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Mountain View News Saturday, April 27, 2024 

Pasadena 
Mayor’s 
Prayer 
Breakfast


Free Tournament of Roses 
House Tours Begin May 2

 


 Beginning May 2 the 
Pasadena Tournament of 
Roses Association will once 
again open its doors to the 
public for guided tours at no 
cost. Get ready to discover 
hidden treasures and enjoy 
fascinating facts about the 
Pasadena Tournament of 
Roses and Tournament 
House. You will learn about 
the house’s history, hear more 
about the traditions of the 
Rose Parade and Rose Bowl 
Game and experience this 
iconic landmark’s vibrant 
history firsthand.

 Booking for Tournament 
House tours will begin a 
month prior to the scheduled 
dates, with 80 slots available 
for each tour. Led by 
volunteer docents, the one-
and-a-half to two-hour tours 
are offered every Thursday at 
2 p.m. through August 29.

 Tournament House was 
previously owned by William 
Wrigley Jr., the visionary 
behind Wrigley chewing 
gum, and his wife Ada. 
When Ada passed away in 
1958, the Wrigley family 
generously gave their home 
to Pasadena on the condition 
that it become the permanent 
location for the Tournament 
of Roses. Since then, this 
iconic house has been the 
heart of the Rose Parade and 
Rose Bowl Game.

 Reservations are required 
for the complimentary 
tours. Reservation link 
and answers to frequently 
asked questions available 
at: tournamentofroses.com/
house-tours/.

 Guests are asked to arrive 
ten minutes prior to the start 
time. 

 Pasadena’s Friends In Deed 
is set to host the annual 
Mayor’s Prayer Beakfast that 
coincides with the National 
Day of Prayer Thursday May 
2. Join community members, 
Pasadena residents, local 
leaders, and the interfaith 
community with Mayor 
Victor Gordo from 7:30 a.m. 
to 9 a.m. for a morning of 
peace, prayer, and reflection 
under the theme “Together 
We Thrive, Pasadena.”

 This inspirational community 
event is open to people of 
multiple faiths, to business 
people, nonprofits and 
community residents.

 Featuring the Urban 
Voices Project, A Skid Row 
Community Choir whose 
presentation will demonstrate 
the healing power of the arts. 
Led by Artistic Director Leeav 
Sofer and Pasadena Artivist, 
Lorinda Hawkins Smith.

 For more information visit: 
friendsindeedpas.org.

Bricks & Minifigs Store Snaps into Pasadena 

By Dean Lee

 For both LEGO and Star 
Wars fans, Saturday (May 4) 
is set to be an enthralling day 
in Pasadena as the first Bricks 
& Minifigs store is set to open 
at The Shops on Lake Avenue. 
Planed to coincide with “Star 
Wars Day,” the store opening 
will feature a guest appearance 
by science fiction and Star Wars 
actor Ahmed Best.

 “He [Ahmed Best] is the actor 
that portrayed Jar Jar Binks in 
the prequels and Kelleran Beq 
in series The Mandolorian,” 
Bricks & Minifigs store owner 
Rob Poquez said. “He has a long 
history with Star Wars.”

 Poquez added, “The big reason 
he is coming in is he has a LEGO 
set coming out from his scene 
in the Mandolorian, He saves 
baby Grogu from order 66 
with all the Stormtroopers and 
they’re releasing a set, The BARC 
Speeder Escape, to celebrate that. 
He will be here to promote it.”

 The first one hundred guests will 
be given a special custom LEGO 
minifig with a Pasadena rose on 
them Poquez said, “they will get 
to choose between a “light side” 
or “dark side torso. The light side 
will be the standard design with 
a red rose with green leaves and 
the dark side will be a ‘May the 
4th be with you’ design with a 
Death Star rose pattern.”

 Poquez also said they were 
planning to have a Meet & Greet 
with the Co-Winner of Season 4 
of LEGO Masters, Christopher 
Lee as a guest, “he will be here 
from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Best 
will be here from 12 p.m. to 5 
p.m.”

 They will also have raffle 
giveaways and special Pasadena 
Lego t-shirts for sale throughout 
the day Poquez said. 

 Poquez and his wife Betty have 
been planning the new Bricks & 
Minifigs store for over a year. 

