Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, November 26, 2022

Mountain View News Saturday, November 26, 2022 
9 
Mountain View News Saturday, November 26, 2022 
9 
Individuals, organizations, and companies wishing to make a difference this holiday season can support Five Acres 
Holiday Drive to bring joy to more than 7,000 children, youth, and families served across five counties by the agency 
headquartered in Altadena. Image source: Canva 


FIVE ACRES’ HOLIDAY DRIVE TO BENEFIT CHILDREN 

STORIES @ THE PLAYHOUSE: WINGS,, 
STORYTELLING EVENT AT SIERRA MADRE 
PLAYHOUSE ON DECEMBER 5 

Sierra Madre Playhouse presents the second event in a projected series, Stories 
@ The Playhouse on Monday, December 5, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. The event consists 
of true personal storytelling. Our second show's theme is Wings, a narrative 
deep dive into the personal experiences of seven people sharing critical moments 
that changed their lives, and hu-morous anecdotes that shaped their 
perspective. The evening will be book-ended with songs by the band Bishop, 
melodiously underscoring this journey. 

The storytellers include Susan Diol, Torri Higginson, Patricia Herd, Carlos 
Kotkin, Eliza-beth Sampson, Kevin McCorkle, Greg Swartz. 

Presented by Sierra Madre Playhouse. Produced by Elizabeth Sampson and 
Alicia Sedwick. 

AND YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON 

ALTADENA, Calif., Nov. 22, 2022 — Five Acres’ annual holiday drive creates joyful holi-day memories 
for vulnerable children and foster youth who have already overcome many challenges in their young 
lives. Through the years, many generous supporters in the com-munity have made these children’s holiday 
wishes come true. Five Acres is requesting help from the community to donate gift cards and unwrapped 
toys by December 9. 

“With the inflation, many families are finding it challenging to buy the basic needs for their households. 
We have always relied on community support to help brighten the holidays for our children and families, 
and this year is no exception,” said Jennifer Berger, Five Acres chief advancement officer. “The holidays 
are filled with family traditions, and we want to ensure our children and families have what they need to 
make their holidays extra special despite the spike in our economy.” 

Five Acres’ most requested gifts from kids this year are the following: Amazon Fire Tab-lets, sports 
equipment, scooters, skateboards, safety helmets, bath and body prod-ucts, and cologne or perfume for 
teens. 

Gift cards also make great holiday gifts for Five Acres youth and families in need. The most requested 
gift cards are Target, Walmart, Visa, Mastercard®, Amazon, and Dom-ino’s® Pizza. 

Based on the children’s requests, Five Acres has also built an Amazon Wish List full of toys and other 
items. Individuals, organizations, and companies that would like to sponsor fes-tive activities during the 
holiday break may do so by donating directly at https://5acres.org/holiday/. 

The designated days to drop off unwrapped gifts to Five Acres are Tuesday, November 29 to Friday, 
December 9, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The address for curbside drop-off is at Five Acres Zeilstra 
parking lot at 747 W. Mountain View St., Altadena, CA 91001, across from the agency’s main campus. 

For any questions about the holiday drive or if the above schedule does not work, please contact Angelique 
Blancas at 626-487-3748 or email her at ablancas@5acres.org to ar-range a time and date. Should 
an individual have questions about how to sponsor holiday activities, Brandon Ito can be reached at 626390-
8453 or bito@5acres.org. To learn more about Five Acres, visit 5acres.org. 

About Five Acres 

Since 1888, Five Acres has protected the most vulnerable members of our community: children. Serving more than 
7,000 children and family members annually across five coun-ties, Five Acres strives for permanency—a permanent, 
loving home—for all children in their care. The three pillars of safety, well-being and permanency provide the framework 
for its programs and guide their steps as the agency develops even more effective means of caring for children 
and families in crisis. Visit 5acres.org. 

Peter Dills Knows 
HOLIDAY WINE BUYING TIPS 

When is a wine sale not really a sale at all? One of our Southern California 
grocery stores is getting ready for a 30% off sale. I only wanted one bottle, 
so as I looked at the so-called “regular” price before discount, I found myself 
shaking my head. There is no way these wines are regularly priced so 
high. Wines I have never seen in the $20 range (like Domaine Chandon, 
Roeder Estate, Kendall Jackson, and even Korbel) were all priced like I was 
at Spago. A non-grocery beverage center did a 5-cent sale (buy one and 
get one for 5 cents) which seems like a good deal. Even at the regular price 
of $140 a bottle I’ll take a bottle of Dom Perignon if the next one is for 5 
cents. But no, the small print specified “selected wines”. Now, my favorite 
retailer has come up with a buy one get one for 10 cents (why not 8 cents?) 
sale. Every student of wine or expert sommelier says “no matter the price, if 
you like it buy it”. My word to the wise is that if you can handle buying six 
bottles at a time, these “grocery store sales” can yield you a bit of savings, 


so don’t buy into the “regular” price - I sure don’t! 

I had to jump on the bandwagon, so I bought the Clos du Bois Chardonnay at the buy-one-get-onefor-
10-cents special. I scanned the bar code with my smart phone for the “true” discount price and 
here is what I found: the lowest price was $11.00, but since you have to buy through the internet, once 
you add the shipping cost it doesn’t make sense. The wine retails for $14.99, plus ten cents for the 
second bottle, which makes it $9.55 for each bottle. Now, if you get six bottles there is another 10% 
savings. My accounting got me in trouble a few months ago, so let’s call that a guestimate, but the 
savings are real. 

In summary yes, the Clos du Bois is great value at the discounted price, and with the holidays here 
there will be more sales at supermarkets for sure. Try the scan on your favorite wine, it will give you 
roughly what you should be paying. If you don’t have a smart phone, ignore the retail price and look 
at the bottom price and the total discount. There are some real deals out there. 

MAKE SURE YOU SUBSCRIBE TO MY PODCAST. IT”S FREE 


Covid-19 safety protocols in effect on the day of the event will be observed. As 
of this writing, it means that audience members must wear masks inside the 
Playhouse auditori-um. 

Stories @ The Playhouse: Wings. Monday, December 5, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. At Sierra 
Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 91024. This 
is just east of Pasade-na. Ample free parking in lots behind the Playhouse and 
across the street. General admis-sion is $20, seniors $18. Reservations: (626) 
355-4318. Online ticket-ing: https://sierramadreplayhouse.org 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 
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