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Pasadena Artist Holds First Show after the Pandemic Began

/ May S Ruiz / Leave a comment

Originally published on 31 March 2022 on Hey SoCal

Two years after the pandemic started and turned the world upside down, Pasadena milliner Cissy Li puts on her spring collection show. (read my previous story about Li and how she became a milliner here) And this time around, her creations of glassware and ceramic art join the spectacular hats on shelves and tables. Attendees to the show’s opening are treated to a dazzling array of multi-colored eye candy. There’s so much to look and marvel at!

Li, ever so glamorous in her cobalt blue and neon pink floor-length dress, wears a sparkling diamond necklace with a cabochon pendant and a ring to match. Perched on her head is a purple fascinator with silk lilac flowers. And she works the room with the ease and panache honed during her years as a runway model.

Cissy Li | Photo by Angela Lee / Courtesy of Cissy Li

Sitting elegantly on an armchair, Li talks about her expansion into this new endeavor, “Hats are worn during social occasions. And during the pandemic, not many people were ordering them because there were very limited social events or parties. That gave me the opportunity to branch out into something else – glassware and ceramics.

“Having my kids at home helped because I didn’t have to go to school and drive them around to their various after-school activities; it meant I could be home cooking and working on my glassware. They were pretty much on their own during remote learning. Of course, when I wasn’t physically near them, they tended to sneak in playing some video games. But all in all, they were well behaved. I think the school did a good job giving them a schedule and telling them what they needed to do.”

“I post my work on WeChat and Instagram and people who like what I make call me to commission some pieces,” Li continues. “I’m very lucky that the people who place orders give me carte blanche so I can be very creative. But I also appreciate it when someone comes with a pattern or a picture and tells me ‘I want something exactly like this.’”

These red glass plates took 80 hours of firing time in the kiln and about two hours of overglaze design and 24K gold luster touch up | Photo by May S. Ruiz / Hey SoCal

“During the pandemic, I did a lot of commissioned orders and that kept me very busy. Millinery used to be my primary source of income, but ceramic and glassware work has since become a second career. I’m pretty fast with glassware and hats but not with housework, especially with cooking – I can fire the kiln with self-assurance but I’m more careful that I don’t burn the food,” she confesses with a laugh.

It wasn’t the first time that Li experimented with glassware. When she lived in Italy, a friend – who was also a runway model – had an uncle who owned a glass blowing factory on Murano, an island off Venice. “I went there to study but I only lasted for three days. It was very hard work and I just couldn’t do it, so I quit. However, I learned the basic technical skills that I am able to use now,” Li reminisces.         

Glassware molds in Li’s workshop | Photo courtesy of Cissy Li

When she began working on her glassware, Li had only a small, used kiln. As she grew more confident in what she was doing, she invested in a much larger one. She also moved her work space out of the billiards room next to the swimming pool on the lower level, up to the main level of her family’s property where the garage is located.

“The kiln looks like a bathtub and I can fire one big piece and several small items,” she describes. “I fire at 1,300 to 1,500 degrees F – it’s really hot. In the winter it’s freezing and in the summer it’s sweltering. Working with glass and ceramics involves a lot of dust too, so the garage is really the best place to do this.”  

“How many hours do you work?” I ask. Li replies, “Once I get started, I keep going for about five or six hours. I do need that stretch of time to think and plan. Working with glass isn’t only about art, it also needs math and chemistry, and hard work – there’s a lot of cutting, grinding, and scoring – but I really enjoy it. It’s like a mystery; the result is different each time depending on the temperature. ”

Glass pendants in various colors and and shapes | Photo by May S. Ruiz / Hey SoCal

Li patiently explains how each piece of glassware is made, “You do one procedure at a time – you fire from a higher temperature then to a lower temperature. A piece of glass comes three millimeters thick but the product you want to make is six millimeters. You first cut the shape and put two pieces together, front and back. Then you place these in a kiln to melt together, which takes anywhere from 24 to 30 hours depending on the color – it takes longer to make pink and purple colored glassware. This process is called fusing.

“When it comes out, you choose what kind of finish you want. This, for instance, is dichroic glass and reflects two or more colors from different directions. It comes out flat, so the next process is called slumping, which uses gravity and heat from the kiln to shape sheet glass using a mold. Different shapes go into different ‘slumpers.’ You have to wipe it each time it comes out of the kiln – every fingerprint will stay on it so cleaning is an important step.”

“Each piece is unique and one-of-a-kind,” Li explains further. “When you fire glass, there’s always a champagne or catch bubble that makes the end-product interesting. In between firing, you put powder to either eliminate or create a bubble. It’s like an ID, there will be no two identical glassware.”

“The color comes from metals, including silver and copper. This glass, for example, is petrified wood – copper and sulfur reaction. On the front, there’s a brownish color which has sulfur inside; on the back, it’s robin’s egg and it has copper inside. When you melt these two pieces of glass in high heat, you see the reaction. And in this instance, it’s red.”

This red platter took Li 72 hours to make |Photo by May S. Ruiz / Beacon Media News

When I ask if she has a favorite piece from the hundreds of glassware and ceramic items in the collection, Li responds, “It’s hard to pick just one because I spent so much time working on every single item.”

I then inquire how she decides what piece to make, and she says, “It’s like with my hat – it’s a passion. Sometimes an idea comes from something that catches your eye. I buy several different feathers for making my hats and they’re all beautiful so I mimicked some of the feathers and they are part of this spring show.”

Half of the items in the collection is glassware and half is ceramic. All the glassware were created by Li from scratch, but not the ceramic pieces. She purchases the ceramic bases from four porcelain companies – Kristoff, Karolina (Poland), Cesky Porcelain, and Elizabeth (the Czech Republic).  

Li applied gold luster on these vintage Japanese ceramic platters | Photo by May S. Ruiz / Beacon Media News

“They supply high quality and high consistency china bases so I like to order from them,” Li explains. “I do overglaze enameling and decoupage on them. Sometimes, I also apply mother of pearl or 24k gold luster with the design. These platters with flowers and peacocks, though, are vintage pieces from Japan with a discontinued pattern called Oriental Glamour. I bought small quantities of the last lot and then hand-painted all the gold luster. For the water pitcher, I used decoupage to design the overglaze and fired it in the kiln over 1400 degrees F. It took me about four to five hours to do the decoupage – I had to stand in front of a big mirror to make sure both sides are identical.”  

Decoupaged ceramic water pitcher | Photo courtesy of Cissy Li

There are a few pieces in her spring collection signed “Cissy and Claire” which means that her 11-year-old daughter helped make them. Li says proudly, “She studied painting and clay pottery for years. Sometimes when I’m working, she’ll come up to me and ask if I need assistance. She’ll happily put colored objects together, organize beads and flowers, and give suggestions. She has beautiful hand-writing so she helps me use gold luster to write on glass and ceramic for custom orders.”            

Some objects are signed ‘Cissy and Claire’ | Photo by May S. Ruiz / Hey SoCal

Much like the glassware, the headwear in the show were all designed and handmade by Li. She makes dress hats or afternoon tea hats and fur felt hats which are either rabbit or beaver fur felt.      

Li says, “It takes a minimum of two weeks to make a felt hat because it has to be on wood block steam several times. It takes a shorter time to make a dress hat if I have all the materials, but most of the time I have to search around for the colors to match. Fifty percent of the feathers I use are ordered from England, France, and Spain.”

Two hats in the same color scheme but different materials | Photo by May S. Ruiz / Hey SoCal

I choose two hats that use different materials – a felt hat in aubergine with a butterfly embellishment and a purple fascinator decorated with pink lilies, reddish brown feathers, and a smaller butterfly – and Li tells me, “The one on the left is rabbit fur felt. The butterfly beadwork is by a Ukrainian artist which she handmade with Swarovski crystal. The one on the right is an afternoon tea hat or dress hat. The silk flowers are hand-painted by a Spanish artist; the peacock feathers are from the United States and color-dyed.”

All of Li’s spectacular creations involve hundreds of painstaking hours to complete and as many professional tools to accomplish. It’s surprising, therefore, that the items are affordable and might even be underpriced. Her glassware pieces cost anywhere from $35 pendants to $650 platters; the hats run about $475 to $700, depending on materials; and ceramic items are priced from $65 a plate to $3,000 for a set of 12.        

The spring show opening, held on Sunday, March 20, 2022, was attended by fewer people than her previous exhibitions because we’re still emerging from a pandemic. However, there’s still time to catch it.   

“The show will be open until April 15th and we want to make it as safe as possible for everyone,” Li assures. “So we’re offering private tours and viewing and people can call me at (626)808-1599 or send me an email at cissyxili@gmail.com to schedule an appointment.”

It’s spring in Southern California! And what better time to enjoy the outdoors when the weather is mild, than with a midday or afternoon tea with friends? A fabulous fascinator completes your attire. But why stop there? Spring clean your house and add a beautiful glassware on the living room table.

After sheltering in place, covering our faces with masks, and social distancing for two years, we’re finally feeling alive again! Here’s to a Happy Spring!      

