These photos were taken Sunday, March 15 at the 4th Annual Torrance Cherry Blossom Cultural Festival, which was held in the southeast corner of Columbia Park in Torrance. The free, family friendly event was sponsored in part by the City of Torrance, the North Torrance Homeowners Association, the Torrance Sister City Association, Torrance Craftsmen’s Guild, and Soka Gakkai International-Buddhist Association for Peace, Culture and Education. Entertainment was provided by Susan Mann’s Wahine Ilikea Dancers performing Polynesian dances, O-Edo Ichi-Za performing traditional Japanese fan dances, and Myo’on Taiko drumming. There were also several food trucks available and one of them even sold Japanese food. There were booths with arts and crafts for sale by the Torrance Craftsmen’s Guild.
Columbia Park has over 110 cherry blossom trees that were donated by Soka Gakkai International-USA. The significance of the cherry blossom tree in Japanese culture goes back hundreds of years. In their country, the cherry blossom symbolizes hope, virtue and new beginnings while also representing the fragility and the beauty of life. It is a reminder that life can be very beautiful but that it can also be tragically short. I think one of the most surprising things about yesterday\’s event is that even with the extremely odd [non]winter we had, the trees still knew what weekend they needed to bloom for us. Continue reading
Sorry, for the delay; it has been a busy week. These photos were taken Wednesday on Pier Avenue where it meets The Strand as the Los Angeles Kings brought the Stanley Cup back to Hermosa Beach for the second time in as many years. Unlike last year when the parade basically went down Pier Avenue from the fire department to the plaza, this year\’s parade began at the Redondo Beach Police Department and ended in Manhattan Beach. Continue reading
Saturday afternoon, the City of Torrance hosted their 55th Annual Armed Forces Day Parade, the longest running military parade sponsored by any city in the United States. Each year a different branch of the military is honored with this year being the Navy. The Grand Marshal was United States Navy Rear Admiral Patrick J Lorge.
In addition to the dignitaries, high school and military marching bands, and military equipment there were several aerial flyovers and a mass swearing in of about 600 young men and women to various branches of the armed forces. While it was a pretty hot day, there seemed to be a consensus that it was a fun parade and the 20 degree drop in temperatures was quite welcomed.
The military equipment is on display at the Del Amo Fashion Square until 3:00 PM on Sunday. Continue reading
It is that time of year again, the Torrance Armed Forces Day celebration is this weekend with the highlight being the 2014 Armed Forces Day Parade, the nation\’s longest running military parade sponsored by any city which will be held Saturday from 1:30-3:30 PM. Every year a different branch of the military is honored and this year it is the US Navy. The parade runs down Torrance Boulevard from Crenshaw to Madronna. If we are lucky and the weather forecast is correct, it should be a lot cooler than it has been.
These photos are of the military exhibits which can be found at the Del Amo Fashion Square, by the Macy\’s entrance and will be viewable from Friday through Sunday. You can visit the City of Torrance website for all the pertinent Armed Forces Day celebration information. Continue reading
It is January and for custom bike builders and those that enjoy looking at custom bikes that means that the 2014 Easyriders Bike Show Tour is now underway. The first stop for the tour was Saturday, January 4 at the Anaheim Convention Center. I have been attending various Easyriders events as a participant or spectator since the mid-80\’s and while there are definitely bikes that show up in the show year after year, it is interesting to watch the evolution of motorcycle building. Huge front wheels, etched chrome and amazing paint jobs seemed to be the theme in recent years with front wheels seemingly getting taller and fatter every year.
In addition to the motorcycle viewing and vendors providing everything from beef jerky to eternal salvation (yeah, you may have to look at the photos to get that one). For entertainment there was a dance routine performed by the Purrfect Angelz, a fashion show and live music. For the bike show, there were two classes for the judging of bikes with the People\’s Choice being voted on by attendees and the Judged Class being chosen by Easyriders Magazine editors.
Next week the tour moves up north to Sacramento which will be a two day event and is usually huge in comparison to Anaheim. From Sacramento the tour moves to Charlotte, NC; followed by Nashville, TN and Columbus, OH in February. You can get full details on the Easyriders Events page. Continue reading
If you will recall, last week I headed out to Fiesta Parade Floats to take photos of the floats they were building for the upcoming 125th Tournament of Roses Parade. It was December 23 and at that point the floats were virtual skeletons; waiting for December 26 when the actual decorating could begin. The parade rules state that all surfaces of the float framework must be covered in natural materials; usually flowers and seeds. Since these natural materials have a tendency to decay after they are plucked from the ground, the decorating does not begin until December 26. The decorating must be completed by the evening of December 30 so that the floats can be judged on December 31.
Yesterday, December 30 I headed back out to Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale to see how progress was coming along. The first thing I noticed was how great it smelled in there with thousands upon thousands of flowers; most already on the floats, but some still waiting to be applied. One of the volunteers told me that they got a slow start because of the extremely warm weather we have been experiencing, but it was obvious that most of the floats were very close to completion.
