By Eryka Forquer
Aventura Sailing Association has unveiled plans for an event designed to promote new membership through the mixture of sailing and art at the opening of its clubhouse on May 22.
Aventura’s Artwalk/Openhouse, free for both members and nonmembers, will feature an art show curated by Lynn Marie the Artist and the Lisa Berman Art Agency. The show features local painters, jewelry makers, sculptors and a live sidewalk chalk art performance. During the artwalk, artists Daniel Oropeza and Craig French will debut sailing sculptures that will be given to the sailing club.
While the art walk is open to the public, the open house portion of the event includes restrictions for nonmembers.
“Wine Club tasting by the owner Federico Pavoncelli from 2-5 p.m. is the open house portion for members and nonmembers,” said Leslie Rosenthal, a member of Aventura Sailing. “From 5:30-9 p.m. is members-only that features bar clubhouse handcrafted cocktails and menu items.”
The Aventura Sailing club is operated on a membership basis and offers three different levels: social, charter and family. While each level comes with different fees and accessibility, the club grants its members access to its fleet of sailboats. Members can also charter a boat for the races held at Dana Point every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
The club, which has introduced people to sailing in Dana Point since 1976, offers sailing courses for both beginners and advanced sailors that are led by Coast Guard commanders, world cruisers and award-winning instructors. According to Aventura, as of 2020, more than 10,000 students have graduated from their Basic Sailing Course.
The sailing club also provides students the opportunity to charter yachts through its Executive Charter Program and designs sailing vacations for families through its connections with clubs and charter companies worldwide.
Although the art walk and open house event is designed to attract new members, Rosenthal said that Aventura has remained successful throughout the hardships of the pandemic.
“It was an interesting time,” Rosenthal said. “Membership grew at a record-breaking rate, and sailing charter activity also increased dramatically. We believe it was due to sailing being a socially safe distance activity for members and their families.”
Rosenthal said that the limited choice of activities created an opportunity for experienced members and new members to discover coastal sailing in Dana Point.
“In spite of the challenges of the restrictions of the social aspect and the clubhouse being closed, we are so excited with the opening of our clubhouse and opening to the public for this event,” Rosenthal said.
Aventura’s Artwalk/Openhouse on Saturday, May 22, is from 2-8 p.m. Rosenthal predicts that the event will attract members from the local community and said that the sailing club is looking to create additional art walks in the future.
“We feel that sailing, art, and Dana Point Harbor are a natural combination that will be welcomed by our local community,” Rosenthal said. “We are very optimistic and believe this event will be well-received.”
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