Masters of Taste 2022 — a Delicious Way to Donate to a Worthwhile Cause

/ May S Ruiz / Leave a comment

Originally published on 10 March 2022 on Hey SoCal

Agnes Pasadena, which serves delectable cheeses, is one of the participating restaurants in ‘Masters of Taste 5th Anniversary’ | Photo courtesy of May S. Ruiz / Hey SoCal

Two years after the pandemic unceremoniously canceled the Masters of Taste’s planned event, it’s coming back to Pasadena! So mark your calendars for the Masters of Taste’s 5th Anniversary to be held on Sunday, April 3 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the world-famous Rose Bowl.

Approximately 100 Los Angeles-area food and beverage experts will again gather in one place to create masterpieces for Southern California’s gastronomic aficionados, all for a worthwhile cause.      

Masters of Taste 2019 was a sold-out event that attracted over 3,000 guests and garnered media attention throughout Southern California and beyond. This fifth-anniversary event is also expected to bring over 3,000 food and beverage enthusiasts together for one afternoon to celebrate this exhilarating festival, which will include the finest fare from culinary masters and restaurants, delectable sweets prepared by L.A.’s top sweet masters, and leading beverage masters.

A Media Night was held on Thursday, March 3, at the locker room of the Rose Bowl for a sampling of what foodies can expect at Masters of Taste 2022 and to introduce this year’s host chef, Vanda Asapahu. At the organization’s inception in 2016, she was one of only two female chefs. And now she’s the first female chef to take on the mantle of this prestigious food festival.

Vanda Asapahu is the first female chef host of Masters of Taste | Photo courtesy of Masters of Taste

Chef and owner of Ayara Thai Cuisine, Asapahu went to college at UCLA and to graduate school at Yale. She then spent four years living, traveling, and working her way through Thailand before returning home to Los Angeles. During her stay in her native country, she absorbed the Bangkok street food scene and revived old family recipes. Taking up the torch of her family’s culinary tradition, she brought back these treasured old recipes and new flavors to share at Ayara Thai. And in May 2019, Ayara Thai Cuisine was named one of “Michelin Guide California’s 2019 Bib Gourmands.”                    

Masters of Taste is the brainchild of Rob and Leslie Levy, owners of The Raymond 1886 in Pasadena. He recalls what drew him to this endeavor, “This goes way back in my childhood. My oldest friend in the world started an organization in Chicago called Inspiration Café, delivering sandwiches to the homeless when she was working as a cop. Then she ended up opening a restaurant for the homeless where they could come in, order off the menu, be served with dignity, and leave with no check to pay. If they were a good client, they were invited to work there and learn a trade. That grew into something huge, with multiple restaurants and cafes, cookbooks, and job training. She did this for 20 years and never took a paycheck – she did it for the love of it. She worked as a massage therapist to pay the bills while she grew this multimillion-dollar organization. It gives me shivers just thinking about her and what she has accomplished – she’s quite a remarkable individual and the most positive person you could ever meet in your life.”

Rob Levy, along with his wife, founded Masters of Taste | Photo by May S. Ruiz / Hey SoCal

“When the former CEO of Union Station Homeless Services asked me to be on the board, I immediately agreed,” continues Levy. “Then we thought we had to change the way we raise funds – we had been to one too many galas where nobody wanted to go, but got dressed up and went anyway because we felt obligated to. We figured we needed to create an amazing event where people aren’t thinking it’s a charity affair and Leslie came up with this idea of getting other chefs to gather for a cause. And what better place to do it than on the field of the Rose Bowl. Thus, Masters of Taste was born.

“We reached out to other chefs that we had done events with over the years and also through Lawrence Moore. When we explained what we were trying to accomplish, everyone agreed to participate. And they were absolutely thrilled when they learned that it was going to be at the Rose Bowl field. The first year that we did Masters of Taste, participants were incredulous when we told them to be on the field for the load-in because events are usually held only at the perimeter. One guy serving for a brewery had played football in college and played on the Rose Bowl field; it was his first time back there since. He actually got teary-eyed at the recollection because now he was there for a reason other than football.

“That same year, a spontaneous line dancing broke on the field – DJs played music and in the middle of everything, there must have been 100 people line dancing. It was a delightful occurrence that was totally unanticipated. That was when we knew we were on to something.       

The Raymond 1886 team at a past ‘Masters of Taste’ event | Photo courtesy of ‘Masters of Taste’

“Then we had one year when it rained which, unbelievably, made it an even better event. Nobody left – 3,000 people on the field and they all stayed through the rain. It was the most memorable year we had. We set out to create an event that was like having a great Sunday afternoon out and it has taken on a life of its own. People want to do good – helping other people is now a movement.”

Lawrence Moore, principal of public relations firm Lawrence Moore & Associates, was one of the founding members of the group that puts up the event. She talks about the inception and evolution of Masters of Taste.

“I had known and worked with Rob and Leslie Levy for several years at the time he was thinking about partnering with an organization for a fundraising event,” he said. “When he sat on the board of Union Station and saw that the homelessness problem was growing – probably well before the rest of us ever realized it – he and Leslie decided that was where they wanted to focus their energies. They came up with the idea of creating an event and having it at the Rose Bowl. There were plenty of naysayers who said they wouldn’t be able to pull it off because no one had ever been allowed to use the field and the cost would be prohibitive even if they were able to.

“However, Rob and Leslie were undeterred; they were determined to do this. They gathered everyone – Amanda Green; Dana Levy, the Assistant Director of Development at Union Station at the time; me; and a friend and colleague of mine Dennis Richardson, whom I brought along, and who’s now our Event Producer. We literally sat down for lunch and just hashed out details, including a to-do list, names of people we needed to call, and so on. It was then decided that we were going ahead with the plan and this was the team to do it. From that day on, I became the event’s public relations person. We had the honor of creating the name and the strategy; we wanted to identify it as a food festival rather than a charity event for the first year, to build excitement from the culinary and beverage standpoint.”

Moore adds, “We met with people at Union Station and when we told them our concept, they were uncertain about it initially. They were used to the standard model of fundraising – holding a gala or a dinner. Additionally, we told them that we wanted to promote it as a luxury food festival instead of a fundraiser; that was the biggest obstacle we had to overcome. But they eventually came around and we held the first Masters of Taste on Sunday, April 3, 2016.

Masters of Taste’s 5th Anniversary Media Night | Photo by Brianna Chu / Hey SoCal

“The experience from that was very positive – we made half a million dollars the first year so we were able to prove we could raise money through ticket sales and private company sponsorships. We had an easier time for our second year because the Rose Bowl people got over their trepidation at using the space for a food festival and they even offered the option to have a Media Night. That’s when we announced the charity and that 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit Union Station. I think that was better received on the second year than it would probably have been the first year.”

“Being a member of the founding team and working on it as well, I am excited because I need to know that the money is going where it’s supposed to go. That was more impactful for me,” declares Moore. “As the years have gone by, I have had the opportunity to work directly with our media sponsors and build a relationship with them. Moreover, we are now able to invite more media to the actual event. And because everyone in the media has been introduced to the charity personally, they have a bigger investment in the event’s success. They are now part of the team and have put Masters of Taste on the map as L.A.’s foremost food event. It highlighted the cause and gave integrity to the event.”

‘Masters of Taste 2022 Team and Participants | Photo by Brianna Chu / Hey SoCal

The return of Masters of Taste this year has taken on an even greater significance. Anne Miskey, Union Station’s CEO, expounds, “Two years ago, Covid hit. And one of the first things that all of us heard was stay home to stay safe. The people we serve don’t have homes. So we had a crisis on top of a crisis here in Los Angeles. I’m very proud to say that my staff all went into high gear not only to help all of those people living on our streets, but also to keep them safe from Covid. Over the last two years we opened some sites – hotels and other buildings – where we could bring people inside safely.

“I remember sitting down and talking to one gentleman who had been living on the median down the street in his tent. He spoke about what it was like to come in a room, with a bed and a bathroom, a microwave and a coffee pot, and to be treated with dignity and respect. Of all the things he said to me, what hit me the most wasn’t the bed but of having someone acknowledge his humanity and care what happens to him. And that is the work that we do at Union Station. We recognize the humanity in all of these people living on our streets – we walk beside them to get them permanently housed, gain stability, and be able to hope and dream again.”

Miskey says further, “The people we serve have been hit incredibly hard, but we’re not the only ones. We know that the restaurant industry suffered over the last couple of years. So I want to thank all our chefs, our beverage masters, our vintners, our distillers for staying with us after two years of hell.”  

Union Station Homeless Services CEO Anne Miskey | Photo by Tom Williams / Hey SoCal

Asapahu underscores what Miskey has pointed out, “This year’s event will have over a hundred culinary, beverage, and sweets masters. Many of us are still understaffed, we still have ingredient and raw material shortages, and every issue possible. But what sets people in the restaurant industry apart from others is their willingness to give and give and give, until we have nothing left to give. There are a lot of restaurants that couldn’t join Masters of Taste this year, but please show all the love and support to those who are going to be there. We’re barely getting out of the pandemic and they’re donating their time and their food.”

