AFFILIATED NATIONALLY WITH

FEBRUARY 2017 SERVING THE NATURIST COMMUNITY FOR OVER 16 YEARS VOL. 16 NO. 02 RESULTS OF SCNA ANNUAL MEMBER SURVEY SHOW POSITIVE RESPONSES This year we heard from a lot of you on our “Annual Survey of SCNA EVENTS IN FEBRUARY 2017 Activities and Interests” that was distributed in December and January. Sunday, February 5, Noon-8 pm Super Bowl & Chili Cook-off & Best Soup Contest, Victorville Members told us they read the club activity calendar and Sat & Sun February 18-19, 9am – 5pm articles on past events most often in our club newsletter. They LA Travel and Adventure Show, LA Convention Center also enjoy reading news about legislation affecting nudists and Sat February 18, 6 pm – 8 pm the travel stories. On our website, the events calendar and Archery, Mission Viejo monthly SCNA newsletter sections are the most popular, followed by travel reports, personal nudist experiences, and the Monthly Meet-up Dinner Meetings Monday, Feb 13, 6:45 – 8:30 pm, Van Nuys News section. Monday, Feb 20, 6:45 – 8:30 pm, Pasadena More members are Tweeting than ever before and they like our Thursday, Feb 23, 6:45 – 8:30 pm, South Bay/Torrance Twitter page and the club’s Facebook page for reading about No February Meetups in Ventura or Carpinteria people and events between newsletter issues. SCNA EVENTS IN MARCH 2017 Comments overall were very positive, such as: “friendly/welcoming people,” “a safe environment,” “great Sat Mar 11, Noon – 7 pm organization and newsletter,” “our Bates Beach work,” and It’s a Mardi Gras Party!, Altadena “great events.” Sat Apr 1, 11:30 am – 2:30 pm When asked how SCNA can be improved, the most common Spring Nude Bowling, Montrose responses were: “closer events to my home,” more sports and Monthly Meet-up Dinner Meetings fitness activities,” “more women,” and “set up a system so we Tuesday, Mar 14, 6:45 – 8:30 pm, Van Nuys can car pool.” Monday, Mar 20, 6:45 – 8:30 pm, Pasadena Thursday, Mar 23, 6:45 – 8:30 pm, South Bay/Torrance A few disagreed with the club’s photo policy, saying it was too Friday, Mar 10, 6:45 – 8:30 pm, Ventura restrictive, saying they wanted to be able to take their own Tuesday, Mar 21, 6:45 – 8:30 pm, Carpinteria photos at . The most popular party themes we do are the gift exchange (69%), cooking contests (61%), (55%) and costume parties (54%). Over 80% agreed they would try to attend a party with a backyard pool but only 56% said they would come if there was no pool or Jacuzzi. 81% would go to the beach if we could be nude there. 70% like nude bowling. New party themes suggested include face/, sail boating, an inter-club volleyball tournament, a movie night, a murder mystery night, and a board game day. Most members liked the club’s involvement in the , even if many lamented they had no bicycle with which to participate. The annual Beach Cleanup Day each Construction of Rolf and Cynthia’s pool is finally completed! Story on page 3. September also got high marks and quite a few members were © COPYRIGHT 2017, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NATURIST ASSOCIATION, A glad the club was now holding periodic Women’s-Only NON-PROFIT 501(C) CORPORATION, CALABASAS, CALIFORNIA, USA. ALL Gatherings. RIGHTS RESERVED. IMAGES AND TEXT MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WITHOUT ADVANCE WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM SCNA.

