There’s no shortage of local events taking place over the coming days to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but one of the more exclusive events involving OC notables is taking place some 5,800 miles away alongside the Baltic Sea, in Riga, the capital of Latvia.
That’s where composer and producer David Foster, as well as actresses and singers Katherine McPhee and Kristen Chenoweth, will be performing a concert to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary.
The event’s being hosted by Lisa Argyros, who was confirmed as the U.S. Ambassador to Latvia earlier this year. She follows in the footsteps of her father George Argyros, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Andorra from 2001 to 2004.
Area dignitaries expected to attend the event include Chapman University President Matt Parlow and President Emeritus Jim Doti, philanthropists and OC arts patrons Elizabeth Segerstrom and Jane Yada and JP Morgan Managing Director Ethan Morgan.
Latvia is one of 11 countries serving as international partners for the America250 initiative designed to commemorate America’s Semiquincentennial; others include Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal.
Orange County recently doubled up on active U.S. Ambassadors.
On June 17, the Senate confirmed former Rep. Michelle Steel as the next U.S. Ambassador to South Korea; she’s the second Korean American to serve in the role.
Steel’s parents fled North Korea after the Korean War, and she moved to the U.S. as a teenager, after living in South Korea and Japan. In addition to serving two terms in Congress, she was also on the OC Board of Supervisors and the State Board of Equalization.
The ambassador’s post had been open nearly 18 months.
Plans for a $10M+ cricket venue with some 10,000 seats at Irvine’s Great Park, first floated about five years ago, never caught traction. Major League Cricket (MLC), the upstart sports league that eyed the Irvine site for potential use during the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, has since been holding matches in Pomona.
Other OC-based entities have remained invested in MLC.
Global IT services company UST, based in Aliso Viejo and with a large presence in the cricket hotbed of India, last week announced it was extending its relationship with the league’s Seattle Orcas, and will be the franchise’s principal partner for the 2026-27 seasons, which began on June 18.
MSP Sports Capital’s Jeff Moorad turned heads on Balboa Island in recent years during the holidays, decking out his home with a McLaren Racing sports car (when MSP was an investor in the F1 Racing team) on his lawn during the Newport Beach Boat Parade.
Does Newport Harbor have room for a 50-foot catamaran? MSP last week announced it bought a majority stake in New Zealand’s SailGP team. The Black Foils are one of 13 teams competing in the global sailing race series, which was founded by Larry Ellison.
