Arroyo December 2018

FINE
LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA
December 2018
WAYNE’S
WORLD
JOHN WAYNE’S YOUTH
IN GLENDALE
ALIBABA
PICTURES
China Makes its Mark
On Hollywood
CHEFS’ HOLIDAYS
Distinctive Recipes from
Top Pasadena Chefs
HOLIDAY GIFT AND
EVENT GUIDES

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arroyo
VOLUME 14 | NUMBER 12 | DECEMBER 2018
14
29 38
ENTERTAINMENT & ENTERTAINING
11 WAYNE’S WORLD
John Wayne found his nickname and love of acting growing up in
Glendale.
—By MICHAEL CERVIN
14 CHEFS’ HOLIDAYS
Pasadena chefs from around the world share their favorite festive recipes and
traditions.
—By BETTIJANE LEVINE
28 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
—By IRENE LACHER
33 FORGING AN EAST-WEST PIPELINE
From its Pasadena offi ce, China’s Alibaba Pictures is making incursions
into Hollywood.
—By BRENDA REES
DEPARTMENTS
09 FESTIVITIES Red Hen Press, Pasadena Museum of History, Arboretum and Joni
Mitchell’s 75th birthday
19 ARROYO HOME SALES INDEX
38 KITCHEN CONFESSIONS Nog Days
39 ARROYO COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH Throwback Bar’s Old-Fashioned
40 THE LIST A Christmas Carol around town, Lythgoe Family Panto at the
Pasadena Civic. Rose Parade fl oats and more
12.18 ARROYO | 5

EDITOR’S NOTE
You may not know that the great
John Wayne, who leads our Entertainment
& Entertaining issue, grew
up in Glendale. No particular reason
you should. As Michael Cervin notes
in his profi le of The Duke in his youth,
the city doesn’t tout its connection
to him. Both a six-ton statue of
Wayne and the SoCal airport named
for him are in Orange County, where
he lived as an adult. It wasn’t until
2014 that his alma mater Glendale
High named its auditorium after him,
decades after the late star disappeared
from movie screens. But, as
Cervin writes, Wayne’s Glendale
years certainly left their mark on him, not least because they explain
his popular nickname. For the surprising inspiration, turn to page 16.
For our industry issue, we also look toward the future with Brenda
Rees’ story about Alibaba Pictures, a division of China’s e-commerce
behemoth Alibaba Group, which opened an offi ce in Pasadena in
2016. Alibaba’s incursion into Hollywood is a logical move when you
consider that with its 1.4 billion population, Chinese movie audiences
are on track to become the world’s largest.
And for those planning to entertain over the holidays, Bettijane
Levine freshens your menu options with recipes from four Pasadena
chefs from different cultures — Pasadena native Mark Peel of Prawn
Coastal, Indonesian-born Erwin Tjahyadi of Bone Kettle and Entre
Nous’ French owners Jean-Christophe Febbrari and Mathias Wakrat.
They may all originally hail from different continents, but here’s one
suggestion they have in common: Ditch the tired turkey and go for
seafood. On page 11, they tell you how.
Here’s wishing happy holidays to all our friends in Arroyoland!
—Irene Lacher
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Irene Lacher
ART DIRECTOR Stephanie Torres
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Richard Garcia
PRODUCTION DESIGNERS Rochelle Bassarear
EDITOR-AT-LARGE Bettijane Levine
COPY EDITOR John Seeley
CONTRIBUTORS Denise Abbott, Leslie Bilderback,
Léon Bing, Martin Booe, Michael Cervin, Scarlet
Cheng, Richard Cunningham, Noela Hueso,
Kathleen Kelleher, Jana Monji, Brenda Rees, Ilsa
Setziol, John Sollenberger, Nancy Spiller
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Brenda Clarke,
Lisa Chase, Alexandra Valdes
ADVERTORIAL CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Bruce Haring
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Andrea Baker
PAYROLL Linda Lam
ACCOUNTING Perla Castillo, Yiyang Wang,
Quinton Wright
OFFICE MANAGER Ann Turrietta
PUBLISHER Dina Stegon
arroyo
FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA
SOUTHLAND PUBLISHING
V.P. OF OPERATIONS David Comden
PRESIDENT Bruce Bolkin
CONTACT US
ADVERTISING
dinas@pasadenaweekly.com
EDITORIAL
editor@arroyomonthly.com
PHONE
(626) 584-1500
FAX
(626) 795-0149
MAILING ADDRESS
50 S. De Lacey Ave., Ste. 200,
Pasadena, CA 91105
ArroyoMonthly.com
©2018 Southland Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved.
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FESTIVITIES
John & Ginny Cushman, Judy Wilson, Judy & Bill Opel
Chaka Khan
PHOTOS: M. Woo/A. Houlemard (Pasadena Museum of History); Courtesy of Red Hen Press; Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for The Music Center (JONI 75: A Birthday Celebration); Courtesy of Los Angeles Arboretum
Penny Plotkin and Joyce McGilvray
Marilyn Nelson
Ann Hood
Bill Bogaard and Libby Evans Wright
Jonathan Lethem
Emmylou Harris
The Pasadena Museum of History honored five Contemporary History
Makers at its annual black-tie gala on Nov. 10 at the California Club in
downtown L.A. All the honorees — Bill and Judy Opel, Judy Wilson and
John and Ginny Cushman — are active philanthropists, with dedicated
Pasadena Community Foundation funds. They were celebrated at the
elegant event, where guests cruised the ample silent auction before
sitting down to a dinner of filet mignon… Literary lions and their fans
converged on Castle Green to toast the 24th anniversary of Pasadena’s
Red Hen Press at the publisher’s annual fundraising luncheon on Oct.
28. Supporters were treated to readings by three award-winning Red Hen
authors — poet Marilyn Nelson (Carver: A Life in Poems) and novelists
Ann Hood (The Knitting Circle) and Jonathan Lethem (Motherless
Brooklyn)… Joni Mitchell, the iconic lady of the canyon, made a rare
onstage appearance after Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration at the Music
Center in downtown L.A. on Nov. 7. The moving appearance capped
an evening of her music performed by such fellow travelers as James
Taylor, Brandi Carlile, Emmylou Harris, Seal, Chakha Khan, Los Lobos,
Kris Kristofferson and Graham Nash, who performed Our House and
revealed that he wrote the classic love song for Mitchell…The L.A. County
Arboretum celebrated the Oct. 17 launch of Moonlight Forest: A Magical
Lantern Art Festival, created by artisans from China’s Sichuan province.
James Taylor and Joni Mitchell
Brandi Carlile and Kris Kristofferson
Moonlight Forest: A Magical Lantern Art Festival
12.18 | ARROYO | 9

10 | ARROYO | 12.18

Erwin Tjahyadi
Pasadena chefs from around the
world share their favorite festive
recipes and traditions.
BY BETTIJANE LEVINE
Turon with Banana Pudding
If you’re wondering what to whip up for your holiday get-together — and whether
to cook from scratch or bring in precooked food — think about this: Some of
the world’s great chefs, writers, philosophers and gourmets have weighed in over
the years on the subject of home cooking. All seem to agree that the home-cooked
offering has spirit and soul, an undefinable and mysterious essence that somehow
transmits satisfaction to those who gather to eat it. And the very act of cooking is an
act of giving, they say. Around the globe, in every culture and corner of the world,
cooking is the ritual that causes people to gather, bond and enjoy. It doesn’t really
matter whether the food is plain or fancy.
“The best meals occur in a context that frequently has very little to do with the
food itself,” said the late celebrity chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain, who
also said that “food may not be the answer to world peace, but it’s a start.”
So stop pondering and start planning something that will be very simple to prepare
but delivers to guests a heartwarming, tasty gift from you — the preparer. Here
in Arroyoland we have extraordinary access to foods from around the globe — from
the profusion of small ethnic shops selling exotic spices and herbs to huge emporiums
that offer gourmet delicacies. And we have an equally diverse and expandng array of
dining spots headed by renowned chefs. We spoke to three who hail from different
parts of the world to get their take on what holiday entertaining means in their
culture, and what they like to serve. Surprisingly, many of them mentioned fish.
–continued on page 12
12.18 | ARROYO | 11

Mark Peel
–continued from page 11
MARK PEEL
Prawn Coastal
Renowned American chef Mark Peel is a Pasadena native who has cooked for the one-percenters for much
of his life. Starting with Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, he went on to Chez Panisse in Berkeley, then Tour d’Argent
and Le Moulin de Mougins in France. Then he cofounded Los Angeles’ La Brea Bakery and the world-class,
award-winning restaurant Campanile, where for about 25 years he helped redefine fine dining with an emphasis
on farm-to-table fresh food.
Peel opened the seafood-centric Prawn Coastal in Pasadena about a year ago. It’s his concept of fine dining
with a casual twist and approachable prices, and everything’s available for takeout. “It’s the biggest part of our
business,” he says.
We caught up with Peel by phone while he was collecting his 9-year-old son from gymnastics class, and he
was philosophical about holiday entertaining: “In a funny way, I think holiday parties or party eating is often
not so much about food as it is about the company. With great people you could be eating cotton candy and tofu
and it doesn’t really matter. In fact, it’s great to serve something very easy to prepare, so the host doesn’t have to
spend much time and effort doing it.
“One of my favorite things is to get a whole filet of salmon, take the skin off and the pin bones out, and sear
it. Then gently braise it in a little bit of vegetable broth. The fish will give the broth its own flavor. This doesn’t
take long to do, it really doesn’t take much effort, and it’s a beautiful presentation.”
“What’s also really good is doing something like little soft tacos. Some pulled pork with assorted accompaniments
like pickled onions, pickled cabbage and salsa. And some grated cheese, like a really good fontina. And
diced tomatoes. One small benefit of global warming is that we get really good tomatoes right up to the end of
the year. With something like tacos, the host doesn’t have to continually be cooking. You have the hot pulled
pork, the warm steamed tortillas and maybe you butter them a bit, with a little bit of garlic. Just lay it all out and
let the guests build their own. They can stand and hold the tacos while they converse.”
Peel says he remembers doing a birthday party years ago for the popular food critic and author Ruth Reichl.
“There were all those famous folks and foodies, and I made just these little soft tacos with all the fixings and
they were a very big success,” he recalls. “If you take something really simple and do it really, really well, you
can’t beat it.”
12 | ARROYO | 12.18