SCNA Newsletter for February 2017 Page 1 of 10 PASSINGS MEMBER BIOGRAPHY: Meet President Rolf Holbach RUTH HARVANCHIK,1949-2017 I was born and grew up in Inglewood, CA in the Crenshaw and Imperial neighborhood to a very Catholic family. Did all 12 SCNA member Ruth E. Harvanchik, years in Catholic school, first at St. Francis Cabrini, where I passed away on January 27, 2017 was even an altar boy, and then Junipero Serra High School after a two-and-a-half-year battle where I started drifting away from the church in the turbulent with brain cancer at her home in late 60’s. In 1973, the state of California bought our home in North Hills. Her daughter Kim wrote Inglewood to eventually put the 105 Freeway through. My to us that Ruth was a caring wife and parents moved to San Diego, and after a few years working in loving mother. music retail for the Wherehouse Records in Hawthorne and “She enjoyed crafting and sewing and Gardena, I also moved to San Diego. often made personally designed and Two things happened then that changed my life. The summer crafted blankets or photo albums as of ’75 a work friend asked if wanted to go to Black’s Beach Christmas gifts for those she loved. She loved vacationing with one weekend. “What’s Black’s Beach?” I asked. “It’s the Nude her family at Cottonwood on Lake Mead whet she would water Beach!”, he replied. Of course, I immediately had visions of ski and enjoy her vacation time with close friends.” nude Bo Derek look-alikes running down the beach, but as we Ruth loved NASCAR and country music, and along with her all know it’s much different. Nevertheless, once I got the husband John, she was an avid square dancer at the Red courage to drop my trunks and jump into the Pacific, I had an Ribbons dance club in Santa Monica. She loved to dance! epiphany, that little light bulb went off in my head, and I thought, “this feels so good, this is so right and natural, this is In 2008, she and John joined SCNA and enjoyed many of the great!” From then on I was down at Black’s any chance I got, club’s events. They hosted the club’s Super Bowl parties for and eventually joined the local non-landed club, the Camping several years. Bares. She is preceded in death by her oldest daughter Penny The other life-changing event was that I became a father of a Harvanchik, her granddaughter Mystie Anderson, and mother beautiful girl, in February of 1976. Although I never married Florence Fowler. She leaves behind her husband John her mother (we already knew it wouldn’t work), I became a Harvanchik, daughter Kimberly Medina, two brothers and a weekend Dad and moved back up to LA to be closer to her and sister, two grandchildren, and several other extended family to go to work as a buyer for the Licorice Pizza chain of music members. stores. Graveside services were held on February 2, 2017 at Eternal Fast forward 10 years and once the LP chain was sold to Sam Valley Memorial Park in Newhall, CA. Goody’s, I was out of work in the corporate consolidation that MEMBERS’ AUTO-BIOGRAPHY followed. I moved back down to San Diego and my beloved Black’s Beach. One of my passions growing up was reading PROJECT BEGINS and collecting comic books, so when a job opened managing As we mentioned a few months ago, we thought it would be the San Diego distribution center for Diamond Comic fun to have those of you who are interested, to let your fellow Distributors, I jumped at it. members know a little more about you. We’d like to give you Fast forward another 10 years when a market contraction in the the opportunity to put together a short auto-biography and we’d comics industry forced Diamond to consolidate the SD Center publish one or more of these Bios in the newsletter every up north to LA, I was asked to move north, and help manage month. the LA center. This is by no means mandatory, it’s totally optional, and you When I arrived back in LA in 1996, there was nothing in LA can reveal as much, or as little as you like. naturist-wise, except for this Eden up in Topanga Canyon To that end we’ve attached a questionnaire to this newsletter called Elysium. After a few visits, I became a member and was that you can use as a guideline in putting together your auto- up there any chance I could get, which was never enough. biography. Again, it’s totally up to you how many questions A third life changing event happened at the same time I found you want to answer, if any. For those of you who would like Elysium, I met my soulmate, Cynthia, believe it or not through help in writing it, we can assist there also. an old-school dating service. After a few months of dating I Whenever you’re ready, you can send in your completed bio asked her if she’d like to spend the afternoon with me up at questionnaire, or self-written bio to [email protected] Elysium. She agreed, but I’ll let her tell her side of that story in We will always review it with you and let you know which her own bio. We married in 2000, and are still together. newsletter it will appear in before it’s published. We’d also We also joined the Naturist Society at that time and attended appreciate it if you could supply your favorite facial photo to our first Western Gathering at Swallows Sun Island in El go along with your Bio. Cajon, where there had to be at least 400 nudists from all over Although those of you who’ve attended any of the Meetups the world. with me have heard this all before, here’s my Bio as an After Elysium closed we kicked around for a few years, and example: eventually found this wonderful, crazy group of people called the SCNA, and here we are! Page 2 of 10 SCNA Newsletter for February 2017 MORE SCNA NEWS

