The featured juried artworks for sale are all hand-made and many are one-of-a-kind collectibles encompassing a mix of medias and styles, from whimsical to contemporary conversation pieces intermixed with traditional art festival favorites — fine art and photography, clothing and accessories, jewelry, sculptures, stained glass, hand-blown glass, porcelain and ceramics, paper and textile art, potpourri, soaps, candles, flowers and bonsai trees, children’s toys, furniture, and more.

Great for a family outing, the festivities also will include live musical entertainment, a fun zone for children of all ages and an international food court.

The two-day street festival  is set for April 25 and 26 (Saturday and Sunday), from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. along Mission Street, starting at the Gold Line’s Mission Station (905 Meridian Avenue) and running 3 blocks east to Fremont Avenue, in South Pasadena.

Admission to the event will be free and ample convenient parking will be available. For more information visit the South Pasadena Mission West Association’s website: www.Mission-West.com or call the del Mano Productions’ Hotline at (626) 797-6803.

A few of this year’s juried artisans include:

Photography – Bart Everett (Bart Everett Fine Art Photography), Los Angeles

Hand-Blown Glass– David Tate (Hand-blown by Davis Tate), Romoland

Sterling Silver Spoon Jewelry – Jennifer Northrup (Sterling Silver Spoon Jewelry, Inc.), Signal Hill

Painting (Acrylic Canvas on Wood) – Siun McGahan, Glendale

Lathe Turned Wood – Art Majerus, (Sawdust Man), Hemet

Soaps – Carol Lightwood ( Pasadena Soaps), Pasadena

Jewelry – Gina Davis (Bejeweled by Gina), Pasadena

Sandy Taylor, owner of South Pasadena ’s Tah Gallery and coordinator for the Mission West Spring Art Festival explains, “ South Pasadena is the perfect community to present this kind of event. It’s friendly, conveniently located, and offers an eclectic group of artists and performers to compliment this small town’s charm and welcoming atmosphere.”

“We have officially canceled the recession in South Pasadena for the weekend,” smiles Tah. “Enough doom and gloom. People love art shows! Art is both passionate and positive, and we all need to see it and embrace it – it’s uplifting and refreshing. Sure, people are being more cautious with their money, but art lovers buy art and one-of-a-kind collectibles no matter what.”

Mission West Spring Art Festival producer Ray Leier agrees. “People often look at fine art and crafts pieces as a treat or release, and in tough times they may feel an even stronger need to buy something meaningful, something lasting that adds a sense of value and worth to their life experience. And the artists are hurting too. Community support is essential to the continuation of local arts and craft events. I encourage everyone to support the artist entrepreneurs, the talented musicians, and the local retailers in the area. I have taken the pledge to support hand-made, hopefully you will too!”

“Every year I work very hard to make all of our events successful for each participant and the surrounding retail and residential community. For the enjoyment of our visitors we bring the best-of-the-best, rejecting hundreds of applications because the work doesn’t meet our high standards. We continue to look for artists that create the most unique and interesting handmade items, and selecting the artists for the biannual event is one of the best parts of my job!”

The annual Festival is supported by the South Pasadena Mission West Association, a non-profit organization of member businesses in the district with the sole purpose of promoting, preserving, revitalizing, and enhancing the historic and culturally significant uniqueness of the business district. The Association strives to promote its member’s business activities, arts and tourism within the district.

Ray Leier, CEO of Altadena-based del Mano Productions, has produced art shows and festivals throughout Southern California . A long-time supporter of local non-profit and community-based organizations, the company has donated over $150,000 to programs that provide arts enrichment, education, mentoring, and scholarships.

Leier is also co-owner of Brentwood ’s award-winning del Mano Gallery. According to the New York Times and Fodor’s, the gallery is “considered one of the best sources for wood turnings, this store also carries fiber arts, ceramics, jewelry, and hand-blown glass by top contemporary American and international artisans.”