STURGEON OR SALMON IN A RED WINE SAUCE
This is based on a classic French matelote, a fish stew made with river fish
(often eel) and red wine. We’ve done it at the restaurant with sturgeon, salmon
and trout. Monkfish also works well. I think of the dish as a winter fish stew,
with rich, complex flavors. It’s a convenient dish for entertaining because you can
have everything prepared ahead of time, then cook the fish in the red wine sauce
at the last moment. Instead of the fish stock, you can use half chicken broth and
half water. Fish stock is preferable, but you can buy chicken broth at the store.
Ingredients
¼ pound bacon (about 4 strips), cut
crosswise in ¼-inch strips
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ medium onion, sliced crosswise
against the grain
Kosher salt
A bouquet garni made with a few
sprigs each parsley and thyme, a bay
leaf, 2 garlic cloves, (halved and green
shoots removed) and 1½ teaspoons
peppercorns
2 cups red wine, such as pinot noir
2 cups chicken stock or 1 cup canned
broth and 1 cup water
8 pearl onions, blanched and peeled, or
small spring onions (bulbs only)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 ounces wild mushrooms, cut in
½-inch-thick slices or separated into
small clumps (depending on the type
of mushroom)
Freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds sturgeon, monkfish, salmon
or trout fillets
Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley, for
garnish
Method
1. Combine the bacon with the water in a large saucepan over medium heat and
cook, stirring from time to time, until the bacon is lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the flour and cook, stirring, for a minute, then add the onion and ½ teaspoon
salt. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the bouquet garni
and the wine and bring to a boil, stirring the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon
to deglaze. Add the stock (or broth and water), bring to a simmer, cover, reduce the
heat, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring often. Strain through a medium strainer and
set aside
2. Meanwhile, make a small slit with a paring knife in the ends of the pearl or
spring onions. Heat the butter in a wide, lidded skillet over medium heat and add
the onions and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until beginning to color, 3 to 4
minutes, then add the mushrooms. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until tender,
about 5 minutes. Stir from time to time and add 1 tablespoon of water if the pan
dries out and the vegetables begin to stick. Taste and adjust the salt. When tender,
add the strained red wine sauce and simmer 5 minutes.
3. Taste the wine sauce and add salt and pepper as needed. Remove from the heat
if not serving right away. Shortly before serving, bring the sauce to a simmer. Season
the fish fillets with salt and pepper and add to the sauce. They should be barely
covered with the sauce. Cover and cook gently, being careful not to allow the sauce to
boil, until cooked through but not falling apart, about 8 to 10 minutes for sturgeon or
monkfish, 5 minutes for salmon, 3 minutes for trout fillets. Taste the sauce again and
adjust the seasonings.
4. Remove the fish to a warm platter and spoon on some of the sauce with the
onions and mushrooms over and around the fish. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve
with boiled potatoes or fresh noodles.
Note: If serving with noodles (I recommend pappardelle or wide egg noodles),
mound the cooked noodles on a large platter. Arrange the fish fillets on top of the
noodles and spoon on a generous amount of sauce. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Reprinted with permission from New Classic Family Dinners by Mark Peel
(Wiley; 2009).
–continued on page 14
12.18 | ARROYO | 13

Mathias Wakrat and Jean-Christope Febbrari
Moules Provençales
–continued from page 13
MATHIAS WAKRAT AND JEAN-CHRISTOPHE FEBBRARI
Entre Nous
New on Pasadena’s culinary landscape is Entre Nous, which opened in October.
It’s owned by chefs Mathias Wakrat and Jean-Christophe Febbrari. Both were
born in small French Riviera towns not far from each other, but they didn’t meet
until they came to Eagle Rock, where both worked in the kitchen of Cafe Beaujolais.
They became best friends, eventually taking the Beaujolais over as owners, and
for 20 years their successful French cafe served up what Gayot.com called “more
genuine bistro charm than most of their better known Westside counterparts,”
with the kind of “simple, unpretentious fare you’d find at a family-run bistro in
Paris.”
We asked Mathias why they decided to open in Pasadena. “My partner, Jean-
Christophe, has lived in Pasadena for 20 years with his wife and kids. So our
families spent a lot of time there together. We never wanted a second restaurant
location, but we always used to look at that particular spot on Green Street, where
there was already a restaurant [Ración], and we used to say it would be a perfect
place for a bistro like ours. Then it became available and we couldn’t resist. So we
sold our shares in Beaujolais and made the move.”
Asked about his holiday food memories growing up in France and his thoughts
on holiday cooking, he said, “Where we’re from, on the Riviera, is different from
big cities like Paris or L.A. We come from small coastal villages, so everything
has to have fish. There was no special holiday dish I remember growing up. We
always ate bouillabaisse, even at the holidays. We grew up with that, we love it and
we serve it as much as we can at Entre Nous. Of course it’s not exactly the same
as in France because we don’t have the rockfish here that we have there. The fish
we serve here depends on the daily catch. Whatever is the most fresh and highest
quality at the market that day is what we put in our fish stew. We also had sea bass
in France growing up. We serve that over lentils at Entre Nous, along with mussels
and all sorts of other great regional dishes that are like those where we’re from. We
have amazing escargots on the menu that we import directly from the Burgundy
region.” Most popular so far in the restaurant’s short tenure, he says, is ribeye steak
with peppercorn sauce and fries.
Is there something special he’d recommend for a small casual holiday dinner
party? “Anything French,” he says with a chuckle. “You might try serving mussels
and homemade French fries with a green salad afterward, which is when the
French serve their salads. And perhaps a crème brûlée for dessert.”
Moules Provençales (Mussels)
Proportions are for one order
Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced shallots
2 ounces white wine
1 pound mussels
2 ounces heavy cream
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Freshly ground pepper
Sea salt
Method
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large sauté pan on high heat, then add shallots,
white wine and mussels. Cover, and when the mussels start opening, add heavy
cream, 2 tablespoons butter, parsley, pepper and a small pinch of sea salt. Cover
again. When mussels are all open, remove them to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
Reduce the liquid in the pan by one-third, taste for seasoning, pour liquid over
mussels and sprinkle generously with more freshly chopped parsley. Enjoy with
homemade French fries.
14 | ARROYO |12.18

TURON (Fried banana rolls)
ERWIN TJAHYADI
Bone Kettle
Chef Erwin Tjahyadi of Pasadena’s Bone Kettle restaurant was born in Indonesia
and made his mark as a chef here by keeping Asian culinary traditions alive. “Being
Asian, you’re always interested in assimilating both cultures, and the holidays are a
time when it’s fun to do that,” he says. “In America, the traditional holiday dinner
might be turkey or a great ham. To add an Asian touch, it’s all about incorporating
spices and herbs that are indigenous to Southeast Asian cooking, although you’re
using them on food that is not necessarily available in Southeast Asia. We actually
don’t have much ham in Indonesia, for example. It’s a luxury item. But if you add
sambal, which is Indonesian chili sauce, to turkey or ham, it’s a great way to introduce
Southeast Asian flavor and also put a little heat into your dishes. You can also add
sambal to batter or curry or sauces and use it with any meal as a condiment. It’s very
versatile.
“At holiday season we love using yellow turmeric rice as a staple with all our
savory meat dishes. It’s bright yellow, has a beautiful aroma and is distinctive in taste.
And it’s easy to make at home. You can shape it into a beautiful cone, something like
a Christmas tree.
“We also love to infuse pandan essence into our desserts and baked goods. Pandan
is a leaf that grows in Southeast Asia. It adds a beautiful green flavor that’s unique,
naturally sweet, fragrant and delicious — just right for baking at the holidays. For
dessert, maybe a jackfruit eggroll served with banana pudding for dipping.”
We’re lucky there are so many Asian groceries nearby where all these things are
available, Tjahyadi notes, making it easy for anyone who loves Asian flavors to try
adding them to holiday dishes.
Ingredients
12 bananas, sliced
2 ripe jackfruit
1½ cups brown sugar
Ingredients
8-ounce package of cream cheese
14-ounce can of condensed milk
1 packet of vanilla pudding mix
1½ cups milk
12 pieces spring roll wrapper
2 cups cooking oil
Powdered sugar
Method
1. Pour the brown sugar onto a plate, and roll each banana slice in it, ensuring that
it is coated with enough sugar. Place the coated banana in a spring roll wrapper and
add about 6 ounces of jackfruit. Fold and lock the spring roll wrapper, using water to
seal the edge.
2. In a pan, heat the oil and add leftover brown sugar. When the brown sugar
floats, add wrapped banana and fry until the wrapper turns golden brown and the
extra sugar sticks to the wrapper. Dust powdered sugar on the banana and serve with
banana pudding (see below) for dipping.
1½ cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces of whipped cream
2 to 3 bananas, sliced
BANANA PUDDING
Method
Place all ingredients in a bowl, mix together and serve cold in individual bowls. ||||
12.18 | ARROYO | 15

WAYNE’S WORLD
John Wayne found his nickname and love of acting growing up in Glendale.
BY
MICHAEL CERVIN
16 | ARROYO | 12.18
Like many boys, young John Wayne had a dog, a big Airedale terrier named Duke. He
took Duke everywhere, including the Glendale fire station on the way to school. The
firefighters started calling Wayne, whose real name was Marion Morrison, “Little Duke,”
since the dog was bigger than the boy. The name stuck, and so did Glendale’s imprint on his
youth.
“People see John Wayne as this larger-than-life character, but he was really just this little
kid, Duke Morrison from Glendale,” says local historian Michael Morgan. Morgan sits on
the Glendale Historic Preservation Commission and has lectured on John Wayne’s legacy in
Glendale.
John Wayne was born May 26, 1907, in Winterset, Iowa, but his family soon moved to
Palmdale, California, where his druggist father decided to try his hand at ranching, an ill-fated
endeavor that failed within two years. During that period, the family would visit Glendale on
Sundays, mainly at the urging of Wayne’s mother who preferred the city to Palmdale because
of its large population of former Iowans. So in 1915, when Little Duke was 9 years old, his
family resettled in Glendale. His father again found work as a pharmacist, while Wayne attended
Woodrow Wilson Middle School (formerly called the Third Street Intermediate School
when it opened its doors in 1911).
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley

