‘TOSCA’ SUBJECT OF TALK
On Saturday, May 11 at 2 p.m., the Glendale Public Library will be hosting a talk on the opera “Tosca” by Puccini. The talk will be given by Los Angeles Opera Speakers’ Bureau member Fred Hyatt. Admission is free. 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 opera talks will be temporarily held at the Glendale Central Library 222 E. Harvard St., Glendale; call (818) 548-2027.

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.

VHAA HOSTS GUEST ARTIST DEBORAH SWAN-MCDONALD
Deborah Swan-McDonald will be the demonstration artist at the Verdugo Hills Art Assn.’s May 10 meeting. The meeting takes place at the La Cañada Flintridge Community Center at 7 p.m. She will present a watercolor pour demonstration. This is for members and non-members.

Swan-McDonald is a signature member of the National Watercolor Society and a juried member of Watercolor West.

For more information on Verdugo Hills Art Assn. or on Swan-McDonald’s demonstration, visit www.VerdugoArts.com.

La Cañada Community Center, 4469 Chevy Chase Drive, La Cañada

FLINTRIDGE BOOKSTORE EXHIBITS AT LITFEST PASADENA 2.0
On Saturday, May 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse is participating in Pasadena’s second annual LitFest, a celebratory day of readings, performances, and panel discussions featuring well-known and upcoming California authors. There will also be hands-on activities, good food, better books, and family-friendly fun all aimed at promoting the literary arts.

Flintridge Bookstore will be answering questions all day about its Espresso Book Machine (EBM), which offers self-publishing and on demand print services. The bookstore is one of a handful of locations in California with this specialized machine that caters to authors interested in printing small runs of their titles, as well as to other bibliophiles searching for obscure, public domain and other titles not readily available through traditional outlets. LitFest attendees can enter a drawing to win free EBM Tier 1 self-publishing services.

In addition, there will also be several author appearances.

For more information, call (818) 790-0717. Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse is located at 1010 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada Flintridge at the intersection of Foothill Blvd. and the Angeles Crest Highway.

TEA TIME AT LCWC JUNIORS
The La Crescenta Woman’s Club Juniors will hold its Annual Spring Time Tea Party at the La Crescenta Woman’s Club clubhouse at 4004 La Crescenta Ave., La Crescenta on Saturday, May 11. Seating will begin at 11 a.m.

Featured are a boutique, opportunity drawings and a prize awarded for the best hat. Reservations are $20 per person.  Proceeds will benefit local charities.

Make checks payable to La Crescenta Woman’s Club, P.O Box 106, Verdugo City, CA 91046.  For information on this event, contact Amira  Smith  (818) 618-3308 cellphone or email amirasmith@me.com.

MUSIC AT CALTECH
The Caltech Glee Club and Chamber Orchestra will combine to present Vivaldi’s “Gloria” on Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11 at 8 p.m. in Ramo Auditorium. Nancy Sulahian will conduct.

The Caltech chamber singers will sing madrigals and chansons of the renaissance and by the modern composer Morten Lauridsen as well as a selection of Brahms’ gypsy songs.

The Caltech Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Allen Robert Gross, will perform Schubert’s “Symphony No. 3.”

Admission is free and no tickets are required.

The Caltech Chamber Music Ensembles present its spring 2013 chamber music concerts on May 12 and May 19 at Caltech’s Dabney Lounge.

A Mother’s Day concert will take place on Sunday, May 12 at 3:30 p.m. Featured will be music by Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Pleyel, Dvorak, and Saint-Saëns, with a special emphasis on music for flute, along with other woodwinds, strings, and piano.

The annual chamber music marathon will be on Sunday, May 19 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Ensembles ranging from four cellos, to string quartet, trios of many different combinations, and piano duo will play music by Mozart, Haydn, Brahms, Dvorak, Turina, and Saint-Saëns, including a complete performance of Carnival of the Animals.

Both concerts will be in Caltech’s Dabney Lounge in the middle of the campus. Detailed programs will be posted one week before each concert at www.music.caltech.edu. Admission is free with no tickets required.  For more information, visit online or call (626) 395-3295.

KAT HIGH AT CV SIERRA CLUB
The Crescenta Valley Sierra Club Group presents Kat High, director of the Haramonkngna American Indian Cultural Center, on Tuesday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles County Public Library.  Enter on La Crescenta Avenue for the meeting place and parking.

As director, High will discuss the traditional agricultural management techniques of her Hupa Indian culture.  She will explain how these ancient methods can be used today to restore our lands to their former beauty. These techniques are used by most California Indian tribes, including Tataviam, Chumash, Kitanemuk and Serrano.  The name Haramokngna is derived from Gabrielino and Tongva language dialects and translates roughly as, “The place where people gather.” A place to share culture, history and heritage and central to the indigenous people of this area.  In High’s own words, “We share the stories of the five tribes of the San Gabriels.”

The program begins following news of conservation and outings. Refreshments will be served. This is a free event and everyone is welcome.  Contact Wayne Fisher, Program chair for further information at (818) 353-4181.

The Los Angeles County Public Library, located at 2809 Foothill Blvd. La Crescenta

NOON CONCERTS OPEN TO PUBLIC
Glendale Noon Concerts is a free admission concert series taking place every first and third Wednesday from 12:10 p.m. to 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 May 15 and features cellist Lazslo Mezo who will perform works by Beethoven and Piazzolla with pianist Rosa LoGiudice.