AN OPEN LETTER TO SCNA FROM A FORMER MEMBER By Rolf Holbach Many of you may remember former members Dave and Andrea Johnson and their two sons from our parties and Meetups a few years ago. Dave moved his family to Utah for Photo of the new pool, ready for SCNA’s Mardi Gras party on March 11 work and some of us have kept in contact through Facebook since then. THE POOL AT ARROYO DEL SOL Recently, his son, Scott, started a Go Fund Me page for his Dad’s rapidly rising medical expenses. Dave wrote the IS FINALLY FINISHED! following on the SCNA’s Facebook page: By Rolf Holbach “Hi everyone, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen most We originally had hoped our pool would be completed by our of you. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, and Pre- party, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas, that’s ask for help. Some of you may have seen this then New Year’s Eve, but nooooo, it took until this week (1- through Facebook. I’ve been diagnosed with a medical 25-2017) for it to finally be ready to be used! issue called cervical spinal stenosis at the c5 and c6 Between delays from the construction company, and the county vertebrae. In layman’s terms my spinal cord is being inspectors, it took much longer than we had planned or choked off by discs and vertebrae. For now, it’s causing expected. numbness and tingling down the arms and severe neck Just after the deluge, and in time for the outside temps to hover pain. If I don’t continue with treatment it has the potential around 60 most days, the water temp is in the frigid low 40’s, to choke off the spinal cord enough to cause but then again, it is winter! Don’t worry, we’ll have the water quadriplegia. temp between 80-85 degrees for our next party here on Saturday, March 11. I’ve now been off work for 6 plus weeks with just my Cynthia and I will be hosting a Mardi Gras Pool Party on that wife’s part time income and my older son kicking in what date, and we invite you all to come out and help us inaugurate he can. We’ve exhausted all our savings and have begun the pool in SCNA style (more info on page 10). selling what we can. The state has been useless in any For those who haven’t seen it yet, it’s a vinyl liner pool with a form, the same goes for the VA. This is something that is salt water filtration system that produces a much milder embarrassing and I never dreamed I would be asking for chlorine than the harsher chemical pools. Since it’s a vinyl pool help from anyone. I’m usually the one that helps others. it’s also much easier on the feet than a concrete or gunite pool. My son set this up for me, and obviously, the pic was from The dimensions are 12’ wide by 34’ long and 4’ deep the whole better times, two years ago. length. Along the entire southern side, we had a bench I appreciate all those that can help out, and for those that constructed inside the pool so our party and B&B guests can can’t, I truly understand. Thank you in advance. relax and have conversations. Otherwise it will be a great lap pool for Cynthia and I to get some low impact exercise! We David Johnson and Family may even have a volleyball net set up at some point for our If you can help the Johnsons, donations can be sent to their parties. Go Fund Me account at: We hope you’ll all come out to enjoy the new pool with us at https://www.gofundme.com/david-johnsons-medical-fund some point, whether it’s in March (RSVP today) or at one of our other parties during the year! Marco…Polo! SCNA Newsletter for February 2017 Page 3 of 10 SURVEY RESULTS POSITIVE NUDE CAMPING & HIKING (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1) When asked what other places members would enjoy visiting, a few people suggested hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains, and several suggested multi-day visits to resorts further away such as Black’s Beach and De Anza Springs (San Diego), Olive Dell (Colton) and Glen Eden (Corona), Lupin Lodge (Santa Cruz), and Laguna del Sol (Sacramento). 42% enjoyed periodic trips to Deep Creek Hot Springs (Apple Valley). The ZIP Codes where our members live have changed only a little over the past three years, despite seeing a 25% rise in membership since January, 2015. The San Fernando Valley still has 32% of all members, and “West” Los Angeles (Beverly Hills to the ocean) remains around 12%.