PHOTOS: Courtesy of the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley
But the Waynes remained transient, moving 10 times around Glendale between
1915 and 1925 because money was tight, according to Morgan. Yet it was also an
“optimistic time,” he notes. The city was growing exponentially, creating more opportunities,
and Wayne’s father even had his own pharmacy, Baird and Morrison; the
younger Wayne would often make deliveries for his dad on his bike. In 1915 there
were some 12,000 people in Glendale. By the end of 1920 there were 30,000. Despite
the constant uprooting, the popular Wayne always did well in school and avoided
trouble.
At Glendale Union High School, Wayne performed well in both academics and
sports, particularly football — the latter not surprising, given his 6-foot, 4-inch
frame. Wayne was on his high school debate team, served as president of the Latin
Society and contributed to the school newspaper’s sports column. The energetic
Wayne also served as senior class president and chairperson of the senior dance and
he performed in several plays. The youth was so active that he is pictured half a dozen
times in his 1925 student yearbook. Yet only one pursuit determined his life’s work.
As Wayne’s son Ethan Wayne told the Los Angeles Times in 2014, Glendale High was
“where his path in drama really started.” Wayne was also part of the school’s football
team when it won the 1924 league championship. On graduating, Wayne applied
to the U.S. Naval Academy but wasn’t accepted. So he attended USC, majoring in
pre-law and playing on its football team. But a broken collarbone from a bodysurfing
mishap changed his course. He lost his athletic scholarship and left USC.
But that’s when Hollywood found him, first as a prop man in films, and then as a
stand-in at Fox Film Corporation, before legendary director John Ford cast him in a
small but pivotal part in the forgettable 1928 film Mother Machree.
Curiously, hardly anyone knows that John Wayne spent his youth in Glendale.
There are no streets named after him, no plaques or memorials, only one building
(more on that later). In 2008, when a 21-foot-tall bronze statue of Wayne on a horse
needed to be moved from Beverly Hills, Morgan petitioned the Glendale City Council
to relocate it in Glendale — but nada. “There was no political will,” Morgan says.
Instead, Newport Beach, where Wayne lived as an adult, acquired the nearly six-ton
monument. In June 1979 the Orange County Board of Supervisors renamed the
Orange County Airport John Wayne Airport, but it wasn’t until 2014 that Glendale’s
–continued on page 18
12.18 | ARROYO | 17

–continued from page 17
most famous resident gained even the slightest recognition locally. Glendale
High’s 1,559-seat auditorium was crowned the John Wayne Performing Arts
Center. “I think it’s really nice,” Ethan Wayne told the L.A. Times. “Dad liked
learning, he liked sports, he liked activities.” So, why a veritable void of acknowledgment?
“A lot of people have no institutional memory of Glendale,” Morgan
tells Arroyo Monthly. He points out the disconnect between an American hero
like John Wayne and Glendale’s large Armenian community, which succeeded
him. Part of Wayne’s absence was also political. The Vietnam War was a defining
issue for a generation and Wayne, a staunch conservative and friend of Ronald
Reagan’s, riled many to his left. “Regardless, he’s Mom, Dad and apple pie,”
Morgan says of Wayne’s wholesome, independent spirit.
“I’ve always followed my father’s advice,” Wayne once said. “He told me, first,
to always keep my word and, second, to never insult anybody unintentionally.
And, third, he told me not to go around looking for trouble.” But trouble did find
John Wayne. During the last 15 years of his life, he fought various battles with
cancer — he was a smoker — and in 1965 underwent surgery for lung cancer.
But it was a form of stomach cancer that stopped the Duke in his tracks. He died
from complications in June 1979. Just a month before his death, he made his last
public appearance at the 51st Academy Awards ceremony where he handed out
the Oscar for Best Picture. The Music Center audience erupted into a standing
ovation. “That’s just about the only medicine a fellow would ever need,” Wayne
told the crowd.
But love and admiration go only so far; time dissolves memories, the strong
become weak. These days, kids at Glendale High School may have to Google
John Wayne because they don’t know who he was or why a building has his
name on it. Yet the city’s memory of Duke lives on. Says Morgan: “John Wayne
embodies all the good things about Glendale.” ||||
18 | ARROYO | 12.18

arroyo
~HOME SALES INDEX~
HOME SALES
0.14%
AVG. PRICE/SQ. FT.
0.01%
Oct.
2017
574
HOMES
SOLD
Oct.
2018
579HOMES
SOLD
HOME SALES ABOVE $900,000
source: CalREsource
ADDRESS CLOSE DATE PRICE BDRMS. SQ. FT. YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE PREV. SOLD
ALHAMBRA
217 South Atlantic Boulevard 10/12/18 $2,500,000 3 1404 1949 01/20/1995
425 North Monterey Street 10/10/18 $1,200,000 3 2142 1952 $890,000 03/26/2015
2611 Montezuma Avenue 10/01/18 $1,118,000 7 3174 1971 $800,000 06/22/2007
310 South 7th Street 10/17/18 $970,000 2 948 1923 $590,000 08/21/2017
2615 West Norwood Place 10/15/18 $900,000 4 1952 1930 $635,000 10/31/2005
ALTADENA
1964 Midlothian Drive 10/11/18 $1,850,000 3 2524 1952 $1,236,000 09/01/2004
1858 East Mendocino Street 10/04/18 $1,603,000 3 3678 1950 $599,000 01/06/2004
2152 Roosevelt Avenue 10/19/18 $1,430,000 3 2083 1939 $1,252,000 09/01/2016
2040 El Molino Avenue 10/17/18 $1,250,000 4 2543 1927 $460,000 03/20/2012
1931 Harding Avenue 10/24/18 $1,250,000 4 1701 1946 $685,000 08/03/2010
2518 Ganesha Avenue 10/12/18 $1,200,000 3 1782 1948 03/22/2000
594 Alameda Street 10/17/18 $1,150,000 4 2943 1960 $858,000 05/03/2018
1120 Madre Vista Road 10/05/18 $979,000 3 1985 1948 $208,000 10/30/1996
179 East Loma Alta Drive 10/19/18 $910,000 4 1399 1965 $631,000 12/26/2017
ARCADIA
215 Hacienda Drive 10/12/18 $3,920,000 4 5539 1936 $2,450,000 06/10/2005
1400 South 6th Avenue 10/11/18 $1,600,000 6 3178 1935 $1,360,000 04/23/2013
823 Wigwam Avenue 10/24/18 $1,150,000 4 2258 1968 $845,000 03/29/2007
522 Peachtree Lane 10/01/18 $1,108,000 3 1979 1956
28 East Santa Anita Terrace 10/02/18 $1,020,000 4 2045 1961 $833,000 03/27/2006
1935 South 6th Avenue 10/24/18 $1,019,000 2 1278 1951 $365,000 09/07/1988
598 South 2nd Avenue #A 10/25/18 $988,000 3 2369 2007 $770,000 05/30/2008
1005 Wigwam Avenue 10/10/18 $960,000 3 1645 1953 $185,000 09/30/1996
E AGLE ROCK
1201 Eagle Vista Drive 10/04/18 $1,310,000 2 1948 1955 $750,000 07/31/2009
1822 Hill Drive 10/09/18 $1,070,000 3 1444 1927 $665,000 05/13/2015
GLENDALE
360 Kempton Road 10/17/18 $2,285,000 4 2962 1967 $1,580,000 02/23/2018
666 Robin Glen Drive 10/19/18 $1,790,000 3 3104 1969 $982,000 09/17/2013
1751 Cielito Drive 10/17/18 $1,650,000 3 2775 1962 $425,000 06/22/1987
1518 North Columbus Avenue 10/05/18 $1,615,000 4 3111 1925 $500,909 03/17/2014
933 Misty Isle Drive 10/22/18 $1,600,000 5 2992 1970 $1,290,000 01/23/2008
971 Rosemount Road 10/11/18 $1,505,000 4 2690 1937 $980,000 10/27/2004
1916 Niodrara Drive 10/10/18 $1,470,000 3 3012 1941 $135,000 02/01/1977
735 Luring Drive 10/05/18 $1,390,000 4 2554 1992 $1,500,000 05/13/2014
1515 Opechee Way 10/10/18 $1,350,000 4 2525 1941 03/03/1992
1234 Mariposa Street 10/17/18 $1,320,000 9 4080 1963 $1,150,000 10/18/2007
3203 Emerald Isle Drive 10/12/18 $1,300,000 5 2700 1968 $1,069,010 04/17/2018
1523 Colina Drive 10/12/18 $1,275,000 4 2499 1969 $1,120,000 06/30/2006
3520 Fallenleaf Place 10/10/18 $1,255,000 4 3047 1985 $800,000 09/27/2011
1905 Gardena Avenue 10/05/18 $1,200,000 6 2326 1912
2417 East Glenoaks Boulevard 10/12/18 $1,200,000 5 2524 1929 $775,000 08/12/2014
1520 Idlewood Road 10/25/18 $1,157,000 4 1863 1926 $245,000 08/02/1996
3827 Los Amigos Street 10/10/18 $1,140,000 5 2460 1958 $925,000 11/28/2006
4334 Acampo Avenue 10/12/18 $1,060,000 3 1495 1958 $235,000 03/28/1997
1024 Geneva Street 10/16/18 $1,040,500 3 2376 1939 $445,000 03/19/2002
2021 Oak Valley Road 10/02/18 $1,008,000 3 1473 1955 $537,000 04/30/2003
998 Calle Amable 10/19/18 $1,000,000 4 2615 1989 $910,000 03/25/2016
1109 Cordova Avenue 10/10/18 $950,000 3 1522 1927 $765,000 09/07/2005
946 Verdugo Circle Drive 10/10/18 $935,000 3 1439 1942 $568,500 02/25/2011
118 South Kenwood Street #50510/11/18 $935,000 2 1450 2015 $899,000 09/21/2016
3011 Pinewood Lane 10/10/18 $930,000 4 2296 1983 $335,000 07/30/1991
634 Salem Street 10/18/18 $930,000 3 1597 1921 $681,000 03/15/2016
616 Luton Drive 10/11/18 $910,000 3 1442 1951 $210,000 04/13/1993
ALHAMBRA OCT.’17 OCT.’18
Homes Sold 31 27
Median Price $585,000 $625,000
Median Sq. Ft. 1343 1404
ALTADENA OCT.’17 OCT.’18
Homes Sold 25 31
Median Price $836,000 $880,000
Median Sq. Ft. 1570 1701
ARCADIA OCT.’17 OCT.’18
Homes Sold 22 12
Median Price $1,097,500 $1,003,500
Median Sq. Ft. 2326 19445
EAGLE ROCK OCT.’17 OCT.’18
Homes Sold 13 5
Median Price $801,000 $909,250
Median Sq. Ft. 1732 1455
GLENDALE OCT.’17 OCT.’18
Homes Sold 59 70
Median Price $720,000 $708,500
Median Sq. Ft. 1471 1446
LA CAÑADA OCT.’17 OCT.’18
Homes Sold 10 19
Median Price $1,570,000 $1,465,000
Median Sq. Ft. 2618 2193
PASADENA OCT.’17 OCT.’18
Homes Sold 82 109
Median Price $732,250 $790,000
Median Sq. Ft. 1452 1366
SAN MARINO OCT.’17 OCT.’18
Homes Sold 6 8
Median Price $2,494,000 $2,174,000
Median Sq. Ft. 2574 2507
SIERRA MADRE OCT.’17 OCT.’18
Homes Sold 5 5
Median Price $830,000 $900,000
Median Sq. Ft. 1619 2036
SOUTH PASADENA OCT.’17 OCT.’18
Homes Sold 8 12
Median Price $854,500 $1,136,750
Median Sq. Ft. 1571 1757
TOTAL OCT.’17 OCT.’18
Homes Sold 261 289
Avg Price/Sq. Ft. $574 $579
–continued on page 21
The Arroyo Home Sales Index is calculated from residential home sales in Pasadena and the surrounding communities of South Pasadena, San Marino, La Canada Flintridge, Eagle Rock, Glendale (including Montrose), Altadena, Sierra
Madre, Arcadia and Alhambra. Individual home sales data provided by CalREsource. Arroyo Home Sales Index © Arroyo 2018. Complete home sales listings appear each week in Pasadena Weekly.
12.18 ARROYO | 19

