COOKING DEMO AT LIBRARY
On Saturday, Feb. 16, the La Crescenta Library is having a vegetarian cooking demonstration from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.  Enjoy a pleasant afternoon with Chef Joanna Chen and discover how to create simple, delicious, healthy and compassionate meals for family and friends.

La Crescenta Library, 2809 Foothill Blvd. in La Crescenta

LCFCC HOLDING JAPANESE JEWELRY WORKSHOP
Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge is hosting a one-day jewelry workshop with Holly Dare on Saturday, Feb. 16.

Holly Dare is a former television producer for HGTV and teaches the ancient art of Japanese braiding that can be traced as far back as 7,500 B.C.

Join us on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and learn techniques for braiding and threading cords, string, and ribbon with beads to create a colorful necklace that has the look of elegant and elaborate bead crochet in a fraction of the time. Students will finish the piece and add a clasp in class.

Registration and class information can be found at www.cclcf.org.

GLENDALE ONE TOASTMASTERS
Glendale One Toastmasters meets from 6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays at Shakers Restaurant in Glendale. Toastmasters is a non-profit organization developing public speaking and leadership skills through practice and feedback in local clubs since 1924.

For more information, please call (818) 314-4964.

Shakers Restaurant, 801 N. Central, Glendale

FREE DIABETES COMMUNITY EDUCATION CLASS
The Diabetes Care Center at Glendale Adventist Medical Center invites the community to a free diabetes community education class held every Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the hospital (Committee Room A).

Participants will learn more about living with diabetes – care and treatment, healthy eating strategies – the importance of blood glucose monitoring and AIC and tools for healthy life style to reduce the risk of complications.

For more information or to RSVP, call (818) 409-8100.

Glendale Adventist Medical Center (Committee Room A – Ground Floor), 1509 Wilson Terrace, Glendale

FREE INCOME TAX PREPARATION
Residents can receive free income tax preparation under the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program provided through AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, a tax-exempt charity of AARP.  Membership in AARP is not required.

Free income tax preparation can be obtained at La Crescenta County Library, 2809 Foothill Blvd. (corner of La Crescenta Avenue) through Friday, April 12 except for April 5.  Enter from the upper level parking lot.

The hours are Wednesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Taxpayers will be helped on a “first-come-first-served” basis; no advanced reservations are available.

BREASTFEEDING SUPPORT GROUP AT Y
The Crescenta-Cañada Family YMCA, in partnership with the La Leche League, is hosting a monthly infant lactation and development support group to help support new mothers. This monthly group meets on the third Friday of each month from noon-1 p.m., beginning on Feb. 15.  This group is free and open to the community and will answer all breastfeeding related questions that new mothers may have.

The Y is also offering a Mindful Parenting Course designed to help parents connect to their children and raise them to thrive. This course is adapted from the work of Dan Siegal, M.D and will focus on reducing daily stress while connecting with your child. The classes meet weekly on Tuesdays. The course is open to all and there is a fee to attend.

For more information, contact the Y at (818) 790-0123.

The Y is located at 1930 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada

NOON CONCERTS OPEN TO PUBLIC
Glendale Noon Concerts is a free admission concert series taking place every first and third Wednesday from 12:10-12:40 p.m. in the restored chapel and sanctuary of the First Baptist Church of Glendale (downtown at Louise & Wilson, no religious affiliation).

The next concert is on Feb. 20 and features violinist Johana Krejci will perform a program “Famous Czechs: Dvorak and Smetana” with pianist Wendy Prober-Cohen.

ATTENTION MUSIC LOVERS
Dr. Ted Stern, professor of Music at Glendale Community College, will again conduct off-campus music appreciation classes for adults in the community. This ongoing series is for musicians and non-musicians alike. This semester will address the topic:  “An In-Depth Look at Six Composers: Praetorius, Handel, Mozart, Berlioz, Puccini and Stravinsky.”

Classes will be held at the Crescenta Valley United Methodist Church. The series of classes are held each Tuesday from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., continuing through May 21. The cost is $90. For more information, call Dianne at (818) 445-2390.

Crescenta Valley United Methodist Church, 2700 Montrose Ave. Montrose

DBSA OFFERS SUPPORT GROUP
Depression Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) has a support group meeting every Tuesday at Vallejo Drive Adventist Church in Glendale every Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. DBSA provides hope, help, and support through peer-based, recovery oriented empowering services, and resources when people need them and how they need to receive them.

For more information, call Wanda Sellers at (818) 352-4346, email dbsalosangelesne@yahoo.com or visit dbsalosangelesne.org.

