.png)
Alisa Hayashida
Alisa Hayashida is an arts and culture columnist and critic for South Pasadenan News, covering the greater Pasadena Metro area and Los Angeles Metro area. She is a valuable arts advocate in South Pasadena, with an extensive background in theatre arts. She has been a proud South Pasadenan for over 27 years.
Rummage Sale Saturday! by Good SamariTots
On Saturday, September 16th, the Good SamariTots will be holding their first Rummage Sale Fundraiser. Beginning at 8:00 a.m. on the front lawn of the Oneonta Campus (1515 Garfield Avenue), items ranging from baby...
PCDA Honors Bob Joe at Harvest Moon Gala
Professional Child Development Associates (PCDA) will celebrate twenty years of serving children with autism or other developmental disabilities and their families at its ninth annual Harvest Moon Gala Dinner and Art Auction to be...
Debi Howell-Ardila honored by City Council
Debi Howell-Ardila was honored at the recent City Council meeting and given a Certificate of Appreciation by Mayor Cacciotti and the entire council. Howell-Ardila is stepping down as Chair of the Cultural Heritage Commission....
It’s the Tournament of Roses Hot Rod & Classic Car Show!
Dubbed Cruz n’ For Roses and in it’s 13th year, it is one of our city’s Tournament of Roses biggest fundraisers for our self-built float. South Pasadenans have long taken pride in being one...
Word NOW! is Back at Fremont Centre Theatre
Have you ever been caught up in the heat of the moment? The heat of passion? The heat of the night or a heated debate? Was the heat turned all the way up? After...
“American Home” Touches The Heart
Why has the American Dream always seemed connected to the house in the suburbs with a white picket fence? The country was founded on the notion of the promise of a better life, but...
Fast Times at South Pas High
Even the wall of heatwave heat couldn’t keep high school parents away from the fall Back To School night at South Pasadena High School. Spirits were high as families, old and new, made their...
Citizens Out in Force Seeking to Strengthen Immigration Resolution
Last night, South Pasadenans were once again out in force to give comments on specific points in our Resolution of Diversity and offer suggestions to the committee and council on the resolution as well...
Fundraising Efforts Underway for Memorial Bench in Garfield Park
South Pasadena Beautiful, whose mission is dedicated to encouraging community engagement and inspiring volunteerism and grassroots involvement in beautification in our community, has offered to collect funds for the Memorial Bench dedicated to our...
Coach Jeff Chi – SPHS Team “Like My Own Kids”
Coach Jeff Chi has been coaching for over thirty years and has seen his fair share of, well, just about everything. An East Coast transplant who became a Tiger as a freshman and graduated...
SUMMERFEST Comes to South Pasadena
School may be back in session but the summer ain’t over yet and this Saturday, August 26, will see the first ever SUMMERFEST music festival in South Pasadena at the Arroyo Seco Golf Course. There...
Fire Chief Paul Riddle Gets Sworn In
In a dramatic and moving ceremony right at the top of the recent City Council meeting, our new fire chief, Paul Riddle, was sworn in with family , friends and a packed crowd looking...
Extraordinary Night with LA Dodgers Photographer Jon SooHoo
Dodger Blue was out in force Thursday night as the excited crowd lined around the block to get into the community room at South Pas Library. Soft spoken yet self-proclaimed #1 Dodger fan, Vince...
First Day of School at SPHS – Let’s Get It, Tigers!
The mood was decidedly festive as the new Seniors at South Pasadena High School came to play in their now traditional “Senior Shirts”. Senior Lily Sortino said, “it was super weird to see all...
Michael Gavlak – Dads, Dudes & Rock n’ Roll
South Pasadenans may know Michael Gavlak as a crazy, orange and black boa-clad “DUDE” at 4th of July parades and a dedicated Dad about town. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to many, he’s been rocking out and...
South Pasadenan Mark Langill – From Dodger Fan to Team Historian
Many South Pasadenans, especially Dodger fans, have read Mark Langill’s insightful articles on all things Dodgers. He is, after all, the Team Historian for the Dodgers, a role Langill didn’t know could exist as...
Kirsten Vangsness Inaugurates Jonah Beadle’s New Theatre with MESS
When Jonah Beadle was 9 years old, he had a vision; in looking at a rectangle storage room on the bottom level of his South Pasadena home, he could see it; a theatre! It...
Three Cheers for Annie Warbucks at YST!
YST’s delightful Annie Warbucks alights at Fremont Centre Theatre to close out the summer with a bang! While most of us have had some exposure to the musical Annie, whether from seeing the musical...
YST Musical Theatre Workshop | A Chat with Jack and Gloria Bennett
It will be two years in December since Young Stars Theatre made their South Pasadena debut with a stellar production of A Christmas Carol at Fremont Centre Theatre. It was a long journey and...
Spectacular Night with Youssou N’Dour | Ignite@TheFord!
The newly renovated Ford Theatres kicked off their exciting new series IGNITE@TheFord! with an exhilarating concert by Senegalese superstar Youssou N’Dour. Even those who think they don’t know him by name will recognize his...
Mayor Cacciotti – How He Came To His Green Ways
I meet the Mayor at the Gold Line as he gets off the train with his bicycle, as he does every day. It’s a familiar sight; our Mayor, Michael Cacciotti, riding his bike through...
Follow Your Dreams – Celebration of Life for Anne Disselhorst
It was standing room only with a line out the door for the celebration of life held in honor of Fiore Market Café matriarch, Anne Disselhorst, on Friday afternoon at Fremont Centre Theatre. The...
Anne Disselhorst – A Handcrafted Life
Sadly, the “Mom” of the Mom & Pop culinary gem that is Fiore Market Café has passed away suddenly. Anne Disselhorst suffered a massive stroke caused by a large tumor no one knew she...
YST’s Final Summer Camp Show Annie Warbucks
South Pasadena’s resident youth theatre company at Fremont Centre Theatre started the summer off with a Broadway revue and followed that up with their winning production of Willy Wonka Jr. They are back for...
Impassioned Discussion at Chamber Shop Talk Breakfast
Under a humid, rainy Tuesday morning sky, chamber members gathered for an unusually impassioned discussion during their monthly breakfast at Mike and Anne's restaurant. The subject of those discussions centered around the information given...
Shout Sister Shout! Takes Us To Church!
Sister Rosetta Tharpe is on a mission from God; to save a despondent, young musician by showing him a thing or two, by taking him on a journey, by taking him to church. Yes,...
The Sound of Music – A Joyful Summer Evening
The air was electric with anticipation as friends, family and community members settled in for Upstage’s summer production of The Sound of Music. Throughout the evening, you could hear and feel the urge to...
A Sparkling Tribute to a Musical Theatre Icon
The crowd at the Hollywood Bowl was abuzz with excitement, as they patiently filed into their seats with their packed dinners and bottles of wine, to see a stellar cast of Broadway veterans sing...
Shout Sister Shout! Opening Night Rocks Pasadena Playhouse
It was a festive and decidedly rock and roll Opening Night for Shout Sister Shout! at Pasadena Playhouse Sunday evening where cast, crew, press and audience members celebrated the new show about Sister Rosetta...
Shout Sister Shout! Opening at The Pasadena Playhouse
If you’ve never heard of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, sadly you are not alone. However, the creators of the new musical Shout Sister Shout! are aiming to change that by bringing to light the story...
