Alisa Hayashida

Alisa Hayashida
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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.
PHOTO: The Dinosaur Farm | The South Pasadenan | South Pasadena's toy and book shop, The Dinosaur Farm.

Dinosaur Farm Temporarily Closes

South Pasadena’s popular and beloved toy store, The Dinosaur Farm, has been closed since May 4th and will remain so until late June or early July at the earliest due to significant rain damage...
PHOTO: Raymond Tran | The South Pasadenan | Mia Holden in the 300m hurdles at CIF Master's Meet - 6th place at 43.95. She set school record the week prior with 43.81 at CIF SS D3 championships.

SPHS Runners Burn Up the Track and Field Season Qualifying for CIF Masters and...

South Pasadena High School had a tremendous track season this year with several Tigers qualifying for CIF-SS Finals in Division 3 (of 105 schools), CIF Masters and State Championships. At the CIF Finals, SPHS...
PHOTO: Z Quibilan | The South Pasadenan | ZOS!MO performs at Avenue 50 Studio in Los Angeles.

Local Singer-songwriter Z Quibilan to perform Tagalog songs at Eagle Rock Library June 8

ZOS!MO is the singer-songwriter moniker of Los Angeles-based - specifically South Pasadena - Filipino American artist Zosimo Quibilan Jr. who plays original Tagalog indiepop and rock. Z, as he is known among friends, has...
PHOTO: Jenny Graham | The South Pasadenan | The cast of On This Side of the World performs “One Way Ticket” at East West Players.

“On This Side of the World” – Immigrant Stories Told in Song

On a sunny morning, a young Filipino woman is boarding a plane bound for New York City – it’s a one-way ticket and as she ticks off her passport, her lunch and her three...
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Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Celebration held at Garfield Park

On one of the first truly warm, beautiful days of Spring, the City of South Pasadena and the South Pasadena Chinese-American Club held the second annual celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month...
PHOTO: Alisa Hayashida | The South Pasadenan | Taste of South Pasadena 2023 "Eats on the Streets" - South Pasadena Rotary event.

Largest “Taste of South Pasadena” on Record | Rotary Club of South Pasadena’s Signature...

The South Pasadena Rotary Club hosted their largest, most successful “Taste of South Pasadena – Eats on the Streets” event ever Tuesday May 9 with over a record 1400+ attendees. Things kicked off with...
wine-and-song-jodi-siegel-grant-langston

Wine & Song debuts at Lost Parrot Cafe

Wednesday, May 17. Doors 6pm, Showtime 7pm. Full bar and tapas will be available at Lost Parrot located at 1929 Huntington Drive, South Pasadena. $22 advance, $25 at the door. Ticket link: https://tinyurl.com/5cbehaat Jodi Siegel...
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The Little Mermaid Makes a Splash at Young Stars Theatre

For the first time in their storied history, Young Stars Theatre brings South Pasadena a splashy, delightful, full scale production of The Little Mermaid Jr. Produced and directed by Gloria Bennett with musical direction...
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WE’RE BACK! South Pasadena Residents Pack The Streets for Eclectic Music Festival 2023!

Judging by the joyful faces of South Pasadenans and visitors from all across the LA metro area, the 13th Eclectic Music Festival was a resounding success. Kicking off with a birthday celebration at City...
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A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC Simply Enchants at Pasadena Playhouse

Pasadena Playhouse continues its Sondheim Celebration season with a deliciously sumptuous and bold new production of “A Little Night Music”. This Tony-award winning musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by...
Eclectic-poster-2023

South Pasadena Celebrates 135 Years at THE ECLECTIC Music Festival and Arts Crawl April...

South Pasadena’s 13th Annual Eclectic Music Festival and Arts Crawl  is Saturday April 29, 2023 from 3pm – 10pm with some venues having early bird performances. The free, family-friendly festival will host over 75...
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The Radical Compassion of “Freaky Friday”

Is it ever possible to truly have empathy and understanding of what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes? Especially if those shoes are those of your mother or daughter? It’s a high-stakes,...
ava-the-secret-conversations-elizabeth-mcgovern

Elizabeth McGovern Lights Up The Stage as Ava Gardner

Imagine being a fly on the wall as an aging, boozy and forever glamorous Ava Gardner regales her ghost writer with stories, thoughts and opinions on her tumultuous and spectacular life. It’s the fascinating...
SPHS-freaky-friday