The shift has been to the east, where 19% now live in the Pasadena to Inland Empire corridor, up from 7% in 2007, and Cheryl and Peter explore the Petroglyphs during last year’s Mojave campout. to the south (Orange County and the South Bay) where 15% of SCNA members live, up from 10% in 2012. The area that lost A RETURN CAMPING TRIP TO the greatest percentage of members is Ventura and Santa THE MOJAVE PETROGLYPHS IS Barbara Counties to the west, where percentage fell from 25% two years ago, to 17% this past December. BEING PLANNED SCNA now has 135 paid members, up from 108 the last Peter Connolly has announced he has planned a second 3-day time this survey was made at the end of 2012. This total camping trip to the Rodman Mountains Wilderness Area May makes us the largest naturist non-landed club in California 12 - May 14. He invites SCNA, NitOC, Camping Bares, and (clubs that do not own their own park or resort). YNA members and their guests to join him and enjoy the Petroglyph rock art there, left by Native Americans thousands Members also belong to other naturist clubs and organizations: of years ago. 30% belong to AANR, and 30% are Naturist Society This will be a clothes-free adventure (except perhaps for the members, 8% belong to YNA. We found 4% also belong to Glen Eden, 4% to NitOC, and 4% are Camping Bares. chilly nights), but Peter says he is adding a small generator this time to run a heater, some outdoor lights, and (most important Thanks to everyone who responded to the survey, and please let of all), for the blender that Peter will use to mix the Margaritas! your board members know any time you have suggestions for He is also adding a private camp latrine and an outdoor shower activities or know of a possible location for parties. set up. Some of the planned weekend highlights: SCNA MONTHLY EXEC BOARD • Visiting the Petroglyphs, of course! • Nude Hiking – we can enjoy many other nearby trails and MEETING SET FOR FEB 12 the desert wild flowers, which should be in full bloom. This is a reminder that all members of SCNA are always invited • Nude Biking – If you have a dirt bike, bring it along as the to attend our monthly Executive Board meetings. Express your network of dirt roads can take you to the top of Rodman ideas and opinions about what we are doing! Mountain offering fantastic views, or to the abandoned Silver The next meeting will be on Sunday February 12, 1pm to Bell Mine. about 5pm. RSVP at (818) 225-2273 for location. • Movie Screening – Peter will show the 55-minute documentary "Talking Stone" on Friday night, exploring the origins and meanings behind the rock art. • Cinco do Mayo Fiesta: Saturday night will be our Cinco de Mayo celebration complete with Margaritas • Camp Bonfires: Both Friday and Saturday nights a huge bonfire will be the centerpiece of our desert naturist oasis. • Several meals will be provided (Saturday breakfast and dinner, Sunday breakfast) but other meals will either be pot luck or provide your own (there will be a stove available for cooking). The trip cost per person is $30 and includes camp amenities and 3 meals. To RSVP or for more information, contact: Peter Connolly at: [email protected]. Page 4 of 10 SCNA Newsletter for February 2017 NUDE COMEDY SHOWS ELYSIUM NEWS

BETTY MELTZER, 1934 - 2017 Betty Utey Meltzer, nudist activist for women and the activities THE BARESKIN VARIETY SHOW director at Elysium Fields died of throat cancer January 16 after & ACT NATURALLY'S “NAKED a yearlong battle. Her daughters and several close friends were at her bedside. BODCAST” Betty had a long career in ballet (the San Francisco Ballet Company) and show business before discovering nudism. She Saturday, February 11, 2017, often told stories of her days during the 1950’s and early 1960’s 7:30 – 10 PM as an uncredited bit player and dancer in several popular The Green Room at movies. She danced with both Fred Astaire in Silk Stockings Hollywood Film & Casting and Frank Sinatra in Pal Joey. She also worked with Charlton 6900 Santa Monica Blvd Heston in 1956’s The Ten Commandments (she dies on the Los Angeles, CA Gold Calf with Edward G Robinson at the end of the film), as Hosted by Conci Nelson of YNA-LA. a dancer in The Pajama Game (1957) behind Doris Day, and as a prostitute with Orson Welles in Touch of Evil (1958). As Come to the Barebod's Bareskin Variety Show filled with an accomplished dancer and choreographer, she created improv, stand-up, music, dance, sketch comedy, Comedy Salome’s sensual dance (as she demanded the head of John the Against Humanity, and stay for Act Naturally's 2nd Live Baptist) in King of Kings (1962). Naked Bodcast! Must be 18 or over to attend. She also appeared in several television series of the era, PLEASE BRING A TOWEL TO SIT ON. is NOT including Wagon Train. Perry Mason, and Mike Hammer. OPTIONAL, it is MANDATORY, both performers and It was on the set of Party Girl (1958) that she and director audience will be nude. Nicholas Ray fell in love and married soon after, They had two Tickets are available at: daughters, Nicca and Julie. They divorced in 1964. http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2717961 Betty outlived three of her four husbands: Nick Ray, LA Online prices are as follows: SINGLES/INDIVIDUALS - $25; psychologist William Lesley, and Noel Pugh. Noel, an COUPLES - $40. If there are still tickets available the day of accomplished artist and cartoon caricaturist, married Betty at the show: DOOR TICKETS - $40. Elysium in 1984. Her fourth husband, Sandy Meltzer, a Los Angeles family law attorney, currently is in the final stages of Concessions, including wine and beer, will be available Alzheimer’s Disease. throughout the show, but are cash only. In the late 1960’s while Betty was working in Standards and HEALTH UPDATES Practices (i.e. “censor”) for the ABC television network, she said she had an epiphany about the silliness of restricting CYNTHIA AND BOB HAVE people’s right to see nudity and hear profanity if that was their choice. As she often told us, after a co-worker took her to RECOVERED FROM SURGERIES Elysium one Saturday in the early 1970’s, she fell in love with the place after she heard Ed Lange advocating for those same We are happy to report that Cynthia freedoms. Betty served as Lange’s Activity Director for many Holbach, is back at work after taking a years, developing the popular TGIF Introductory Night and month off to recuperate from leg Magic workshops. She was a vocal advocate for surgery that corrected a congenital women’s rights in business and American culture. malformation. She says all her energy In 1998-2000, Betty, along with former SCNA President Gary has returned – and more! Mussell served as members of that nudist park’s Board of Directors. They struggled for two years to keep it afloat and She is the SCNA Membership Chair, and serves on the club’s board of purchase the property from the daughters of Elysium’s late directors. founder, Ed Lange. Instead, the Lange daughters sold the property to a hotel executive. Meanwhile Bob Rubin says he has Betty and her husband Sandy Meltzer purchased an under- recovered from his heart surgery and is developed 22-acre property in Malibu where they hoped to re- also moving with much more energy. build the Elysium Institute. After Elysium Malibu closed a year Bob looks forward to future SCNA later the Meltzers retired to a senior community south of pool parties at his West Hills home. Phoenix in 2006.

