CASINO NIGHT BENEFITS LCFCC
Tickets are now on sale for the La Cañada Flintridge Community Center Casino Night benefit that will be held on Friday, May 24 as the kick-off event for La Canada’s Fiesta Days. Online registration is available at www.CommunityCenterCasinoNight.eventbrite.org.

The evening begins at 6:30 p.m. Early bird tickets cost $25.

Party-goers will have the chance to use “fun money” to play a variety of Las Vegas style games, including Black Jack, Slots, Texas Hold’em, Craps, Roulette and Spin-to-Win. Guests will also have the opportunity to bid on fabulous prizes in both the silent auction and raffles.

Auction items include The Dish, Hollywood Park, Los Gringos, PRP Wine International, BJ’s Restaurant, Extreme Bootcamp, Crescenta-Canada Family YMCA, Takami Sushi, Robata, Scotty’s Flowers, and the Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse.

The event is anticipated to sell out, so please get your tickets early.

For more information visit: www.cclcf.org or call (818) 790-4353.

FREE SELF-HELP MEETING
Learn a self-help method that will allow you ways to take control of distressing emotions and provide practical guides in coping with the difficulties of everyday life.  Recovery International, the oldest self-help organization in the world, meets at the La Cañada Community Center at 4469 Chevy Chase, on Thursday, April 18 at 7:00 p.m. Free, but donation requested.

KANG AT SOPAS GALLERY
La Cañada resident Chang Paul Kang is currently exhibiting his paintings at the SoPas Gallery in Pasadena.

The earth gives birth and buries. The earth breathes, speaks, cries and smiles. The earth hides sorrow and pain. The earth silences yet roars. The earth comforts yet destroys.  At last the earth forgives and embraces.

Kang’s art juxtaposes the seemingly contradictory faces of the earth, the womb of the life. His art is a tribute to the earth, but an elegy as well.

This is his third exhibition. He studied in Seoul, Korea and Hamburg, Germany.

SoPas Gallery is located at 1121 Mission St., South Pasadena.

INTERNATIONAL FOLK DANCING CLASS
This ongoing class is a fun and easy way to get exercise, make friends, and move to music. Teaching in April and May is focused on beginners and starts promptly at 7:40 p.m. Party and Maypole dance on April 26. Drop-ins are welcome; just show up in comfortable shoes. Most folk dances are done holding hands in a line or circle. There are some couple dances, but you don’t need to bring a partner.

Contact JanRayman@charter.net 818-790-8523, www.PasadenaFolkDanceCoop.org.

Dances take place at Throop Church, 300 S. Los Robles, Pasadena.

GAA HOSTING EXHIBIT
Glendale Art Association’s La Cañada Flintridge Library Art Show, “Let Your Imagination Fly” takes place through April 19 at the La Cañada Library Community Room.

This is an exciting members’ art exhibition. All submitted works will be under 36”. Library hours are Monday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Closed Sundays. For more information, contact glendaleart@gmail.com or visit www.glendaleartassociation.com.

La Cañada Library Community Room, 4545 Oakwood Ave., La Cañada

DRUGS, CRIME AND JAIL FORUM HELD
Drugs, crime and jail are all related. Parents or teens with concerns in this area or those who work with teens are invited to attend this forum that provides effective and proven methods of drug education solutions that can be used by anyone. Experts will speak on this most vital and destructive problem that is tearing families and communities apart.

This forum is on Saturday April 20 from 8:30 a.m. to noon (breakfast buffet included).

It is being held at the Church of Scientology, 35 South Raymond Ave. Pasadena.

RSVP to Gail Carroll at gailcarrollus@yahoo.com or call (626) 215-6224.

MUSIC PERFORMANCE AT LIBRARY
On Saturday, April 20 at 2 p.m., the Associates of Brand Library will be sponsoring the third concert in its annual music series. Violinist Armen Anassian and pianist Mark Robson will be performing works by Richard Strauss, Shostakovich, Robson, Debussy, Messiaen and Schnyder. This concert will be in the auditorium of the Glendale Central Library. Admission is free. More information is available on the Brand Library website http://www.brandlibrary.org/brand_music_events.asp.

For further information, contact the Glendale Central Library at (818) 548-2027.

Brand Library & Art Center is temporarily closed for renovation. Until the renovation is complete, Brand Library events will be held at the Glendale Central Library, 222 E. Harvard St., Glendale.

WORBY GUEST OF AAUW
The American Association of University women – Pasadena branch hosts visionary and builder of orchestras Rachael Worby, artistic director and conductor of Pasadena based MUSE/IQUE.

Rachael Worby previously was the music director and conductor for the Pasadena Pops and the Young Peoples Program at Carnegie Hall and has appeared as guest conductor throughout the United States, Europe, South America, Australia, and Asia.  She created the Governor’s School for the Arts in West Virginia and the American Music Festival in Romania.   Worby holds honorary doctorates from Marshall University and Claremont University.

