By Elaine Seohee Lee | Altadena Coalition X ALTA Arts Collective Event Report
On Wednesday, June 11, 2025, Altadena’s Coalition and the ALTA Arts Collective hosted a community event at The Woodbury to gather residents for a good time with some wine, small bites, and a painting workshop at no cost. The goal of this event, one of many, is to provide a space for the community who has been affected by the Eaton fires in January, to share a laugh, trauma-bond, and forget about the devastations of the fire for a small moment.
hosted a community event at the Woodbury
“These socials are just a way to get residents together who haven’t seen each other and have a free drink… this gives them a time to drink and laugh, listen to music, have a snack, and kind of forget, but also be around people who are suffering,” Freddy Sayegh, the co-founder of Altadena’s Coalition, stated.
“Artists impacted by the fires gathered and redirected their artmaking towards healing, rebuilding, and reconnection,” Clarissa Castillo Ramsey, the Director of Creative Voice and Community Connections of the collective, stated. At the workshop, people painted a small canvas which will be collaboratively displayed as one art piece in Altadena. The collective works to bring the local community together through the voices and colors of art.
hosted a community event at the Woodbury
The Altadena’s Coalition was started by two Sayegh siblings. Ever since the fires started, Sayegh explains that he and his sister began distributing water to local communities. The coalition is focusing on addressing gaps in federal aid, educating homeowners on their rights, protecting them against predatory developers, and overall standing up for the Altadena community.
hosted a community event at the Woodbury
“On January 7th, we woke up and both my kids’ schools were burned. My parents’ home was burnt. My brother’s home was burnt. My sister’s home was burnt. Our commercial buildings were burnt. My rental homes were burnt. And everything I knew growing up was completely gone,” stated Sayegh. Losing his entire community, Sayegh started the coalition in efforts to lend a helping hand to neighbors in his same shoes. The coalition has collaborated with numerous different organizations like the Red Cross and hosted over 35 different events across the county in the past four months.
hosted a community event at the Woodbury
Although the fires may be out, nothing is back to normal. “It just becomes the new normal,” Sayegh explained. Families have become used to driving their kids thirty minutes to a new school, having no supermarket nearby, and living in a new city. Many people are still displaced, devastated, and fighting. The impacted communities have not returned to their normal lives but have accepted the reality of the aftermath.
hosted a community event at the Woodbury
Despite such tragedy, Altadena has shown how strong, tight-knit of a community it holds through the fires. Sayegh states how there have been over 150 non-profit organizations that have started to support the affected members of Altadena and countless events every day. Furthermore, lots are being cleared every day. There is progress being made, and Altadena is stronger than ever. There will be more events like this in the future, so feel free to join and connect.