SCNA Newsletter for February 2017 Page 5 of 10 Most men, single or not, behave as they’re expected to and GUEST COLUMNIST don’t cause problems. THE NUDISM GENDER I think a woman is more likely to be harassed, aggressively pursued or groped by a stranger at a bar (or by a non-nudist PROBLEM: ADDRESSING family member perhaps), than within a nudist club. Private naturist clubs, events and nudist groups screen their guests and SAFETY AND HARASSMENT have strict rules in place. There’s a place / person to report bad By Felicity Jones behavior, and management can swiftly deal with it. Reprinted with permission from the December 22, 2016 YNA If we’re going to restrict or ban single men with the idea that blog. The following has been slightly edited for space. To it’ll reduce the pervert count, we might as well ban all men. read the full article, go to: Young Naturists & Nudists America As I previously noted, clubs have also been known to treat all single male visitors like they don’t belong until they prove My last article about and single male policies otherwise (they are guilty until they prove they’re innocent). I generated a lot of discussion on our website and on social think this is unproductive and bad for business. People should media. It seems like most people agreed with us that naturism be judged by their behavior, not their gender. Like they say at should be inclusive rather than exclusive. Freedom Fields Naturist Ranch in Canada, “Your behavior is I’d added a poll at the end of my article asking if nudist resorts, your passport.” clubs, groups, etc. should restrict entry to single men to have a Public nude beaches can be a very different story as far as better gender ratio. Out of over 400 votes, the overwhelming harassment goes. They attract more weird people, and it’s not majority – nearly 80% — said “No.” Twelve percent voted yes, as easy to confront someone on your own. On some nude and about 9% said “Not sure.” beaches people are good at scouting out creeps and looking out for each other. I swear I’ve also seen more women at Gunnison Beach than I have at certain nudist clubs! I think that when harassment does occur in a nudist place, the bad behavior may be subtler. Like a guy who stands just a bit too close, invading your personal space. Maybe he also puts an arm around you. Or a guy who just quietly stares or leers at you. Or maybe he looks you up and down or offers an unsolicited “compliment” about your naked body. This type of behavior is difficult for others to witness (and confront right then). It’s also more difficult to report. I think that these guys are trying to do whatever they think they can get away with. They know they’re doing something wrong but they push the envelope. However, that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be reported. Women (and people in general) should always be encouraged to say something when someone has done something to make them feel uncomfortable. And whatever the reported behavior is, it should always be taken seriously. I have heard stories (not Some of the online discussion around my article focused on a many) of clubs that have brushed off women’s reports of different issue related to men – harassment and /or behavior by someone harassing them. That should not be happening, men that makes women (and / or others) feel uncomfortable. EVER! Like it or not, harassment does happen and nudist places are We must remember that outside the nudist world, female not exempt from such behavior. (Guys, even if you don’t see it victims of harassment, sexual assault or rape are very often not yourself, it does. Ask a woman.) And when it does happen, taken seriously. They are dismissed, discredited and even often, the target is a woman and the perpetrator is a man. I blamed for what happened to them. For this and other reasons, know there are times when it’s couples and even women doing a large percentage of sexual assault crimes and sexual violence the harassment, and men have experienced it too. But as I said, go unreported. With rape for example, even when it is reported, the clear majority of the time, it’s men doing it to women. very few cases result in jail time or punishment for the rapist. Harassment is a secondary justification or excuse for restricting And don’t get me started on the crazy backlog of rape kits men’s presence. But I don’t think it should be. I think the across the country. important question is not, How do we keep the male creeps out? Some women experience sexual harassment on the street every so much as it is, How do create a more comfortable single day. For many, safety considerations are a normal part environment for women? of everyday decisions – like what might be the safest route to Here’s why. For one thing, harassment at nudist facilities is not take home or how late to stay out. that common – far less than just walking down NYC streets. Harassment at a nudist place can possibly ruin a woman’s (Sexual assault or more serious crimes are even less common.) experience and completely turn her off nudism forever. For a female first-timer, any form of harassment may be

