Parade

Nobody needed a reminder of the storms, the fires, or the mudflows of the last six months. But on Sunday a heavy rain the day before left puddles all over the field. It drizzled on and off, but the children marched with their teams in the parade. An estimated 2,500 people took a collective sigh of relief at La Cañada High’s baseball field for the La Cañada Junior Baseball Softball Assn.’s opening day ceremonies. “Everyone was in good spirits and I think everyone was happy to get outside for a little bit after the rain on Saturday,” said opening day coordinator Jack Johnson.

Two-dozen rose sculptures will grace the streets of Pasadena in coming months as part of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses’ Roses on Parade public art project. Paintings on the more than 5 feet tall fiberglass sculptures were commissioned to 24 local talented artists, one of whom is a La Cañada resident. The artistry of retired art teacher Gloria Beyer garnered the interest of another La Cañadan, Linda Klausner, who is a Tournament of Roses director and community chair and in charge of the Roses on Parade project.

Seven LCHS musicians marched down Colorado Boulevard in the Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band on Jan. 1. Membership in the Honor Band is based on auditions in October. More than 1,000 area musicians competed for a spot in the parade block, and 275 students were selected. This year's LCHS musicians include Emily Efftman, senior trumpet; Kaveri Thakoor, junior clarinet; Kate Kraft, junior trumpet; Tia Strozier, junior flute; Eamon O'Connor, junior trumpet; Nicky Moura, sophomore trombone and Jabari Strozier junior tenor drums.

Nobody needed a reminder of the storms, the fires, the mudflows of the last six months in the community, and yet, here everybody was on Sunday, after a heavy rain the day before and puddles left all over the field. It drizzled on and off, but the children marched with their teams in the parade and an estimated 2,500 people took a collective sigh of relief at La Cañada High’s baseball field for the La Cañada Junior Baseball Softball Assn.’s opening day ceremonies on Sunday.

Studies have shown that incorporating activity and exercise into our routines on a regular basis has great benefits to our bodies and minds. The Pasadena Senior Center will host a free talk on the role of daily exercise on Thursday, Aug. 9 at noon. The presentation will be held at the center, located at 85 E. Holly St. The presentation is part of the center's monthly Medicine on Parade lecture series. A representative from the Pasadena Rehabilitation Institute will discuss how routine exercise can help with the aging process, mobility and balance.

American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) Region 88, Glendale/La Crescenta will hold its opening ceremonies for the 2005-2006 season at Glendale Community College on Friday, Sept. 9. The ceremonies will begin at 6 p.m. and will conclude with the traditional parade of teams around the track at the new Sartoris Field. Guests scheduled to attend the opening ceremony include Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich and Glendale Mayor Rafi Manoukian, who will also be joining the parade as a coach with his son's team.

Charly Shelton As Disneyland celebrates it's 50th Christmas season, Jack's Back with all his friends in the "Haunted Mansion Holiday", Snow falls every night during the fireworks show "Remember Dreams Come True", "Santa's Reindeer Round-Up" every day in Frontierland, "It's A Small World" celebrates the holidays across the world, and "A Christmas Fantasy" parade returns to the park for the Holiday Season. Some of these attractions are new this year and others are returning favorites, but all are sure fire hits for the whole family.

Running, eating, vintage car shows, shopping, croquet, more eating, sharing of cultures, music and yes even some dancing will be found across La Cañada this Memorial Day weekend with the annual Fiesta Days celebration. For 35 years the city of La Cañada has set aside one weekend to celebrate life in La Cañada with parades and events that bring old friends together and introduce newcomers to the many facets of life in the foothills. Coordinating and planning the event is no easy task, there are permits and committees and meetings.

T he last weekend of May has arrived, and that can mean only one thing to true-blue La Cañadans: Fiesta Days are here. This annual gift to the community from the folks at the La Cañada Flintridge Chamber of Commerce and Community Assn. is a time when we meet up with one another in Memorial Park, at Lanterman House or along the Foothill Boulevard parade route to celebrate the fact that school's almost out and summer is about to unfold. Over the long weekend there will be an outdoor breakfast, a car show, family movie night, a barbecue followed by a terrific fireworks display, the Y's Fiesta Run and the ever-popular parade, of which the decades-long joke is that half the community watches it from the sidewalk while the other half is in it. Our local museum will hold its annual open house on Sunday, and the city's summer concert series will get off to a rousing start Monday afternoon.

