A trio of our favorite professionals will share specialized photography tips and techniques in three of hands-on workshops in February designed to address specific interests. Working with your own camera or phone/camera, you will follow our experts and learn to maximize effect in various situations. Each workshop will take place on location and is limited to 12 participants; workshops are suitable for all skill levels; no children under 14. In case of rain, the individual workshop/s affected will be re-scheduled for a later date. This series is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Southern California’s Evolving Landscape: The Photography of Helen Lukens Gaut (1872-1955), which is on display at PMH through Feburary 26, 2012.

-Courtesy Photo

Tickets & Reservations: Museum Members, $25 per session; Non-Members, $30 per session; Museum Members, $60 for all three workshops; Non-Members, $75 for all three workshops. Reservations are required by the Tuesday prior to the Saturday workshop. Please call 626.577.1660, ext. 10.

Saturday, February 4, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm: Working the Angles with James Staub, Photo Services Specialist, California Institute of Technology
Learn to work with your camera effectively to bring your own perspective to subjects and situations often not considered. With Pasadena City Hall and the adjoining urban landscape as our subjects, we’ll focus on:
“Moving the furniture around” — methods to enliven a photograph through simple changes to your camera, and yourself!
Framing the scene… it’s a good thing.
Dealing with lighting to your advantage.
Color balance – true or false? it’s your call.
Participants will meet at the Information Kiosk in the East entrance of Pasadena City Hall.
Saturday, February 18, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm: The Basics of Composition with Ibarionex Perello, author of the bestselling book, Chasing the Light: Improving Your Photography with Available Light
An adjunct professor at Art Center College of Design, Perello has designed this workshop to teach students to improve their photographic compositions. You will learn how to carefully consider what to include and exclude from the frame as well as how visual qualities such as brightness, contrast, sharpness, patterns, and color saturation shape how we create and see photographs.
This workshop will take place in Curtin House at Pasadena Museum of History.

Saturday, February 25, 3:00 to 5:00 pm: Phoneshots with Eliot Crowley, Santa Barbara-based commercial photographer

What is the best camera to use? There is one camera most of us already have and rarely consider… our cellular telephones; most have a camera built in. Somehow we think if it is just a phone camera it can’t be that good. Eliot Crowley will prove otherwise. The best camera is the one you have with you. As Eliot says, “It’s not the camera, it is the photographer.” In just a couple of hours you will learn some of the capabilities of your phone camera. Be ready at a moment’s notice to make the image, set up the composition and lighting to flatter your subject the most just by pulling your phone out of your pocket. Equipment needed: Cellular phone with camera.

This workshop will take place on the Colorado Street Bridge. Participants should park on Grand Avenue and meet at the East entrance to the Bridge.

TICKETS & INFORMATION: www.pasadenahistory.org | 626.577.1660, ext. 10.

Coach Eric LeClair and Team CrossFit Academy will be returning for their seventh year to provide free Saturday morning training runs for this challenging event for any interested trail runner. The training is a 16-week program designed with three different ability groups.: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. The first training session will begin Saturday morning, February 4th at 7:00A in Kersting Court. It is recommended that all interested runners begin their training on this date; each Saturday morning will feature a different training run.
From the beginning trail runner to the experienced veteran racer, all will be welcomed into this fun group and will be assisted in accomplishing his or her desired goal. To contact Coach Eric LeClair or Team CrossFit Academy directly, please call 626-437-8739 or search for either on Facebook.
Registration for the 2012 Mount Wilson Trail Race will begin on Monday, March 5 at 9:00am. Registration is available online at www.cityofsierramadre.com/onlineregistration. Runners are encouraged to register as soon as possible as space is limited. The MWTR sells out on an annual basis, be sure to reserve your spot for 2012! For more information please visit www.mountwilsontrailrace.com or contact the Community Services Office at 626.355.5278.