20 | ARROYO | 12.18

–continued from page 19
ADDRESS CLOSE DATE PRICE BDRMS. SQ. FT. YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE PREV. SOLD
GLENDALE
3421 Rosemary Avenue 10/10/18 $900,500 2 1089 1945 $155,000 04/02/1987
4228 Boston Avenue 10/01/18 $900,000 2 1645 1942 $759,000 07/29/2014
LA CAÑADA
519 Meadow Grove Street 10/16/18 $4,800,000 8 7502 1924 $8,909,090 07/16/1991
524 Dartmouth Place 10/02/18 $3,360,000 4 4729 1929 $3,400,000 01/30/2007
781 Greenridge Drive 10/15/18 $2,833,000 5 3783 1997 $980,000 11/26/1997
4619 Daleridge Road 10/02/18 $2,360,000 4 3689 2008 $1,630,000 05/31/2012
4191 Chevy Chase Drive 10/17/18 $2,050,000 4 3324 1941 $285,000 05/31/1985
5212 Haskell Street 10/11/18 $1,770,000 4 2388 1966
5021 Angeles Crest Highway 10/04/18 $1,735,000 3 1719 1951 $1,040,000 09/26/2017
5112 Redwillow Lane 10/01/18 $1,560,000 3 1844 1956 $1,215,000 03/11/2016
4096 Robin Hill Road 10/04/18 $1,495,000 4 2400 1958
1035 Olive Lane 10/10/18 $1,465,000 4 2355 1949 $625,000 06/30/2000
4175 Chevy Chase Drive 10/16/18 $1,418,500 3 1925 1957 $220,000 06/15/1984
5647 Ocean View Boulevard 10/09/18 $1,400,000 3 2193 1962 $310,000 09/22/1995
786 Starlight Heights Drive 10/05/18 $1,382,500 3 1974 1976 $325,000 10/08/1987
185 Starlight Crest Drive 10/02/18 $1,275,000 3 1930 1966 $565,000 10/16/1991
2111 Bristow Drive 10/23/18 $1,235,000 3 1912 1962 $1,013,000 08/31/2016
4909 Rupert Lane 10/12/18 $1,200,000 3 1549 1947
4414 Wasatch Drive 10/10/18 $1,195,000 3 1801 1951 $789,000 04/12/2013
1413 Curran Street 10/25/18 $1,080,000 5 2353 1911
4410 Wyncrest Way 10/16/18 $1,065,000 4 1452 1961 $325,000 12/13/2004
PASADENA
721 Madre Street 10/25/18 $3,650,000 4 4875 1938 $3,100,000 01/04/2008
380 Waverly Drive 10/12/18 $3,500,000 5 4982 1903 $1,095,000 03/24/2000
410 South Grand Avenue 10/12/18 $3,132,500 4 3847 1905 $2,550,000 07/31/2015
1305 South Oak Knoll Avenue 10/10/18 $3,060,000 4 3498 1917 $1,600,000 07/26/2016
639 La Loma Road 10/24/18 $2,604,000 5 2749 1926 $1,842,500 03/30/2010
639 La Loma Road 10/24/18 $2,604,000 5 2749 1926 $1,842,500 03/30/2010
2070 Kinclair Drive 10/12/18 $1,990,000 3 4953 1994 $1,150,000 06/20/2002
920 Granite Drive #405 10/18/18 $1,938,000 3 2340 2009 $1,275,000 11/24/2010
920 Granite Drive #405 10/18/18 $1,938,000 3 2340 2009 $1,275,000 11/24/2010
1802 North Mar Vista Avenue 10/24/18 $1,900,000 6 3559 1920 $1,458,000 01/21/2015
1987 Windover Road 10/26/18 $1,900,000 3 2632 1953
509 Linda Vista Avenue 10/05/18 $1,800,000 3 2726 1989 $1,575,000 06/07/2007
1170 Laurel Street 10/15/18 $1,725,000 3 1576 1948 $1,505,000 06/11/2014
562 South Rosemead Boulevard 10/16/18 $1,530,000 5 3116 1924
1260 Club House Drive 10/05/18 $1,470,000 4 2002 1955
1705 La Cresta Drive 10/04/18 $1,400,000 3 2162 1954
400 North Michigan Avenue 10/04/18 $1,300,000 0 0 $430,000 12/15/2015
456 Glen Holly Drive 10/09/18 $1,210,000 3 2032 1977 $245,000 12/29/1995
44 Arroyo Drive #302 10/11/18 $1,189,000 2 2610 2008 $1,050,000 04/05/2016
920 Seco Street 10/25/18 $1,110,000 3 1926 1894 $799,000 12/17/2010
990 East Howard Street 10/16/18 $1,100,000 5 2480 1912
1033 South Euclid Avenue 10/04/18 $1,075,000 2 1227 1947 $810,000 04/04/2017
1751 Rose Villa Street 10/11/18 $1,075,000 3 1664 1924 03/18/1999
1177 Nithsdale Road 10/12/18 $1,055,000 2 1190 1936 $287,500 05/18/1987
257 South Hudson Avenue #10410/10/18 $1,038,000 3 1620 2009 $920,000 09/19/2014
1696 Fiske Avenue 10/12/18 $1,025,000 5 2782 1922 $20,500 01/17/1975
1009 Cynthia Avenue 10/24/18 $1,005,000 4 2116 1951 $867,500 07/06/2007
214 South San Marino Avenue 10/02/18 $990,000 3 1830 1922 $655,000 03/21/2013
2223 East Dudley Street 10/04/18 $961,000 3 1606 1929 $635,000 07/15/2011
2384 Galbreth Road 10/04/18 $950,000 3 2118 1942 $260,000 04/28/1998
2054 Galbreth Road 10/10/18 $950,000 3 1763 1935 $195,000 07/09/1987
2100 Las Lunas Street 10/16/18 $950,000 3 1706 1925 $640,000 08/03/2011
209 South Oakland Avenue #A 10/18/18 $916,000 3 1641 1979 $620,000 07/03/2012
209 South Oakland Avenue #A 10/18/18 $916,000 3 1641 1979 $620,000 07/03/2012
1413 Cheviotdale Drive 10/25/18 $915,500 3 1260 1958 $557,000 02/26/2004
509 South Marengo Avenue #110/09/18 $910,000 2 1470 2006 $675,000 06/07/2007
545 North Chester Avenue 10/04/18 $900,000 4 1942 1909
555 North Summit Avenue 10/22/18 $900,000 6 2052 1997 $199,000 06/04/1998
SAN MARINO
1351 Bedford Road 10/04/18 $4,950,000 5 5406 1936 $5,200,000 07/01/2016
2168 Adair Street 10/18/18 $4,700,000 3 1965 1939 $1,600,000 10/15/2013
2793 Gainsborough Drive 10/15/18 $2,720,000 3 3010 1949 $2,588,000 08/13/2014
2385 Melville Drive 10/26/18 $2,210,000 3 2473 1939 $1,380,000 07/29/2011
425 Pilgrim Place 10/17/18 $2,138,000 4 2639 1956 $1,730,000 06/27/2017
2299 Ashbourne Drive 10/10/18 $1,875,000 3 2541 1940 $265,000 09/08/1983
2630 Lorain Road 10/05/18 $1,650,000 2 2005 1940
1950 Robin Road 10/15/18 $1,620,000 3 2037 1955 $255,000 09/19/1985
SIERRA MADRE
687 Monterey Place 10/02/18 $1,300,000 4 2316 1914 $800,000 03/04/2005
610 East Sierra Madre Boulevard 10/04/18 $1,265,000 4 2088 1953 $690,000 02/01/2010
407 West Orange Grove Avenue 10/02/18 $900,000 2 1735 1960 $178,000 01/03/1980
SOUTH PASADENA
621 Meridian Avenue 10/05/18 $1,555,000 3 1844 1901 $1,020,000 04/16/2007
1612 Camino Lindo 10/17/18 $1,550,000 2 2071 1967 $525,000 07/26/1988
1507 Rollin Street 10/05/18 $1,333,000 3 2026 1908 $575,000 06/01/2012
1665 Via Del Rey 10/23/18 $1,300,000 4 2188 1964
2060 Primrose Avenue 10/26/18 $1,250,000 3 1296 1939 $530,000 09/19/2002
1114 Fairview Avenue 10/11/18 $1,245,500 4 1760 1948 $1,400,000 07/24/2018
1257 Huntington Drive #E 10/05/18 $1,028,000 3 1757 1984 $810,000 02/13/2017
831 Montrose Avenue 10/17/18 $990,000 3 1253 1924 $126,000 01/22/1986
12.18 ARROYO | 21