She will be speaking on Saturday, April 20 at 11:15 a.m. at the Women’s City Club. The cost is $20 per person.

For reservations, mail check payable to AAUW Pasadena to AAUW Pasadena at P.O. Box 94309, Pasadena, CA 91109-4309 by April 12. Indicate grilled salmon and citrus salsa or skinny chicken or fruit plate.

For information, call (626) 797-1059.

Women’s City Club, 160 N. Oakland Ave., Pasadena

CALTECH-OCCIDENTAL SYMPHONY TO PERFORM
The Caltech-Occidental Symphony, directed by Allen Robert Gross, will feature cellist Joshua Yu, the second of this year’s student concerto competition winners.  Yu is a freshman at Occidental College studying cello with Gloria Lum.  Also featured will be Jacob Ortega-Gingrich as assistant conductor.

The program will include Mussorgsky’s “A Night on Bald Mountain,” Saint-Saens “Cello Concerto No. 1,” and Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 1.”  This event will take place on Saturday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Occidental College’s Thorne Hall.  It will also take place on Sunday, April 21 at 3:30 p.m. in Caltech’s Ramo Auditorium.  Both concerts will have the same program, and are open to the public with free admission.

For further information, call the Occidental College Music Department at (323) 259-2785 or the Caltech Office for Performing and Visual Arts at (626) 395-3295.

CAÑADA CRESCENTA DEM CLUB PLANS MEETING
The next meeting of the Cañada Crescenta Democratic Club is Sunday, April 21 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the home of Celina Lew and Ed Castro, in La Cañada. The topic for discussion will be the Affordable Care Act, popularly termed “Obamacare.”

Guest speaker is Gerald F. Kominski, a nationally known researcher and noted expert on the health care systems.  Dr. Kominski is a professor in the Dept. of Health Policy and Management at UCLA and also director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.  His presentation will focus on how the new system works and what can be expected in the future.

The meeting is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit the club website at canadacrescentadems.org or call Nalini Lasiewicz at (818) 249-9691.

ABWA VERDUGO GLEN HOLDING DINNER
The American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) Verdugo Glen Chapter dinner and business meeting is Wednesday, April 24 at 6 p.m. at the Glendale Elks Lodge.

Dinner cost is $25.

For information and reservations call (323) 256-1575 or email lynnws@msn.com.

Glendale Elks Lodge, 120 E. Colorado St. in Glendale

AFRICAN VIOLET SOCIETY TO MEET
The African Violet Society of Montrose will meet at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 24 in the Birch Room at Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada-Flintridge.

Visitors and Guests are always welcome.

MC CARTHY GUEST OF VILLAGE POETS
The Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga announced that the McGroarty Arts Center will be the venue site for its Monthly Poetry Reading Series on Saturday, April 27 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.  The featured poet for this event is Neil McCarthy, an Irish poet from Cork who now lives in Los Angeles. He can be found at www.neilmccarthypoetry.com.  Open reading/light refreshments/admission is free.

Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga:  http://www.villagepoets.blogspot.com

McGroarty Arts Center, 7570 McGroarty Terrace, Tujunga

‘STEP INTO SPRING’ FASHION SHOW & LUNCHEON
The ABWA Verdugo Glen is hosting a fashion show & luncheon on Saturday, April 27 at Angeles National Golf Club at 10:30 a.m. There will be a boutique, silent auction and opportunity prizes.

The luncheon and fashion show begin at 11:45 a.m. Fashions by:  Chico’s Fashions, Jockey Person to Person, and Kika Paprika plus fabulous accessories!

Proceeds benefit student scholarships and member education programs.

Please make check payable to ABWA Verdugo Glen & mail to: Elysa Rosenfeld-Ortiz, 535 Woodbury Road, Glendale CA 91206. For more information, call (818) 547-1422.

Reservations may be made online at www.abwa-verdugoglen.org (Events link).

Angeles National Golf Club, 9401 Foothill Blvd., Sunland

CWC SCHOLARSHIP CONCERT
The California Women’s Chorus, Inc. (CWC) is holding its 44th annual scholarship concert on Sunday, April 28 at 2 p.m. at the Downey Civic Theatre. The concert, “Sophisticated Ladies – A Tribute to Women Then and Now,” is the combined effort of 13 choruses throughout California and is being headed by Kathleen King, Kathy Moshenko and Susan Pieper, affiliates of the Santa Barbara Treble Clef chorus.

Tickets are available for a donation of $20 either by calling (562) 861-8211 or going online at www.downeytheatre.com.

The box office of the Downey Civic Theatre, 8435 Firestone Blvd., Downey will open at 1:15 p.m. on April 28 with seating available at 1:30 p.m.