By Terry Miller
Two weeks ago at the NAMM show (National Association of Music Merchants) in Anaheim there was a plethora of musical talent. The range was gargantuan. One, however, which piqued Beacon Media’s interest was the Elton John tribute band starring Kenny Metcalf as Elton.
The guy IS Elton John…in a sequin outfit sporting a Dodgers baseball bat and logo on his sequinned jumpsuit. It’s astonishing… he appeared to have the energy, flamboyance and remarkable talent of the early Elton John as he hurried to the grand piano. He waves to his adoring fans as the opening number prepares him for his first song as Elton John.
Elton -The Early Years is a show that is not like any of the other tribute show… This tribute band really has captured the early sounds og Elton John as he was rising to superstardom.
Four years ago, a long time friend encouraged Kenny Metcalf to do an Elton John tribute, since tributes have been building steam and playing respectable venues and not the long bar scene shows for little or no pay.

Metcalf thought long and hard about it because he was no longer physically able to hold down a regular job due to a rare auto-immune disease that almost took his life when he turned 46. Pemphigus Vulgarus is that atypical disease, and according to doctors, Kenny is a miracle since they have as of yet found no cure for the disease or explanation of his quick about-face from death’s door.

Perhaps it’s the spirit of the music Kenny performs that’s keeping him alive and giving hope to his friends and family not to mention his lyal following. Metcalf, is not out of the medical woods yet, but knowing that the only thing he could possibly do is play music- Elton John’s music, expecially – it really is therapy.

He decided to give it a try and started to study Elton’s voice of his 1970 body of work. He recorded Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and found he was so close to Elton’s voice and tone, he decided to give it a shot.

He spent the next 13 months creating lavish reproductions of Elton’s costumes, blinging everything himself, from clothes to microphones – Metcalf worked with long time friend Jeff Coulson in designing a baby grand piano shell that was lightweight and would hold his 88 key digital keyboard. “You can’t be Elton if you are playing a keyboard on stage”, it has to look like a real piano said Metcalf.

Coulson made the replica shell to piano specs, only weighing in at about 150lbs. but with all the beauty and realism of a real baby grand. Jeff went into business after making Kenny’s baby grand and called his company “Grand Illusions Piano Shells”. They are a huge hit andnow selling as fast as he can make them.

Every detail of Elton – The Early Years- tribute show has been painstakingly recreated even down to all the band wearing costumes to recreate that image of the 70′s of an Elton John Show. They have also gone so far as to recreate each song to sound as if you were listening to the vinyl. It’s like watching Elton at the Troubadour in smaller halls, but also like seeing him in stadium concerts when they play festivals and fairs.

When they launched the show, at Hermosa Pier festival , 4,000 people experienced the legend. Since then they have headlined O.C. Fair twice . Club Nokia with The Fab Four Beatle tribute as well as casino’s and Universities .

“We all get along like a family”, said Metcalf..” we love to perform for people and with each other.”

Metcalf says he’s not listened to other music in 4 years because ” I don’t want to forget how to sound like Elton (it’s continual work).. I don’t want Kenny Metcalf’s voice slipping out.. I want it to be Elton’s voice they hear.”

Kenny Metcalf is Elton John. Mark Servi is lead guitarist as Davey Johnstone. Isaac Johnson is second lead guitarist as Caleb Quaye. Bobby HQ Storm is the bass player as Dee Murray. Michael Thompson is our drummer as Nigel Olsson. Sharlene Griffith (owner/manager) and backing singer. Stefanie Hult & Shauna Porter are the other backing singers.

In the 80′s Kenny Metcalf toured as the original “LIVE” tour keyboardist for Stryper, a heavy metal Christian rock band. He toured from 1985-86. He left the group to stay home and raise his kids and strengthen his relationship with his wife Evelyn.

Later through the years he was a studio musician, studio engineer, as well as singer song writer, and even A&R for Javamusic.com in the year 2000.

Metcalf engineered recordings for such artists as Leon Patillo (singer for Santana), Darrell Mansfield (blues harmonica hall of famer), Contemporary Christian singer Bryan Duncan, and Chi Coltrane, and many others.

