More couples are choosing outdoor locations for their weddings and has become one of the top choices for Pasadena wedding locations and La Canada wedding locations in sunny Southern California. With the sun softly filtered by mighty California oaks and the richness of the camellia forest, or amidst the breathtaking beauty of the International rosarium in full bloom, Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge provides an extraordinary setting for special occasions and treasured memories. Purchased and developed by Manchester Boddy in 1937, Descanso Gardens comprises 150 acres of land, and can usually accommodate up to three weddings at a time. Seven different sites within the grounds are available to hold a wedding ceremony and/or reception, which include:

The Boddy House is a 22 room Regency style mansion designed by James Dolena. Sited above lush oak woodland, the house was built for Descanso Garden’s developer and publishing tycoon Manchester Boddy and his family.
Weddings held at the Boddy House Lawn or Terrace may have their reception in one of the locations below:

Boddy House Lawn/Terrace, capacity 90
Solarium and Foyer, capacity 50
Living Room, capacity 50
Dining Room, capacity 40

Van de Kamp Hall is a Craftsman-styled building used for lectures,large meetings and corporate functions, wedding receptions, memorial services and other larger gatherings. Fully enclosed, climate controlled and equipped with speakers and a microphone, Van de Kamp can accommodate up to 200 people for table seating or 250 for lecture/ theater style seating. The Hall is part of a complex of buildings located by the Visitors’ Center that includes an outdoor courtyard ideal for after-hours receptions.
Weddings held on the East Garden have their receptions in Van de Kamp Hall.

Magnolia Lawn An East Garden Location, can accommodate up to 200 guests.
Weddings held on the Magnolia Lawn have their receptions in Van de Kamp Hall.
The Japanese Garden: It lends itself to stylish outdoor events in a serene setting of Asian elegance. A feast for the senses, the Japanese Garden is graced by a blue-tiled Tea House and lovely raked rock garden, and the murmur of a koi-filled stream infuses the setting with the sound of nature. The Japanese Garden can accommodate up to 25.

The Japanese Garden is part of the East Garden Locations. Weddings held in the Japanese Garden have their reception in Van de Kamp Hall.

The Main Lawn and The Under the Oaks Theatre are East Garden Locations. The Main Lawn can accommodate up to 400 guests. The Under the Oaks Theatre, is an open-aired location with natural redwood benches that can seat up to 250 guests.
Weddings held on the Main Lawn or Under the Oaks Theater have their reception in Van de Kamp Hall.

Feather Falls is an East Garden Location. An intimate outdoor location that can accommodate up to 75 guests.
Weddings held at Feather Falls have their reception in Van de Kamp Hall.

The Oak Forest is an outdoor location located on the West side of the Gardens. This location can accommodate up to 300 guests
Ceremonies on the West Side of the Gardens have their receptions in the Rose Pavilion.

The Rose Garden is an outdoor location located on the West side of the Gardens. Within the Rose Garden, there are several areas to choose from: the Rose Garden Gazebo (capacity 200); Rose Pavilion; other Rose Garden Nooks (capacity 160 under roof).
Ceremonies on the West Side of the Gardens have their receptions in the Rose Pavilion.

See available La Canada Homes for sale

Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Canada, Ca 91011

818-949-4200 http://www.descansogardens.org/

ERICA SWANSON
RIVAS & ASSOCIATES
818-257-1054

Erica@RivasEstates.com

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Toward the northern end of Los Angeles County is a cozy little town called Castaic.   To get there, head north on I5 past Magic Mountain and the 126.  It’s the final stop before heading up the hill toward the Grapevine.  

Castaic Lake, View of the Upper Lake

Castaic is mostly recognized for its lake, Castaic Lake, frequented in large numbers by tourists and Southern California natives during the warmer months of the year.  Castaic Lake has upper and lower portions separated by a dam, each known for the different recreational activities it offers.  If you want to have a nice relaxing picnic with your family and a refreshing dip in the water, visit the lower lake.  For boating, skiing, and other watercraft sports, visit the upper lake.  Some other attractions at the lake include the popular 4^th of July Fireworks show, Bass Tournaments, Walks and Runs, fishing, kayaking, swimming, and biker events.  

If you’ve never visited Castaic before, another great way to see this town is simply to take a hike.   Right now is a perfect time to hike the hills surrounding the lake.  The weather is cool, the grasses are green, and the sky is clear!   This time of the year is perfect for seeing beautiful wild grasses and flowers on the rolling hills and sprawling California Pepper Trees.  Once you reach the summit, you’ll have a spectacular view of both the lower and upper lake. 

Castaic Lake Recreational Activities

To visit, enter the main entrance to the lower lake on Ridge Route Road and look for the signs indicating where the trails are.  If you pass the entrance, you’ll end up in the gorgeous North Lake neighborhood with homes overlooking the lake.  You’ll probably like what you see, so after touring the neighborhood, Contact Us and let us find your new home in Castaic!