“This is L.A.’s biggest food event. And every dollar goes to Union Station Homeless Services, which provides meals, housing, and services to the homeless community of Los Angeles. There are currently 66,000 people in Los Angeles who are homeless, which is probably an under-reported number, and it breaks my heart. And while this issue can’t be solved overnight,  every guest, participant, and media person attending Masters of Taste is working towards a solution,” concludes Asapahu.

The pandemic has challenged all of us; we have been tested and stretched to our limits. And the restaurant business has been the hardest hit. Many restaurants were forced to shutter permanently and those that have managed to reopen when it was safe continued to struggle. Even as health and safety protocols have been eased, social distancing and masking mandates lifted, restaurateurs still have difficulty finding people to work. No dining place – whether it’s a sit-down restaurant or a drive-thru – has been spared the staff shortage. And yet when they were called to come and help, they happily stepped up to the plate.

Masters of Taste 2022 will be an extraordinary event not only because it’s poised to break its all-time record of raising money to help L.A.’s homeless population, but more so because it will demonstrate the resilience of humankind and endless generosity and giving spirit of restaurateurs and beverage company owners. Let’s eat and drink to them and the event’s great success!

Belinda Lei’s ‘Not THAT Rich’ Exposes Competition Among Asians

/ May S Ruiz / Leave a comment

Originally published on 14 December 2021 on Hey SoCal

“Not THAT Rich” book cover | Photo courtesy of Belinda Lei

Asians are often stereotyped as the ‘model minority’ – overachieving, law-abiding, non-complaining people who soar above whatever challenges and obstacles are thrown at them to attain financial and personal success. That their accomplishments sometimes come at great cost to their mental well-being isn’t openly discussed.

This is what Belinda Lei explores in her young adult book called “Not THAT Rich,” which follows the lives of senior high schoolers as they navigate the stressful, highly competitive college admissions period.

The daughter of immigrants from Mainland China, Lei was born and raised in Walnut and Hacienda Heights in the eastern San Gabriel Valley. And while she says she’s grateful that her parents brought her up in predominantly Asian American communities where she wasn’t made fun of and bullied for what she ate and how she looked, it also meant being in a pressure cooker environment.    

From her typical Asian upbringing – multi-generation family members in one household – she knows how Asian kids have to strictly adhere to the path their elders set out for them. “I also grew up with my grandparents, from whom I learned traditional Chinese values and an immigrant work ethic from a young age,” relates Lei. “My family promoted what they deemed best for me based upon what they thought would secure me a happy future – financial success, a reputable profession, and a devotion to family. As a teenager, I admittedly resented the expectations that seemed so unachievable and felt like I was simply following a mold – that of the model minority.

Belinda Lei’s publicity photo | Photo courtesy of notthatrich.com

“However, having recently turned 26 and now looking back, I empathize with why my family pushed me so hard when I was younger. Though I do believe there is a balance to everything (something I explore a lot in the book). With generational and cultural gaps, a lot of communication and understanding can be lost. And with mental health issues on the rise amongst adolescents and young adults too, it’s now more important than ever to try to bridge these gaps and develop common ground on this definition of ‘success’ and ‘happiness.’”                     

Asked if the title of her book is a reference to Kevin Kwan’s “Crazy Rich Asians” book series, Lei replies, “Yes and no. Originally, ‘Not THAT Rich’ was going to be called ‘SGV’ as a nod to the San Gabriel Valley, where the fictional Winchester High is located in. But over time, as I tailored the book to a young adult audience, I began to think about the books I loved as a teenager, like ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Crazy Rich Asians.’ For ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ I was incredibly excited for not only the book series but also its fully Asian and Asian American cast in the movie adaptation.

“At the same, I also understood the stereotype that might be reinforced with it – that Asians are crazy and rich. Coming up with ‘Not THAT Rich,’ was a sarcastic response in some ways to ‘Crazy Rich Asians.’ What does being rich really mean? What are the sacrifices and struggles that it entails to achieve what we stereotypically deem as rich? Why do we pursue wealth in the first place? These are all questions I was hoping to address in the book although admittedly, I’m still trying to figure out all the answers myself!”

“I wrote ‘Not THAT Rich’ through the lens of being the book that I wish I had as a high schooler,” Lei describes. “Growing up, there wasn’t much Asian American representation in pop culture, and even when there was an Asian American actor on TV or in a book, I felt like it didn’t reflect my own experience of being a second-generation daughter of Chinese immigrants. I wanted to write a book that encompassed the glitz and glam I sought out in books growing up (like ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘The Clique’) but also gave readers a glimpse into the diversity of perspectives and experiences that can be found in the world of being Asian American (like ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ to a certain extent, despite it being set in Singapore).

“Most importantly, I wanted the book to be fun. Young adults already have so much on their minds these days from juggling family, friends, education, and just being a teenager. The heaviness cast in 2020 by the pandemic and political turmoil made it even more important for me to write a lighthearted and juicy book that helped readers escape into a satirical world and, at the same time, draw out reflections about identity, motivations, and consequences.”

At the book launch of the Chinese version of ‘Not THAT Rich.’ From left, Monterey Park mayor/councilman Peter Chen; Duarte mayor Sam Kang; South Pasadena Mayor Michael Cacciotti; former assemblyman Mike representing congresswoman Judy Chu; former mayor of Walnut Mary Su; Belinda Lei; San Gabriel mayor Chin Ho Liao; Rowland Heights USD board president Cary Chen; RHUSD board member Agen Gonzalez; and board member Erik Venegas | Photo courtesy of notthatrich.com

But while Lei writes about high schoolers and their experience, her book is centered on her truths and others may not relate to them at all. She clarifies, “’Not THAT Rich’ only represents a tiny sliver of the extremely diverse and dynamic racial, socioeconomic, and cultural diversity of the L.A. region. It’s merely based on the world that I grew up in. I highlight a variety of backgrounds, thoughts, and experiences in the novel, but it doesn’t represent the 20 million Asian Americans who can trace their roots to more than 20 countries.”

“Asian Americans are an extremely heterogeneous group,” continues Lei. “Unfortunately, many people see us as a homogenous one. I was starkly aware of this ‘othering’ while writing it in 2020 and consuming reports about the increase of anti-Asian hate crimes due to COVID-19. How is it that my racial identity can brand me as someone who should ‘go back to my own country’ when the country that I’ve been born and raised in is the U.S.? I hope the stories that I weave can help subvert these misplaced prejudices by highlighting how being culturally American and culturally connected to another country should not be mutually exclusive.

“Lastly, think about who is not represented in the novel. Yes, ‘Not THAT Rich’ is fictional, but it does reflect the demographics of the area that I grew up in and the access and opportunities that I was surrounded by. It is very much a book about privilege. While it does not tackle issues of racism and classism head-on, this ‘fun, juicy, and dramatic’ world, unfortunately, does show how socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and educational opportunities are intimately intertwined in America.”

Spoiler alert – to say that “Not THAT Rich” depicts Asian parents in unflattering light would be a kindness. While they realize in the end how they have created a toxic environment for their children and redeem themselves by righting the wrongs, it could have happened sooner. And Lei is preaching the moral of her story by launching the Chinese version of her book so non-English-speaking parents can read it and, through it, develop self-awareness.                 

“I would like for the book to reach a worldwide audience, but my goal from the very beginning has always been that if I can reach only one youth out there and make them feel heard, then it has been worth it,” adds Lei. “In that sense, I’m already proud of how far it has come, and seeing it continue to rise in popularity is the icing on the cake. Target recently began carrying the English edition of my book online and as businesses are opening up more, I’m hoping to get it into more brick and mortar bookshops.”

‘Not THAT Rich’ book in Mandarin | Photo courtesy of notthatrich.com

In January, Lei will be returning to Yale to finish the final year of her MBA degree and will graduate next December. Since her first year there, though, she has been a strategy consultant, software engineer, and is currently a product manager at Citibank. She is also the managing director of an anti-bullying non-profit called Act to Change, which focuses on Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

“The organization first started out in October 2015 as a national public awareness campaign on bullying prevention among youth under President Obama’s White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI),” Lei explains. “I had been a senior intern at the White House Initiative to help spearhead the launch of the AAPI Bullying Prevention Task Force – a coordinated cross-agency effort to address bullying amongst youth. The report released by the task force resulted in the creation of Act To Change and when it officially became a non-profit in 2018, I joined as a founding board member and now I’m the Managing Director.

“I wear a lot of different hats in my role – I’m responsible for various initiatives like our Homeroom with Tan France series where Tan France conducts virtual school visits to talk about bullying and our most recent bullying survey in collaboration with Next Shark and Admerasia. I can also be hopping on calls about fundraising or making TikTok videos. This doesn’t include being our in-house developer where I help manage the website, acttochange.org, or our digital campaigns. It is like my second job.”

With Lei’s multitasking abilities and various pursuits, it’s difficult to foresee where she’ll be a decade from now. In fact, when queried about that, she confesses, “It’s a tough question that I never know how to answer for interviews! Being in my twenties, I feel like my life is constantly changing and with all my different interests I can see myself in multiple different situations in ten years. If I had to choose a dream state for me in my thirties though, it would be being in the entrepreneurship space and continuing to create products or experiences that make a positive impact on communities.”