Carloine Knop helps lead La Salle to a Victory over St Joseph’s Tuesday. The Score was 64-56 vs. St Joseph High School, Lakewood.

-Photo by Terry Miller
It has been a tough year for business across the United States. However, for Lucky Baldwin’s it has been bittersweet as the business has grown steadily but recently lost co-owner David Farnworth to ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Farnworth was nothing short of a beer guru, if you will. He knew his craft and traveled far and wide to find the preeminent beers and ales, many of which happen to be Belgian, for his customers’ somewhat discriminating palates.

Under the ownership of British subjects David Farnworth and Peggy Simonian, Lucky Baldwin’s poured their very first pint July 1, 1996 in Old Pasadena. It wasn’t long before word got around that there was a agreeable “English Pub” in Pasadena complete with character and a feel of that which one would find in the UK.
Business partners Farnworth and Simonian, who met while working for the British Tourist Authority in Los Angeles, knew they were on to something and something big with Lucky Baldwins. The place kept growing and accordingly they offered an ever increasing selection of fine wines and beers as well a menu of darn good British grub.

Farnworth approached the beer business much like a wine connoisseur, without the pompous stance so often associated with wine aficionados and sommeliers.

Farnworth had a great sense of humour, abeit a bit dry as many of us Brits, but there was no pretense. This is the legacy he has left. Humor, knowledge and hand crafted beers you’ll be hard pressed to find anywhere else.

It is easy to see why Lucky Baldwin’s customers get into Belgian beer. “The flavors are so different,” Farnworth told us a few months prior to his passing. “They’re fascinating. And a lot of them are high in alcohol like Alesmith old Knumbskull” – that’s actually the name of one of Farnworth’s favorite selections.

Now the hugely popular East Colorado location has completed its first year in business and by all accounts, the place is here to stay. Owner Peggy Simonian said she was very pleased that the neighborhood has given the pub such a warm welcome. “We have received a fantastic welcome from the neighborhood.” Simonian told Beacon Media.

Store Manager Ben Miller has helped keep the pub running smoothly with some of the difficult transitions this past year and has established a remarkably informed, friendly and fun crew of young men and women which seems to flow as smoothly as some of the most elegant ales they serve.

Friendliness, extensive knowledge of the beers as well as darn good pub food make this truly a impressive neighborhood pub according to local resident Dave Peterson who said that “satisfying the needs of a neigborhood as well as an area ” is what Lucky Baldwin’s has done.
Like any faithful British pub, Lucky Baldwin’s offers a friendly family environment and is frequented by locals and visitors alike. A full kitchen serving breakfast, lunch and dinner makes Lucky Baldwins a perfect place to have a traditional British meal.
Boasting 65 beers on tap and countless others in the bottles, Lucky Baldwins is celebrating its third incarnation’s one year anniversary with a big party the day after Super Bowl Sunday. On Monday Feb 6 at 6pm they’ll kick off the one year soiree. There will also be a toast at 7pm.
There will be beer and food specials to be sure but stop by and see why this place has become one of the most popular pubs in Pasadena.
It’s interesting to note that Lucky Baldwin’s has been serving fine Peet’s Coffees for years and now, the sterile corporate coffee conglomorate Starbucks wants to serve beer and wine. I guess Lucky Baldwin’s was always one step ahead of the competition. They always knew that the after 2PM crowd might want a little more than a triple Latte,extra hot foam, nonfat, extra caramel.
The interesting thing to note with Lucky Baldwin’s is that it really is a neighborhood pub where you can bring the kids for some wonderful food, watch a game or as in the case on Tuesday, watch the import issues like the State of the Union.
It’s not just a pub. Lucky Baldwin’s is a friendly, neighborhood experience.

