LA OPERA TALK: Mozart’s Don Giovanni

SUNDAY, September 16th 2:00 p.m.

No woman is safe from his advances! No man is safe from his dastardly schemes. Don Giovanni is coming to LA Opera September 22 through October 14th. Can’t make it to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion? Come to Crowell Public Library and learn all about the legendary seducer for FREE. In the Library’s Barth Community Room, there is no nose-bleed section: all seats are “orchestra,” enhanced by great acoustics, air conditioning, and the grand company of fellow opera aficionados.

Lotharios, Casanovas, Don Juans: see your fate come to life in vibrant operatic form! Hear the highlights of this wonderful piece through the eyes and ears of DIANE BELTOYA, our favorite Community Educator from LA Opera. She will focus her talk on Don Giovanni and the Age of Enlightenment and show excerpts from the opera. Considered by many to be the greatest opera ever written, Mozart’s Don Giovanni deftly balances comedy and tragedy with unforgettable music.
Opera is not just magnificent music, dance and theater with astounding sets on a beautiful stage. An opera can sweep you away to foreign lands, take you back in time, dazzle you with pageantry and bring history to life. It is literature, social studies, cultural diversity, multiple languages and most of all, it is exciting! Come explore the world of opera through LA Opera’s education programs.

Opera has something for everyone.

How to Reduce Test Stress and Raise Test Scores

Thursday Sept 20th at 7:00pm

Someone utters the word “test” and a common reaction might be hyperventilation and sweaty palms. All those facts, figures and logic can fly right out the window at the sight of a blank answer sheet. Get a handle on the stress by attending this free lecture by BEN BERNSTEIN, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and the author of the recently released, Test Success! How to be Calm, Confident and Focused on Any Test. Dr. Bernstein will teach techniques that improve test performance and reduce anxiety on Sept 20th at Crowell Public Library.

Ben Bernstein specializes as a performance coach. His clients include individuals in high stress, high performance occupations: athletes, actors, business executives and healthcare professionals. As a teacher over the last 43 years, Dr. Bernstein has worked at every level of the educational system. His training model is receiving widespread attention and use. He is a national speaker on the subject of stress and performance, regularly speaking in schools, prisons, programs for under-served youth, and to healthcare professionals.

Registration is not required for this event, but space is limited. This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Crowell Public Library.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About College Application Writing

Introductory workshop: Sept 19th at 7pm (open to the public)
Editing workshop: Oct 10th at 7pm **Registration required**

College essays have never been more important. Twenty-six percent of colleges say that essays are of “considerable importance” in the admission decision, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling. For private schools, the number increases to 33 percent. The essay ranks above a student’s class rank, recommendations, and extracurricular activities.

ALISON BELL is a writer with over 20 years of experience as a professional journalist and author of 15 books for teens and children. She also teaches creative writing to children and tutors students in both school essays and private school entrance exam essays. She runs “College Essay Support,” which helps students write attention-grabbing college admission essays. On September 19th at 7:00pm, Alison will hold a free workshop for high school students at the Crowell Public Library. She will show students how to brainstorm ideas, write outlines, choose topics, open essays, and more. Registration is not required for this workshop, but space is limited. The introductory workshop will be followed by an editing session on Oct 10th at 7:00pm where students will refine their essays using the tips and skills learned in the first session. Register early for this free one-on-one editing instruction with Alison—space is also limited. Visit the reference desk or call 626-300-0777 to register. Both workshops will be held in the Barth Community Room at the Library.

Don’t forget to visit the YA Facebook page at: Tiny.cc/CrowellYA for updates.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Crowell Public Library.

What's Color Got to Do With It?

Wednesday, September 12, 2012, 7:00 p.m.

Explore the power of color and how to use it in your home to improve your environment and your life by attending this free program at Crowell Library. Topics include color theory, color psychology, how businesses use color to influence behavior, and how to combine this information to select the best colors for your personality in your home. A well designed home is more than merely beautiful – it impacts every part of your daily life, including your health and well-being.

JEANETTE CHASWORTH has been an interior designer in the San Gabriel Valley for 16 years.
She is president of the Pasadena chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID),
and is a fully certified interior designer both by ASID and CID. She has taught interior design at
Citrus College, Mount San Antonio College, and UC Riverside.

