Around & About

CLASSES: Art Demonstration — Friday, Nov. 5, 7 p.m. Verdugo Hills Art Association hosts guest artist Tom Fong, called one of “20 Great Teachers” by Watercolor magazine. Fong will demonstrate his signature style of watercolor painting. The event will be held at the Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge, 4469 Chevy Chase Drive, La Cañada. For more information on the Verdugo Hills Art Association visit www.verdugoarts.com.

Self-defense Workshop for teens, adult women — Saturday, Nov. 6, 9 a.m. to noon. Impact Personal Safety presents this three-hour workshop. Participants will learn how to use verbal and physical skills, practicing against a mock opponent. The workshop will be held at the Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge, 4469 Chevy Chase Drive, La Cañada. Space is limited to 18 participants. Cost is $30 per student. Teens must have their parents complete a liability waiver prior to participation. To learn more or to reserve a space in the workshop, call (818) 790-4353.

Plan Your Spring Garden — Saturday, Nov. 13, 10 a.m. Mike Brown, horticulturist, shows home gardeners how to get a jump on spring blooms. Class meets in the Maple building at Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, then moves into the gardens. Subjects covered include soil preparation, raised planting beds and container gardens. Advance registration is required. Cost is $15 for general public, $10 for Descanso members. Register by calling (818) 949-7980.

Online Networking Workshop — Saturday, Nov. 13, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Learn how to use “Linked In,” the popular networking site for professionals. Pixie Boyden, administrative computing manager at Loyola Law School, will go through the steps of using this networking tool in a small classroom setting at Women At Work, 3871 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena 91107. Attendees must register for a “Linked In” account before attending the workshop. Visit https://www.linkedin.com and click on “join today.” Register for the workshop by calling (626) 796-6870, ext. 0. Cost is $20 if you register by Nov. 10; $25 thereafter.

EVENTS

Sticks and Stones Heritage Tour — Saturday, Nov. 6, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Presented by the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley and Lanterman House. A self-guided tour of seven structures in the Crescenta-Cañada Valley built between 1911 and 2002. Advance admission is $20 per person; at the door, $25. Purchase advance tickets online at lantermanfoundation.org. Tickets will not be sent. Instead, will-call pickups and day-of-the event ticket purchases can be made beginning at 10 a.m. Nov. 6 at St. Luke’s of the Mountains Episcopal Church, 2563 Foothill Blvd., La Crescenta. For more information call Lanterman House, (818) 790-1421 or visit cvhistory.org.

Japanese Garden Festival — Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 6-7, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Descanso Gardens celebrates Japanese arts, crafts and culture. A Taiko drum performance will take place at noon on Saturday and chrysanthemum blossoms will be exhibited in Van de Kamp Hall by members of the Glendale Chrysanthemum Society. A Japanese-inspired menu, including sake, will be served in the Full Moon Teahouse from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. The festival is free with admission, which is $8 for adults, $6 seniors/students and $3 for children 5-12. Descanso Gardens is located at 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada.

Documentary, “The Forest Recovery Project” — Saturday, Nov. 6, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Naturalist Corina Roberts, founder of Redbird, a nonprofit Native American and environmental awareness organization, presents this documentary film on the recovery of the Angeles National Forest in the year following the August 2009 Station fire. Roberts will narrate a journey through the primary biomes of the forest as they change through the seasons. La Cañada Flintridge Public Library, 4545 Oakwood Ave., La Cañada.

Sacred sand mandala — Created this week by Buddhist monks; to be swept away in special ceremony at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7. Pacific Asia Museum, 46 N. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena 91101, welcomes five visiting monks from Drepung Loseling Phukhang Khangtsen Monastery in Southern India. The monks began creating the intricate sand mandala, one grain of colored sand at a time, on Wednesday morning and will continue their work until it is completed over the weekend. The design depicts a structure of the world in its divine form. At 2 p.m. Sunday the monks will hold a dissolution ceremony, blessing the mandala a final time before sweeping the grains of sand together in one pile. Some of the sand is given to people present as a small blessing for their home or garden. The remainder is taken to the ocean to, according to Tibetan Buddhist belief, it blesses all living beings there. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is $9 general, $7 students/seniors. Children ages 11 and younger are admitted free.

Pasadena Women’s Connection luncheon — Wednesday, Nov. 10, 11:30 a.m. A Sweet Adelines quartet, “Hot Topic,” will perform and motivational speaker Kat Dunkle will address the topic of “Finding True Love.” Brookside Country Club, 1133 N. Rosemont, Pasadena. Tickets are $20. For reservations call Darlene at (818) 353-2212 or Margaret at (626) 574-0251.