Page 6 of 10 SCNA Newsletter for February 2017 compounded by the fact that she is naked and already feeling I’d also like to hear from the community on this and vulnerable. especially from women. Have you experienced harassment I think we need to keep all of this in mind when we’re in a naturist place? Was it handled well? What else can we considering how best to maintain a safe and comfortable nudist do to make women feel safe and comfortable in social environment for women. nudist settings? So how DO we make women feel safer and more comfortable? Contact Felicity at: [email protected] I wish that increasing women’s sense of safety in naturism were as simple as coming up with new anti-pervert policies. I said we should instead focus on the above question, but this one is much harder to answer. Why? Because we’re talking about an internalized problem. In the single men article, I talked about our concern that women will show up to a male-dominated and feel like they just walked into a social event for male voyeurs. Even if every guy is respectful and not creepy, to the woman it feels like “danger ahead.” I’ve known some women who really have trouble enjoying a nudist setting because they are so preoccupied with the idea that men are looking at them, whether in a sexual way or not. It’s unfortunate but also an obvious result of our culture. Addressing these types of internal feelings is much harder than coming up with a new policy. As I’ve said before I think it requires a major cultural shift. It’s slowly happening but I think it’s going to take a while. We can’t regulate feelings and we can’t prevent every incident of bad behavior in co-ed nudism. But we can set clear, solid rules of behavior. We can respond quickly when inappropriate behavior occurs. And we can also make sure everyone knows how to report an incident and that we always want them to come forward – “if you see something, say something.” With the standard rules of harassment, I think some words about consent would also be helpful. “Nudity is not consent” is a good feminist rule. I also think being straightforwardly inclusive and LGBTQIA- friendly would help convey that a naturist place or event is a safe environment for women and everyone. The Naturist Living Show Podcast I recently discussed my last article and nudist gender issues with Stéphane Deschênes for the Naturist Living Show podcast (stay tuned for this episode to come out!). It was interesting to get the perspective of a club owner (he owns Bare Oaks Naturist Park). He talked about how they deal with the occasional misbehaving male visitor at Bare Oaks. They’ll give out warnings (“you’re making others uncomfortable”) for the subtler inappropriate behavior, but every incident is handled on a case-by-case basis. Stéphane said that he’s not only concerned about reported behavior but about incidents going unreported. And that’s a concern that every club and group should share. You can’t address something you don’t know about. He brought up the question of how to tell every new visitor to report any harassment without it seeming like it’s happening all the time. Of course, we can put it in the rules (which some may not read). But I think the best approach is to simply tell everyone to come forward if anyone makes them uncomfortable in any way.

SCNA Newsletter for February 2017 Page 7 of 10 ON-GOING SCNA ACTIVITIES Open to members, non-members, and first-timers! Topics range from personal experiences to current club info and news events affecting local beaches, nudist parks, or the naturist movement in general. Find us on-line at: http://www.meetup.com/nature-519/ and at https://socalnaturist.org/meetups. This meeting is a great first-step for non-nudists who are curious and have questions about naturism, and it is a required orientation before non-members are invited (on a space-available basis) to attend one of our regular monthly parties. Meals are “Dutch treat” at a local restaurant, so obviously this is a clothed event. We have reserved rooms or separate areas at all locations. Your RSVP is not necessary, but appreciated: call (818) 225-2273.

SECOND FRIDAYS: VENTURA/OXNARD March 10, 6:45PM - 8:30PM Location: Main Street Restaurant & Steak House, 3159 East Main Street Ventura, CA 93003 Directions: 1 block west of the Pacific View Mall shopping center, north side of street just NW of the 126 Fwy and 101 Fwy interchange (take the Main St off ramp). (“Coffee shop” food.) THIRD TUESDAYS: CARPINTERIA March 21, 6:45pm – 8:30 PM Beginning in March 2017, the monthly Meetup dinners in Carpinteria are moving from the Sunset Grill inside the Best Western Carpinteria Inn to the International House of pancakes SECOND TUESDAYS: SF VALLEY (IHOP) on Casitas Pass road. Monday Feb 13 and Tuesday Mar 14, Directions: Exit Casitas Pass Road from 101 Freeway. Turn south 6:45pm – 8:30 PM toward the ocean. Restaurant is on the first block south of the In February, this Meetup will take place on Monday, so it freeway, in the shopping center on the left before you reach does not to conflict with Valentine’s Day. Carpinteria Ave. Location: Denny's (separated rear section on left side of We have booth reserved in the back for the March and April restaurant) 16575 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA, 91406 meetups. Starting in May we will have a private room to the right when you walk in. Directions: In the San Fernando Valley, take the 405 freeway

