Huntington Sheraton Closing Shakes Up the Social Calendar

With Pasadena’s Huntington Sheraton Hotel closed suddenly, the scramble to reschedule hundreds of events continued this week as planners sought to re-pencil a large block of the city’s fall and winter social calendar.

The hotel was closed Sunday because it had been labeled an earthquake hazard by its owners.

About “500 to 600 events, minimum”--ranging from debutante balls to charity events to service club meetings--slated for the hotel throughout the rest of the year, as well as during 1986 and 1987, are being relocated, said Len Archer, the Huntington director of catering. Archer added that he expects to spend the next week to 10 days shuffling parties, weddings and celebrations to other locations in the Los Angeles area. Many of those events, he said, have been placed with other Sheraton hotels.

One large event that won’t be at a hotel is the Christmas Carousel, a fund-raising holiday bazaar for the Westridge School. It will be held in a tent on the school grounds, as it has been in previous years.

The Carousel will run Nov. 7-10, as originally scheduled. Before they learned that the Huntington Sheraton would close, event organizers had mailed more than 52,000 invitations, spokeswoman Margo Milias said. Now they’re busy getting the word out by mail and phone that the event has moved.

Guests of the Tournament of Roses, organizers of the Rose Bowl, have been given new accommodations at the Sheraton in Universal City, Archer said.

Hotel spokeswoman Christle Balvin said persons with questions about rescheduling may still contact the hotel at (818) 792-0266.