22 | ARROYO | 12.18

ARROYO
HOME & DESIGN
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT
BUILDING A GREAT HOME THEATER
EXPERIENCE ISN’T COMPLICATED
Technology Has Made Your Home Entertainment Options Better Than Ever
BY BRUCE HARING
There’s a business saying favored by entrepreneurs who are seeking to
create something spectacular: “Go big or go home.”
With today’s trends in home theater, you can have it both ways. You
can go big, and you can stay home, avoiding the hassles of assembling in
a theater to watch something you can easily obtain in the comfort of your
own abode.
While the entertainment industry continues to support the movie
theaters by making them the first destination for eagerly awaited, big
budget films like “The Avengers,” it’s clear that an equally large segment of
show business is encouraging you to stay home and enjoy their offerings by
subscribing to streaming services.
Amazon, Netflix, Apple and other streaming services that may be coming
online are now creating their own original content that is winning Academy
Awards and Emmys, changing the entertainment business and enticing
viewers with a library of film and TV favorites that is deep and growing.
To accommodate that innovation, home theater has changed a lot
in the last few years. The rise of the wireless Internet of Things, smart TVs
that are Internet connected, streaming services offering new and unique
content, and sound systems that are the equal of practically anything on
the market are creating an experience that many find irresistible.
With the price of a movie ticket climbing and public decorum
becoming ever more rowdy, a growing segment of consumers are investing
in themselves and creating an entertainment environment that they can
enjoy every evening.
–continued on page 26
12.18 | ARROYO | 23

Holiday
GUIDE
24 | ARROYO | 12.18

from
A Z
TO
12.18 | ARROYO | 25

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—
–continued from page 23
How much should you budget? You can get a setup for as little as
$500, and can go as high as $30,000 or more, depending on what you
want to do, the installation process in the home (will you change the room,
will wires be hidden and cabinets recessed), and whether you are building
a room for your new toys or putting it in an existing space. However, the
basics of a great system are something that has come way down in price.
THE PERFECT SETUP
The first thing to do if you decide to build your home theater setup is
to take a frank look at your own living space. Do you have ample room
for what you envision? You don’t want to have the screen sitting on top of
your chair, or a room with a pole in it that will make for awkward viewing.
A massive sub-woofer also isn’t a great idea if you are in a townhouse or
condo with adjacent neighbors that you want to keep as friends.
The good news when you are contemplating everything is that prices
for everything are way down, thanks to the miracle of technology always
getting better, faster and cheaper. A system that would have cost $12,000
just a few years ago is now available for $2,500 to $3,000. In other words,
even the tightest budgets can afford a primo setup, particularly if you can
do the setup on your own.
Building your system starts with the TV. If the kitchen is the heart of the
house, then the TV is usually the focal point of all entertainment, so don’t
26 | ARROYO | 12.18

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—
skimp on screen size or features. This will be your companion on most nights,
or days if you’re unemployed.
Determining what size screen to get is a matter of room size and how
far away most viewers will sit. Naturally, you’ll want the biggest screen you
can get, and most home theaters have about a 55-inch screen or bigger.
Screen resolution is another factor, and here’s where it can get technical
and tricky, with all sorts of acronyms thrown around. In general, an OLED
(for Organic Light Emitting Diode) TV is considered top of the line, a picture
so sharp and clear that you’ll feel a part of the action.
SOUND
Once you’ve solved the TV, the sound system is the next
consideration. Here, it all starts with the receiver, which will allow you to
hook up various speakers. Make sure you get one with enough inputs to
accommodate all of the devices you wish to put into it. Some receives
offer a Bluetooth connection for streaming and multiple inputs that will
allow you to set up speakers in various places in the house, should you
desire.
A standard home theater receiver is a 5.1-channel system, consisting of
five speakers and one sub-woofer. From there, you can go up to a 7.1 or even
higher, should you wish to be absolutely immersed in sound no matter where
you are in the house.
SPEAKERS
For those with discerning ears, you can pick and choose a speaker that
truly customizes your system. Standard on a 5.1 channel receiver are two front
speakers, a central channel, two rear speakers and a sub-woofer. The central
channel is key, as it allows the mid-range of vocals to cut through the rest of the
aural clutter. That’s key when you’re watching a film or listening to music.
For those who’d rather not bother with sorting through the speaker jungle,
there is also an option called Home Theater in a Box (HTIB).
This is the fast solution, including all of the speakers needed that you plug
into your system. Just make sure it includes a sub-woofer, as some of the kits do
not.
COMPONENTS AND ACCESSORIES
Most TVs will have a lot of the inputs you will need to connect to
various add-ons, including video gaming consoles, a Google Chromecast,
Roku, Amazon Firestick, Blu-ray player, DVD player, or multiple CD players.
Obviously, determine what you will want to add now and in the future when
contemplating your TV purchase.
So there you have it. Now it’s time to get the popcorn and pizza ready,
gather the family and your friends, and get set for a night of entertainment
that was formerly available only by leaving the house. The only thing you’ll
miss is the hassles. And perhaps the theater’s candy selection. ||||
12.18 | ARROYO | 27

HOLIDAY
GIFT GUIDE
BY IRENE LACHER
FOR FOODIES
NUNI TORTILLA TOASTER
You could heat up your own tortillas
on a comal, if you had one, or
a griddle, if you didn’t. But why
handle those hot pockets when a
Nuni Tortilla Toaster will warm
up six 6-inch tortillas — corn,
wheat or flour — in less than a
minute? Still need more warm
tortillas for guests? Don’t get up
from the table to stand over a hot
stove. Take a seat and let Nuni do
the work.
$99; Sur La Table, 161 W.
Colorado Blvd., Pasadena,
and 138 Glendale Ave.,
Glendale; surlatable.com
VERMONT CRAFTED BEER JELLY
True beer aficionados won’t
want to limit themselves to
beer by the glass when they
can savor beer on toast with
one of these four varieties
of jelly infused with craft
beers. They’re handcrafted in
Vermont by former archaeologist
Nancy Warner who
explains her inspiration for
the unusual spread: “I ran
out of fruit, but I never run
out of beer.”
$30 for four, uncommongoods.com
MAJESTIC PURE PINK HIMALAYAN SALT BLOCK
Add some drama to your table by cooking and serving meats, fish or vegetables on
this 12-by-8-inch pink salt block, which comes with a stainless-steel plate holder.
The result is food lightly infused with salt and trace minerals, which, devotees say,
improve digestion and reduce acid reflux.
$44.95, majesticpure.com
–continued on page 30
28 | ARROYO | 12.18

12.18 | ARROYO | 29

–continued from page 28
FOR ANIMAL
LOVERS
FOR PLAY
EMBARK DOG DNA TEST KIT
Congratulate friends and family for rescuing
their mixed-breed fur babies. Then gift
them an Embark Dog DNA Test Kit to
find out their mutt’s genetic makeup —
which and how much of the 400 dog breeds
combined to make their utterly unique family
member. That is, is the dog more labra or
more doodle? Created in partnership with
the Cornell University College of Veterinary
Medicine.
$199, shop.embarkvet.com
RAGNAR ASTRO VINYL FIGURE
This 5-inch-tall art toy designed by Brandon Ragnar is
billed as Astro, the mascot for the Go Astro! Processing
company, a credit-card processing company from the future.
According to the website, Astro promises “to assist
with your processing needs,” (but I wouldn’t bank on it).
$19.99, 3D Retro, 1851 Victory Blvd., Glendale,
3dretro.com, (818) 630-7063
MELISSA & DOUG ROCK STAR ROLE PLAY SET
PET PORTRAIT
Immortalize your beast of choice with a
fanciful portrait by Los Angeles photographer
Brian Averill, whose forte is bringing out an
animal’s inner hippie or glam.
$600 and up, brianaverillphotography.com
Gift a little girl this blingy outfit with shiny pink leggings,
a zebra-printed top, one mesh-accented glove
and a “microphone,” and maybe she’ll get the rock star
thing out of her system before it’s too late. Machine
washable.
$29.99, San Marino Toy and Book Shoppe,
2424 Huntington Dr., San Marino, toysandbooks.com,
(626) 309-0222
HEART AND BONE CUFF BRACELET
Wear your heart(s) on your wrist with this
acrylic cuff adorned with teeny black metal
and gold-plated bones designed by Hollywood
costume designer Yana Syrkin. In pink
or aqua.
$50, Fifi & Romeo, 7282 Beverly Blvd.,
L.A., fi fi andromeo.com
MAN RAY CHESS SET
Dadaist Man Ray designed this surrealism-friendly wooden chess set for his legendary
bouts with Marcel Duchamp.
This is a re-edition of the artist’s
1920s Wooden Chess Set. Chess
board and pieces sold separately.
Man Ray Chess Board, $250,
Man Ray Chess Pieces,
$430, MoMA Design Store,
store.moma.org,
(800) 851-4509
30 | ARROYO | 12.18