 “We’re not sure how it’s going 
to do but with all the community 
support, I’m feeling much 
more confident about that,” 
Betty Poquez said. “We did a 
lot of research... there is a lot of 
significant investment up front 
from us to start sourcing things 
and loans, we had to make sure 
we were fully committed.”

 The store will have an official 
trade counter open to buy 
used LEGO, Monday through 
Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 
p.m., leading up to our Grand 
Opening.

 Bricks & Minifigs is a one-stop 
shop for buying, selling and 
trading LEGO. The store stocks 
new, used, retired sets, minifigs 
and bulk LEGO –with large pick 
brick bins in the store. 

 Bricks & Minifigs Pasadena in 
located 350 S. Lake Ave Suite 
110. 

 For more information visit: 

 bricksandminifigs.com/
pasadena-ca or call (626) 228-
2971.

Pasadena 
Chorale 
Announces 
Next Concert

 The Pasadena Chorale, a 
distinguished auditioned 
chorus announced its next 
concert, The Golden Shore: 
Rachmaninoff and the 
Music of Displacement, on 
Saturday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. 
at the First United Methodist 
Church in Pasadena. This 
free concert performed 
by the Pasadena Chorale 
will be an unforgettable 
journey, exploring themes 
of displacement and exile 
through music.

 Reflecting on the significance 
of the concert, Founding 
Artistic & Executive Director 
of the Pasadena Chorale 
Jeffrey Bernstein remarked, 
“At the heart of the concert lies 
a performance of highlights 
from Rachmaninoff’s All-
Night Vigil, a monumental 
a cappella choral work 
renowned for its transcendent 
beauty. This masterpiece, 
composed just two years 
before the composer’s forced 
departure from Russia in 
1917, serves as a poignant 
reminder of the enduring 
power of music in times of 
upheaval.”

 In a symbolic parallel to 
Sergei Rachmaninoff’s own 
journey, The Golden Shore will 
showcase the transformative 
power of music in navigating 
the complexities of human 
experience. As Rachmaninoff 
found solace and inspiration 
in Beverly Hills, far from his 
homeland, so too does this 
concert celebrate the resilience 
of the human spirit in the face 
of adversity.

 The Golden Shore will 
also feature new music by 
contemporary composers 
Caroline Mallonee and 
Marques L.A. Garrett, 
providing fresh perspectives 
on the themes of courage and 
hope, alongside two eagerly 
anticipated world premieres 
by LA-based composers, 
Pasadena Chorale’s own 
Jeffrey Bernstein and Moscow 
Conservatory alum Vera 
Ivanova. The new pieces will 
be accompanied by organist 
Edward Murray.

 Secure your seats and 
contribute to the Pasadena 
Chorale’s The Golden Shore 
concert by reserving tickets 
and making donations at 
PasadenaChorale.org. Kindly 
note that a ticket reservation is 
necessary to attend.

Rotary of Pasadena Seeks 
Nominations for the 2024 
Paul Harris Fellow Award

Spring Into 
Wellness 
Community 
Health Festival

 

 The Rotary Club of Pasadena 
recently announced open 
nominations for this year’s 
Paul Harris Fellow Award. 
Community members are 
encouraged to nominate 
individuals who are 
involved with humanitarian 
service programs and 
who demonstrate active 
participation to help others.

 The Paul Harris Fellowship 
Award is one of the highest 
honors that Rotary can 
give to an individual. It 
recognizes a recipient who 
exemplifies the highest ideals 
of the Rotary. The award also 
includes a donation of $1,000 
in the recipient’s name to 
The Rotary Foundation of 
Rotary International, which 
supports Rotary’s worldwide 
programs. The award will 
be given to a member of the 
Pasadena community who 
is not currently a Rotarian. 
The Rotary Club of Pasadena 
will announce the recipient’s 
name at an award ceremony 
luncheon on June 12.

 Nominees should exemplify 
the qualities and ideals of 
Rotary and have contributed 
to their community and world 
in a way that demonstrates 
that they share our motto 
“Service Above Self,” be 
active in community affairs, 
and be known in the business 
community as one who 
follows the “Four-Way Test.” 
Download the nomination 
form here. The deadline for 
nominations is May 3, 2024. 
For more information about 
the selection and nominee 
criteria, visit https://www.
PasadenaRotary.com/Home/
Paul-Harris-Fellow-Award/.