Castaic Lake

Cafe Columbia located in Downtown Burbank, CA

Downtown Burbank has many great eateries, but if you are willing to venture outside of the norm and off the strip, you will become acquainted with some delicious treasures.  Don’t limit yourself to San Fernando Blvd. because if you head two blocks east to Glenoaks Blvd., you will discover a great spot called Café Colombia. 

This quaint café was established in 1999 and offers both exotic and authentic Colombian food.  The owners decided to provide both traditional and “Nuevo Latino fusion” foods which include variations of soups and staples such as rice, beans, and plantains adorned with Colombian sauces and spices.  The traditional cuisine offers a home-style flavor, comforting the southern California Colombian community while the later attracts Latin food lovers.  If you find you are having trouble deciding what to eat, ask one of the friendly staff and you’ll get a lovely recommendation.  Don’t forget a side of the green soup!  But take a look at the menu, which describes each meal, and you’ll see you really can’t go wrong!  And if you don’t know what something is, ask and you’ll get a lesson on Latin cuisine. You can also learn about the different types of food on their website under “Colombian Talk” where you’ll find descriptions of food items.  

Café Colombia is a great place to visit any time of day for any occasion.  Start a breakfast tradition, enjoy a nice two course lunch special, or plan a romantic dinner.  Also serving wine, beer and tropical fruit smoothies, and featuring musical talent on Fridays, Café Colombia is located at 222 S. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, CA 91502.

If you would like to learn more about living in Burbank, Contact Us and allow us to help you utilize the Tax Credit for Home Buyers.  Burbank is a great place  to live!

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Griffith Observatory

Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles

Now this is a great place to get to know Los Angeles!  When you decide to visit the Los Angeles Griffith Observatory, make sure you bring a comfortable pair of shoes to do a lot of walking in.  Two things can happen which may cause you to be on your feet for a while.  For starters, parking is not always the best at the Griffith Observatory.  It is a hot spot since there are many amazing things to do and admission to the Griffith Observatory and the grounds is free.  Once in a while, you can bypass the beautiful scenic walk from your parking spot when the parking lot entrance isn’t blocked off.  However, consider it a blessing to see the amazing Los Angeles views, including the Hollywood sign, as you make your way to the hill where your destination lies.  The second time you may find yourself on your feet for a while is if you get intrigued by one of various Los Angeles hiking trails just off the Observatory’s grounds.  There are many Los Angeles hiking trails feeding into the surrounding mountains, and from these vantage points, the views are simply breathtaking!  You can admire the neighboring cities, gorgeous homes, horseback riders, bikers, hikers, adventurers, wildlife and the like.  You can also hike your way to the Hollywood sign.  Although access to the sign is restricted, you can get as close as the fence which encloses it.

Telescope Dome

Once you actually arrive at the Griffith Observatory, you will probably find yourself venturing the grounds and taking in the spectacular views of Downtown LA, Hollywood, Santa Monica, and the ocean.  At the right time of the day, you can see the glare of the sunlight reflecting from ocean’s surface.  What’s really fun is looking down over the city and trying to figure out what part of LA you are looking at, and maybe even planning what area to visit next!  There are several archways you can pass through to access small telescopes and to get a better view of the sites as well.  You’ll need some change for the small scopes!  In addition, stairways can get you to the roof where you can feel as if you are on top of the world, as well as catch a glimpse through a powerful telescope which is also free of charge.

Upon entry into the Observatory, you will be amazed by all there is to take in.  This is a wonderful place to learn the science of Astrology and connect with the Universe.  You’ll first come across the Pendulum swinging from the center of the building.  The Pendulum first proved that the Earth rotates on its axis.  You can witness the movement, even though you can’t feel it, as you watch the

Griffith Observatory Telescope Sign

Pendulum in action.  Make your way to some of the other exhibits where you can learn about energy, the sun, different solar systems, stars, and our moon!  You can also learn about the development of time-keeping and calendaring, seasons, eclipses, and other universal wonders.  On the lower level, visit the café and enjoy food and beverages from its indoor or outdoor seating.  For a nominal price, enjoy an educational laser light show and learn about the universe.  Make sure you check for scheduled times and instructions for the shows. 

Right now is a great time to buy with great incentives with the federal home buyer tax credit.  There are thousands of Pasadena area Homes for Sale and Condos.  If you need assistance in finding your next home, please Contact Us.

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Established in 1903, the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is a private, non-profit organization that is dedicated to protecting the welfare of all domestic and non-domestic animals in serving the cities of Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Marino, La Canada Flintridge, Sierra Madre, Arcadia and Glendale. The Pasadena Humane Society provides services that include animal control, investigation of animal neglect and cruelty, licensing for La Canada and Arcadia, adoptions, pet behavior training classes, and humane education.

Most people know the Pasadena Humane Society for its adoption services, which justifiably is not made to be an easy process for those looking to adopt a pet. PHS wants to ensure that each animal they take into their facilities will be placed into the best permanent homes and require steps that include an application, an interview regarding experience with animals, and a visitation with the potential animal to be adopted. With the current state of our economy and the upsurge of foreclosed homes in the residential communities there have been an increased number of pets being given up by owners affected by the market. The Humane Society has responded by strengthening their efforts and increasing their outreach programs for pet adoptions.