SPHS Drama Ready to Open FREAKY FRIDAY

This is not your typical “Disney” musical. Is it fun? Are there big, splashy musical numbers? Is there a loopy, suspend your disbelief premise? Yes, yes and yes. But what becomes clear when talking...
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Kiss of the Spider Woman at A Noise Within

Manuel Puig’s 1976 seminal novel, “Kiss of the Spider Woman”, was first adapted by the author into a play and subsequently became an Oscar winning film and a Tony award winning musical. Puig is...
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Eclectic Preview Party Sets the Stage for the Big Event

It was a night for friends and neighbors, old and new, to gather at a nostalgic spot in town to raise funds for the upcoming Eclectic Music Festival on April 29, 2023. Musicians invited...
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OSCAR WINNERS | Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

Sunday evening saw the first Asian woman to ever win an acting Oscar with Michelle Yeoh’s long-awaited Academy Award for Best Actress. Leading up to Oscar night, odds seemed to be in her favor...
YST-Matilda-1

“Matilda Jr.” Enchants at Young Stars Theatre

Based on the Roald Dahl book, the Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin musical tells the tale of a special girl named Matilda who uses her imagination and keen mind to save herself and her...
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The Immersive Odyssey of “Matter of Time” at Lineage

Anyone remember progressive dinners? I don’t know where it started, but in the eighties there was a time when it was a trendy thing to have these dinners where you would start at one...
dana-cooper

Acclaimed Singer/Songwriter Dana Cooper to play in South Pasadena

Acclaimed Nashville singer/songwriter Dana Cooper will be bringing his unique sound to South Pasadena first at Jeweled Universe on March 5 at 2pm with actor/musician Tom Wood – known as “Governor Tom” and then...
slow-coda-mall-walker-2023

Local Band “Slow Coda” Releases New Video “Mall Walker”

Slow Coda is the indie rock duo of Tavis Balkin and Nicholas Morford. Formed in 2012, when the two were living together in Hollywood, Slow Coda has released 3 Eps and most recently, a...
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The Magic of “The Secret Garden”

The lush and whimsical score of Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon’s “The Secret Garden” is given a beautiful, new production at the Ahmanson Theatre. Opening night saw an enthusiastic and appreciative crowd of fans...
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The Harmony We Need – Sunday in the Park with George at Pasadena Playhouse

“White. A blank page or canvas. His favorite. So many possibilities.” Stephen Sondheim’s groundbreaking 1984 musical “Sunday in the Park with George”, a meditation on the artist’s struggle to stay true to himself while...

Swimming Upstream | Student Production at South Pasadena High School

"Swimming Upstream" is the newest play being put on at South Pasadena High School. The play is written by SPHS junior, Charlotte Dekle. This will be the first time that a student has written,...
JElijahCho

In Conversation with J. Elijah Cho

J. Elijah Cho was living and working as an actor in Florida when the artistic director from a prominent theater was quoted making a very dated, derogatory joke about a local Asian massage parlor....
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Lunar New Year Celebration for South Pasadena Seniors

South Pasadena seniors were treated to a delightful celebration of the Lunar New Year, sponsored by the City and the South Pasadena Chinese American Club at the War Memorial Building on Wednesday January 25,...
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$10 Music Lesson Week | South Pasadena Arts & Music Academy to Benefit SPEF...

South Pasadena Arts & Music Academy is holding their bi-annual $10 Lesson Week in South Pasadena January 16 – January 21, 2023. Thirty-minute private music lessons are only $10 each and all proceeds will...

Family Farm “Pomp” Provides Beautiful Roses at The Rose Bowl

With its prestige and history The Rose Bowl continues to hold notoriety all over the world and get fans buzzing when it comes to the match-up. Prominently featured throughout all of the celebrations and...
holy-family-giving-bank-2022

It’s the Holidays at Holy Family Giving Bank

With heartfelt wishes of “Merry Christmas”, hearty handshakes and mutual exchanges of “God Bless You”, the hardworking crew at South Pasadena’s Holy Family Giving Bank embraced the grace and gratitude of the season. The...
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Elijah Ahmad Lewis Stars in “Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of...

You could say entertainment is in his blood. Born and raised in New Jersey and Harlem, singer/arranger/actor/dancer/model/entrepreneur Elijah Ahmad Lewis has been performing in some capacity since he was 7 years old. With a...
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