Gotta Regatta!
When it comes to regattas, nothing beats the excitement of thousands of rubber ducks racing down a waterway in hopes of capturing first place and the grand prize finish! Join in for a "quacktastic" time supporting Samuel Dixon Family Health Centers' Rubber Ducky Festival. Adopt your ducks today, then join in the fun for a day at the races on Saturday, October 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bridgeport Park to cheer on the ducks as they enter the water and compete for great prizes. Individual rubber ducks are available for adoption at $5 per duck. Other adoption opportunities include: Quack Family (five ducks plus one free duck for $25); Quacker's Dozen (10 ducks plus two free ducks for $50) and Duck Flock (20 ducks plus four free ducks for $100). All proceeds from this event go toward patient care at SDFHC, which offers affordable, quality primary health care for residents of the Santa Clarita Valley. Adopt a duck at www.duckrace.com/scv.

You can Catch Fish!
Fishing requires patience but it also requires practice. Learning new techniques and applying them can take a "beginner" angler and turn them into a great fisherman/woman. At Tackle Express, we fish several times per week and, in some cases, every day of the week. We are in tune with what's going on at our local lakes and we can help you catch more fish by showing you where to go, what to use and how to use it. Fishing is all about the little things, like line size, lure size and color, and the speed at which you use them. Here are some general rules about fishing our local lakes. Come by the shop for more helpful hints and to find out about our favorite spots.

• use light line like 6-pound and 8-pound
• present your worms and lures slower when working them on the bottom
• match the hatch - if brownish-green crawdads are hatching, don't use a red and black lure
• location, location, location - don't waste your time with nonproductive areas
• ask lots of questions and put the answers into practice
• the fish are numerous in our lakes - but to keep fishing fun and exciting forever, catch and release practices are strongly recommended
Courtesy of Chad Curtis of Tackle Express.
251-8700 www.TackleExpress.com

Craft Now & Give Later
Now is the time to begin making beautiful, low-cost handmade gifts for the holidays. Seasonally-inspired crafting classes will have you making Christmas garland, ornaments and more at Creative U Studios. Learn to crochet (Or just learn how to crochet "better!"), join their Christmas Club Knit-A-Long (Create six different projects in 12 weeks!) or just stop by their new location - 17733 Sierra Highway in Canyon Country - for inspiration. 250-4600 www.creativeu.net

Tail-wagging Fun!
Sunday | October 14
Bow-Wows & Meows Pet FairFrom 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at William S. Hart Park, this free event will unite over 70 pet-related vendors, yummy "people food," a pet psychic, shows, free rabies shots (and low-cost vaccines), free micro-chipping and loving dogs, cats, puppies and kittens available for adoption. www.bowwowsandmeows.org

Saturday | October 20
American Cancer Society Hosts Bark for Life
Held at Bridgeport Park, event activities include a blessing of the dogs, a one-mile walk led by cancer survivors and their canine companions, "best in show" dog contests and a Halloween costume contest. www.scvbark.org

Saturday | November 17
Rescues on the Runway
Nothing says loving like something wagging a tail, so let's go to the fourth-annual Rescues on the Runway courtesy of Miss SCV Pageants. Scheduled for November 17 at the Hyatt, this promises to be more than a night of fun; expect to peg your love meter. They'll have dogs, cats and bunnies walking the runways for a collective "awwwwww." Even if you don't take home a new companion, the holiday and doggie boutique means you can bring some treats to your home's four-legged master (Yes, we know who's in charge). Don't miss the Celebrity Walk when local dignitaries will strut their stuff with their personal pets and the Doggie Beauty & Talent Pageant with judges awarding prizes for everything from Best Smile to Best Bark.
252-3232 www.rescuesontherunway.com

Is Feeding "Human Food" to your Pet Safe?
Studies show that lean pets live longer, healthier lives when compared to obese pets. Obesity is always a concern for any pet that gets human food as part or all of its diet. Obesity has been shown to be associated with higher risk for osteoarthritis, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, respiratory disease, skin infections, fatty liver disease, feline lower urinary tract disease and constipation, increased anesthetic and surgical complications. If your pet is obese and you do not feed human food, you may be feeding too much pet food.