First Baptist Church of Glendale, 209 N. Louise St. (at Wilson)
in Glendale.

GERAGOS, HARRIS AT GLENDALE LIBRARY
The Glendale Central Library hosts two of America’s leading criminal defense attorneys, Mark Geragos and Pat Harris, on Wednesday, May 15 at 7 p.m. Learn how these two upend the scales and reveal why “justice” often literally is blind in this land of stealth jurors manipulating their way onto cases so they can convict a defendant, cops who feel compelled to lie on the witness stand, detectives who sell confidential police information, defense attorneys too scared to go to trial, and clients eager to bribe judges.

Geragos and Harris take readers inside some of the most compelling and sensational trials of the past 20 years in “Mistrial: An Inside Look at How the Criminal Justice System Works…and Sometimes Doesn’t.” They have worked on cases that involved celebrities (Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, Winona Ryder, Mike Tyson) and on cases that have made ordinary people into celebrities (Susan McDougal, Scott Peterson, Gary Condit).

Sponsored by the Friends of the Glendale Public Library and the Library, Arts & Culture Department.

Glendale Central Library Auditorium, 222 E. Harvard St., Glendale

GLENDALE POLICE FOUNDATION LUNCHEON COMING UP
The public is invited to join the Glendale Police Foundation for its 18th Annual Awards Luncheon on May 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Glendale Hilton Hotel. Sponsor, donate to, and attend the event to honor and recognize the men and women of the Glendale Police Dept. who keep Glendale one of the top 10 safest cities in the United States of its size. The Glendale Police Foundation (GPF) is a non-profit organization created to support Glendale Police Dept.’s operations, strengthen community/police relationships, and encourage innovation.

To purchase tickets to the event, visit http://www.glendalepolicefoundation.org/testsite/GPF/Awards_Luncheon.html.

TOWNE SINGERS PRESENT ‘SONGS IN THE KEY OF L.A.’
What unites the music of Graham Nash, George Gershwin, Eric Whitacre and Brian Wilson? All of these composers and more wrote in Los Angeles and will be featured in the Towne Singers concert May 18 at First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena at 5 p.m. Tickets are $25 at the door and $20 presale. Tickets are available from members of Towne Singers , through townesingers.org or by telephone at (818) 275-4117.

PERFORMANCES BY CALTECH-OCCIDENTAL CONCERT BAND, CALTECH JAZZ BAND
The Caltech-Occidental Concert Band and Caltech Jazz Band present the 33rd annual Bandorama concert on Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18 at 8 p.m. in Caltech’s Ramo Auditorium featuring music from “Les Miserables,” “West Side Story” and the Count Basie Band

Guest conductors will be Christine Loza and Jeffrey Thompson. Both guest conductors have played in the band for many years and will receive their PhDs from Caltech in June.

The concerts are free and no tickets are required. There is free parking nearby. Early arrival is encouraged, as these concerts are popular and well attended. For further information, visit bands.caltech.edu or call (626) 395-3295.

ALMANOVA AT GLENDALE LIBRARY
On Saturday, May 18 at 2 p.m., AlmaNova will be performing at the Glendale Central Library as part of the Associates of Brand Library Music Series. The award winning AlmaNova consists of flutist Jessica Pierce and guitarist Almer Imamovic. Music on the program will includes pieces by Falla, Rossini, Giuliani, Imamovic, Ravel and Ibert. More information is available at www.almanova.us.

Admission is free and this concert is sponsored by the Associates of Brand Library. 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, (818) 548-2027.

FEMINISM TOPIC OF LUNCHEON
On Saturday, May 18 at 11:15 a.m., AAUW Pasadena is hosting a luncheon meeting at the Women’s City Club in Pasadena. The topic is “Feminism At Caltech: Where We Are And Where We Are Going” with Eva M. Graham, Ed.D. director, Center For Diversity, California Institute Of Technology.

The cost is $20 per person. Mail check payable to AAUW Pasadena to AAUW Pasadena at P.O. Box 94309, Pasadena, CA 91109-4309 by May 10.

For information, call (626) 797-1059.

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

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.

TERZI AT VILLAGE POETS
The Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga will have its next Monthly Poetry Reading Series on Sunday, May 26  at Bolton Hall Museum from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The featured poet is Judith Terzi. Her poems have been nominated for Best of the Net and Web and have garnered prizes and honorable mentions. A new chapbook, “Ghazal for a Chambermaid,” is forthcoming from Finishing Line. A former high school French teacher at Polytechnic School in Pasadena, she also taught English at California State University, Los Angeles, and in Algiers, Algeria. She holds an M.A. in French literature.  Bring your own poetry/light refreshments/admission is free! Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga:  http://www.villagepoets.blogspot.com.

Bolton Hall Museum, 10110 Commerce Ave., Tujunga, CA  91042

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.

SENIOR EXPO AT CRESCENTA-CANADA Y
Tender Hearts HomeCare and the Crescenta Cañada YMCA are hosting the Second Annual Senior Healthy Living Expo on Saturday, June 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This was rescheduled from June 1 due to scheduling conflicts.

There will free food, entertainment and opportunities to meet business professionals from the community that deal with seniors. There will be free medical, dental, podiatry and chiropractic checks ups along with a masseuse. The Sisters of Swing, an Andrews Sisters tribute ensemble, will provide music. For questions or to RSVP, call Tender Hearts HomeCare at (855) 411-8442.

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

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

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.