Vallejo Drive Adventist Church, 300 Vallejo Dr., Room 106 in Glendale.

GLENDALE QUILT GUILD MEETING
The Glendale Quilt Guild meets the second Wednesday of the month at the Glendale Central Library. Social hour is at 6 p.m. followed by the meeting at 6:30 p.m. Refreshments served at the break. Meetings are free to members and $5 for visitors. For more information visit www.glendalequiltguild.org or phone Brandi at (818) 541-9983.

Glendale Central Library, 222 E. Harvard, in Glendale

ANNUAL CALTECH-OCCIDENTAL CONCERT
The Caltech – Occidental Concert Band, directed by William Bing, presents their annual concert at Thorne Hall in Eagle Rock on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public.

On the program will be one of the most loved pieces for concert band, “Lincolnshire Posy” by Percy Grainger. Also on the program is Richard Strauss’ First Horn Concerto. This showcase for horn will feature the ensemble’s principal horn player Julia Ziac who is a junior at Caltech majoring in physics.
Paul Asimow, professor of geology and geochemistry at Caltech, will conduct a composition by Ralph Dunlap.
There will also be appearances by the Caltech Trombone Choir, the Caltech Clarinet Choir, and the Caltech Percussion Ensemble.

Rounding out the program will be guest conductors Jeff Leblow, Catherine Wehrey, Jamie Rankin, Lynne Snyder, and Scott Babcock.

Contact the Occidental College Music Office at (323) 259-2785 or the Caltech Music Office at (626) 395-3295 for further information.  http://bands.caltech.edu.

Thorne Hall is located on the Occidental Campus at 1600 Campus Road in Eagle Rock.

SHOP OF HORRORS AT CALTECH
Caltech is in for a Laugh (and a little bit of Horror) with “Little Shop of Horrors” starting on Friday, Feb. 22-24 and March 1-2 in Caltech’s Ramo Auditorium

Featuring a cast, crew, and rock band with a strong student presence, but populated from all corners of the Caltech community, the show is produced by theater faculty Brian Brophy, directed by alumna Miranda Stewart, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in theater from Occidental College, with music direction by Caltech undergraduate Jetson Leder-Luis.

Darkly funny and always catchy, “Little Shop of Horrors” runs for five performances in Caltech’s Ramo Auditorium:  Friday, Feb. 22 and Saturday, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 24 at 2:30pm; Friday, March 1 at 8 p.m.; and Saturday, March 2 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for Caltech students, $9 for Caltech staff, JPL, and other students, and $18 general admission.  Purchasing information available at the Theater Arts Caltech website http://tacit.caltech.edu.

Caltech, 332 S. Michigan, Pasadena

PIANIST GARRETT AT GLENDALE LIBRARY
On Saturday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m., the Associates of Brand Library will be sponsoring the first concert in its annual music series. Pianist Junko Ueno Garrett will be performing the complete Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach.

This concert will be in the auditorium of the Glendale Central Library. Admission is free.

Glendale Central Library 222 E. Harvard St. Glendale

BEGINNINGS CLASSES AT VHH
The Verdugo Hills Hospital BEGINNINGS Family Education Program will offer a babysitting class on Feb. 23 designed for boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 15. Additional babysitting classes will be held on March 23 and April 27. Each class is a single, one-time class, held from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The babysitting class is an interactive course that teaches participants valuable skills, including infant/child CPR, basic first aid, home/auto safety, accident prevention, telephone skills, safety tips, when to call 911, poison control, fire/earthquake plans and other helpful childcare advice. Upon completion of the course, participants will receive a babysitting course completion certificate.

Classes are offered at VHH, located at 1812 Verdugo Blvd. in Glendale, 91208 in the Council Room (located on the fourth floor).

Class fee is $40/person. Reservations are required. For more information or to register, call (818) 952-2272. For a list of additional classes offered by the Family Education Program, please visit www.vhhospital.org.

LA CRESCENTA HOMESTEADER’S ARTWORK ON EXHIBIT
Sketches and watercolors from 1900 – 1902 by Winifred Bathey, a La Crescenta homesteader who also pursued art, are on display at the Lanterman House until Feb. 28. The exhibition of this private collection also includes photographs from the Bathey family albums. Winifred, the eldest daughter, focused on architecture and landscape in her artwork, preserving a rare glimpse of the foothills and parts of Los Angeles at the turn of the 20th Century.

For visitor information, contact the Lanterman House at http://www.lantermanfoundation.org/.

TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR FESTIVAL OF WOMEN AUTHORS
The 5th Annual Pasadena Festival of Women Authors is on Saturday, March 9. This event features four award-winning Southern California authors: Aimee Bender, Bo Caldwell, Gabrielle Pina and Kathleen Sharp. The event takes place at the Pasadena Senior Center from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Reyna Grande, who was chosen as the 2013 Writer-in-Residence for the program at Pasadena City College, will be the kick-off speaker.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Pasadena Senior Center and the Pasadena City College Writer-in-Residence program. Tickets for the festival are $85 per person and include lunch. Reserved tables of 10 are $1,000. Visit www.pasadenafestivalofwomenauthors.org for more information.

Pasadena Senior Center, 85 E. Holly St., Pasadena.

LCWC HOLDING ‘NIGHT AT THE RACES’
The La Crescenta Woman’s Club – History Section is hosting “Night at the Races” on March 9. Cocktails are at 5 p.m., dinner at 5:30 p.m. and post-time at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $20/person, or $35/couple which include dinner.  For reservations call Deanna Alfeld (661) 250-2653 or Rita Even (818) 249-6296. The deadline for reservations is March 1.  A portion of the proceeds will help fund a scholarship for a graduating Crescenta Valley High School senior excelling in history.

La Crescenta Woman’s Club, 4004 La Crescenta Ave., La Crescenta

COUNTY IRISH FAIR
The 2013 Los Angeles County Irish Fair is coming to the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds Fairplex in Pomona on March 9-10 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.

The cost is $18 general admission with discounts for children, seniors and active duty military.

Bands, bagpipes, Irish step dancers, Irish food, shopping, fun for the whole family.

CPR CLASSES AT VHH
As an American Heart Association training center, Verdugo Hills Hospital (VHH) offers cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training classes to community members and healthcare providers. For community members, VHH offers the Heartsaver AED class. This class is designed for the layperson. It provides instruction in adult, child and infant CPR and the choking maneuver for all three as well.  Also taught is the AED (automated external defribrillator) as these devices are now located in many public areas. This class is offered once each month with future classes being held on March 13, April 10, and May 22.

For more information about VHH’s CPR courses or to register for a class, call (818) 952-2272 to make a reservation.

SIERRA CLUB PLANS CHINA TRIP
The community is invited to a well-paced journey to China. Explore Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, where the Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties lived. Climb the Great Wall, take a boat cruise on the Grand Canal of Hangzhou, and visit Suzhou’s Silk factory. Set sail on the Yangtze River, enjoy the wonderful scene of deep and quiet gorges, and the magnificent peaks as if they were cut by axes and knives. Take a shore excursion to the Shennong Stream where you may see the ancient roads, coffins in precipice, and even some rare animals such as golden-haired monkeys.  We will also visit Xi’an’s most important archeological site, where thousands of life-size terra-cotta warriors have been guarding the Emperor’s burial site for over 2,000 years.  Discover the mile-long riverside embankment where foreign investors once held sway over Shanghai.

Price is $3,195.

Sponsored by the Sierra Club. The dates for this event are April 20 to May 4 and the leaders are Andrea Lim and Salud Salinda in association with the Crescenta Valley Sierra Club Group.

For more information, send email to andrealim94@yahoo.com – insert subject line of “China 2013” or call Salud at (310) 259-1208. Applications are first-come first-served.

FIRST CVHS CLASS OF ’63 PLANS 50-YEAR REUNION
A 50-year reunion is being planned by the members of the first class to graduate from Crescenta Valley High in 1963.

The “First and the Best” will celebrate June 22-23 at Angeles National Golf Club nestled at the base of the Angeles National Forest just 15 minutes from Burbank Airport and numerous hotels.

Planning committee members are seeking addresses and email addresses of classmates to notify them of the event.  Former Falcons are asked to contact Denice “Pruden” Heatherington at d.prudenheatherington@yahoo.com or Gene Wilcott at gwilcott@charter.net.

Plans include a Saturday night “Buffet of Memories: An Evening with Old Friends, Fine Food & Good Spirits,” and a Sunday brunch.

Area residents might remember when the “old” Clark Junior High campus was converted into a high school in the fall of 1960, and there was only a sophomore class.  Those students were the first to graduate from the new high school, and they established the school mascot, school colors, school song (written by class faculty advisor Shirley Nute) and many other traditions.

Class president Tim MacDonald heads a committee composed of Heatherington, Wilcott, Miles Olin, Kathie “Schreck” Olin, Susie “Schunck” Gorman, Merry “Delbridge” Shelburne, Terry “Wudke” Baugh, Donna “Gamper” Didden, Gayle “Hasselschwert” Kemper, and class advisor Nute, with special thanks to the “Keepers of the List,” Dennis and Mary “MacArthur” LeBlanc.