The South Pasadena Children’s Orchestra under the direction of Susan Pascale performed at Carnegie Hall in NYC on April 1, 2009 as part of the World Projects Band and Orchestra Festival.  The orchestra was the youngest orchestra ever to perform at the prestigious hall. They won the highest honors, a GOLD rating for their performance. See the children’s performance at Carnegie Hall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG-JiBj9PBI.  For more information about the program visit www.StringsProgram.com

SPACE Art Gallery

When times get tough, the tough get branded!

That’s what Ellen Daigle, owner of South Pasadena’s Ellen’s Silkscreening says, pointing out that branding your employees with silkscreened and embroidered logos turns them into cost-effective “walking billboards.”

“You can look great in clothes that have a professional appearance – and the cost is less than going to store,” Daigle says.

The idea is to adopt “branding,” so successful in the fashion world, and give out promotional gifts which are functional, welcome and advertise your business. The more people see your business logo, the more likely you are to get new business.

Branding your logo and slogan on pens, pads, and calendars, items that people will see over and over again as well as your employees’ shirts, hats, aprons, bags and jackets, is about the least expensive way to grab attention and build your sales, Daigle explains. “It gets your name out there permanently.”

Grassroots Resturant and Health Foods Store

“We offer you the chance to give gifts to your customers and to give gifts to your employees and also to promote your business at the same,” says Andrea Damian, Sales Manager of Ellen’s Silkscreening in South Pasadena. “When you give a hat or a jacket with your logo on it, you’re really sending out a walking billboard that is seen over and over again!”
Daigle’s company offers “A store” quality outerwear, hats, tees, hoodies and other great gift possibilities from respected manufacturers like Nike, American Apparel and others.
Useful items like pens, coffee mugs, T-shirts, key chains, and calendars are complemented by higher-ticket gifts including picture frames, clocks, calculators, or other useful desktop items that the recipient will not only use but probably display.
You don’t even have to know what you’re looking for: Daigle’s design team partners with customers to  create memorable and beautiful gifts.
“Many customers don’t know exactly what they want,”says  Manager Andrea Damian, who works side by side with clients to achieve their artistic visions.  “We can help. I think that’s what we do best.”

Damian says she likes to “work backwards – I ask people to give me what their budget is and what their parameters are and then to let me do the rest of the work.”

To help customers select great promotional ideas to give their marketing a boost, Ellen’s Silkscreening now offers a full color catalog with a wide range of ideas for presents suitable for men, women, children – and even dogs, Daigle says with a laugh.

“Just look at our online catalog and email us for a quote,” she says.

Ellen’s catalog is online at here. Call (626) 441-4415 for a quote.

Ellen’s Silkscreening is located at 1500 Mission Street in South Pasadena and is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  For more information, see www.ellenssilkscreening.com

At the event, members of the public are invited to look at all the ideas submitted and place two pennies on top of their favorite drawing. As they do so, they can munch on Pizza from Mamma’s Brick Oven Pizza & Pasta, and meet various committee members and volunteers with the South Pasadena Tournament of Roses Committee (SPTOR). After this popular vote, the “electoral college” approach will be used by the official float design committee. They’ll study the lot and try to identify the very best design for South Pasadena. Each drawing will be viewed in light of how it depicts the official Tournament of Roses theme “2010 – A Cut Above The Rest.”

This year entries were received from South Pasadena residents of all ages and levels of artistic ability, as well as a handful mailed in from Springville, Utah. Drawings were as loose as stick figures to professional renderings by professional animators and theme park designers.

About a dozen ideas were submitted for 2010, and dozens more are in the archives. Of these, five will be presented at the next South Pasadena Tournament of Roses Committee in its regular public meeting on Tuesday, February 2nd. The selection criteria includes buildability, aesthetics, theme interpretation, historical context and a special element called the “aha!” factor. Next, one of the five ideas will be given the go-ahead by officials at Tournament House in Pasadena on February 11th. A few months later, after a color rendering is created, the official South Pasadena float will be revealed to the public.

