Altadena Arts Coalition Throws Another Great Party!

We asked people to come celebrate Altadena last night and boy, did they celebrate! A party was greatly needed, since the Station Fire has burned up just about every one's stress levels (see Petrea Bruchard's blogpost on this subject at her excellent blog, http://pasadenadailyphoto.blogspot.com
People arrived in droves, and it did our hearts good to see happy smiles on the faces that last week were creased in expressions of worry and fear. Credit for this photo goes to Debbi Swanson Patrick and you can see more at her insightful blog, http://www.altadenaaboveitall.com/

PROJECT:ALTADENA was a wonderful success, too, and just what the doctor ordered for our beautiful town! Deepest thanks to the creative minds of Molly Tierney and our fellow AAC compatriots Ben McGinty, Steve Salinas, Jeff Klein and Lance Anderson for their hard work putting this whole thing together. It was fabulous to see firemen from our Altadena Fire Station on El Molino enjoying themselves and receiving a well deserved thanks from the attendees. Credit for this photo goes to Timothy Rutt of Altadenablog fame:

Here's a shot of the exhibit wall, credit to Tim Rutt:

In conjunction with the Project: Altadena! exhibit, businesses along North Lake Avenue held open houses, staying open later than the norm. Here at WFS, we hosted 6 of our Altadna authors Andre Coleman, Ellen Snortland, Michele Zack, Revvell Revati, Michelle Huneven and Jervey Tervalon. What a fantastic group of minds they were! I regret that I couldn't spend as much time as I wanted to with them, due to my commitments to the Coalition, but I couldn't have asked for a nicer bunch. Each author brought their own special spice to the mix and the result was fascinating. Response was so positive and I'm hoping to have more literary events like this in the future. Here's picture of four out of the six authors mentioned, credit again to Tim Rutt:

From left to right, pictured are Andre Coleman, Ellen Snortland, Michelle Zack and Jevery Tervalon. Also very fun and delicious was Revvell Revati, author of Smoothies & Smoozies For Life and Revvellutionize Your Life In 30 Days, making samples of her smoothies in store!

Everyone enjoyed Altadena's own band, Wreck and Sow, as they fiddled, strummed and sung the evening away....credit again to Tim Rutt:


I'd like to personally thank each and every one of you who came down to enjoy the exhibit and party last night! Altadena has a diverse population, it's true, but the one truth that holds us together is that we are a town of determined and intrepid people. Nothing can deter us if we set our minds to something, not even fire. If you couldn't make it last night, we understand that life has been a little bumpy lately. There will be a next time (in December!), which will be just as good, if not better. Remember to follow us on Twitter (@lorinscott) for updates on what's happening in Altadena, with the Arts Coalition and at Webster's. We're also on Facebook so quick....become a fan of the store and get all our updates that way.

Altadena Burns!

Fire season is always a challenging time in California, particularly for those who live in mountain and foothill communities. Altadena is one such community and as you've most likely heard, the Station fire, which started in La Canada, is still burning out of control here. From the information I've gathered, this fire is unpredictable but we thank God that the winds haven't blown the fire further down the hills than it already is.

The photo above, courtesy of Bill Westphal, shows the dangerous fire behind his neighborhood. The following photo was taken by Lori Paul, of the Altadena Foothills Conservancy, on her mad dash home from Las Vegas after they received news of the fire. This is on Lincoln Avenue north, taken yesterday:


This is a very frightening time for all of us here in Altadena and we at WFS extend our sympathies and commiseration to those who have had their lives disrupted by this fire. Having lived through the Eaton Canyon fire in 1993, when I lived in Las Flores Canyon (east and north of the top of Lake Ave., near the Cobb Estate), I know exactly how it feels. I know we can't do much to help, but I do want you to know that WFS will be open regular hours and if you need a place to come to while you sort things out, please feel free to do so. We will have Altadenablog on one of our large shipping computer monitors for you to keep up with information on, and as always, cold lemonade and cookies for all who need a quick snack and a cold drink.

We pray the fire is extinguished soon without further damage, and urge everyone to keep informed by checking Altadenablog .