FOR SARTORIAL
SWAGGER
GIFTS THAT
GIVE BACK
CAUSEBOX
JUNGHANS TIMEPIECE
The first rule of sophisticated style
is keep it simple. This stainless-steel
automatic timepiece, designed by
Bauhaus alum Max Bill and made
in Germany, boasts clean lines and
superior functionality, which never go
out of style.
$1,150, The Bloke, 380 S. Lake
Ave., Pasadena, thebloke.com,
(626) 773-1119
Causebox is riding the subscription-gift
wave with quarterly
boxes of jewelry, skincare, apparel
and homewares that introduce
women to brands that give back
by donating to charity, promoting
sustainability or empowering
artists and artisans. Each box
contains six to eight items worth
close to $200, according to the
website.
$54.95 for one box or $199.80 for an annual subscription, causebox.com.
BOXER & SOCKS GIFT SET
You wouldn’t want your favorite
dandy to go out with boxer shorts
and socks that don’t match, would
you? I didn’t think so.
$48, Scotch & Soda, 105 W.
Colorado Blvd., Pasadena,
scotch-soda.com,
(866) 544-1557
SOLAR SYSTEM NECKLACE
This stunning necklace of nine sterling-silver “orbits”
set with semi-precious stones was made in India and
sourced through CRC Exports Private Ltd., which
helps the country’s artisans support their families
using traditional handcrafting skills.
$150, Ten Thousand Villages, 567 S. Lake
Ave., Pasadena, tenthousandvillages.com,
(626) 229-9892
ROSE GOLD SAFETY RAZOR SHAVING SET
Turn your man’s daily grooming
chore into a luxurious ritual with
this German-made double-edged
safety razor plated with gold and
copper, with chrome accents over
Zamak metal. The MÜhle razor
comes with its own stand.
$150, The Art of Shaving, The
Americana at Brand, 773
Americana Way, Glendale,
theartofshaving.com,
(818) 244-6600
BALENCIAGA LIMITED-EDITION SLIM CAT EYE
These fierce black frames with smoke-colored lenses will up
your giftee’s style quotient, but they aren’t mere eye candy
— 20 percent of the purchase price from Olivela goes to
charities benefiting girls’ education worldwide, including
the Malala Fund, Too Young to Wed and CARE for Syrian
refugees. These specs fund 13 days of school.
$495, Olivela, olivela.com
12.18 | ARROYO | 31

32 | ARROYO | 12.18

FORGING
AN EAST-WEST
PIPELINE
From its Pasadena office, China’s Alibaba Pictures is
quietly making incursions into Hollywood.
BY BRENDA REES
Alibaba Pictures, somewhat hidden in the Pasadena Playhouse Plaza, presents
itself with a modesty at odds with Tinseltown’s tendency for hyperbole.
In fact, relatively little fanfare accompanied the arrival of this film unit of
China’s multinational technology behemoth, Alibaba Group (ranked among the
world’s 10 most valuable and successful brands by the brand equity database BrandZ
for the first time this year). Alibaba Pictures opened up shop in a 22,000-square-foot
office in Pasadena in 2016.
Since its landing in metro Hollywood, Alibaba Pictures has been working on a
handful of deals, investing in a few film productions and distributions, and keeping,
at least by in-your-face American standards, a rather low profile. The Pasadena office
didn’t respond to interview requests.
But in an interview with Pasadena-based East West Bank, Alibaba Pictures
President Wei Zhang describes the client company’s mission here. “We see ourselves
as a platform company,” she said. “Our goal in entertainment is not just to make a
few movies. We’re not here to create another traditional movie studio…We are a
new movie infrastructure company with Internet DNA; we use technology, data and
–continued on page 35
12.18 | ARROYO | 33

34 | ARROYO | 12.18

–continued from page 33
our ecosystem to bring more efficiency and transparency to the filmmaking process.”
Zhang describes her goal as growing Alibaba’s role as a gateway between Hollywood
and China by developing appropriate content for Chinese movie audiences. And those
audiences are expected to grow into the world’s largest, in light of China’s 1.4 billion
population. Alibaba Pictures’ parent company has been reshaping the Chinese entertainment
industry with an aggressive acquisition
strategy since 2014.
Formed in 1999, Alibaba is the brainchild of one of China’s most beloved businessmen
— Jack Ma. He’s been called the
Steve Jobs of China because of his
business savvy, his inspirational lead-
ership and his intimate understanding nding
of the American and Hollywood cultures.
An e-commerce company at its
core, Alibaba leverages entertainment nment
ventures (film production investments,
movie and live events ticketing apps,
video-streaming platforms, mobile
content browsers and others) to promote interests in a multifaceted ted
cross-
business ecosystem.
For example, Alibaba invested ed in
Amblin Partner’s 2017 film A Dog’s
Purpose (starring Dennis Quaid and
Josh Gad) and helmed marketing the
flick in China. Overall, the movie
raked in only $64 million in the U.S., but
it made $88 million in China with the help
of Alibaba’s online movie ticketing app, Tao Piao Piao — in China more than 80
percent of movie tickets are bought online using apps.
From its Pasadena offices, Alibaba continues the Amblin partnership with the sequel,
A Dog’s Journey, slated for a May 2019 release. Alibaba’s other successful movie
investments include big-budget action flicks such as Dunkirk, Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Star Trek Beyond and Mission Impossible — Fallout.
Earlier this year, Alibaba Pictures announced it was partnering with STX Entertainment
on the Robert Zemeckis–produced Steel Soldiers, an original sci-fi action
movie set in a futuristic world where humans and androids battle side-by-side. Also
this year, Alibaba threw its hat into the ring with other studios (21st Century Fox,
CHINESE MOVIE
AUDIENCES... ARE EXPECTED
TO GROW INTO THE
WORLD’S LARGEST, IN LIGHT
OF CHINA’S 1.4 BILLION
POPULATION.
Disney, NBCUniversal, etc.) to fund Jeffrey Katzenberg’s streaming video startup,
NewTV, which is creating short content for small screens.
For the younger set, Alibaba is producing a full-length adaption of the hit children’s
TV series Peppa Pig, based on a beloved series of animated characters that
premiered in the U.K. in 2004. (The movie will be a combination of animation and
live
action.) It’s scheduled to be released ed during Chinese New Year 2019, which will
usher in the Year of (what else?) the Pig.
So
what can we make of this
Chinese entertainment company
that invests in American big-action
films, heartwarming family flicks and
charming children’s fare?
“I predict that Alibaba will be a
good neighbor and a good company
in the Southland, but I don’t think
it will be a game-changer for the
Southland,” says Tom Nunan, an international
cinema expert, lecturer at
UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film and
Television and partner in Bulls’ Eye
Entertainment, a mid-size indepen-
dent film and television production
company.
Nunan remembers the ChinaHol-
lywood lovefest of a few years ago
that seized the imagination of producers, financiers nciers and
investors, eager to partner up
with a new foreign market, foreign talent and foreign money. The hope was that such
a move would herald development of a China-L.A. synergy, especially since Northern
California — with its emerging technology in software and AI — has had a longstanding
relationship with Beijing.
In 2015, leading Chinese investment and entertainment companies, such as Fosun
International, LeTV, Dalian Wanda and, of course, Alibaba, were all going Hollywood;
Wanda had just bought the AMC Theatre chain, and the STX production
company was doing a deal with China’s Huayi Brothers Media Group. “All of us in
entertainment had stars in our eyes, thinking, Wow! China’s investment in us will
pump up the volume in Hollywood financially, content-wise, across the board,” Nunan
continues. “We have all sobered up since then.”
–continued on page 36
12.18 | ARROYO | 35

–continued from page 35
36 | ARROYO | 12.18
Indeed, part of the sobering reality is that the Chinese government limits and restricts
the type of entertainment that can be distributed. China doesn’t have a motion
picture rating system; all films must be approved by Chinese censors who officially
promote Confucian morality, political stability and social harmony. For all practical
purposes, these are PG films — which are the least frequently produced films in Hollywood.
“Think of it this way: The Chinese government is acting the way the FCC acted
in the ’70s,” explains Nunan. “They are really, really, really strict about the kind of
content they want their citizenry to be exposed to. Also, don’t forget, there is no free
Internet in China. Very few countries in the world restrict the freedom to surf the
web. That’s not to say you can’t do business with China. There are opportunities, but it
can be complicated.”
It addition to content, since 1994 Beijing has been restricting the number of American
films that can be shown in Chinese theaters. The quota started at 10, increasing to
34 films per year in 2012 with the proviso that at least 14 be in 3D or IMAX format.
Of course, Hollywood would like to raise that quota, writes Michael Dresden at
ChinaLawBlog.com. “But the on-again, off-again U.S.– China trade war has thrown
those negotiations for a loop and effectively given China the ability to take whatever
position it likes, from slapping a huge tariff on all U.S. films to conceding on all of
Hollywood’s deal points,” Dresden writes. “But China is in no hurry to agree to anything.
Why should it be? They’re fine with the status quo.”
Still, China’s Alibaba is here in the Southland to be a player, and it’s also a
resource for filmmakers and studios here, contends Nunan. Of course, setting up shop
in Pasadena may have surprised many, considering that the prime entertainment hubs
are in Burbank, Hollywood or the West Side. Says Nunan: “I think the strategy of
the move was to announce that ‘We are a Chinese company. Most of the influential
Chinese folk live right here in the Pasadena area and this is where we feel most comfortable.’
It’s wonderful that they are unabashedly embracing the neighborhood. Why
shouldn’t Alibaba reward them by locating here? This is where their heartbeat is.” ||||
PHOTO: Gary Leonard