After I left Irwindale I headed out to the Rose Bowl Stadium parking lot, having been invited by the California Cut Flower Commission (CCFC) to come photograph the float by entered by California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). Last year the CCFC reached out to me because approximately 80% of all cut flowers sold in the United States are imported from other countries. The CCFC and California flower farmers were working with the Cal Poly Universities and the City of South Pasadena to ensure that more than 85% of the flowers used on their floats were American grown, specifically from California’s flower farms. This year, Cal Poly is the only certified \”California Grown\” float in the parade with more than 85% of the flowers used to decorate the float being sourced from California flower farmers. Continue reading
This afternoon I headed out to Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale, CA to check out the progress on the float building for the upcoming 125th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade which will be held Wednesday, January 1, 2014. As I have been donating time towards helping the Torrance Rose Float Association (TRFA) raise the funds needed for building the float, I figured I would go out to where the float is being built so people can get an idea of what goes into a project like this.
Fiesta Parade Floats builds award winning floats and has for several years; as such, they were actually building about 10 floats. I went a few times last year, but today had the fewest number of people on-site that I can recall. I asked one of the builders and he said that the floats are all pretty much ready for the decorating to begin; that starts the day after Christmas and must be completed by the evening of December 30 as the floats will be judged on December 31. I will go back out in a few days after the decorating has begun so you can see the difference.
The theme of this year\’s Rose Parade is “Dreams Come True.\” The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), which began in Torrance is a primary sponsor for Torrance\’s entry to the parade this year; so you will notice a definite soccer theme with \”Everyone Plays\”, which is the first of AYSO Soccer’s Six Philosophies and the theme of the 2014 Rose Parade float. Continue reading
With a tradition that has gone on since 1985, the Christmas lights in the Sleepy Hollow section of Torrance have been put back up in its transformation to Candy Cane Lane. While it is still a couple of weeks until Christmas, our visit to Sleepy Hollow last night revealed that most of the Christmas decorations seem to be up and those in the know about the Christmas Light Extravaganza have already started showing up to view the lively decorations. While it was a little chilly last night, at least it was not wet or windy, so walking up and down the streets was a pleasant affair.
The lights at Candy Cane Lane are on from 6:00 PM until 10:00 and will be on every night through the evening of January 1, 2014. If weather permits, I recommend parking and walking through the neighborhood. Even if it is chilly there are plenty of people selling hot chocolate, home-baked cookies and other snacks to help warm you up. There are carolers, musicians and if you look closely, Santa Claus may even be found. It is great family fun for all ages. It does not matter how many times you have visited Candy Cane Lane, it is always a good time. If you are unfamiliar with the area, you can read my detailed directions on how to get there from anywhere in the Los Angeles area. Merry Christmas. Continue reading
Last week my Facebook feed lit up with the news that the Proud Bird Restaurant, an aviation-themed restaurant by Los Angeles International Airport for 48 years, will be closing effective November 21, 2013. Apparently they are closing because the landlords, Los Angeles World Airports, want to increase the rent to such an extent that the restaurant cannot afford to stay open. As the Proud Bird and I go back about 35 years and Tanya and I had been talking about going to a champagne brunch anyway, we decided that we would go for one last brunch at the Proud Bird yesterday since we already have plans for next week.
I could not count the number of brunches I have gone to at the Proud Bird as we used to get a group of friends to ride over there almost every Sunday for a few years. There was a pretty decent crowd yesterday, which I guess was the reason for the slower than usual service; or it could be that the employees know their time there is dwindling so there is not a lot of enthusiasm. After a couple glasses of champagne, the wait did not seem too bad and as least I could say we were there at the end.
The last champagne brunch at the Proud Bird will be Sunday November 17; if you want to be there for the last one, I recommend getting there early (they open at 9:00 AM) and stick around the hostess\’ desk. They may tell you there is a 20 minute wait, but it will likely be shorter and if they call your name and you are not there, they will move on to the next party. The brunch is $38.00 for adults and $17.50 for children. They have a wide variety of foods available and the champagne is poured freely, so have a good time but drink responsibly. The Proud Bird Restaurant is located at 11022 Aviation Blvd in Los Angeles just north of Imperial Highway. Continue reading
These photos are from Saturday afternoon at Ed\’s Stumble Inn where they hosted TJ Brutal Customs\’ First Annual Get to the Choppers Inaugural Bike Show and Charity Raffle. The fundraiser benefited Vision2Victory, a 501(c)(3) charity that gives back to the military community. The centerpiece of the event was the raffle for a custom Honda motorcycle built by TJ Stiles; with paint by Department of Customz, handlebars by Noise Cycles, leather work by Lower Class Leather, a gas tank by Paughco, grips and pegs by Hippy Killer and a fender by Lowbrow Customs, with the velocity stack and custom exhaust by TJ Brutal Customs.
Attendees were treated to lots of visuals with the bikes, cars and babes as well as numerous vendors and a food truck or two. Of course, Ed\’s Stumble Inn had plenty of liquid refreshments available for those that were into that kind of thing. It was nice to see craft beer making an appearance there.
If you read this in time and are in the area, Monday November 11, Johnny\’s Saloon will be having a Veteran\’s Day car show at the Huntington Beach Pier, also benefiting Vision2Victory. It runs from 8:00AM – 4:00PM. The weather has been great, should be a nice day for the beach. Continue reading