AFLAC and New Directions will host a Halloween jazz barbecue on Friday, Oct. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with Latin jazz/salsa musician The Ricardo Estrada Ensemble. It will be a culinary celebration of autumn and jazz with a homestyle bar-beque, coleslaw, potato salad and cornbread. Priced from $4.50 to $6.50, each entrée is served with a free Halloween dessert.
Sponsored by the Long Beach Regional Office of AFLAC, the Halloween jazz barbeque will be held at the Veteran’s Village Diner, located on the VA campus at 11303 Wilshire Blvd., building 306. For more information contact Erin Liestico at (310) 914-4045 ext. 125.
New Directions, Inc., recently named recipient of the 2004 Sustainable Quality Award by the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce and the city of Santa Monica, is a long-term drug and alcohol treatment program providing housing, food, clothing, counseling, job training and psychiatric services for more than 800 homeless veterans a year. The agency operates four residential rehabilitation facilities, including the 156-bed regional opportunity center, the 43-bed New Directions North for homeless veterans with co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders, and two homes in Mar Vista for homeless women veterans.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 27, 2004. Read the original PDF.