Jeanette speaks to people who love their homes and seek to improve their homes and their lives.
Her program is recommended for those interested in interior design trends, psychology, art and the healing arts. She has spoken for an array of diverse audiences including professional and student designers (FIDM, ASID Northern California chapter), community organizations such as the South Pasadena Kiwanis and Pasadena Women's City Club, and has prepared special programs in color for Draper’s and Damon's, as well as several internet radio shows.

Voices From the Walls: Muralism in Los Angeles
with Isabel Rojas-Williams
Thursday September 6, 7:00 p.m.

How can a city famous for its murals have a moratorium prohibiting new ones? ISABEL ROJAS-WILLIAMS, Executive Director of the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles, has been working with the City Planning Commission, muralists and other organizations, to craft a new ordinance that will lift this restrictive ban, allowing new murals on private property in Los Angeles. In this free lecture sponsored by the Crain Art Gallery, Rojas-Williams will present a brief history of muralism in Los Angeles and discuss all the controversies and milestones.

Though the modern Los Angeles public mural was born during the turmoil of the 1960s, the roots of classic muralism reach back to Alfred Ramos Martinez, Father of the Mexican Mural Movement, Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros. The Getty Conservation Institute and the City of Los Angeles are preparing to unveil soon the restored Tropical América, the mural that Siqueiros painted in Los Angeles in 1932, that was subsequently whitewashed by the conservative politics of the time.

The Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles was established in 1987, by a coalition of artists, public art advocates, city and state officials, and restoration specialists. Its mission today was the same as it was then: to restore, preserve, and document the murals of Los Angeles. In its role as public art advocate, MCLA works to protect the legal rights of artists and to prevent the loss of significant works of public art. Most importantly, MCLA is committed to preserving Los Angeles as one of the mural capitals of the world.

Born in Santiago, Chile, Isabel Rojas-Williams has lived in Southern California for the past 39 years and has actively studied, documented, and lectured on the social-political art movements of Los Angeles. She has taught art history at California State University, Los Angeles, where she earned her Master’s degree, and has been the curator of multiple exhibitions documenting the city’s rich legacy of urban art, curatorial, civic, and creative contributions to Los Angeles.

How Not To Lose Your Inheritance

Thursday, August 9, 2012, 7-8:30pm

Parents make many sacrifices to provide financial security for children and grandchildren. Don’t let an inheritance get eaten away by bad planning. Learn the greatest mistakes made by parents and heirs and find out how to: make the inheritance a blessing, not a curse; become a good steward of the inheritance by creating a plan for spending; leverage the money to benefit yourself and future generations; be aware of the hidden traps, and inherit real estate while minimizing taxes.

ALAN KONDO, a specialist in retirement and estate planning, is a Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Life Underwriter, and a business columnist for the Rafu Shimpo. He is an independent Registered Investment Advisor offering securities and investment advisory services through Charles Schwab.

Don’t miss this free program at Crowell Public Library.

San Marino… the First 100 Years

San Marino… the First 100 Years, a Centennial photographic exhibit, is newly installed at the Crain Art Gallery at Crowell Public Library. The exhibit is composed of historical photos of San Marino since before it was officially a city, including aerial views and portraits of several of the founding families. The exhibit also shows several memorabilia collage panels from early years. This collection was a taken from the archives of the San Marino Historical Society whose office and exhibit space is in the Thurnher House at the Virginia Road entrance to Lacy Park. The Thurnher House is open to the public on most Tuesday afternoons and the 1st and 3rd Sunday afternoons.

The San Marino Historical Society was founded in 1974 and has been presenting programs free of charge and open to the public three times a year at either Southwestern Academy or more recently at the Crowell Public Library. They plan several more programs during the city’s Centennial year thru July 2013. Call 626-304-9375 for further information or current President, John Morris, at 626-796-3003.

The Crain Art Gallery is located in the Crowell Public Library at 1890 Huntington Drive, San Marino and is open Mon thru Thurs. from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sat 10-5; Sun 1-5 and is closed on Fridays. San Marino…the First 100 Years will only be showing until Aug. 17, 2012.