality time sometimes means a five-minute chat while negotiating the drive-through at McDonald's.

There is something about a beautiful, well-kept garden that brings peace and serenity. Christi Larsen is one of those people who digs in the dirt and finds comfort. More than two years ago, she lost her son Cole while he was serving in Iraq. The pain doesn't go away and the memories of her son are deep. Cole loved the outdoors, Christi said, and she thought a garden tour would be a nice way to remember Cole and help others who are in the same situation as her family.

In a valley where sports, shopping and small businesses prevail, there is a monthly event in our local community that is causing quite the buzz. Third Friday concerts have surprised the residents of Santa Clarita with their success, but have been a long-awaited solution for the increasing number of musically-gifted local youth. Guitarist front-man for artists such as Avril Lavigne, Kelly Osbourne and Ashley Parker Angel, the talented Devin Bronson was a musical pioneer as he grew up in the Santa Clarita Valley.

7pm at Salt Creek Grille
Meet and mingle with over 100 of Santa Clarita's finest singles crowd. Relax in the bar or on the new patio while enjoying drink and appetizer specials. Space is limited, so please RSVP to singles@insidescv.com. Salt Creek Grille is located at 24415 Town Center Drive in Valencia. Admission is free.

Salt Creek Grille
24415 Town Center Drive #115
Valencia, 91355
661-222-9999

Grand illusions, transformations, a disappearing banana, multiplying flowers, mentalism exercises, linking rings and a dancing scarf were among the magic feats performed at the first annual "Evening of Magic" benefiting the local Boys & Girls Club on Sat., March 10. More than 300 attendees helped bring in about $3,100 for the club. The show was put on by the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) of the Santa Clarita Valley.

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