“The Two-Cent Pizza Party” will be Friday, January 30th from 6:30 to 7:30pm at SoPas Gallery, 1121 Mission Street. There is no admission charge. The regular meeting of the South Pasadena Tournament of Roses (SPTOR) is on the first Tuesday each month in the Amedee O. “Dick” Richards Jr. Council Chambers at 1414 Mission Street in South Pasadena. The meeting starts at 6:30pm. For more information on the float, SPTOR or the SouthPas Chamber, call 626-441-2339 or visit www.southpaschamber.com.

The event will open with “Inside Looking Out,” a fascinating 8-minute documentary about Asperger Syndrome by 23 year-old South Pasadena resident Nick Simone. It was winner of the “Audience Pick” award at the Pasadena City College Film Festival in 2008.

Amalia Starr is a motivational speaker and family consultant who conducts workshops and seminars. Her primary focus is providing successful resolutions for parents with children with limitations. First and foremost she is a mother who has devoted more than 34 years developing the skills to empower her son who has been successfully living on his own and enjoying his independence for more than 11 years.

The South Pasadena Public Library Community Room is located at 1115 El Centro Street . Doors open at 6:30 p.m. No tickets or reservations are necessary. Refreshments will be provided and copies of Raising Brandon will be available for purchase.

The Amalia Starr Author Night is only the beginning of a new project called Raising Abilities, a partnership of the Library, the Friends, Kiwanis, and the Institute, a nonprofit organization. Last fall the Institute (www.redesignlearning.org) opened a new school in South Pasadena for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. The Raising Abilities project will improve the South Pasadena Library’s collection of checkout books on autism and other developmental disabilities disorders. The collection consists of a broad assortment of titles for all ages. Each book is affixed with a special project bookplate and listed in the descriptive Raising Abilities brochure. During February the South Pasadena Public Library will feature a special project display in the case just inside the Oxley Street entrance.

The Kiwanis Club of South Pasadena meets on Wednesdays at noon in the Calvary Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall at 1050 Fremont Avenue . Their lunch meetings, open to the community, feature a guest speaker at 1:00 p.m. During their February meetings, the Kiwanis Club will present a speaker series focusing on Autism. For further information call Jeff Graham at 626 403-9500.

Representing the efforts of each artist as an individual, as well as several unique collaborations rarely seen in gallery shows, the works reflect both artists’ sensibility of “profound” recycling, an informed love of process, and the manifestation of a unique creative dialogue.

The artists’ own statements reflect the genesis of these scintillating visual creations in a process of experience that, although unique for each of these two women, channeled their energies and aesthetic directions onto a path that brought the two together in this creative collaboration. Both artist’s are, or have been, quilters, and share a sensibility of quilting as art-making, thrift, and discovery.

For Weinzettle, who took a BFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1985, the process of art making has been more formal, in the sense that the desire has been directed by education and purpose.

For Ciccone, the process was more traditional and naïve… evolved from a lifetime of sewing and a love of fabric as surface.

The two met in the South Pasadena schools where they each had children in attendance. The discovery of their mutual passion for textiles was cemented by the subsequent discovery of a common inspirational source…the abstract quilts of Gee’s Bend…now a part of what Weinzettle (courtesy of Jonathan Lethem) would call the “Ecstasy of Influence” that informs the exciting works in this show.

This show is the first public exhibition for Weinzettle in 12 years. It is the first public showing for Ciccone. There will be a reception for the artists in the gallery at 1121 Mission St. on the 7th of February, from 5 to 8 PM. The public is encouraged to attend.

The work will be on view February 3rd through 28th. The gallery is located at 1121 Mission Street. Hours are Tuesday through Friday 10am to 5pm, and by appointment. For more information, or to make an appointment for viewing, contact Tom Field at (626) 799-8546.