Lucky Baldwin’s Trappiste is located at 1770 E Colorado Blvd in Pasadena. For more details visit their website: www.luckybaldwins.com. Plato was quoted as saying “He was a wise man who invented beer” – We concur, in spades.
-Photo by Terry Miller

Facebook Tutu Photo Contest — In advance of Tutu Day, the Pantages will host a contest January 26 – February 1 on its official Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/PantagesHollywood. First, fans will be invited to upload a photo of them wearing a tutu. Next, our Facebook community will cast votes on which photo they like the best, and the one with the most votes at the end of the contest will be awarded two free tickets to the first performance of BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL along with a gift bag and a poster signed by the entire cast.

Wear A Tutu, Get Free Tickets — On Thursday morning, February 2nd, we will be giving away 22 pairs of tickets at the Pantages! To get a free pair of tickets, one must be one of the first 22 people in line at the Pantages Box Office wearing a tutu. Prize tickets will be distributed after the box office opens at 10am.

A Tutu Day 2-Fer Deal — All day on 2/2, we’ll be offering Southern Californians the opportunity to get 2-for-1 tickets to see BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL for any Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Sunday evening performance in April. This 2-fer special is available ONLY for purchases made in person at the Pantages Box Office on 2/2/12, and the offer is valid on selected Price Level 2 seating. Restrictions apply. For complete details, visit www.BroadwayLA.org/Tutu.

BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL will captivate Los Angeles audiences for five weeks only, April 11-May 13 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. Based on the international smash-hit film and featuring music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, choreography by Peter Darling and direction by Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot the Musical has been awarded 81 national and international awards including ten Tony Awards, Best Musical by the New York Drama Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle. BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL is the joyous celebration of one boy’s journey to make his dreams come true. Set in a small town, the story follows Billy as he stumbles out of the boxing ring and into a ballet class, discovering a surprising passion that inspires his family and his whole community.

Full priced tickets for BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL may be purchased online at www.BroadwayLA.org or by phone at 1-800-982-2787. Orchestra level tickets for BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL start at just $25. Prices are subject to change without notice. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Pantages Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets. The Pantages Theatre is located at 6233 Hollywood Boulevard, just east of Vine Street, and the box office opens daily at 10am. Groups of 10 or more can call 866-755-3075 or visit www.NedGroups.com. For tickets or more information about BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL’s Los Angeles engagement, please visit the Pantages Theatre’s official website, www.BroadwayLA.org.

Now that the streets are safe from RV’s and thousands of football and Occupy fans, it’s that time of year when we start waxing philosophical about the OTHER parade for which Pasadena is so well known ….the Doo Dah Parade where just about any goes and usually does!

This year’s Pasadena Doo Dah Parade will again bring its own brand of raucous eccentricity East, after its successful relocation from old Pasadena last year. The 2012 Parade takes place on Saturday, April 28th, stepping off at 11:00AM in East Pasadena along Colorado Boulevard.

I’m hoping that this year will showcase an homage to the wonderful and disturbed characters who are running or ran away from the GOP nomination. This unprecedented madness seems tailor made for Doo Dah. In fact I vote for Steven Colbert for Grand Marshal….It’s bound to push him over that 5% lead, especially now that Huntsman has packed it in. Perhaps we could have a Romney – Cobert debate at the American Legion post parade on April 28 and former Doo Dah Queen Naughty Mickie ( who moonlights as a journalist for ‘another paper’) could moderate. Now wouldn’t that be a GREAT DEBATE?

Well if that doesn’t happen fear not: Last year, dozens of inventive, if zany, art cars and floats accompanied a legion of frolickers past the mom-n-pop shops along East Pasadena’s shady tree-lined streets, including many first-time entries like the League of Steam, Machina Candeo, Conehead Rocket Sled, Hippie Cream, Easy Acres Chicken Sitters, Wisdom Arts Laboratory, combined bands of the 35th Dragoon Guards, Mile High Bed, Cheesus Chrust Pizza Company, 2011 Queen Red Rosie, Balkan Brass Band, and the Ladies Auxiliary for Cultural Enrichment, among others.