We can predict, though, that we might see a sequel to “Not THAT Rich” in the not-too-distant future; Lei’s already brainstorming on it. Hopefully, in it the kids will have gone on to university and beyond, and are on the road to living fully realized versions of their younger selves.

But that ideal isn’t limited to Asians – it is something we all aspire to.     

Reader Reactions to the ‘Blue Boy’s’ Trip to London Next Year

/ May S Ruiz / Leave a comment

Originally published on 10 September 2021 on Hey SoCal

Installation view of The Blue Boy | Courtesy Photo / The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Last month we published an article about the announcement that The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens has decided to loan our beloved “Blue Boy” to the National Gallery in London. Gainsborough’s magnificent work, which left England for the United States on Jan. 25, 1922, will be part of an exhibit that is set to open exactly 100 years since that day.

In its announcement, Huntington President Karen R. Lawrence, remarked, “This masterpiece has made an indelible mark on both art history and popular culture, capturing the imaginations of a wide range of audiences. Given ‘The Blue Boy’s’ iconic status at The Huntington, this is an unprecedented loan, one which we considered very carefully. We hope that this partnership with the National Gallery will spark new conversations, appreciation, and research on both sides of the Atlantic.”  

We in the San Gabriel Valley are so fortunate to have world renowned museums and to have been exposed to stunning works by some of the greatest artists who ever lived. Most of us have never known a time when “The Blue Boy” wasn’t at The Huntington. So we asked our readers to tell us how they feel about it traveling to London and share with us their experience with this piece of art.

While we didn’t receive as many responses as we had hoped, we learned that our readers have informed opinions with information to impart. We also feel that what we did get are representative of people’s reactions and we’re printing them below:

“My informal response to your informal survey is that if the experts say it’s not safe for the painting to travel, then it shouldn’t. I’m also concerned that if the painting does go to London, what’s to keep their museum from saying that the painting is too fragile to send back?

“As you can see, I’m reluctant to let it go.”

Meg Gifford
Pasadena   

“Everybody likes to return home, even for a short visit … and I’m sure ‘Blue Boy’ is among them. So I wish him “calm seas and prosperous voyage.”

“The greatest gift master painters have given mankind is that it doesn’t take an advanced degree in art to appreciate their work.

“Even as a rustic with no refinement, I have stood at length in reverence before Gainsborough’s masterpiece. And in so doing, I convinced myself that if I touched that canvas, I wouldn’t feel a flat surface, but instead Blue Boy’s silken garment and his flesh underneath it.”

David Quintero
Monrovia

‘The Blue Boy’ post conservation | Photo by Christina Milton O’Connell / The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

“I believe it is a wonderful opportunity to return it to the land from whence it came so that a ‘new generation’ can admire its beauty. The concerns cited can be mitigated if those involved will check history regarding other great works of art that traveled outside their respective country. 

“The Mona Lisa was painted in 1503, 276 years BEFORE Blue Boy. Thanks to the efforts of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, France’s national treasure, a very fragile piece of art, was shipped to America. On January 8, 1963, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa made its first appearance when it was put on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C. It was transported by the S.S. France ocean liner in a temperature-controlled box in its own stateroom, accompanied by armed guards. The temperature, which was alarm-monitored, would not be allowed to fluctuate by more than one degree throughout the entire journey. Eleven years later, in 1974, the Mona Lisa once again left France to travel to Russia and Japan. It can be done without endangering the masterpiece.

“Françoise Nyssen, France’s former Minister of Culture, once said that she didn’t believe works of tremendous cultural significance should be confined to a single institution. I thoroughly agree.  Whenever possible, great works of art should be shared with the world.

“Thank you.”

Charlotte Farmer
Arcadia

“My first memories of seeing the ‘Blue Boy’ was in the 1970s when my parents took me to The Huntington as a young kid. It was my mom who introduced me to it, saying it’s a great piece of art. But my appreciation of it at the time was due to the fact that the painting was of a child, like me. I remember it also being next to “Pinkie,” and I don’t know if they were meant to be deliberately displayed next to each other. While these were paintings from a long time ago, I felt a connection and kinship with them.

“That impression stayed with me to this day so when we have visitors, I take them to The Huntington and show them the ‘Blue Boy.’ When my cousins from Japan came in 2018 for my dad’s 88th birthday celebration, I took them to the mansion along with a niece and nephew who aren’t from this area. I told them about The Huntington’s conservation project and what the x-rays showed beneath the painting. I was able to share a part of my local culture to two generations. There was a language barrier between my Japanese cousins and my American relatives and they had to use Google translate to communicate, but it was a fun family experience tied to the ‘Blue Boy.’              

“It’s a nice gesture to share the artwork and I hope it’s safe for it to travel that far. However, its absence will sadden many of us who have grown up knowing it’s always been there. I imagine ‘Pinkie’ will also be sad not to have him by her side. What’s going in that space while ‘Blue Boy’ is away?

“I’m a member of The Huntington and I take strolls at the gardens. And every time I go to the mansion, I make it a point to see the ‘Blue Boy.’ It’s a magnificent piece of art and embodies what I think The Huntington is about. There are so many rotating exhibits – even at the promenade area – but seeing the ‘Blue Boy’ always makes me happy. It evokes emotions and memories of my childhood. I’ll be looking forward to its safe return.”   

Stephanie Yamasaki
Altadena 

The board of The Huntington will be glad to know that their decision has more proponents than opponents and art experts can be assured that “The Blue Boy” can safely travel, as one reader asserted. And we can be gratified in the thought that art enthusiasts across the Atlantic will have the rare chance to see and experience the treasure we hold precious.

SGV Schools Reopen After More Than a Year of Remote Learning

/ May S Ruiz / Leave a comment

Originally published on 10 August 2021 on Hey SoCal

Photo by Muneer Ahmed OK on Unsplash

Schools are gearing up for reopening full time after more than a year of remote and hybrid learning. Such happy news should be a source of relief for parents who believe that virtual classes don’t adequately provide the environment and tools conducive to learning. However, the seemingly uncontrollable coronavirus infection rates from the Delta variant are causing trepidation, even fear, among these same parents.

Some people have gone so far as saying that it’s irresponsible for schools to reopen and have students come on campus under these circumstances. While the cost of learning loss should not be taken lightly, the threat to students’ and teachers’ safety and health should not be discounted in any way either. It is essential that we bring students back in the classrooms; it is necessary to keep students and teachers safe. Both are moral imperatives – one need doesn’t outweigh the other.

To find out how school districts and administrators are handling this sensitive issue, we reached out to the Arcadia, Monrovia, and Pasadena school districts and heads of independent schools to share their plans with us and our readers.   

Wilson Middle School | Photo by Terry Miller / Hey SoCal

The Pasadena Unified School District serves approximately 17,000 students from kindergarten through 12th grade who live in Pasadena, Altadena, and Sierra Madre. Operating four high schools, five middle schools, three K-eighth, and 15 K-fifth elementary schools, it is the largest in the western San Gabriel Valley. Through Hilda Ramirez-Horvath, PUSD communications manager, Superintendent Brian McDonald discloses:

“School begins in PUSD on Thursday, Aug. 12. Classes will be full-time and in-person, five days a week. Learning will take place on campus an independent study will be available as an option for parents who are hesitant about sending their children back on campus. According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), in-person instruction can occur safely when prevention strategies are implemented. Since the pandemic began, PUSD has implemented multiple layers of robust set of safety measures. We will comply with the State’s public health requirements for schools and continue to work closely with the Pasadena Public Health Department (PPHD).

“We’re following the guidance of Pasadena Public Health and the California Public Health Department. We’re urging everyone who is eligible to get the vaccine, we have a robust COVID testing program, and masks are required for everyone. Ventilation is also in place with commercial-grade air purifiers in classrooms and common areas.

“As to whether PUSD will be requiring students to show proof that they’re fully inoculated, mandatory vaccinations for children are set by the state public health department. We will comply with state guidance.”

Mayflower Elementary School | Photo courtesy of Monrovia Unified School District

The Monrovia Unified School District encompasses five elementary schools, two middle schools, and one comprehensive high school. Superintendent Ryan Smith says:

“Our school year will begin on Wednesday, Aug. 18. We are very excited to welcome students back to campuses for traditional in-person instruction. We do have an independent study program at Mountain Park School that is a viable alternative for any family that prefers that their student continue to learn online on either a short or long-term basis.

“As always, we will be adhering to all requirements for schools that are laid out in both state and county public health guidelines. This includes the wearing of masks indoors for all students and staff; outdoors, masks are optional. Distancing is no longer a requirement in these guidelines; however, when feasible, we will do what we can to space students as needed or appropriate. We will not be requiring students to show proof of vaccination as that is not a requirement in health guidelines; students younger than 12 cannot be vaccinated anyway at this time. We have protocols in place to routinely clean our classroom, ensure proper ventilation, and access to PPE, again, all in accordance with public health requirements.

“We continue to emphasize that students who are ill or exhibiting symptoms stay home, handwashing, wearing masks, and that people get vaccinated if they are able.