Marshall, 57, has been an attorney with the San Bernardino County Counsel’s Office since 2007. From 1993 to 2007, he was a shareholder Bonne, Bridges, Mueller, O’Keefe & Nichols and, from 1988 to 1993, Marshall was an associate for Bonne, Bridges, Mueller, O’Keefe & Nichols and, Prior to that, he served as in-house counsel for Mullikin Medical Centers and Pioneer Hospital from 1986 to 1988 and was an associate at Bonne, Jones, Bridges, Mueller & O’Keefe from 1982 to 1986. Marshall earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Loyola Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Joan Borba. Marshall is a Democrat.

The compensation for this position is $178,789.

Selected from a field of 160 nominations, Buhler will receive a $2,500 award and a matching grant of $2,500 for South Pasadena Middle School.

The Math Hero Awards are a component of Raytheon’s MathMovesU™ program, a national initiative designed to engage middle school students in math and science through a variety of programs including contests, live events, scholarships, tutoring programs and more.

Raytheon says it “is committed to raising awareness around the nation’s decline of math and science skills and believes that tomorrow’s engineers and technologists need to be excited by and interested in math today.”

Math Hero Awards reward teachers for promoting math to students in a fun and challenging learning environment. The following teachers were nominated by students, parents and faculty for their enthusiasm and interest in teaching math to others:

“It gives us great pleasure to recognize these teachers for their outstanding work and dedication in inspiring young students,” said Kristin Hilf, vice president of public affairs for Raytheon Company. “Teachers can greatly influence a child’s decision to pursue a particular career, and Raytheon applauds the winners of the Math Hero Awards for making math a fun and challenging pursuit for their students.”

Since the start of the program in late 2005, Raytheon’s MathMovesU has awarded $2 million to students, teachers and schools nationwide. To nominate a Math Hero or for more information about scholarships and grants for students, visit http://www.mathmovesu.com/.

Raytheon Company, with 2007 sales of $21.3 billion, is a technology company specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world.  With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.

Mayor Sifuentes will be introduced by Gary Pia of G. E. Pia & Company and Chamber Board Chair, who will update the audience on Chamber activities. Then the Mayor is expected to comment on strategic goals for the city, the impact of the recession on the local economy, and his hopes for the year ahead regarding the community.

There will be an opportunity for members of the audience to ask questions.

“Meet the Mayor” is an outgrowth of the Chamber’s efforts to connect citizens and businesses with legislative leadership. Other events have included candidate forums in the Lunch n’ Learn series which have brought Assemblymember Anthony Portantino and Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich to the city.

“It’s time we hosted a legislator who’s closer to home,” explains Chamber CEO Scott Feldmann.

Feldmann said the Chamber’s Legislative Affairs Committee had hoped to launch this event for some time, and determined that 2009 was the year to start with because of the launch of a new publication: SouthPas Connections, 2009 Business Directory & Community Guide. The 36-page booklet will be distributed in early February to every household in the city. Each attendee will get an advance copy of the new “SouthPas Connections” booklet.

“Meet the Mayor” is intended to become an annual event, always in the last week in January, and featuring the newly appointed Mayor of South Pasadena.

The date is timely because the local municipal election date was changed from March to November to coincide with national elections. The City Council reorganization happens shortly afterward each year, in which one of the five Councilpersons becomes Mayor for a one-year term.

The evening will begin with a social hour and feature music & entertainment from local artist, along with wine and light appetizers. “Meet the Mayor” is open to the public. There is an admission fee to benefit the Chamber, a non-profit organization. Tickets are $10 per person. “Meet the Mayor” will be in the South Pasadena Library Community Room at 1115 El Centro Street, South Pasadena. Doors open at 7pm and the presentations will end around 9pm. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

“Meet the Mayor” is sponsored by Shaw, Moses, Mendenhall & Associates, Athens Services, Atlantic Communications, Chamber Trustees and the City of South Pasadena.

The South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce works to promote economic success and well-being by connecting business owners and operators with the community and the City in one of the most enduring “Small Town America” environments in Southern California. For more information about the Chamber, visit www. southpaschamber.com or call (626)441-2339.