You might've read about this on Tim Rutt's Altadenablog.com ( http://www.altadenablog.com/ ) and in the Pasadena Star News ( http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/business/ci_12461255 ) but I wanted to convey just how excited I am about it!
For those of you who haven't heard about it yet, the Altadena Arts Coalition is going to be handing out disposable cameras for $20.00 a piece to the first 100 persons who show up at Photography by Walt from 8:00 a.m. on July 1st. Photograph places you love, people dear to you, whatever it is in Altadena that floats your boat....the only requirement is that you live in Altadena. These photos will end up being a part of a huge exhibit on Saturday, September 5th, the date of our next North Lake Business District Open House. Of course, you will receive your photos back after the exhibit.
Can you imagine? 100 disposable cameras with 27 exposures each.....that means roughly 2,700 photos that will comprise this exhibit. 2700 photos of Beautiful Altadena as you see it - that's truly huge! I think this is such an amazing project!
The timing couldn't be better to give our lovely town a large dose of feel-good. I've been reading a few articles concerning Altadena online at PasadenaStarNews.com ( http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ ), and the comments that follow them. I'm appalled about the perception of Altadena from outsiders. I'm appalled at the comments from insiders, too. I don't understand why this town is getting such bad press, but the AAC will be working hard to change this situation. Altadena needs some consciousness-raising, some help with the collective self-esteem. Altadena needs to feel good about itself....and it should! There's lots to love about our community and the beauty of it is only the crown at the top.
The Altadena Arts Coalition, and Webster's Fine Stationers, is all for helping Altadena be the best it can be. You can help us by spreading the word and joining the fun!
4 comments:
Bad press might be a good thing. Those of us who live in Altadena KNOW how great it is. The fewer non-Altadenans know this, the better protected our privacy and uniqueness.
Why on earth would you think that your privacy would be lost if the outside world had a better view of Altadena? And how unique would Altadena be if the wonderful businesses that populate it and pay taxes that keep this community alive were gone? Without people to patronize these businesses, their demise is certain.
If more people realized how truly lovely Altadena is, homes would sell faster and property values would rise again. More shoppers mean more tax revenue for the County, and businesses would be able to hire more employees. Improving our local economy is never a bad thing.
I just don't understand how letting people talk bad about our community without rebuttal protects us and keeps us unique. This is just the sort of wrong-thinking that we're trying to combat. It's my opinion that the opposite would be true....if we let the slurs go, it would certainly attract the wrong element, as we've experienced already.
Here, here, Lori! Altadena has its problems, but it's a special place -- as anyone who went to the May 15 North Lake Open House knows! There is a lot of treasure here, and we need to let our light shine a bit. How else are we to attract the kind of people who make this a great place to live if we only promote our bad press?
BTW, Altadenablog is working with Molly Tierny at Photography by Walt to "scholarship" four Project: Altadena cameras. We will pay for them and put them in the hands of young people from the west side of town, who otherwise would not be able to participate in this project. I encourage other businesses and individuals to think of "scholarshipping" other cameras so we can get a wide range of experiences recorded.
That's great, Tim! We'll be meeting tomorrow night to discuss how many extra cameras we'll order, just for that purpose. Ideally, we'll each buy some and help spread the Altadena love.
Thanks, too, for backing up what I said about Altadena. I knew I'd run up against this sentiment sooner or later. It's not like shoppers from other areas would be peering into people's houses, ferpetesakes!
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