Known as the extremely twisted sister of the highly conventional Rose Parade, the Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade began as a grassroots event in 1978 to gain national attention for its eccentric and, often, irreverent satire.
The parade which has spawned numerous off-beat replicants across the country was named by Readers Digest as “America’s Best Parade,” and was recently featured in the book 50 Places You Must Visit Before You Die!

This year’s spectacle will see the return of such wildly diverse entries as a fleet of motorized Kinetic Pastry Science Mobile Muffins, Captain McHogwash’s Amazing Chundra, a humungous robotic spitting cat named Boo-Boo Kitty, oddly-attired sound inventors known as The Highland Park Thursday Evening Gentlemen’s Society Circuit Bending Marching Band & Ladies’ Auxiliary, and the crowd favorite Disco Drill Team, real American Bandstanders, Bastard Sons of Lee Marvin, OC NRML, The Billionaires, Occupy Doo Dah, Quilting Bees, Whistling Diva, The Bra-Ettes, L.A. Derby Dolls, classic, scary clowns, BBQ & Hibachi Marching Grill Team, Hare Kirshna Chanters, Howdy Krishna, and the immortal Doo Dah house band Snotty Scotty & the Hankies, and many more!
-Photos by Terry Miller
Plenty of street parking is available ~ Parade route is also just west of the Sierra Madre Villa Gold Line Station (at Colorado Blvd. and Sierra Madre Villa). City busses go directly to the area.

Official Doo Dah After-Party: American Legion, 179 N. Vinedo St. (2 blocks from Parade at Vinedo & Walnut), immediately following the event. Bands…cheap food and drinks!! $5 cover (supports a Legion charity).

For more information go: www.pasadenadoodahparade.info

, “The Great Race Place”, will hold true to its name this season with a host of new events and big changes in the commencement of its annual meet, Monday, Dec. 26. Festivals, a new Kids’ Zone and the opening of a lounge inspired by HBO’s hit new show, “Luck” will add to a full calendar of events complementing world-class Thoroughbred racing.
The Hollywood spotlight has illuminated Santa Anita Park with the release of HBO’s new series, “Luck.” January 28 will mark the debut of a new Luck Lounge, complete with a ribbon cutting by stars from the show, a Luck signature cocktail and a contest to win a VIP “Luck” tour. January 28 is also Sunshine Millions Day featuring California’s best – from Thoroughbreds to food trucks. Five stakes races will be run while a food truck and craft beer festival take place in the Infield.
The following holidays, events and openings will delight Santa Anita Park guests looking for outdoor excitement and affordable fun in the coming months:
· Walk of Fame Unveiling, Sunday, January 15 – Santa Anita will debut its new Walk of Fame featuring the handprints and signatures of Southern California’s racing stars.
· Food Truck Festivals, January 28, March 3 and 31 – A different kind of horsepower will roll into the Infield and serve up some delicious gourmet eats to racetrack goers. New this year, festivals will be themed and smaller in size for a more intimate experience.
· Grand opening of Sirona’s Pizza Kitchen, Saturday, February 11 – Catch famous athletes at the opening of the new gourmet pizza joint adjacent to Sirona’s Sports Bar.
· Mardi Gras and Cajun Festival, Sunday, February 19 – Celebrate Fat Tuesday early with the all new Cajun Festival featuring the Ragin’ Cajun food truck and Mardi Gras party in the Infield.
· Big Caps Day, Saturday, March 3 – Racing fans will don their haute-est hats in true Kentucky Derby-fashion for the new Fascinators and Fedoras contest.
· Kids’ Zone Grand Opening, Sunday, March 4 – Formerly family fun days, the Infield is taking on new activities this season to entertain kids of all ages.
· Latin Music Festivals Sunday, March 11 and April 1 – The all-new Latin Music festivals will decorate the Infield with popular music, good food and live entertainment.
· St. Patrick’s Day, Saturday, March 17 – All attendees are entered into the $1 Million St. Patrick’s Day Pitch. One randomly selected fan will get the chance to toss a $1 Million ringer.
· Tokyo City Cup, Saturday, March 24 – Japanese athletes and live entertainment will take over Santa Anita in honor of the Tokyo City Cup.
· Uncorked Wine Festival, Sunday, March 25 – The fourth annual Uncorked Wine Festival will showcase local wines and restaurants in the Paddock Gardens. A $60 ticket buys race-goers all they can eat and drink.
· Classic and Vintage Car Show, Sunday, March 25 – Cruise the Infield to check out classic and vintage cars throughout the race day.
· Walk of Fame installation featuring Women of Santa Anita, Sunday, April 1 – Women of Santa Anita will be honored and added to the Santa Anita Walk of Fame.
· $1 Million Santa Anita Derby Day, Saturday, April 7 – Catch Kentucky Derby-candidates in Santa Anita’s signature race, considered the most important West Coast stepping-stone to the Kentucky Derby.
· Easter, Sunday, April 8 – Santa Anita is kicking off the spring holiday with the largest Easter egg hunt in the San Gabriel Valley.
· On Track to Beat Cancer, Sunday, April 22 – Benefitting City of Hope, Santa Anita will support the fight against cancer with a quarter-mile walk around the famous track after the final race on Closing Day.
Race-goers can pick up free Clubhouse admission to Santa Anita by visiting the Cal Racing Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/CalHorseRacing.
Racing at Santa Anita Park takes place through April 22, 2012. For more information, call 626-574-7223 or visit www.santaanita.com. You can also follow Santa Anita and all other California Thoroughbred Racetracks at www.innerjockey.com or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CalHorseRacing.