 Established in 1905, Rotary 
is an organization of business 
and professional leaders 
united worldwide to provide 
humanitarian service and 
help to build goodwill and 
peace in the world. 

 The Rotary Club of 
Pasadena is the oldest and 
largest Rotary Club in 
Rotary District 5300 under 
the leadership of District 
Governor Michael Soden. It 
has over 190 members that 
meet weekly.

 For more information visit: 
PasadenaRotary.com

 Pasadena city officials 
remind residents that the 
public is invited to Spring 
Into Wellness, a free 
community health festival, 
on Saturday, May 4, from 
11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Villa 
Parke Community Center 
and Multipurpose Field, 
363 E. Villa St. Sponsored 
by Pasadena Public Health 
Department (PPHD) and 
local community partners, 
the second annual Spring 
Into Wellness will feature 
free food, family-fun 
activities, health screenings, 
and information on 
resources and services to 
support well-being.

 Spring Into Wellness 
will spotlight the many 
dimensions of health 
and wellness: social, 
physical, emotional, 
intellectual, spiritual, 
occupational, financial, 
and environmental. 
Spring Into Wellness will 
offer resources to make 
healthy choices, reduce 
stress, foster positive social 
interactions, and achieve 
optimal wellness.

 “Spring Into Wellness will 
be a festive opportunity 
for community members 
to learn about programs 
and services PPHD and 
community partners have 
to offer,” said Public Health 
Director and Health Officer 
Dr. Ying-Ying Goh, M.D. 

 In addition to fun 
activities, PPHD plans to 
offer health screenings, 
children’s activities, and 
free food provided by a 
local taco truck.

 For more information 
about PPHD visit: 
CityOfPasadena.net.

Octavia E. Butler Magnet 
Receives National Awards

 

 Pasadena Unified School District 
officials announced Tuesday that 
Octavia E. Butler (OEB) Magnet 
has been named a Nationally 
Certified Demonstration School 
by Magnet Schools of America 
(MSA), one of only 33 in the 
country and the only California 
school selected this year. OEB 
also received the Merit School 
of Excellence Award at the MSA 
conference in New York last 
week.

 The Pasadena Unified School 
District (PUSD) is now home 
to two of only three nationally 
certified demonstration magnet 
schools in California. Altadena 
Arts Magnet received the 
prestigious certification in 
2021they said.

 “This national recognition 
of excellence is a major 
achievement for the students, 
staff, and families of Octavia 
E. Butler Magnet,” said PUSD 
Interim Superintendent 
Elizabeth Blanco, Ed.D. “It is 
also a testament to the level of 
excellence that PUSD schools 
are achieving. With two of 
three nationally-certified 
demonstration magnet schools 
in California, PUSD is serving 
as a model for school districts in 
the state and across the country.”

 Schools that attain Certified 
Demonstration meet and exceed 
magnet schools’ standards of 
excellence and serve as learning 
models for magnets across the 
country to replicate. The national 
certification process recognizes 
the school’s work to promote 
diversity; innovative curriculum 
and professional development; 
academic excellence; leadership; 
and, family and community 
partnerships.

 Magnet School of Excellence 
Awards are given to only a 
select group of magnet schools 
that have demonstrated the 
highest level of excellence in 
all facets, and demonstrate an 
exemplary commitment to 
academic standards, curriculum 
innovation, desegregation/
diversity efforts, specialized 
teaching staff, and parent and 
community involvement.

 OEB is part of PUSD’s second 
federal magnet grant, awarded 
in 2017. PUSD was also awarded 
federal magnet grants in 2022 
and 2013. The 2022 grant totals 
nearly $15 million over the five 
years for Longfellow Elementary, 
Washington Elementary STEM 
Magnet, and Eliot Arts Magnet.

 PUSD is home to seven 
MSA-established magnet 
schools: Altadena Arts Magnet 
Elementary; Eliot Arts Magnet 
Middle; Longfellow Elementary: 
Washington Elementary STEM 
Magnet; Mary W. Jackson 
STEAM Multilingual Magnet 
Elementary; Octavia E. Butler 
Magnet; and John Muir High 
School Early College Magnet.

 For more information visit: 
pusd.us.


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com