Things to Do in Fountain Valley

Devoted surfers, sailors, and wine connoisseurs Nate and Shane channel their passions for sea waves and sips into scenic beverage cruises offered by Corks Away. Together they pilot the vintage 1961 sailboat, Wildflower, which they refurbished themselves, and its sister vessel, the Sunflower, through the waters surrounding Long Beach. Though the content of the cruises varies by season, past voyages have included mimosa flights, wine tastings, and pairings of gourmet appetizers. The duo can even accommodate large groups with their 72-foot 1920s wooden schooner, the Dirigo II, which stays docked to board 25 passengers comfortably.

While wandering the Museum of Latin American Art's permanent collection of works from artists native to 20 Latin American countries, it might come as a surprise to discover that the space was once home to a roller-skating rink and a silent-movie studio. Its transformation into one of the country's only museums dedicated to modern and contemporary Latin American art was the work of physician, philanthropist, and patron of the arts Dr. Robert Gumbiner. He acquired the properties and founded the museum in 1996, revamping the Hippodrome into galleries alive with Latin American music, paintings, and video.

Since that time, the museum has doubled in size, adding a 15,000-square-foot sculpture garden and expanding its collection to include masters such as Rufino Tamayo, Roberto Sebastián Matta, Los Carpinteros, and Tunga. The site now serves as a beacon of Latin American culture, showcasing artists who made names for themselves in their own countries but may not be well known in the United States. Beyond the eye-catching exhibitions, which have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, the museum offers educational programs and events such as concerts and film showings. After a day of sensory stimulation, guests can nosh on enchiladas or carve chicken-mole sandwiches into busts of Frida at the onsite Café Viva.

"The thing I like most about pottery is that it's a learned skill," says Clay Wood, the owner of the pottery studio that bears his name. "It's something you can just sit down, and practice, and just learn it. You don't have to be innately artsy or creative, it's just something that's learnable and fun for everyone."

It's true that Clay has had a bit of a head start in the art form: he began developing his classically harmonious ceramic forms starting at age 12. But he also knows what it's like to be just another weekend hobbyist. Before starting the shop, he had established a career managing high-rise condos while dreamily spinning his desk chair like a pottery wheel. Now that he's dug his hands back into the clay, he and his fellow instructors design adult and children's classes to meet the needs of aspiring ceramicists and more casual crafters alike.

All the throwing, glazing, and hand-building goes down in a colorful creativity zone bursting with incandescent designs. The studio is equipped with eight electric pottery wheels, two large hand-building tables, an entrancing in-wall kiln, and a wellspring of stunning glazes for both handmade projects and prepared forms awaiting only a painter's brush.

Tucked away in a refurbished 1940s barbershop, Studio DeLucca founder Khobe DeLucca and her team of jewelers festoon baubles of recycled silver and gold with gems sourced from artisans and fair-labor suppliers. Collections of stackable jewelry, such as amethyst bracelets and turquoise-drop necklaces, add a subtle sparkle to wrists and décolletages. Cocktail rings decorate favorite fingers with stones such as ocean jasper and green chrysoprase, and diamond-paved cigar-band rings exhibit old-world craftsmanship that hearkens back to the sparkling sidewalks of ancient Rome. A workshop series teaches novice lapidaries basic techniques to craft their own necklaces, earrings, and enamel jewelry.

For more than a decade, the kilns at Ocean Stained Glass have been firing and finishing glass pieces crafted by both veterans and first-timers. The stained glass play land leads classes that vary in content from fusing techniques and mosaic construction to the pure art of staining glass. It also encourages glassworkers to drop by during open-studio hours, thereby eliminating the need for budding artists to hurl paint buckets and cement blocks at the nearest storefront window. The studio’s resident artists craft custom designs as well, which vary in price based on the materials and complexity of a project.