Silent Auction chair for the event, Sharon Murphy, says that this year’s auction will feature some exceptional items. These include: jewelry; wine tastings and tours; theater tickets; gourmet
dinners; art work; Turf Club at Santa Anita; Disneyland tickets; Rose Parade tickets; wine fridge; Temecula B&B; children’s birthday party at the Sierra Madre Fire Department; Universal Studios tour; personal chef dinner for 6; SMPD ride along; fine wines and Paso Robles rental and wine tasting. In addition to the auction, there will be a raffle for a weekend wine tasting in Paso Robles, a prize valued at more than $1,000 (raffle ticket holders need not be present to win).

If you wish to purchase tickets in advance, tickets to the Wine Tasting are $60 and raffle tickets are $5 each. Both can be purchased at the Sierra Madre Library, 440 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre (telephone 626 355-7186). Proceeds from the Wine Tasting benefit the resources and programs of the Sierra Madre Library.

-Courtesy Photo

“We felt it extremely appropriate to pay tribute to such an important holiday as National Beer Can Day with $3.00 can beer specials, especially with the launch of our new beer menu,” said Dog Haus Biergarten resident man behind the can and partner Quasim Riaz. “Keeping with the fun vibe at the Biergarten, customers will receive free koozies with their beer cans that read Dog Haus Biergarten on one side and “Nice Cans” on the other.”
Completing the pack of new canned beer offerings at Dog Haus Biergarten are Caldera IPA, 21st Amendment Back in Black, Anderson Valley Barney Flatts, Golden Road Point the Way IPA, G’Knight by Oscar Blues, Joe’s Premium American Pilsner by Avery as well as Blackthorn Apple Cider. Beer is still also available on draft.
A leader in the hot dog revolution taking over Los Angeles, Dog Haus Biergarten offers a something-for-everyone menu including options to build your own creations with more than 40 toppings or choose from one of Dog Haus’ signature Haus Dogs such as the Sooo Cali, Downtown Dog, The Little Leaguer and Grand Slam among others. The Haus Dogs are also served on grilled King’s Hawaiian Bread instead of traditional buns–a culinary choice that customers rave about.
For more information about Dog Haus or Dog Haus Biergarten, visit doghausdogs.com or call 626.577.4287. Dog Haus can also be found on social networking sites including facebook (Dog Haus), Foursquare (Dog Haus) and twitter (dog_haus).