Feeding human food to your pet can also lead to a life threatening condition known as pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas which often times is incited by a high-fat diet. It is extremely painful and can lead to serious life-threatening consequences such as multiple organ failure, abnormal heart rhythms and various forms of shock. Pancreatitis should therefore be treated immediately following diagnosis. The main signs of pancreatitis are: anorexia, vomiting, weakness, abdominal pain, diarrhea and dehydration. These patients often require intensive hospitalization for several days to a week or more and, as you might imagine, this can be relatively expensive and may not be successful.

If you must feed people food to your pet, please consult with your veterinarian first. Always remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Courtesy of Dr. Joseph Lombardo of All Creatures Emergency Center. 291-1121

Meet FRANKIE CEGLIA!
"Going to Santa Clarita School of Performing Arts (SCSOPA) was the best decision I ever made. I begged my parents to sign me up and it has paid off. Although they never really promised me more than training and opportunity, SCSOPA helped my dreams come true. Through the auditions with agents every Saturday and a welcoming, thoughtful and professional teaching staff, I signed with an agent. If finding an agent is what you want, than this is the place to be! Now, only two years later, I have completed an industrial movie, public service commercials, the lead in a Disney pilot (sort of my dream), a Gatorade commercial, Gatorade print ad and was recently featured on the Discovery Channel's 'Outlaw Empires.' It has been a great experience and I would not have changed a minute of it." ~ Frankie Ceglia
Courtesy of Santa Clarita School of Performing Arts
222-7910 www.scsopa.com

Gold's Gym Valencia Hosts
Free Community Carnival on September 29
To celebrate Gold's Gym of Valencia's grand opening, the gym experts will "pump up" the community with a free carnival! The ribbon-cutting ceremony begins at 11 a.m. with festivities following, including complimentary food, prize giveaways every hour, live DJs, dance performances, marionette puppet shows, face painters, balloon twisters, magicians, a photo booth, a caricature artist and much more. The carnival will be held until 5 p.m. at Gold's Gym of Valencia's Westfield Valencia Town Center location, 24445 Town Center Drive. This will also be the last day for new members to take advantage of the "no-enrollment fee and the first month of gym membership free" special.

The new 35,000-square-foot Gold's Gym offers a variety of convenient health and fitness options for the local community. Equipped with state-of-the-art strength equipment as well as cardio machines outfitted with personalized LCD television screens and iPod docking stations, the club also features spacious, full-service locker rooms and free towel service, group cycling, a functional training area, state-of-the-art strength training equipment, group exercise classes, a 25-meter outdoor swimming pool, Jacuzzi/whirlpool, tanning center, men and women's eucalyptus steam, kid's club, nutrition counseling, certified personal training and other stellar amenities. Plus, members can enjoy watching movies in a darkened room while exercising on cardio equipment in the gym's Cardio Cinema.

"Gold's Gym is proud to be a part of the Valencia community, and we look forward to helping members achieve weight-loss goals and lead healthy lifestyles," said William Banos, vice president for the Los Angeles' Gold's Gyms. "Gold's Gym members can anticipate the most up-to-date, advanced fitness facility that caters to their needs, while providing a social environment where everyone feels comfortable." Gold's Gym of Valencia is open from 4:30 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. 288-1818 www.goldsgym.com/gyms/california/valencia/1440


The Best "Fun"-raiser Around - with 100 Percent Proceeds for your School
Want to invest in the future while having a blast? Set up a school fundraiser at Mountasia Family Fun Center & Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour. They'll cut the normal $7.45 price for golf to $5 and if you draw 75 participants, plus Mountasia will donate the whole $5 per person. How else can you raise some much-needed school funds while showing off your putting prowess? Call today; very limited dates are available through October. 253-4FUN (4386)


A Chorus Line Celebrates the Big 3-0!
A Chorus Line Dancewear & Costumes - named after the hit Broadway show - made its debut in a small storefront at Bouquet Junction 30 years ago. "We've moved three times in 30 years, but we've been at our current location - the corner of Bouquet Canyon Road and Cinema Drive in Valencia - for the past 15 years," said Reena Newhall, founder of the store. A Chorus Line is still family-owned and today is managed by sisters Jana Einaudi and Beth Culhane, who grew up in the dance business with their mother, Reena. The girls were exposed to costuming at an early age, as they were an integral part of Reena's shows. This early training worked out well, since the store now serves numerous theatrical and production companies, and counts Princess Cruises among its best customers. "A Chorus Line has grown because we found a need and have filled it. We have listened to our customers and have put them first! Our business is highly specialized, and we have made it a point of hiring only the most skilled people in product awareness to serve our customers," says Newhall. 253-0300