to Sherman Way off ramp. Go West on Sherman Way approx. 2 miles thru the airport tunnel to just past Havenhurst Ave. Restaurant is on the north side of the street. NUDE YOGA THIRD MONDAYS: PASADENA-GLENDALE NUDE YOGA – MEN ONLY CLASS Feb 20 and Mar 20, 6:45 PM - 8:30 PM Saturday, February 18, 9:30 – 10:30 AM Location: Coco's Restaurant, 77 N Lake Ave Pasadena, CA Saturday, March 11, 9:30 – 10:30 AM 91105 Location: Canoga Park, $20 per class Directions: Take the Lake Ave off-ramp from the 210 Please note that the time has changed for all the 2017 Freeway and go south about a block. Restaurant is on the right classes in Canoga Park. (west) side of the street. We are usually in the semi-private RSVP directly to the teacher at [email protected] and pay room in the back of the restaurant. him directly. Directions will be given upon your RSVP.

FOURTH THURSDAYS: TORRANCE NUDE YOGA – ALTADENA Feb 23 and Mar 23, 6:45 PM to 8:30 PM Sunday, February 5, 9:30-11am Co-Ed Location: Coco's Restaurant (left-rear section of restaurant) Sunday, February 19, 9:30–11am Co-Ed 18120 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, 90504 Sunday, March 5, 9:30-11am Co-Ed Directions: Northeast corner of Hawthorne and 182nd St. We Sunday, March 19, 9:30-11am Co-Ed will be in the semi-private Banquet room to the right of the A Woman’s Only class and Couples Only class will only be offered front entrance. (Ask for “SCNA Meetup” at the front counter if enough students are interested in them. Please contact our if you can’t find us.) instructor, Christina, directly at [email protected] for the There are no Meetups in February in, Ventura or Women’s and Couple’s Only classes. Carpinteria.

Page 8 of 10 SCNA Newsletter for February 2017 ACTIVITIES FOR FEBRUARY 2017

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5, NOON – 7 PM ANNUAL SUPER BOWL POT LUCK & CHILI COOK-OFF AND BEST SOUP CONTEST LOCATION! VICTORVILLE! MEMBERS $10/PERSON, NON-MEMBERS : $20/PERSON AGES 18-25: $5/PERSON, CHILDREN UNDER 18: FREE Last year’s cook-off winners, Marcia and Paki Instead of sitting at home alone watching the Super Vote for Best Chili and Bowl, wouldn’t you prefer to watch the game on a Best Soup at 3:00 PM, big-screen television with your nudist friends? We Football game kickoff is will also play our traditional “Super Bowl pool” game at approximately 3:30PM where winners of the matching score every quarter will win a cash prize. Over the years we have enjoyed (and suffered) dozens of the best chili recipes in town. This year we are again expanding the competition to non-chili chefs who can cook up a great soup! Due to limited kitchen space, please do your cooking/preparation before you arrive! Plugs will be available to keep your crock pots heated. Overnight accommodations available! RSVP early to (818) 225-2273.

SAT & SUN, FEBRUARY 18-19, 10 AM – 5 PM LOS ANGELES TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE SHOW INFORMATION BOOTH LOCATION: LA CONVENTION CENTER, DOWNTOWN. Thanks to everyone who responded to our newsletter request last month for volunteers to staff the booth at this show. Rolf, who oversees the staffing, says he now has a full crew for both days, but we are still taking names as back-ups in case someone drops out. Call the club line at (818) 225-2273 to add your name. Otherwise please come to the show if you are thinking about doing any traveling this year.

Booth #1540 There are hundreds of booths representing foreign lands, and domestic destinations such as cities, parks, or resorts. The show draws about 30,000 visitors each day, so the booths gets L.A. Convention Center real busy! Many have free drawings for trips to their destinations. And the lectures about HALLS #GHJ exotic places and travel tips are always interesting. 1201 S. Figueroa St While you are there, please stop by our booth at #1540 (to the right of the entrance in the Los Angeles, CA 90015 “Discover America” section). AANR-West is sponsoring the booth to promote all Southern

California clubs.

