Pasadena Showcase House of Design: Stories Behind the 50th Anniversary Book

Wednesday, May 28, 7:00 p.m.

What weighs four pounds two ounces, took over two years and thousands of hours to create, and unveils intriguing facts about 50 of the most magnificent homes in the San Gabriel Valley? The answer: 50 Years of Pasadena Showcase Design Houses: Supporting the Arts Through Design, a commemorative book produced by 19 dedicated Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts (PSHA) members. Three of these members, Noel Jeffrey, Rary Simmons and Weta Mathies will join Book Committee Chair, Fran Biles at Crowell Public Library on May 28 at 7:00 p.m. to regale one and all with fascinating stories that were highlighted as the book was researched. They will lead attendees through architectural eras ranging from the mid- 1960’s to 2014, explain how a Showcase House is chosen, and may even reveal which home is said to have a ghostly resident.

The book also chronicles PSHA’s philanthropic work over the years. A visit to the Showcase Houses benefits the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the PSHA Music Mobile™, a Youth Concert, and the Pasadena Showcase House Instrumental Competition. The PSHA volunteers are united by a belief in the power and beauty of music. Their collective desire is to fund programs that nurture the study and appreciation of music, utilize music as a vehicle towards health and healing, and ensure that music is available to a broad range of audiences.

For more information about PSHA, the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, visit www.PasadenaShowcase.org. or call 626-578-8500.

Come to Crowell Library May 28th to learn about these architectural gems that have been highlighted through the fabulous work by one of Pasadena’s most treasured charities.

Celebrity Illnesses: What They Mean to Us

Thursday May 22, 2014 7:00 p.m.

Celebrities are important in our lives and culture. They entertain us, amaze us, astonish us, and amuse us. When they become ill, it can almost seem like one of the family is stricken. Because they are in the spotlight, their illness can generate significant increases in fundraising for research and cures. Their challenges can also give reasons to examine one’s own health practices. DR. CARY PRESANT will discuss a roster of celebrities and their conditions, and give tips about how their struggles can inspire one to get better health care today. Last March, Dr. Presant presented an engaging and well-attended talk on Surviving American Medicine at Crowell Library that included a plethora of insights into our healthcare system.

A San Marino resident, Cary A. Presant, M.D., F.A.C.P., has been a practicing hematologist and medical oncologist in Southern California since 1979. He was the director of cancer programs at Washington University School of Medicine, the Jewish Hospital of St. Louis, Citrus Valley Health Partners, and St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles. After being Director of Medical Oncology at City of Hope National Medical Center, he started a private practice in West Covina in 1982. In 2004, he merged his Center with Wilshire Oncology Medical Group, Inc. and is currently a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine. He received his medical degree in 1966 from the State University of New York at Buffalo and completed postdoctoral training at Columbia University in New York City, the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. He is the author of Surviving American Medicine: How to Get the Right Doctor, Right Hospital and Right Treatment with Today’s Health Care, published by Bloomington iUniverse.

This program is free to the public. Light refreshments will be served.