“We are very excited about the start of the school year! Among our immediate priorities as we return are the following: identifying gaps in learning for each individual student and acting to address them; ensuring access to resources and support to address the social-emotional learning needs of all students; and utilizing technology to continue to personalize and accelerate student achievement.”

The Arcadia Unified School District is made up of 11 schools and serves about 9,500 students. It’s consistently named as one of the top school districts in the country by various ranking organizations; Arcadia High School is a U.S. News & World Report Gold Medal School.

We didn’t get a response from the school district’s information office but we learned that Arcadia High School will be opening on Aug. 11. Last Friday, Aug. 6, we observed the campus abuzz with activity – students were registering for classes, the band was practicing at the Performing Arts Center, and sports teams were meeting at the stadium. We saw safety protocols posted everywhere, the masking mandate strictly enforced, and bottles of hand sanitizers perched on tables at the reception lobby and at entrances. There was a definite air of eager anticipation for the school year to begin.

Most independent schools will start their 2021-2022 school year on the last week of August and, understandably, don’t have their plans etched in stone at this time. Among the handful of heads of school we requested information from, two agreed to tell us their procedures while emphasizing that they are in flux.                                            

Head of school Amy Patzlaff relaxes with a student | Photo courtesy of Clairbourn School

Clairbourn School in San Gabriel, which has served the Pasadena area continuously since 1926, is a day school with a small enrollment of 200 students from pre-K to eight grade. Head of school Amy Patzlaff, states:

“Our opening day is Aug. 26, and we currently plan to offer only in-person instruction, but there may be situations that we will handle on a case-by-case basis. That said, we are prepared to go fully remote in any class or grade should that become necessary due to health department orders, exposures, or any other reason. 

“Besides cleaning procedures in place, we have hand sanitizers at every building entrance, desks are spaced out in classrooms to a minimum of three feet and more where possible, ventilation has been increased, and we are mandating universal masking on campus. We have visual cues to help with spacing – dots on benches and paw prints on the sidewalks. We do daily health screening for symptoms prior to arrival on campus. We will be doing regular COVID testing as long as it is recommended, including upon return to campus after holidays. In addition, we follow all of the protocols recommended by the health departments of isolating any symptomatic students or adults, sending them home, and requiring testing before return to campus. We will collect vaccination information and store it, according to privacy laws, along with all other health records.

“The spring was a good test of protocols while fewer students were on campus. We found the students compliant and the teachers vigilant. With the layers of protection in place, we are confident that we have mitigated the risk enough to have a successful year. A group of school nurses in our area have been working closely together to share strategies and procedures. This brain trust has helped each school to build on the collective work to launch successfully. I am grateful for the partnerships. In addition we have been working very closely, since March, with Pasadena Public Health, Los Angeles Public Health, cohorts of local schools, and Joffe Emergency Services. All of these agencies and groups have been generous with their time and knowledge. They all have provided expert advice that we can use immediately.” 

Vanessa Walker-Oaks (in white blouse on the left) chats with parents during a “Meet and Greet” event | Photo courtesy of Flintridge Preparatory School

A nationally recognized coed learning institution, Flintridge Preparatory School in La Cañada Flintridge, educates students from seventh to 12th grade. Through their director of communications, Nicole Haims Trevor, head of School Vanessa Walker-Oakes, shares their opening plans.           

“Our school year will begin on Aug. 26 for in-person classes only. We will follow all guidance from the State of California and Los Angeles County, including (but not limited to) masking indoors and outside as appropriate, enhanced cleaning protocols, improved ventilation, frequent handwashing, and daily symptom assessments. We are prepared to be responsive as conditions and guidance change.

“We expect all eligible community members to be vaccinated and to voluntarily share their students’ vaccination status. However, we anticipate our policy to change when the FDA fully approves the vaccination, removing the emergency use authorization.

“While we are mindful of the Delta variant, we here at Flintridge Prep are enthusiastic and excited to reopen this fall, and we look forward to revitalizing our relationships and reconnecting with our families on campus. Flintridge Prep values our community’s health, safety, and wellness, and we will use a variety of tactics to reduce risk for our students, their families, and our faculty and staff.”

Friends In Deed Named Nonprofit of the Year for Work Helping Homeless

/ May S Ruiz / Leave a comment

Originally published on 29 June 2021

The plight of the homeless is heartbreaking enough during normal times; their circumstances become devastatingly dire when there’s a pandemic. Not only do the homeless have to worry about where to get food and spend the nights, they have the added anxiety of how to keep safe from a virus they cannot see yet has infected over 34 million and killed more than 603,000 people in the United States.Organizations with a mission to help the homeless face the same challenge as they try to find volunteers willing to brave the risk of infection and keep the financial resources coming in. So it is only fitting that they get recognized for weathering the crisis. Friends in Deed, an interfaith social services agency founded in Pasadena in 1894 to provide supportive services to meet basic human needs for homeless and at-risk community members, has been named 2021 California Nonprofit of the Year for Senate District 25 by Senator Anthony Portantino.

Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater (on foreground) at a Rotary Club meeting | Photo courtesy of Friends In Deed

According to a statement released by the organization to announce the award, Friends In Deed (FID) is one of more than 100 nonprofits throughout California that will be honored by their state senators and assembly members for their tremendous contributions to the communities they serve, particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Senator Portantino’s 25th District encompasses portions of the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys.

Friends In Deed has five core programs, including a Food Pantry providing 2,500 households over 635,000 pounds of food yearly; The Women’s Room, a day shelter for homeless and at-risk women, offering free services like over 500 laundry loads and almost 600 showers for guests annually; a weather-activated Bad Weather Shelter providing a warm meal and refuge from the cold, wind, and rain in the winter months; a Street Outreach and Housing team working to end homelessness on the streets of Pasadena with about 20 people successfully housed each year; and an Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance program offering emergency rent, case management, or rental assistance resources to approximately 280 households each year.

A local farmer-and-daughter team volunteers regularly in the Food Pantry to help sort and stack items | Photo courtesy of Friends In Deed

Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater, who has been Friends in Deed’s executive director since 2017, was tasked to lead the organization through these unprecedented times. Nothing in his training nor previous experience could possibly have prepared him for the daunting and heart-rending undertaking.

Asked by mail how he managed, Rabbi Grater replies, “A few things kept me going — our amazing staff and how dedicated they were to our clients and guests, never giving up and continuously working to adapt, innovate, and stay the course through the challenges; the folks that came to FID who needed our services, and were so happy that we were open and assured they weren’t alone to face such challenging and painful times; and the immense community support and outpouring of love and appreciation for our work. Each day that felt overwhelming or that the new challenge presenting itself was too much, the staff, guests, and community kept me going and gave me the strength to persevere and face each new day with a sense of hope.”

The pandemic notwithstanding, FID didn’t waver on its mission. Rabbi Grater says, “COVID had a huge impact on our programs, but through the hard work of our staff and dedicated volunteers, we are proud to say that our services operated continuously throughout. We adapted our food pantry to outdoors in our parking lot; we implemented social distancing and limits on guests in The Women’s Room; we converted our Bad Weather Shelter, which wasn’t feasible, to a cold weather clothing distribution twice a week; and we used funds, public and private, to put many clients into motel rooms, providing safety, security and a sense of home while we helped to locate bridge or permanent housing.” 

The Food Pantry moved its operations outside during the pandemic to allow for proper social distancing | Photo courtesy of Friends In Deed

There are ongoing necessities according to Rabbi Grater. “Our most important needs are unrestricted funds to support our Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance program, which is handling all of the people who are at risk of losing their homes and facing thousands of dollars in back rent. We also have an ongoing need for more space, so if anyone has a piece of property or a building they want to donate to us, we would love that!”

To support their activities, FID obtains funds from various sources. Rabbi Grater says, “We are grateful to have individual donors, foundations and grants, community partners, congregations, government agencies, and some corporate sponsors to sustain us. Additionally, we’ve held fund-raising events. Our main fundraiser has been Jazz on the Green, a wonderful evening under the stars at Castle Green, where we gather for food, drink, silent auction, community, and, always celebrating honorees — an individual, a congregation, and a business partner. For the past few years, we’ve also had a very successful golf tournament.”       

Other nonprofits in the area also offer tremendous assistance. “We have a regular food pantry, we offer rental assistance, and we have a day refuge for at-risk women and those experiencing homelessness; these are programs unique to FID. However, Union Station Homeless Services (USHS) is a regular partner for us, and we share many of the same clients at different stages of their journey. USHS has a jobs program and we also connect folks to local job centers,” Rabbi Grater discloses.

FID’s support goes beyond shelter for the night. Rabbi Grater says, “Our Outreach Team and Housing Navigators keep in touch with clients to see how they are faring. In most of the programs that we pass people along to, be it bridge housing or permanent supportive housing, they have their own case management team so we know our clients are in good hands. We do usually continue to check in our folks for at least six months after we have housed them to continue to offer support.”