Parking at the LA Convention Center is $15-20 (depending on proximity) and entry to the show is another $12/day or $20/both days. See you at the show!

SCNA ACTIVITY SCREENING POLICY FOR NON-MEMBERS AND GUESTS Non-members may be invited to the party only by SCNA members, who are responsible for the actions of their guests. Card-carrying members of either AANR or The Naturist Society may also attend (on a space-available basis). We request that all potential party guests first attend one of our Meet-up dinners (see Page 6) so we might get to know them better before they attend their first SCNA party. Because we provide a safe, family-friendly environment at our activities, SCNA reserves the right to screen any or all non-member guests through the Megan's Law national database before the event.

SCNA Newsletter for February 2017 Page 9 of 10 ACTIVITIES FOR MARCH 2017 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2017, 6:00 – 8:15 PM NAKED ARCHERY NIGHT! Location: Orange County Archery, 25782 Obrero Dr. Mission Viejo, CA Fees: NitOC member: $13.00, Guest: $15.00, Guest with family: $27.00 Please arrive on time if you’re planning on going, doors will lock at 6:15 PM SCNA members have been invited to join NitOC at their upcoming Naked Archery Night. One of their members owns an archery range and closes it to the general public on this evening so everyone can come out and release their inner "Katniss Everdeen." Please wear tennis shoes and bring a towel to sit on. Sandwiches, chips and sodas will be served for dinner. Archery instructions will be provided to first time attendees! Equipment provided. RSVP on NitOC’s Meetup page at: https://www.meetup.com/Naturists-in-the- OC/events/236413705/ if you’d like to attend.

SATURDAY MARCH 11, NOON – 7 PM IT’S A MARDI GRAS PARTY! LOCATION: ALTADENA Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler! Let The Good Times Roll! Hey Pocky Way! Instead of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, we’re going to celebrate the spirit of Fat Tuesday and New Orleans by hosting a Mardi Gras Party! Wear your most extravagant masks, glittery beads, fluffy boas, funky hats, and nothing else! We’ll have a contest for the best mask! Of course, we’ll also be MEMBERS: $10, spinning some of that great N’Awlins R&B and Zydeco to shake it up! NON-MEMBERS: $20 Don’t forget to bring a decadent Cajun/Creole dish for the potluck. Gumbo, Jambalaya, Etoufee, FIRST-TIMER GUESTS: $15 Grits, Beignets, Dirty Rice, Red Beans, Cornbread, Po’Boys, Muffulettas, Pecan Pie, Pralines, AGES 18-25 & YNA: $5 whatever! And we’ll have a King Cake also! CHILDREN <18: ARE FREE Best Mardi Gras themed pot luck dish will win a nice prize!

RSVP Today to (818) 225-2273 or [email protected]. Space limited to the first 35 people.

SATURDAY APRIL 1, 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM SPRING NUDE BOWLING! $ 20.00/PERSON (MUST BE PAID IN ADVANCE) As before, we have rented out the entire alley for the event, and it has complete privacy from the street. There will be nobody there but us for these 3 hours. We have opened up this event to all our local clubs such as YNA, ANFA, NitOC, and the Olympian club to be sure we can get enough to cover our deposit. The $20 is required to attend (even if you don’t bowl), which is cheaper than if you went to a clothed bowling event and rented shoes, ate food, etc. The cost includes shoes. This will be a finger food pot luck event, as we don’t have time for a sit down meal. The bowling alley will provide water, soft drinks, beer and wine for a nominal sum. They have no kitchen or refrigerator available, so any food you bring must be prepared in advance. We will have prizes for best scores. More information and directions as we get closer to the event. Bowling always sells out, so RSVP early! Call (818) 225-2273.

HOW TO RSVP AND PAY FOR SCNA PARTIES AND ACTIVITIES Payments by cash or check are accepted, but we prefer members pay by credit card through our on-line PayPal (you don’t need a Pay Pal account yourself to use ours). We accept MasterCard, VISA, Discover, and American Express. Party cancellations are also accepted no later than 48 hours before the start of the event because that is when we buy the party supplies and food. No Refunds are given after that deadline. Thank you for understanding. To encourage payment in advance, we have instituted a $5 surcharge for people who reserve during the last 48 hours because in the past too many people RSVP without paying and then just don’t show up after we buy the party supplies.

Page 10 of 10 SCNA Newsletter for February 2017