ABMDR ANNUAL “WALK OF LIFE 2013” WALK-A-THON
The Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) will be holding its Annual “Walk of Life 2013” walk-a-thon on Saturday, May 4. Registration will begin at 9 a.m.; opening ceremony at 9:30 a.m. and the walk will commence at 10 a.m. The 5K walk will begin and end at Glendale Memorial Hospital (Eulalia Street) where there will be food and music.

For information or to register, call (323) 663-3609 or go to www.abmdr.am.

VERDUGO MOUNTAINS 10K TRAIL RUN AND HIKE
Take part in the Verdugo Mountains 10K trail run and hike on Sunday, May 5 starting at 8 a.m. at Brand Park. The 10K trail run and hike is produced by the Glendale Community Services & Parks Dept. to benefit the Glendale Parks & Open Space Foundation and presented by Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center.

This year, participants can enjoy a free pancake breakfast sponsored by Massage Envy Spa-Glendale. In addition, the first 750 runners will receive a free Tech T-shirt courtesy of RaceReady.

Enjoy a morning of good food and an event expo with lots of fun for everyone. Register online at www.runtheverdugos.com.

Brand Park, 1601 W. Mountain St., Glendale

SUNLAND-TUJUNGA HISTORICAL HOME TOUR
Little Landers Historical Society announces the first Sunland-Tujunga community historical home tour in five years.  On May 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., five beautiful, historic and unique homes and Bolton Hall Museum will be open to ticketed home tour visitors.  Two of the featured homes and Bolton Hall have achieved City of Los Angeles cultural heritage monument status.

In addition to in-home visits to the featured locations, home tour visitors will receive a list of over one dozen other historic locations in our community that are available for drive-by viewing at any time.

Home tour tickets will be available for purchase starting on April 13 for a $20 per person pre-tour donation. Tickets will be placed on will-call for pick up at Bolton Hall on May 11 along with home location information and maps. Tickets purchased on the day of the tour will be $25.

Starting location is Bolton Hall Museum, 10110 Commerce Ave., Tujunga.

Additional information is available from Little Landers Historical Society, (818) 352-3420 or www.littlelandershistoricalsociety.org or email littlelanders@verizon.net.

LEGACY LUNCHEON FOR YWCA
The YWCA of Glendale will hold its 16th annual Legacy Luncheon on April 25 at the Oakmont Country Club. As part of the luncheon we will honor those individuals recognized for their dedication to the welfare of women and children in our greater community with the Heart and Excellence Award. Event sponsors and silent auction donations are being sought.

Donations not only honor the recipients of the 2013 Heart & Excellence Award, but ensures that programs crucial to the well being and safety of the women and children in our community will continue. These programs include Sunrise Village – a 45-day emergency shelter and safe haven for women and their children fleeing from domestic violence; the Domestic Violence Service Center – providing case management, legal advocacy and counseling for women and children seeking a life free from domestic violence, and offering assistance with employment, education, language skills and healthcare, all at no cost to the recipients; Camp Y – a summer program for children in our area; Encore Plus – offering community outreach, education and access to free breast and cervical cancer screening to low-income women without insurance coverage in our area; after school programs in coordination with GUSD serving K-12.

To support the YWCA, contact Legacy Luncheon chair Ilena J. Blicker, MD by email at IJBMEDICA@gmail.com or call (818) 243-8134.

BEGINNINGS CLASSES AT VHH
The Verdugo Hills Hospital BEGINNINGS Family Education Program will offer a babysitting class designed on April 27 for boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 15. 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.

AED HEARTSAVER CLASSES OFFERED 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 certification class is designed for the lay person. It provides instruction in adult, child and infant CPR and the choking maneuver for all three as well.  Heartsaver AED classes will be held on May 29, June 12 and July 15 (from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.) at VHH. Fee is $60/person (includes textbook).

Also taught is the AED (automated external defribrillator) as these devices are now located in many public areas.

For more information or to register for a class, call Teri Rice at (818) 952-2272.

CELTIC FUN AT GAMBLE HOUSE
An afternoon of Celtic festivities including musical entertainment, Highland dancing, a Celtic marketplace of food and beverages, fun and games, all outdoors on the grounds of the iconic Gamble House in Pasadena takes place on Sunday, June 2 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. to celebrate the Celtic roots of the Gamble family. Includes touring inside the House

General admission: $50 and includes entertainment, touring of The Gamble House, and food & drink “tastings” (craft brews for those over 21, artisan sodas for the younger set); VIP tickets are $75 and also includes preferred parking, a meal selection, two pints of craft brew, and a special look at areas of The Gamble House not open to general admission. Kids 12 and under (accompanied) are $25 and includes general admission privileges; family of four (two kids 12 and under) are $125; VIP family of four is $225.

For tickets/information, call (626) 793-3334 or visit www.GambleHouse.org; GambleHs@usc.edu.

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.

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

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 defibrillator) as these devices are now located in many public areas. This class is offered once each month with the next classes being held on May 22.

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

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

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.  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

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