Awakening Body, Mind & Soul

Saturday, June 2, 2012, 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Green Menu is a non-profit organization promoting vegetarianism, sustainable living and overall well-being. They believe a plant-based diet is the foundation for optimum health and the future of our planet. To help educate people and bring the awareness of what can be done on a personal level to live a green and healthy lifestyle, Green Menu will present a free program entitled, "Awakening of Body, Mind & Soul," at Crowell Public Library on Saturday, June 2, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. This philosophical lecture by Henry Chang will be based on the Book of Change & Tao Te Ching, conducted in Mandarin with English translation.

Green Menu believes a successful program depends on whether the topic matches what people think, want, and do in their daily lives, so there will be ample time for questions and answers immediately after the lecture.
For more information on this organization, point your web browser to http://greenmenu.org/events/

How Plans Can Change: Pasadena to Brooklyn via Route 66

Wednesday, June 6, 7:00 p.m.

San Marino resident J.W. GALLO has written an acclaimed novel that will appeal to teenagers as well as adults. It’s a coming-of-age story about Vince Marsali from Flatbush who relocates to Southern California and becomes the proverbial fish out of water. Taunted in high school, he makes a vow to return to Brooklyn after college. On that journey across Route 66, his plans get altered when he rekindles a love interest, and comes to the door of organized crime in the process. How Plans Can Change: Pasadena to Brooklyn via Route 66 is also a trip down memory lane for Baby Boomers or anyone else who has traveled across country and gotten their kicks on old Route 66.

Mr. Gallo will read excerpts from his novel, discuss its themes and chronicle the publishing process. His career as a general contractor and quality control inspector has taken him across America numerous times, filling his coffers with many stories. Whether teen or adult, you won’t want to miss this special evening with J.W. Gallo at Crowell Public Library.

MOVIE: Cape No. 7

Thursday, May 24, 2012, 6:30 p.m.

Cape No. 7 is an award-winning romantic comedy from 2008 about a young Taiwanese postman Aga (played by Fan Tan), recently back from Taipei after finding no success as a singer. Aga tries to deliver an old love letter to an address once called “Cape #7.” He not only discovers a love story that transcends Taiwanese and Japanese cultural boundaries, but becomes captivated himself by a young Japanese woman: Tomoko (Chie Tanaka), a Japanese model, has been assigned to organize a local warm-up band for a super star beach concert. Together with other five ordinary Hengchun residents, they form an unlikely band. This is the first feature film by writer-director Wei Te-Sheng. The film runs 129 minutes and is in Taiwanese, Mandarin Chinese and some Japanese.

Crowell Library thanks the Taiwanese United Fund (TUF), a non-profit organization dedicated to culture and performing arts, and Dr. Jerry C. Liu for bringing Cape No. 7 to library patrons.

Free popcorn will be available while it lasts!

The Buster Balloon Show

THE BUSTER BALLOON SHOW
Saturday, May 26, at 2:00 PM

Enjoyed by kids, parents, and even angst-ridden teen siblings around the world, The Buster Balloon Show is an inflatable extravaganza of vaudevillian entertainment featuring the human cartoon that is Buster Balloon. A wild and wacky mix of side splitting comedy, mind boggling magic, and the most amazing twisted balloon creations you have ever seen. And did we mention The Giant 6 Foot Whoopee Cushion of Doom? Come to Crowell Saturday, May 26, at 2:00 PM and be sure to arrive early as Buster's shows always fill up fast.

For more information contact Crowell Public Library at (626) 300-0777.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Crowell Public Library.

LA Phil Violinist PAUL STEIN

Wednesday, May 23, 2012, 7:00 p.m.

Come to the library for a free hour of blissful, classical music! PAUL STEIN, a violinist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the last 30 years, will bring his “Violin Soliloquy” program to the Crowell Public Library on Wednesday, May 23, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. The program will include music by Bach and Prokofiev, as well as music from Cinema Paradiso, and some popular selections with a driving beat. Bring the family, and any children eight years and older.
Paul Stein has been a featured soloist at the Hollywood Bowl and has worked with Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini, Andre Previn, Esa-Pekka Salonen as well as Gustavo Dudamel. He was principal second violinist with the Colorado Symphony and performed with the Santa Fe Opera orchestra. Born in Dallas, Paul received a Bachelor of Music from Southern Methodist University and Master of Music from Yale University. He has moderated seminars and lectured at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute and conventions of the Music Teachers Association of California. He is a Certificate of Merit teacher of violin and viola, from beginning to advanced and is on the faculties of Pasadena City College and Glendale College.

Finals Week: Cram at Crowell Library!

Coffee and Cramming @ Crowell!
Thursday, May 31st from 3pm-7pm &
Monday, June 4th from 1pm-7pm

– Aughh! Finals are here already?! Don’t stress out -- high school students are invited to Crowell Library’s Coffee & Cramming student only group study zone (otherwise known as the library’s Barth Community Room) on Thursday, May 31st from 3pm-7pm & Monday, June 4th from 1pm-7pm.

Enjoy snacks and iced coffee while hitting the books. All brainiacs in attendance will be eligible to win a Vroman’s gift card.

Crowell Public Library: where you can get your exam cram on!

The Pacific Electric Railway: Then & Now

Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 7:00 p.m. — Relive that wonderful era when you could take a street car from Santa Monica to Pasadena and beyond when authors Michael Patris and Steve Crise present a slide show of images from their new book, Pacific Electric Railway (Then & Now). Loaded with photos from Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society’s archives, Pacific Electric Railway shows the far-reaching “Red Car” transportation system started by San Marino’s Henry Huntington in 1901. The authors will also share photos from today’s Southern California landscape that the railway helped define, such as the green parkways of Huntington Drive and Sierra Madre Boulevard. The Pacific Electric Railway originally provided reliable transportation across more than 1,000 miles of track. Postwar society's affair with the automobile led to the loss of an infrastructure that could have formed the basis for an enviable modern light-rail system, one that current society would be happy to utilize. Pacific Electric Railway Then & Now sold out its first printing in five weeks and is well on its way to a multiple printings. Steve and Michael both serve on the board of the Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society as well as the Mount Lowe Preservation Society and were born and raised in Southern California. They have plans for future book projects based on Southern California railroads. Join them for a fascinating look at an amazing transportation system discarded for “progress.”