Around & About
CLASSES: Holiday Card Making — Saturday, Dec. 18, from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Crescenta-Cañada Family YMCA hosts these classes, which are free and open to the public, in its multi-purpose room. An art instructor will provide materials and snacks for the class. The Y is located at 1930 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada.
EVENTS
Free Holiday Tour Hours of Lanterman House — Tuesday, Dec. 28 and Thursday, Dec. 30, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. both days. Lanterman House museum, 4420 Encinas Drive, La Cañada, will host the community for special tours of its current exhibition, “Our Tournament of Roses,” a visual history of the La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association. The museum will keep its regular 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays and alternate Sundays through Dec. 23. Lanterman House will not be open on Sunday, Jan. 2, but will resume regular hours on Tuesday, Jan. 4. For directions and tour information, visit the website at: https://www.lantermanfoundation.org.
Self-guided Gamble House Holiday Tours — Sunday, Jan. 2, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. The Gamble House, 4 Westmoreland Place, Pasadena 91103, will adjust its regular schedule of docent-led tours to also offer self-guided tours on Jan. 2. The Gamble House Bookstore will keep regular hours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays, except for Dec. 26 and Dec. 31. For more information about the self-guided tours or hours of docent-led tours, go online to https://www.gamblehouse.org.
EXHIBITS
“The World of Gods: Tradition and Modernity in Contemporary South Asia” — Through Feb. 12 (except during school break Dec. 18-Jan. 8). Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. until Dec. 17, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in January and February; Friday and Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Pasadena City College Art Gallery, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. The exhibit is curated by art historian Debashish Banerji and features paintings and works on paper depicting the gods and goddesses of Hindu and Buddhism in South Asia. Gallery admission is free and open to the public. Visitor parking is available on campus for $2.
Elephants of Asia — Opens Dec. 16. The new Elephants of Asia habitat opens at the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Griffith Park, 5333 Zoo Drive, Los Angeles 90027. Billy, a 25-year-old Asian elephant, will be featured in the habitat with Tina and Jewel, two female Asian elephants who arrived from the San Diego Zoo last month. Zoo admission is $14 for adults, $9 for children ages 2-12. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For information call (323) 644-4200 or visit https://www.lazoo.org.
KIDS’ PICKS
Train Rides to Santa’s House — Through Dec. 23, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., weather permitting. Travel Town Transportation Museum, 5200 Zoo Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027. Families can take a miniature train ride to visit jolly old Saint Nick. Travel past the reindeer barn and Santa’s workshop before arriving at the North Pole, where photos with Father Christmas will be available for $5, or guests may bring their own cameras but will be limited to two shots. Tickets are $7 per person; children 18 months old or younger can ride for free. Advance ticket purchases are suggested and can be made through https://www.TravelTownRailroad.com.
Kids Talent Contest — Sunday, Dec. 19, 12 p.m. WAW California Starz Talent Contest at the Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge, 4469 Chevy Chase Drive, LCF. Youths from ages 5 to 21 will demonstrate their talents as singers, dancers, musicians and models and will compete in front of entertainment-industry professionals. The event is presented by the Kiwanis Builders Club of LCHS 7/8, Kiwanis K-Kids of the Community Center, WAW Talent Training Studios and the Community Center. Cost to attend is $5.
LECTURE
“The Duhuang Caves of the Silk Road” — Saturday, Dec. 18, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Neville Agnew, principle project specialist of the Getty Conservation Institute, will present current preservation and restoration activities jointly undertaken by China’s cultural preservation authority and the Institute during this lecture at Pacific Asia Museum, 46 N. Los Robles, Pasadena 91101. The event is free for Pacific Asia Museum members and is included with the purchase of museum admission for non-members, which is $9 for adults and $7 for seniors/students. Reservations for the lecture are required and can be made by calling (626) 449-2742, ext. 31.
PERFORMANCE
“The Nutcracker” — Dec. 18-19 and Dec. 24-31. Pasadena Dance Theatre will perform this holiday classic by composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in both San Gabriel and in Pasadena. More than 80 dancers will bring to life Clara’s Christmas Eve dream of a dashing Nutcracker Prince, a devious Mouse King and a Sugar Plum Fairy. On Dec. 18-19 the performances will be at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse, 320 S. Mission Drive, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 18 and at 2 p.m. on Dec. 19. On Christmas Eve, the company moves to the Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave. The performances in Pasadena are set for 1 p.m. Dec. 24; 2 p.m. Dec. 26; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 29 and Dec. 30; and 1 p.m. on Dec. 31. Ticket prices in San Gabriel range from $27 to $50 and in Pasadena from $35 to $75; $27 for seniors/students in San Gabriel and $20 for children 12 and younger at both venues. For tickets and more information call (626) 683-3459 or visit https://www.pasadenadance.org.
“A Celebration of Christmas” — Sunday, Dec. 19, 4 p.m. The Chancel Choir of La Cañada Congregational Church, 1200 Foothill Blvd., will present this free concert of Christmas songs. Audience participation will be invited on familiar carols. The featured work will be a setting of the “Magnificat” by Antonio Vivaldi for soloists, choir and orchestra, conducted by Dr. Harold Daugherty.
To submit calendar listings, send an e-mail with the pertinent details to lcnews@valleysun.net.