The Eleanor Abbott Big Bear Valley Historical Museum has been in operation since 1982. The idea for the museum first came about in the late ‘60s when longtime Big Bear resident Eleanor Abbott recognized a need for historical preservation.

Kim Sweet, who has been the museum’s curator for 12 years, says she’s glad Abbott came to that realization. Sweet says if we don’t preserve Big Bear Valley’s rich history now, it could be lost for future generations.

Sweet says the museum holds a lot of treasures from the area. Thousands of artifacts from Serrano Native Americans, early pioneers, gold miners and even 1940s movie stars fill the shelves in the museum’s nine buildings. Sweet says for her, there’s nothing more exciting than looking at things that belonged to the people who came before us.

Bigger is better at the Grizzly Manor Cafe, where pancakes are the size of stop signs and butter comes in heaping scoops. Jayme Nordine has owned the cafe for 23 years. His work philosophy is simple: keep portions large and attitudes sassy. Nordine says he loves his customers but doesn’t hesitate to give them a hard time when they don’t finish their grizzly-sized meals. Nordine credits the cafe’s success to the menu’s homey breakfast fare and ample portions, but says atmosphere has a lot to do with it too—in the tiny restaurant, guests have to cram in and are forced to get cozy with the wait staff and fellow diners. Everyone’s family at the Grizzly Manor, Nordine says. That business model seems to be working, there’s a line of people out the door waiting for the Grizzly experience almost every day.

By Day, Joe Vonesh is an airplane mechanic. Most people think he’s soft-spoken and a little shy. By night, he takes on a completely different persona. He takes up the microphone and leads the Big Bear Country Dance Club as a high-energy country music DJ. Vonesh says he has become a master of gauging the crowd to pick songs that will keep people  on the dance floor. Vonesh says his 14-year career as a line dancing DJ has made him more socially confident. He also says it has given him a sense of family among the hundreds of loyal dancers who come every week to kick up their heels to his music.

The city of Grahamstown, South Africa is the the longtime home of the country’s National Arts Festival. Over 11 days, the festival brings together musicians, dancers, visual artists, actors and comedians, from South Africa and around the globe. See photos from the 2013 festival.

 

View this gallery on News24

See photos from the original South African cast of ‘Jersey Boys.’ The Tony award-winning musical opened at the Artscape in Cape Town on June 19 after a successful run in Johannesburg.

View this gallery on Channel24