12.18 | ARROYO | 37

KITCHEN
CONFESSIONS
Nog Days
MILK PLUS ALCOHOL EQUALS TASTY HOLIDAY CHEER.
BY LESLIE BILDERBACK
Iam not a Christmas crazy. I don’t early observe. There is never anything
Christmasy visible on Thanksgiving. The tree goes up late in December, just before
the kids come home, and I save the decorating until they can join in. We are the
last on the street to put up lights, and I am one of those last-minute shoppers. It’s not
that I don’t enjoy the season. But with the kids grown and gone, and a job to work at,
the preparation has lost its magic. (Relax. I am not going to complain about my empty
nest again this month.)
The only exception I make to pre-Christmas revelry is the immediate tuning of the
car radio to the station that plays Christmas music, and the regular purchase of eggnog.
The way I see it, drinking eggnog with one’s leftover turkey-cranberry sandwich is totally
acceptable. I love it so much.
The eggnog selection at the grocery store is crazy right now. You can get eggnog to suit
whatever stage of lactose participation you are in. And because it is so readily available, it
has become a regular item on the December shopping list. Eggnog lets me feel the holiday
spirit with very little effort, and without lining the pockets of Starbucks.
The eggnog that you buy in the grocery store is the descendant — or rather, the
amalgamation — of several old-timey milk-based beverages. Granted, milk plus alcohol
sounds gross on the surface. The combination always reminds me of the time I was served
homemade “Bailey’s,” then had to call in sick the next day. But in the Middle Ages, milk
and booze was, as they say, fancy pants. In preindustrial Northern Europe, few people
had cows, so moo juice was largely the privilege of wealthy landowners. The best chance
to find one of these milky cocktails was after a fox hunt on the estate of Lord Rupert
Brimblegoggin-Tricklebank.
The first written version of something similar to eggnog was called posset, documented
in 14th-century cookery books as a beverage made from milk, wine and spices that would
be curdled and strained. Yes, you are right if you think it sounds like whey that gets you
drunk. To that I say, “No, thank you.” Fifteenth-century recipes saw the addition of sugar,
cream and sometimes eggs, which sounds a little better. They even had special posset pots
for this, which look something like a teapot, but with two handles. If there is a recipe that
involves an obscure piece of crockery I can buy, then I am completely on board.
Nog was a 17th-century term for English ale, and wooden drinking cups were called
noggins. There are English recipes from that century that mix ale and milk, but it is
thought that the term eggnog was coined by American colonists who mixed rum — or
grog — with eggs and milk. Egg-n-grog eventually became eggnog, because here in
38 | ARROYO | 12.18

ARROYO COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH
America we never use two names when they can be combined into one. (See “Bennifer”).
These drinks gained popularity in the American colonies, where, though there were
few fancy estates, there were plenty of cows. Here, colonists mixed their milk with rum,
not ale, because, thanks to the triangle trade, it was cheap and plentiful.
(Stop here for a moment and reflect on the terrible history of slavery before resuming
blissful holiday reading.)
Even though I consume store-bought eggnog on the regular, I will, when the occasion
arises, happily whip up a batch from scratch the old-fashioned way. Especially when it
means I can dust off the punch bowl. I could very easily turn to the Internet for an eggnog
recipe. But I am not interested in a lame recipe that involves cooking your eggs into a
custard. This is a modern step that was added when people started freaking out about raw
eggs. I do not condone such paranoia, as I have only ever gotten salmonella from old fish,
and I know that salmonella is more easily contracted from cutting a melon than cracking
an egg. Also, I know that agitation (a.k.a. “beating”) denatures protein in the same way
that heat does, and therefore whipped eggs are technically cooked.
Also, I live on the edge.
So, instead, I like to thumb through my ridiculous cookbook collection and find
something truly ancient. My new favorite eggnog recipe came from the crispy, browning
pages of America’s Cook Book, compiled in 1938 by the Home Institute of the New York
Herald Tribune. The eggnog recipe in the cocktail chapter is the same as the recipe from
the beverage chapter, but the former's title was changed from Egg Nog to New Year’s
Egg Nog because it sounded mighty boozy. Apparently, the ladies (I’m obviously making
a gender assumption here) of the Home Institute of the New York Herald Tribune wanted
you to think they only drank on holidays. The 18th Amendment was repealed in 1933,
ladies! Have at it!
Happy holidays!||||
NEW YEAR’S EGGNOG
Dust off your punch bowl or posset pot and try this for your next holiday gathering.
I dare you! This recipe makes 24 1938-style portions, meaning dainty punch cups. If
you are using larger cups, plan accordingly. Similarly, if you are just making this for
yourself, cut down all ingredients equally across the board.
INGREDIENTS
6 eggs, separated
¾ cup granulated sugar
1½ cups cognac
½ cup rum
4 cups milk
4 cups heavy cream
Freshly grated nutmeg
METHOD
1. Whip the egg yolks and sugar until very light in color, and about as thick as
sour cream (known in the biz as a “ribbon”). Slowly, while still beating, add the
cognac and rum, then the milk and cream.
2. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, then gently fold them
into the yolk mixture. Top each serving with a generous sprinkling of grated nutmeg.
Leslie Bilderback is a chef and cookbook author, a certified master baker and
an art history instructor. She lives in South Pasadena and teaches her techniques
online at culinarymasterclass.com.
THROWBACK BAR’S
OLD-FASHIONED
You have to love a bar with a daily happy hour that starts at noon, and Glendale’s
under-the-radar Tavern on Brand is precisely that throwback neighborhood
establishment, with drink discounts from noon to 7. Within the narrow space
flanked by exposed brick walls, you’ll find nothing hip or trendy, just standard cocktails,
beer and wine. Yes, the requisite TVs hang on the wall behind the bartender, but there’s
more talking here and less watching the tube, unless there’s a game on.
Pretty much the grandfather of the brown spirit cocktail, the old-fashioned, dating back
to the early 1800s, finds simplicity and purpose here. There are variations on this theme:
Some shun club soda, others use a sugar cube, but the Tavern turns out a tidy tipple. The
soda provides a very slight tactile effervescence, while the simple syrup is cleaner than
straight sugar, which doesn’t always dissolve with the addition of bourbon. Three Chord is a
sweeter bourbon with caramel and butterscotch notes, so it’s appealing and comfortable, not
bitter or difficult. Have this with their jalapeňo poppers or roasted turkey club. ||||
INGREDIENTS
2 ounces Three Chord Blended Bourbon
Whiskey
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
STORY AND PHOTO
BY MICHAEL CERVIN
TAVERN OLD-FASHIONED
½ ounce simple syrup
Splash club soda
Ice cubes
METHOD
Place simple syrup in old-fashioned glass. Add bitters, rotate the liquid around the
base and sides of the glass. Add ice cubes, then bourbon. Garnish with orange
slice.
12.18 | ARROYO | 39

THE LIST
Wine, Women and
Song Mark
Huntington
Holidays
Dec. 1 — Guests can
handcraft a holiday
wreath and garland with fresh evergreen
branches, bright berries and richly colored
flowers from 10 a.m. to noon, in a craft session
presented by Flower Duet. All materials
are provided. Cost is $100 ($85 for members).
Register at huntington.org/calendar.
Dec. 6 — Sommelier Brad Owen presents an
in-depth lecture on Champagne and sparkling
wines, followed by a tasting of a dozen vintages,
with bread and cheese, from 5 to 7:30
p.m. The cost is $105 ($90 for members). Visit
huntington.org/calendar to register.
Dec. 13 — The Vox Feminae vocal ensemble
dons medieval and Renaissance costumes
to perform a concert of sacred and secular
holiday music from those eras, playing period
instruments, from 1 to 2 p.m. Admission is free.
Dec. 26 through 30 — The Huntington’s
popular annual Viewing Stones Show
features outstanding examples of suiseki and
other stones that invite contemplation of the
subtle, sometimes fanciful forms shaped by
nature, the elements and time, from 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m. daily. Free with regular admission of
$25 weekdays ($29 for weekends), $21 ($24)
for seniors and students and $13 for youth
ages 4 to 11; children under 4 are admitted
free. 13 and older. Ticket prices start at $30.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections and
Botanical Gardens is located at 1151 Oxford
Rd., San Marino. Call (626) 405-2100 or visit
huntington.org.
Seasonal Tour,
Boutique Benefits
Symphony
Dec. 1 and 2 — The
Women’s Committee
of the Pasadena Symphony Association
presents the annual Holiday Look In Home
Tour and Boutique. The self-guided tour
includes four historic and architecturally
significant homes and gardens in Pasadena,
decorated for the holidays by four local
floral designers. Tours, enhanced by live
music, run from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the
boutique, open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both
days, will have live music at the Scottish
Rite Cathedral. Tour tickets cost $35. Home
locations are on the tickets. Orders received
after Nov. 23 will be held at the will-call desk
at the cathedral. Boutique admission is free.
The Scottish Rite Cathedral is located at 150
GARFIELD HEIGHTS
HOME TOUR
Dec. 2 — The annual Garfield Heights Home Tour features five historic homes and the
gardens of an Italianate Victorian house on the city’s north side. The tour of Pasadena’s
second oldest landmark district runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and features a
Victorian cottage and Colonial Revival and Arts and Crafts residences. Roving
entertainment, vendors, exhibitions and food trucks are included in the tour. Tickets
cost $25 in advance, $10 for Garfield Heights residents, $30 the day of the tour (available
at the ticket house, 1245 N. Garfield Ave., Pasadena). Locations are provided
with ticket purchase.
Visit garfi eldheights.org.
N. Madison Ave., Pasadena. Call (626) 793-
7172 or visit pasadenasymphony-pops.org.
A Noise Within
Presents A
Christmas Carol
Dec. 1 through Dec.
23 — Classical repertory
theater company
A Noise Within unveils its annual holiday
favorite, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol,
at 2 p.m. Dec. 1. The classic story of greed
and forgiveness continues through Dec. 23.
Co-producing Artistic Director Geoff Elliott
adapted the play from the novella and
co-directs with Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, also
co-producing artistic director. Tickets start
at $25.
A Noise Within is located at 3352 E. Foothill
Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 356-3121 or visit
anoisewithin.org.
South Lake
Avenue
Holidayfest
Dec. 1 — The South
Lake Avenue Business
Association presents Holidayfest, a free afternoon
of live music, in-store specials at 50-plus
South Lake businesses, traditional carolers
and holiday characters, Santa meet-andgreets,
horse and carriage rides and a
scavenger hunt. It runs from noon to 5 p.m.
at The Shops on Lake Avenue.
The Shops on Lake Avenue are located
at 345 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena. Visit
southlakeavenue.org.
Holiday Open House at Historic Hotel
Dec. 2 — Pasadena’s former grand hotel,
the 1898-vintage Castle Green, is once
again open to the public for the holidays
in its annual tour. The fully restored condominium
complex was designed by architect
Frederick I. Roehrig, with Moorish, Spanish
and Victorian elements. The day will feature
music, other entertainment and self-guided
tours of the building, including some 25
private apartments. Tickets cost $30 in advance,
$35 at the gate on tour day.
The Castle Green is located at 99 S. Raymond
Ave., Pasadena. Visit castlegreen.com.
Leading Ladies of
Tapestry and Titian
Dec. 7 — The Norton
Simon opens Once
Upon a Tapestry: Woven
Tales of Helen and Dido, an exhibition
of rare tapestries and cartoons illustrating
two iconic love stories from the classic epics
the Iliad and the Aeneid. As described in
Homer’s Iliad, Helen's romance with Prince
Paris of Troy is represented in four Flemish
tapestries, circa 1500. Queen Dido of Carthage
and her affair with Virgil’s hero Aeneas
A SELECTIVE PREVIEW OF UPCOMING EVENTS
COMPILED BY JOHN SOLLENBERGER
are depicted in a rare set of six cartoons
and one related tapestry from the early 17th
century. Together, the works demonstrate the
appeal of these female-centric narratives
in early modern Europe and the power of
tapestry to tell their stories. The exhibit runs
through May 27.
Dec. 19 — The museum unveils Titian’s Lady
in White, circa 1561, on loan from the Gemäldegalerie
Alte Meister in Dresden, in its first
visit to Southern California. The subject’s identity
has eluded scholars for centuries, and
the work has been a highlight of Dresden’s
art collection for more than 250 years. It will
be on view in the 16th- and 17th-century art
wing, amid works by Titian’s contemporaries,
including Bellini and Giorgione, through
March 25.
The Norton Simon Museum is located at 411
W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 449-
6840 or visit nortonsimon.org.
LACO Revises Vivaldi
with Mandolin
Dec. 13 — The L.A.
Chamber Orchestra
continues its Baroque
Conversations concert series with an
all-Vivaldi program that reimagines the
conductor’s seminal work, The Four Seasons.
The work was originally composed as four
related violin concertos, but L.A. mandolin
virtuoso Avi Avital performed it in a 2016
concert with the Venice Baroque Orchestra.
Avital leads the program, which starts at 7:30
p.m. at Zipper Hall in downtown L.A. Ticket
prices start at $52. The concert repeats at
7:30 p.m. Dec. 14 at St. Monica Catholic
Church, Santa Monica.
Zipper Hall is located at 200 S. Grand Ave.,
L.A. Call (213) 622-7001 or visit laco.org.
A Wonderful Winter of Oz
Dec. 14 — Lythgoe Family Panto presents
its world premiere production of The
Wonderful Winter of Oz, opening today
and continuing through Dec. 30 at the
Pasadena Civic Auditorium. The show is
a holiday version of the classic Wizard of
Oz. On Christmas Eve, Dorothy (played
by singer, actress and dancer Mackenzie
Ziegler) is swept away by a Kansas blizzard
to a world of munchkins and witches. The
production features music by Wham! and
Journey. Performances are at 1 and 6 p.m.
today and continue at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays,
2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Fridays and 1 and
6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through
Dec. 30. Ticket prices start at $40. Golden
40 | ARROYO | 12.18