Marlene Martinez (pictured, right) coordinates celebrations for The Women’s Room guests, complete with a ‘Welcome’ doormat, whenever someone gets housed | Courtesy Photo / Friends In Deed

And Rabbi Grater has a couple of success stories to share:

“Linda is a Pasadena native who has been homeless for 17 years, sleeping under bridges or in shelters when she could find one that would take her in. Due to the physical and emotional damage caused by abuse from her family, she is on disability, but she always spent her disability checks on motel rooms for as many nights as she could, and relied on panhandling for food. She lost her previous housing when the building was bought by a new property management company, which evicted all the folks on disability. This is not an uncommon story.

“During the day, Linda spent her time mostly in parks — reading, writing, and doing art. She has worked with several different organizations to try and get housed, but nothing has ever quite worked out for her. Finally, a friend gave her Friends In Deed’s phone number. We were able to get her into an emergency motel program, and then worked with her to get into permanent housing.”

Continues Rabbi Grater, “At the time of writing, our Outreach Specialist and Housing Navigator Najwa Payton Jones is at the permanent housing facility, working with the staff and Linda to get all the paperwork done so that she can get the keys! She will be moving in next Thursday.

“Linda says the thing she is looking forward to most about having her own home is to no longer worry constantly about being attacked. She also hopes to go back to school and finally earn her high school diploma, and we wish her the very best of luck!”

Another story involves a man. Rabbi Grater relates, “Porfirio who worked for 20 years in the same job, and then lost it because of the pandemic. His wife of 30 years told him to get out if he wasn’t bringing home any money. Already suffering from mental illness, he walked away and slept in a Pasadena park for three weeks.

“When he was found, Porfirio was severely ill with malnutrition,” adds Rabbi Grater. “It took multiple coordinated efforts from Pasadena homeless agencies to get him the help he needed. As a start, he was housed in a single-room-occupancy facility which also provided him with social services support.

“However, Porfirio is very independently minded, and he wanted to stand on his own two feet. The FID Housing Location program was able to assist him with getting his own apartment in Pasadena, which has returned his sense of independence to him, and he is now actively looking to get back to work.”

Finally, Rabbi Grater notes. “We were founded in 1894 and have been operating continuously, in one form or another, since then — 127 years! While our revenue, staff, and programs have grown significantly in the last few years, it is the ongoing support and dedication of our hundreds of volunteers that allow us to provide the services with compassion, connection, and dignity to so many guests and clients. We truly live up to our motto: doing together what we cannot do alone!”

Pandemic Amplifies Inequity in Education

/ May S Ruiz / Leave a comment

Originally published on 20 May 2021 on Hey SoCal

It’s graduation season for seniors – an event that is usually greeted with gleeful anticipation by students and their families. These students, who spent the majority of their last year in high school distance learning, are leaving after what would have arguably been one of the most memorable periods of their life. But it’s memorable in the worst possible sense because a great number of them feel it has been a lost year.                

The college application process, a rite-of-passage for teenagers all over the country, wrought a great deal of anxiety and disappointment this year. Already a nerve-wracking time for students and parents, the pandemic has not only intensified their apprehension but has also exposed a trend in college admissions. According to a New York Times education briefing, selective schools – including California’s UC system and Penn State – saw double-digit surges in applications due to standardized test scores being waived this admissions cycle. Harvard University had a record-setting 42% increase and the entire Ivy League had to extend its notification by a week to give admissions officers time to read and process applications. It marked the lowest college acceptance rates in a decade for these schools.    

On the other hand, many state schools and small private colleges suffered double-digit drops in applications and enrollments. Many institutions outside the top-tier have been struggling for years and the pandemic just made it worse. The N.Y. Times report further said American colleges and universities have endured losses of more than $120 billion and a few have shut down permanently. The institutions still operating often have to make up the difference by cutting services and programs that provide the tools, resources, and support which many low-income and first-generation students need to complete their degrees.

A survey released a few weeks ago by Intelligent.com, a resource for pre, current, and post college students to use when making choices for their education, provides additional evidence of pandemic’s negative effect. It found that one in four students who left college during the pandemic isn’t returning – at a time when getting into a university  was tougher than ever.

Intelligent.com’s key findings are as follows:

  • 21% of students from households that earn less than $25,000 annually left school during the pandemic.
  • 38% of students of color who left school during the pandemic did so because they could not afford tuition.
  • 19% of undergraduate students say they won’t graduate on time because of pandemic-related disruptions.
  • One-third of college students would attend classes exclusively online in exchange for a 10% tuition decrease.

Beata Williams, a college admissions expert and a consultant at Intelligent.com, pronounces, “For many students who have comfortable spaces to study in, privacy, and online connectivity capabilities, the shift to online classes did increase their productivity. However, for students who live in smaller spaces with shared rooms, less privacy, and may have caretaking responsibilities, the shift to online learning during the pandemic decreased their productivity.”

Beata Williams | Courtesy Photo

By email, Williams answers Beacon Media News’ questions: 

When was Intelligent.com established? What is its mission? Where is it headquartered? Who are the people behind the organization?

Intelligent.com was founded in 2017 by a group of digital marketers based in Seattle, Wash. The founding members can be found here: https://www.intelligent.com/about-us/ and the managing editor is Kristen Scatton. Our mission is to help students make smarter choices through our research and the information we publish.

Please describe your background, including number of years in education and capacity.

I have worked with students in an academic setting since my early twenties when I began my career in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I authentically enjoy and have passion for coaching students to achieve their academic and professional goals. I also fell in love with the potential to make an impact within an academic environment. I completed my B.S. in marketing and my M.S. in public administration at UIC.

After completing my graduate studies, I moved to New York City and worked at Columbia University in the Executive MBA and Executive Education Program offices with executive level students as a finance and admissions officer. I later transitioned to New York University Leonard  B. Stern School of Business where I worked in student engagement,  executive education, MBA international programs, global programs and academic affairs. I thoroughly understand the admissions process and have extensive experience working with domestic and international  students. 

For the past nine years, I have been focused on coaching students through the undergraduate and graduate admissions process. A few schools my students have been offered admission to include: Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, London School of Economics, MIT, NYU, Oxford, UCLA,  UPENN, USC, and Yale. Ninety-nine percent of my students have been admitted to at least one of their top choices. The feedback I overwhelmingly receive is that not only have I helped students reach their dream programs, I alleviate the stress by breaking down the application process into manageable steps leading them towards consistent progress towards their goals. 

What was the purpose of the survey?

We designed the survey targeting enrolled college students with the purpose of determining how they felt about the current state of their education given that it is forcing them to learn in different settings and formats. We wanted to know how the quality of their education and their outcomes have changed during the pandemic and if that has changed their education plans for the future.

When was the survey done and who conducted it? How many students participated and how did you find them? Of the students you asked, how many declined to answer? What methodology was used?

The survey was administered by online survey platform Pollfish on April 6, 2021. We surveyed 1,250 American college students, including undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students aged 18 and older about the impact of the pandemic on their education, and their preferences for school attendance once the pandemic is over. Of the 1,250 polled, none of them declined to answer. The data show 8/600 people were from the LA area (Los Angeles & Long Beach).

Does Intelligent.com offer services or products geared for college students?

Intelligent.com offers resources and guides for prospective college students and current college students to help students succeed in the classroom by bringing together the latest research with tips and techniques championed by today’s leading experts.

Please tell me anything else I need to know about you and Intelligent.com that I didn’t ask.

The internet is filled with information (some garbage). Yet where do we go when we need answers? As a group of digital marketers who have a deep understanding of the internet we wanted to do something about it. We deployed our team of experts and research to scour through all the nooks and crannies of the internet to find the buried treasure, analyzing mountains of data, in order to create content that helps students gain a competitive advantage in their pursuit of higher education and future endeavors. And to make this possible, we’re committed to finding a business model that best serves our users and doesn’t corrupt the integrity of our content. So you won’t find programmatic ad blocks on our site, nor will you find affiliate disclosures. Oh, and you definitely won’t see any ‘native ads’.

All is not lost, though. Williams assures, “While the pandemic has exacerbated the divide between advantaged and disadvantaged students, it has created an opportunity to re-envision and shift to a more equitable learning environment through hybrid learning opportunities at lower costs available to everyone. Community colleges serve a large percentage (approximately 50%) of students lacking in college prep skills and those from lower incomes; President Biden’s proposal to make community colleges tuition free, has the potential to significantly change the access to education for many students. And I still see a need for education in the future.”

The Huntington Appoints First Female Director of Botanical Gardens

/ May S Ruiz / Leave a comment

Originally published on 5 April 2021 in the Pasadena Independent, Arcadia Weekly, and Monrovia Weekly

Nicole Cavender | Photo courtesy of Morton Arboretum

When The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens announced last week the appointment of Dr. Nicole Cavender as the Telleen/Jorgensen director of the botanical gardens, she became its first female director — a momentous event in the beloved institution’s remarkable history.

And it is only fitting that Cavender has been chosen to hold that distinction. She has a B.S. in environmental and plant biology from Ohio University and a Ph.D. from Ohio State University in horticulture and crop science. She will officially join the Huntington on May 17, 2021 after serving nine years as vice-president of science and conservation at Morton Arboretum, a 1,700-acre area of plants and trees which also boasts a hiking trail. Previous to that, she was chief programmatic officer at The Wilds, a 10,000-acre safari park and wildlife conservation center in southeastern Ohio which offers adventures like zip lining, horseback riding, and fishing.