Float group plans Hamburger Night LCF Tournament of Roses Assn. will hold its annual Hamburger Night at 6 p.m. Friday in the backyard of Sarah and Mayfield Marshall, 4918 Vineta Ave. Community members 18 and older can enjoy a hamburger (or cheeseburger) with all the sides for $8. Just bring an appetizer to share, and theassociation furnishes the hamburgers, cheese, potato salad, baked beans, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, onions, pickles, etc. Beverages will be available for purchase at a nominal cost.

My goodness, whoever heard of rain in Southern California in July? The quick rain shower on Saturday evening was quite a surprise! The sky was lovely after the rain, with clouds that were white on the top with dark underbellies. It was such a moody night and the air so fragrant after being dampened. I was drinking it all in — it was so beautiful. I happily made my annual trek last week to Laguna Beach to attend the 77th presentation of the world-renown Laguna Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters.

The Fourth of July is a time for celebrating the birth of America and what the country stands for. Of course, some people celebrate more enthusiastically than others. This is true of the dozen or so teenagers, ranging from 16 to 20, who have put on AmericaFest for two years now. AmericaFest 2010, which took place on Saturday and Sunday with Memorial Park as a home base, consisted of an informal parade, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, handing out apple pies to firefighters and a loosely based Revolutionary War battle reenactment portrayed through a water balloon fight.

This past Sunday I joked with one of our parish priests about the poor attendance at Mass. My parish has a very high Latino population, so I told him the Mexico-Argentina World Cup match was probably to blame. By now, most of you know Mexico was slaughtered in that contest, which began at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, half an hour after our Spanish Mass. I told him it was ironic that on the day when it would be most appropriate to pray to God for a Mexico win, parishioners opted to stay home.

One couldn't have asked for a more beautiful night for a party. It was a starry night and a nearly full moon was reflected in the backyard swimming pool as guests gathered on the patio of the mountain top home of Becky and Chuck Gelhaar for the recent La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Assn. Happy Hour event. More than 80 people noshed on the huge spread of hors d'ouvres brought by guests and sipped beverages poured by bartenders for the evening Bob Wallace and Tony Riewe . Besides exchanging news about who was going where for their summer vacation the main topic was how the progress of our city's float, "3-2-1 DIG!"

The parade of dump trucks that crowded La Cañada Flintridge and Crescenta Valley streets throughout the winter are coming back.   Crews, contracted by Los Angeles County Public Works, will soon begin expanding the Pickens, Snover, Bigbriar, Mullally, Pinelawn and Starfall catch basins later this month, officials said. Some cement barriers, installed last year to divert debris flows, have already been removed to allow access. Impacted Residents near the affected basins were notified by flier, said county spokesman Kerjon Lee. Officials also followed up with a community meeting in Paradise Valley in La Cañada, one of the most at-risk neighborhoods.

T he city of La Cañada was awash in red, white and blue last weekend as thousands of foothill residents turned out to participate in the 37th annual Memorial Weekend Fiesta Days celebration. "We don't have attendance figures yet," said Fiesta Days Chairman Barbara Marshall. "But it looked to equal if not exceed last year in terms of participation. We are thrilled." Three days of activities included some of the city's longest-running traditions, including fireworks in Memorial Park, the Fiesta Days Run and the Memorial Day parade.

O ur city's Fiesta Days were a great success. It has been said that everybody loves a parade, and it certainly is true here in La Cañada. Our Memorial Day parade is the epitome of every small-town America celebration. Red, white and blue patriotism is always the color scheme, and it is a stellar flag-waving event. Sunday evening's fireworks show in the park was pretty darn awesome. Thank you, Allen Lund, for your generosity by giving our city this star-spangled, multicolored display of oohs and ahhs.

C lear skies and warm days made for solid turnouts at the weekend's Fiesta Days events. A few people who were in the parade this year commented to me that they'd never seen so many people lined up on both sides of the boulevard for the main event — and I believe it. On our little stretch of the sidewalk we gave away many gallons of lemonade and countless cups of coffee, to onlookers as well as thirsty parade participants who had finished the...

CLASSES Cookin Kids Culinary Camp — Six weeks, beginning July 12 . Each week focuses on a different theme. Campers are divided into two groups, ages 7-11 and ages 12-16. Classes will be held at La Cañada High School, 4463 Oak Grove Drive. Parents may enroll children on one week or multiple sessions. For complete details, including fees, discounts, and a camp calendar, visit the website at www.cookinkids camp.com . Or call (818) 952-3452. Zumba Fitness classes — Tuesdays, 5:15 p.m. and Thursdays, 5:30 p.m . At Vonder Haar performing Center, 457 Foothill Blvd.