Fall Color Walk — Saturday, Nov. 13, 1 p.m. Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive. Horticulturist Wayne Walker leads this “walk and talk” through the gardens. Free with admission, which is $8 for adults, $6 for senior and students, $3 for children 5-12.

KIDS’ PICKS

Vegging Out — Thursday, Nov. 4, 3:30 to 5 p.m. For children who attend kindergarten through third-grade, accompanied by an adult. The Crescenta-Cañada YMCA plans several fun-filled activities to make nutrition cool. Among them: planting vegetables, participating in interactive story time, making holiday-themed healthy snacks and learning from a nutritionist. Free and open to community members. For more information call Rosanne Malogolowkin at (818) 790-0123, ext. 247.

Toddler Time — Saturday, Nov. 13, 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Tots ages 18 to 36 months, accompanied by a parent or caregiver, are invited to enjoy a morning of science and art exploration, sing-a-long time and active play at Kidspace Museum, 480 N. Arroyo Blvd., Pasadena 91103. Fee is $25 per child. Register online at https://www.kidspacemuseum.org.

Babysitting Course for Ages 11 to 15 — Saturdays, Nov. 20, Dec. 11 and Jan. 29, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Verdugo Hills Hospital Beginnings Family Education Program offers babysitting classes at the hospital, 1812 Verdugo Blvd., Glendale 91208 for boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 15. The interactive course teaches infant/child CPR, basic first aid, home/auto safety, accident prevention, telephone skills, safety tips and more. Upon completion, participants will receive a certificate. Class fee is $35 per person and reservations are required. To register call (818) 952-2272.

PERFORMANCE

Pasadena Community Orchestra — Friday, Nov. 5, 8 p.m. Alan Reinecke conducts the Pasadena Community Orchestra in works by Lalo, Tchaikovsky, Haydn and Schubert in this concert held in the sanctuary of Pasadena Church of the Nazarene, 3700 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Pasadena. Admission is free. Reception follows the concert. For more information call (626) 445-6708 or visit https://www.pcomusic.org.

The Servant of Two Masters — Sunday, Nov. 7, 2 p.m. Carlo Goldoni’s play is presented by the Glendale Community College Theatre Arts Department in the college’s Mainstage Theatre. Director is Jeanette D. Farr. Tickets are $10 general admission, $6 for students and seniors and $4 per person for groups of 10 or more or children 12 and under. Tickets may be purchased at the door or reserved in advance. Call (818) 240-1000, ext. 5612. For more details go to https://www.glendale.edu/theatre.

Los Angeles Clarinet Choir — Tuesday, Nov. 9, 8 p.m. In the Worship Arts Center of La Cañada Presbyterian Church, 626 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada. This free concert featuring a group of 15 accomplished clarinetists ranging in age from 17 to 70 is sponsored by the Voyagers Club at the church. For information call (818) 790-6084.

Caltech-Occidental Symphony Orchestra — Saturday, Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m. at Thorne Hall, Occidental College and Sunday, Nov. 14, 3:30 p.m. Ramo Auditorium, Caltech. Allen Robert Gross conducts both of these concerts; Lawrence Sonderling is the featured violinist. The program includes Nicolai’s overture to “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” Mendelssohn’s “Symphony No. 4 and “Violin Concerto No. 1” by Shostakovich. For more information (323) 259-2785 (Occidental) and (626) 395-3295 (Caltech). Free and open to the public.

SENIORS

Leisure Club —Friday, Nov. 5, 1 p.m. The Leisure Club of La Cañada Flintridge, which meets in the All Purpose Room at the Crescenta-Cañada YMCA, will have as its guest speaker Tim Dietlein, owner of Glendale Center Theatre. Parking is free and refreshments will be served. The Y is located at 1930 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada.

WRITERS’ CORNER

The Art of the Short Story — Sunday, Nov. 14, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse, 964 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada, presents a reading and workshop with author Leslie Parry. Parry will share one her short stories, then lead a 30-minute writing exercise and a question-and-answer session. Free. For more information call (818) 790-0717.

TO YOUR HEALTH

Zumba Toning — Saturdays, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Vonder Haar Center, 457 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada. Using light weights, this class combines body-sculpting techniques and Zumba moves. First class is free. For more information call (818) 395-7760.

To submit calendar listings, send an e-mail with the pertinent details to lcnews@valleysun.net.