Just as notable as their adoption services is the work that the Humane Society does with animal control which includes cruelty investigation and prosecution, as well as wildlife assistance. Extending beyond the local communities, the Pasadena Humane Society has provided aid nationally for catastrophes and natural disasters in which domestic and wild animals lives are at risk.

361 S. Raymond Avenue, Pasadena Ca 91105. 626-792-7151. www.pasadenahumane.org

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The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens is an educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington in San Marino, California, USA. In addition to the library, the site houses an art collection strong in English portraits and French eighteenth-century furniture and botanical gardens that feature North America’s strongest collection of cycads.

Huntington Art Gallery
Once the house of Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and his second wife, Arabella (1850–1924), the Huntington Art Gallery opened in 1928 displaying what was then the greatest collection of 18th-century British art in the country, including the celebrated Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough and Pinkie by Thomas Lawrence. Since then the collections have grown enormously and now contain many great works of art of the Italian, French and Netherlandish schools, as well as a much broader range of British art and design from the 17th to the early 20th century.

After a $20 million renovation, the gallery offers visitors an enhanced experience with one of the finest collections of European art in the nation as well as a more accurate sense of the lifestyle of one of the most prominent millionaires of the early 20th century. In addition to a thoroughly updated infrastructure, the refurbished mansion includes 5,300 additional square feet of public space, new interpretive components, and new gallery presentations of approximately 1,200 objects of European art from the 15th to the early 20th century.

Library Exhibition Hall
At the heart of The Huntington is the Library, which contains more than 6 million manuscripts, books, photographs and other works in the fields of American and British history, literature, art, and the history of science, medicine, and technology. The Library Exhibition Hall showcases more than 300 of the most outstanding rare books and manuscripts in the collection. Among these treasures are the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (c.1410); a Gutenberg Bible (c.1455); a world-class collection of early editions of Shakespeare; original letters of Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and Lincoln; an unsurpassed collection of materials relating to the history of the American West; and outstanding holdings in the history of science and technology.

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The Tournament of Roses was started in 1890 as a way to advertise Southern California’s sunny, year-round weather. Pasadena began booming at the turn into the 20th century. The idea of having a flower festival in the middle of winter shows outsiders that Pasadena offers such a temperate climate.

The first Tournament of Roses was attended by 2,000 people. Estimates conducted by The Tournament of Roses and the Pasadena Police Department showed an attendance of 700,000, with 1 million visitors to Pasadena during the week of the parade, for 2009.

The 121st Tournament of Roses will take place on Friday, January 1st. This years Rose Queen is Natalie Innocenzi from Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy. Following the Pasadena Rose Parade will be the 96th Rose Bowl game; a match-up of the two top college football teams in the nation. Starting at 8am at Orange Grove Blvd, the 23 groups of assembled bands, horse units, and floats will take approximately 2.5 hrs to pass across the 5 1/2 route.

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The Fred Astaire dance studio in Pasadena offers classes for people of all ages that want to learn many forms of dance. Fred Astaire is a ballroom studio that teaches ballroom, rhythm, Latin, including popular dances such as Foxtrot, Waltz, Quickstep, West Coast Swing, East Coast Swing, American Tango, Argentine Tango, Samba, Rumba, Salsa, Cha-Cha, Bolero, Country, and many others.

In consideration towards dance studios in Pasadena, Fred Astaire seems to provide a larger studio space in comparison to other dance studios in the area. They also have social events, including “Club Social”, where all dancers come to practice the dances they’ve been working on to get a chance to break out all you’ve worked so hard to learn and have fun with your friends. Food and Beverages are included with a $10 cover.

From beginner, to advanced, to professional levels, whatever you want from dancing, they seem to offer it, including:

•learning how to dance as a beginner
•social dancing for fun
•becoming a better salsa dancer for night clubs
•becoming a better dancer at public ballroom dances
•working on a dance for a wedding
•sending your kids to learn ballroom dance
•taking your existing dance skills to a higher level
•joining a team to work on a show or event- dance sport competitions locally and across the USA.

Dance Center of Pasadena
1368 North Lake Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91104
(626) 797-4700
www.pasadenadance.com

ERICA SWANSON

RIVAS & ASSOCIATES

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Pacific Asia Museum

Located east of Old Town on Los Robles in Pasadena, the Pacific Asia Museum has a permanent collection of over 15,000 objects. Since it’s opening in 1971, the museum houses its collections and temporary exhibits in a historic building that was constructed in 1924.

Aside from the collections of rare art, the Pacific Asia Museum has a varying schedule of lectures, performances, and classes, which include different types of art instruction, yoga, meditation, and haiku study groups. Pacific Asia Museum calendar of events.

Admission
Tickets to Pacific Asia Museum may be purchased upon entrance.
Discounts are available for students and seniors.
•$9 for General Admission
•$7 for Students and Seniors
Free for Children Ages 11 and Under
Admission to Pacific Asia Museum is free to all visitors on the fourth Friday of each month

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