The Huntington’s Rose Garden | Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Her new post at The Huntington, which has a mere 207 acres of gardens, might seem a departure from what Cavender has done before. But at the core, she will be continuing to apply what she knows and carry out what she wishes to accomplish. As The Huntington’s announcement outlines, she “will oversee a staff of 85 and several hundred volunteers in caring for more than a dozen gardens, including the renowned Chinese Garden, Japanese Garden, Desert Garden, and Rose Garden (read about it here). In addition, she will be actively involved in developing and expanding botanical education, outreach, and research programs. Along with the gardens, the botanical division at The Huntington also includes a seed bank, tissue culture lab, and a cryopreservation lab focused on developing protocols for freezing plant tissue at extremely low temperatures and then bringing them back to life at a later date — an arm of research crucial to conservation and sustainability of rare species.”       

The Huntington has taken a lead role in recent years in the cutting-edge field of cryopreservation | Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Cavender states via email interview, “I’ve been fortunate to have the professional experience of working to advance science, conservation, and human connections at wonderful and unique places such as the Wilds and the Morton Arboretum. Looking forward, The Huntington has one of the largest, most diverse collections of plants in the world with over 15,000 different types of plant taxa — absolutely incredible! It offers the opportunity to work among amazing colleagues and with an incredibly vast and diverse collection, where I can bring to bear my love of plants, my devotion to the study of biodiversity, and my desire to continue improving the human connection to and appreciation of nature.”

“My focus will be on working with the amazing Huntington botanical gardens’ staff while collaborating with the library and museum team members,” adds Cavender. “The Huntington provides an exceptionally unique opportunity for synergy to maximize our collective impact and provide a remarkable visitor experience. I want to be able to help promote the important role gardens play in conserving the world’s plant diversity, promoting good stewardship of our planet, while also providing creative spaces for cultural expression and the human spirit connection.”

Cavender’s personal upbringing, academic background, and work experience inform her career path. “My interest in plants is rooted in my childhood as my father was a mycologist (fungi) and botany professor at Ohio University for over 30 years. He inspired my passion for conservation and plant biology at an early age which led to my earning a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in horticulture and crop science. A common thread throughout my entire life is a love of plants and animals from my formal education throughout my professional career. I’m very motivated to build, encourage and bring together teams of people around common goals that promote the protection and restoration of nature while enlightening the human spirit.”

Liu Fang Yuan, the Garden of Flowing Fragrance, is one of the largest and finest classical-style Chinese gardens outside of China. It’s also the focal point for a variety of programs promoting cross-cultural exchange | Photo by Lisa Blackburn / The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

That The Huntington has one of the largest authentic Chinese Gardens in the country, the realization of a long-held dream of James Folsom (read related article here), is fortuitous. Cavender explains, “Jim left a remarkable legacy. His attention to detail and authenticity when creating the Chinese Garden and the botanical gardens as a whole is amazing. In my role as VP of science & conservation at The Morton Arboretum, I was fortunate to take numerous trips to China for projects that focused on tree conservation and urban forest management. I plan to build upon Jim’s successes and am excited to continue to advance the plant, human and cultural connection within this garden and the many other excellent gardens at The Huntington.”

Cavender will be working within a predominantly Asian American community at a time when there’s national focus on correcting people’s misconceptions about Asian culture and eliminating anti-Asian sentiments. Her appointment as the first female botanical garden director comes at an opportune period as The Huntington tries to rectify its past practices of inequity and as it embraces inclusion, as Carolina A. Miranda wrote on April 1, in an L.A. Times exclusive.    

“My beliefs very much align with The Huntington’s principles on diversity, equity, and inclusion,” comments Cavender. “As a plant lover, I’m obviously thrilled by the diversity of species in the garden. But I’m even more excited by the diversity of the extended Huntington community and its historical role in the region. It’s been an honor to visit China numerous times over the years as I’ve developed a special appreciation of the culture which I treasure. I very much look forward to working with the local and national Asian community to build a better, more accurate understanding of Asian and Asian American history and culture.”

One of the many projects that Cavender will oversee is the addition in the Japanese Garden of a 350-year-old magistrate’s house from Marugame, Japan donated to The Huntington. When the fully dismantled house — currently being reconstructed with the help of a team of Japanese artisans — is completed, visitors can come in and learn about traditional Japanese residence and garden.           

The distinction of being first in a given post isn’t new for Cavender. She discloses, “Each of my last two posts at the Wilds and The Morton Arboretum were newly developed roles so I was the first person to hold those positions. I’m honored to be the first woman director of the Huntington botanical gardens. More women are taking leadership roles in botanical gardens in the U.S. and even throughout the world than ever before, and I’m excited to be one of them.”

Best practices in sustainable agriculture for our regional climate are explored in The Huntington’s James P. Folsom Ranch Garden. Volunteer Emma Ho’o mulches rows of vegetable crops | Photo by Deborah Miller / The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Asked if there was something she discovered about The Huntington that was surprising, Cavender replies, “I was delighted to learn about the potager (kitchen garden) and experimental ranch garden created and now dedicated to Jim Folsom. These are opportunities to teach students and people about the very important connection between plants, horticulture, and food sustainability.

“It’s been an absolute joy learning about the Huntington. It’s such a unique, complex place with a rich, diverse history. The plant collection is AMAZING and truly exceptional, and is one of the most diverse in the world, while the library and museum collections are outstanding. The combination of everything in one place is incredible. I look forward to being continually surprised as I learn more over time.

“I’m eager to be working with the team in all three areas — the botanical gardens, library, and art museum. I want to understand our unique strengths and opportunities so we can build upon them synergistically and move the institution forward in the most relevant way possible.”

An earlier photo of the Cavender family | Photo courtesy of Dr. Cavender

This relocation to the West Coast will be a novel experience for the Cavenders as they move halfway across the country and settle in their new home. Cavender reveals about her family “I’ve been married to my husband Gary for 24 years. We have two children — Laurel (a sophomore at Marquette University) and Andrew (a seventh grader). While both are sad to leave their hometown friends, they’re excited about potential adventures in Southern California. We all appreciate that this position with The Huntington is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

In spite of the notorious L.A. traffic, Southern California has much to offer, and Cavender acquiesces, “The weather is certainly a draw as cold Chicago winters can be challenging. As an avid gardener, I can’t wait to have year-round growing opportunities. I will absolutely have my own garden and look forward to growing vegetables, California wildflowers, citrus plants, succulents, cacti, orchids, etc. that simply can’t survive harsh winters in the Midwest. It’ll be a very fun learning experience for a plant geek such as myself. I know I will need to learn more about water conservation, especially knowing that we have a vast collection of plants to care for and plants need water!”

It will come as no surprise for us to discover that the Cavenders like to spend their leisure time in the great outdoors. And since the San Gabriel Valley is about a two-hour drive from either the mountains or the beaches, they’ll find many places to go to.

States Cavender, “We’re a very outdoor-oriented family. The recreation opportunities available in Southern California are incredible. We’ll definitely be hiking in the mountains during the hot weather months and along the beaches during the ‘cold’ months. But there are no ‘cold’ months in L.A. to someone from Chicago!”

We can imagine the Cavenders sitting at the viewing stands along Colorado Boulevard on a brisk New Year’s Day morning watching Pasadena’s famous annual Rose Parade (read related article about The Huntington’s centennial celebration float entry) without winter jackets.

A Special Rose Parade for these Extraordinary Times

/ May S Ruiz / Leave a comment

Originally published on 29 December 2020 in the Pasadena Independent, Arcadia Weekly, and Monrovia Weekly

The 2020 Rose Parade | Courtesy photo / Tournament of Roses

To say that these are extraordinary times might be an understatement to describe a year beset by an astounding 81 million infections and over 1.7 million deaths from COVID-19 worldwide. In the face of those sobering statistics, a New Year’s Day without a Rose Parade or Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena seems trifling.

However, the Tournament of Roses Association (TofR) is determined to use that day — when we’re usually glued to our television sets marveling at the magnificent floats, watching the spectacular equestrians, and delighting in the marching bands as they travel five miles on Colorado Boulevard — to showcase and honor our New Year’s Day traditions.

This New Year’s Day presentation isn’t all about entertainment though. TofR President Dr. Robert Miller states, “We’re producing ‘Rose Parade New Year’s Celebration Presented by Honda,’ in partnership with Feeding America®, the nation’s largest organization dedicated to fighting domestic hunger through a nationwide network of food banks. Food insecurity has been a focus of our organization’s efforts during the pandemic, so it was only fitting for us to extend that commitment to our TV special. We’re very happy to have this opportunity to work with Feeding America, an organization that’s working to change lives in communities across the country.”  

“When we were envisioning what this was, we asked ‘What do we want this show to feature?'” Miller continues. “Words like ‘new beginnings,’ ‘current issues,’ ‘moving forward,’ ‘honoring first responders,’ ‘optimism,’ ‘football,’ ‘ celebration,’ came to mind. It’s a fully-produced, two-hours of engaging, interactive broadcast about everything Rose Parade — our history; volunteers; parade participants, including bands, equestrians; and all the beautiful flowers. We’ll have celebrity performers in the fields of music, film, and television, as well as culinary and sports personalities.”  