THE LIST
CONCERT, CAROL AND
CLAUS IN ARCADIA
Dec. 8
— Christmas it
with
Maki is an enchanted nte
de
evening of music, featuring classically
trained violinist and 12-language operatic singer Maki, along with special guests. It runs
from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $20 to $60.
Dec. 9 — Vaulting Ambition, Arcadia’s new, professional theater company, presents the
holiday favorite, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, with a sensory-friendly performance from
11 a.m. to noon and a regular performance from 1 to 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for students,
$30 for adults; VIP tickets go for $40.
Dec. 9 — Sunday with Santa, an annual Arcadia PAC tradition, features photo
opportunities with Mr. and Mrs. Claus and a gift-making session with the help of friendly
elves at Santa’s Workshop, from 2 to 5 p.m. Raffl e tickets, hot chocolate and other treats
will be available for purchase. Admission is free.
Arcadia Performing Arts Center is located at 188 Campus Dr., Arcadia. Call (626) 821-1781
or visit arcadiapaf.org.
Tickets, including an onstage experience
for children ages 4 to 12, are $75 each.
The Pasadena Civic Auditorium is located at
300 E. Green St., Pasadena. Visit thepasadenacivic.com.
A Holiday Staple
at Parson’s Nose
Theater
Dec. 15, 16, 22 and
23 — Parson’s Nose
reprises its annual holiday
tradition of staging Dickens’ A Christmas
Carol in a Reader’s Theater Series production.
It is the classic tale of greed, epiphany
and redemption with Scrooge, Tiny Tim and
the impoverished Cratchit family. Performances
start at 8 p.m. Dec. 15 and 22 and 3
p.m. Dec. 16 and 23. Tickets cost $20, $15 for
seniors and $10 for students.
Parson’s Nose Theater is located at 95 N.
Marengo Ave., Pasadena. Call (626) 403-
7667 or visit parwsonsnose.com.
Symphony Candlelight Concert
at All Saints
Dec. 15 — The Pasadena Symphony presents
its annual Holiday Candlelight Concert
at the historic All Saints Church. The concert
features the L.A. Children’s Chorus, the
Donald Brinegar Singers and the L.A. Bronze
Handbell Ensemble accompanying the
orchestra. Tony-nominated vocalist Valarie
Pettiford performs, and David Lockington
conducts. Concerts start at 4 and 7 p.m.
Tickets cost $20 to $100 for the 4 p.m. performance,
$20 to $150 for the evening show.
All Saints Church is located at 132 N. Euclid
Ave., Pasadena. Call (626) 793-7172 or visit
pasadenasymphony-pops.org.
The Nutcracker by Youth Ballet
Dec. 21, 22 and 23 — The L.A. Youth
Ballet performs The Nutcracker at the Alex
Theatre. The production stars former Joffrey
Ballet dancer Brooklyn Mack in the role of
the Sugar Plum Fairy’s Cavalier and Darrion
Sellman, a 14-year-old Youth America Grand
Prix winner, as the Nutcracker. Andrea Paris-
Gutierrez choreographs a youth-inspired
version of the two-act ballet to Tchaikovsky’s
score. The curtain rises at 7 p.m. Friday,
2 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Ticket prices start at $25.
The Alex Theatre is located at 216 N. Brand
Blvd., Glendale. Call (818) 243-2539 or visit
alextheatre.org.
Christmas Eve at
Music Center
Dec. 24 — The 59th
annual L.A. County
Holiday Celebration
at the Music Center’s
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion celebrates the
–continued on page42
12.18 | ARROYO | 41

THE LIST
“PROHIBITION” HITS
UNION STATION
Dec. 31 — L.A.’s LA’ historic i Union Station ti is the scene of a Prohibition-themed New
Year’s Eve celebration. “Prohibition NYE” offers a Roaring Twenties atmosphere,
featuring L.A.’s Classixx in a DJ set of disco-inspired tunes. In addition, musical
acts, including a jazz ensemble and a burlesque troupe, perform on three
stages. Producers McCullough and Ross partner with public radio station KCRW
to present the celebration. The party runs from 9 p.m. Monday to 2 a.m. Tuesday.
Tickets cost $185.
Union Station is located at 800 N. Alameda St., L.A. Visit prohibitionnye.com.
–continued from page 41
city's various cultures with performances
by numerous choirs, music ensembles and
dance companies from the L.A. area. The
free event runs from 3 to 6 p.m., with free
parking under the Music Center. The event
will be broadcast live on PBS SoCal.
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
is located at 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. Visit
holidaycelebration.org.
Rose Parade
Float Decoration
Viewing
Dec. 28 through 31 —
See the Rose Parade
floats being decorated
from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to
5 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday at Rosemont
Pavilion. Tickets cost $15 and are available
at the door or through Sharp Seating; admission
is free for children under 6.
Rosemont Pavilion is located at 700 Seco St.,
Pasadena. Call or visit Sharp Seating at (626)
795-4171 or sharpseating.com. Visit tournamentofroses.com/events
for information.
Previews of Parade Marching Bands
Dec. 29 and 30 — Pasadena City College's
Robinson Stadium is the place to catch
Bandfest, an early look at the marching
bands scheduled to perform in the parade.
Bandfest I starts at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Bandfest
II is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Sunday and
Bandfest III starts at 2 p.m., also on Sunday.
Tickets to each session cost $15 — free
for children under 6 — and are available
through Sharp Seating.
Pasadena City College is located at 1570 E.
Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call Sharp Seating
at (626) 795-4171 or visit sharpseating.
com. Visit tournamentofroses.com/events
for information.
Meet Steeds and Riders
at Equestfest
Dec. 29 — Guests can view the horses
scheduled to appear in the Rose Parade
up close at the L.A. Equestrian Center in
Burbank. Horses and riders perform drills
and dances and demonstrate trick riding
and roping. Visitors can also check out
the stables, talk to riders and learn about
riding equipment and the various breeds.
A vendor court will offer music, food and
drink. Gates open at 10 a.m., the vendor
court and activities run from 10 a.m. to
3 p.m. and the equestrian show goes from
noon to 2 p.m. Tickets cost $15 general
admission, free for children under 6, and
VIP reserved-seat tickets are $40.
The L.A. Equestrian Center is located at
480 W. Riverside Dr., Burbank. Call (626)
795-4171 or visit sharpseating.com for tickets
and tournamentofroses.com/events for
information. ||||
42 | ARROYO | 12.18

12.18 | ARROYO | 43

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• Since 7 978 _._.__ '
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