According to a press statement released by TofR, “The re-imagined New Year’s Day celebration will feature stellar musical entertainment and exciting celebrity guest appearances that will  appeal to fans of country music, television, Broadway, and sports. There’s something for everyone in the family to enjoy. Musical performers include: Sheryl Crow, nine-time GRAMMY® Award winner with more than 50 million albums sold; Mickey Guyton, country singer-songwriter and historic GRAMMY® award nominee; Tori Kelly, multi-GRAMMY® Award winner, singer-songwriter; Lady A, multi-platinum, seven-time GRAMMY® Award-winning country trio Rascal Flatts — the most awarded country group of the last decade; The War and Treaty, eclectic, soulful, husband-and-wife duo – one of Nashville’s breakout acts.

Actor and philanthropist Gary Sinise was the 2018 Rose Parade grand marshal | Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News

“There will be celebrity guest appearances by: Daddy Yankee – multi award-winning singer; songwriter, actor and producer Shanola Hampton – star of ‘Shameless’ on Showtime; Laurie Hernandez – Olympic gold and silver medalist, 2016 U.S. Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Team; Emeril Lagasse – chef, restaurateur, TV personality; and author Matt Leinart – 2019 Rose Bowl Hall of Fame inductee, former NFL player and Heisman Trophy winner; Rita Moreno – Emmy®, GRAMMY®, Oscar® and Tony® (EGOT) award winner; Dascha Polanco – star of Netflix hit, ‘Orange is the New Black’; Vin Scully – voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers for more than 65 years; Gary Sinise – actor, philanthropist and 2018 Rose Parade grand marshal. Past Rose Parade grand marshals, Emeril Lagasse and Gary Sinise, will both be featured in the  special. Gary will open the show and Emeril will shake us up with his favorite New Year’s Day cocktail.” 

The 2009 Rose Court | Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News

Adds Miller, “The two-hour special will speak to our Royal Court and their traditions; we’ll share some of our unique moments and lots of heartwarming stories about the TofR members and their activities. We’ll show spectacular floats from previous years, a behind-the-scenes look into building a parade float, and New Year’s wishes from fans around the globe. And, of course, it will talk about football — we’ll have Rose Bowl Game® football highlights. The show will air on ABC, Hallmark Channel, KTLA, NBC and RFD-TV at 8 a.m. PST and on Univision at 7 a.m. PST on Jan. 1. We limited travel and ensured the safety of our talent by having the performance segments filmed at iconic locations around the country — including the Grand Ole Opry and the Rose Bowl Stadium — using the strictest COVID-19 safety protocols.”

The TV special will also include a virtual performance of “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” by seniors in high school from bands across the country to be led by a surprise conductor. Explains Miller, “While we have invited all the bands who were scheduled to perform in this year’s parade to instead join us for the 2022 Rose Parade, we realize that there are many seniors who will graduate before that. We didn’t want them to miss out on this opportunity, so we’re giving them their very own, unique performance spotlight.

Courtesy photo | Tournament of Roses

“We’re very excited about this retrospect and a look at America’s New Year celebration — the Rose Parade. All the networks are happy to broadcast the program and we’re grateful to them for airing it. It is our gift to the country and to the world. We want to convey the message that the view of our parade may look very different this year but our mission never changes — to provide the world the best floral parade, to create an enjoyable entertainment event, and to make those accessible to everyone.”

In previous years, the floats were available for public viewing directly after the parade and the following day at Victory Park. When TofR announced in July that they would not be able to host a parade on New Year’s Day, the board sat down to figure out if they could have some floral art displays instead.

Fiesta Parade Floats rendering of Donate Life’s floral sculpture | Courtesy photo / Tournament of Roses

Miller expounds, “We thought about having drive-by floral installations sponsored by companies. But in order for it to be economically feasible, we needed anywhere from 15 to 20 participants. We were able to get seven or eight committed, but we realized that wouldn’t be enough to make it work so we informed them of our decision to scrap the plan. (As a side note, the idea sounds great, so we might do it another year as a spring or summer event.) However, Donate Life, an organization which has been a Rose Parade participant for several years, came back to us because they liked the concept and thought it would be a way for them to continue promoting the importance of organ, eye, and tissue donation — the need for donors doesn’t stop during the pandemic.”

A press release issued by TofR states, “The Donate Life Rose Parade® float has inspired people across the country and around the world to save and heal lives through the powerful message of organ, eye, and tissue donation since its first participation in 2004. On its 18th year, and as a tribute to17 years on the Rose Parade®, the Donate Life community commissioned a beautiful and symbolic floral sculpture that will be featured in the Tournament of Roses’ TV special and then installed at the Tournament House at the end of December.”

Donate Life’s floral sculpture was created by Fiesta Parade Floats (FPF) at its 70,000-square-foot facility in Irwindale. Established in 1988, it is the longest-tenured Rose Parade float builder and has boasting rights to having the most awards in the float building industry. Its float for The UPS Store’s entry “Stories Change the World” won the 2020 Sweepstakes Trophy.

The UPS Store’s Rose Parade entry | Courtesy photo / Fiesta Parade Floats

Relates Mark Havenner, Fiesta Float Parade’s spokesman, “Our company started in January of 1988, with its first Rose Parade being the 1989 Rose Parade. On a normal year we produce anywhere from 12-14 Rose Parade Floats. We have been Donate Life’s float builder for the last few years and we’re honored that they wanted us to create this special display. Working directly with Donate Life, award-winning float designer Charles Meier conceived the floral sculpture called ‘Community of Life.’”

Featuring a vibrant honeycomb built by bees, Donate Life’s floral sculpture illustrates that we are stronger when we work together as a community. In the honeycomb are 21 hexagonal memorial portraits, depicting the life that donors bequeath. Additionally, the names of six health professionals — Donation Healthcare Heroes — who have gone above and beyond the scope of duty to make donation and transplantation possible during the pandemic are inscribed on plaques. Hundreds of individually dedicated roses within two beautiful bushes contain personal messages of gratitude, hope, love, and remembrance from the families of donor recipients. Astromerias of various colors are also used in the floral garden.

“In mid-September Fiesta Parade Floats started work on Donate Life’s floral sculpture, which measures  approximately 30 feet wide and 15 feet high,” says Havenner. “Twelve people worked on building it and an additional 14 were involved with the decoration process. It will be on display from Dec. 30 through Jan. 3.”

Numerous small enterprises have been adversely affected by the pandemic and, in the Pasadena area, float builders count among them. Havenner discloses, “With the cancellation of the Rose Parade and other projects Fiesta normally works on, we have lost approximately 99% of our yearly business. Fiesta Parade Floats is hoping that all moves forward with the Tournament of Roses and its Jan. 1, 2022 Rose Parade.”

The 40-foot canvas at the Tournament House | Courtesy photo / Tournament of Roses

A 40-foot canvas in front of Tournament House reiterates that sentiment. It says “Getting Through the Unexpected, Together. The view of our parade might look very different this year, but our mission never changes.” On it are photos of bands, floats, and equestrians — the Rose Parade’s three major hallmarks. And according to Miller, already people are stopping, looking, and taking pictures. As he articulates it, “It basically says ‘We didn’t go anywhere. This pandemic hasn’t beaten us, we’re going to be back.’”

During pre-pandemic times, the Tournament president spends a whirlwind year traveling across and out of the country to be the face of the organization. In fact, it’s almost a full-time job that at the end of 2019 Miller decided to retire from his post at the Los Angeles Community College District as vice chancellor of financial resources, where he spent the last four years of his 37-year career in academia, so he could give it all his time and complete dedication.

Robert B. Miller | Courtesy photo / Tournament of Roses

Miller describes, “The president is the ambassador-in-chief and our job is to go out into the community — locally and regionally throughout the country, and between three to five internationally — and help with fundraising. That includes meeting with major sponsors, appearing at banquets, kissing babies, and whatever it takes to help them raise the money to be able to come to Pasadena. Getting a band to Pasadena, for example, is typically a $2,000 to $2,500 expense per band participant. So we’re looking at anywhere from $400,000 to $1 million just to get a band to Pasadena — that’s a lot of bake sale and car wash fund raising. I have been a TofR member for 37 years and it’s a true honor and pleasure to get to this point.”

This has been a vastly different year, though, and none of what Miller prepared decades for transpired. However, much like other major festivals, TofR’s board of directors decided that all of 2020-2021 assignments would be the same in 2021-2022. Therefore, he will be president again and will have the opportunity to do what other presidents before him had done. His theme “Dream, Believe, Achieve” will return next year.      

A Rose Parade entry | Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News

Miller’s professional experience as a community college administrator — he spent 22 years at Pasadena City College as associate superintendent and senior vice-president for business and college services, which was essentially like being a chief financial officer; he was interim superintendent president for about 15 months — served him well in this challenging year.

“All that administrative experience and business knowledge and acumen came in handy in working through the myriad issues — cancelling the parade and the impact of that decision on everyone from parade participants, to vendors, major suppliers, sponsors, partners,” expresses Miller. “I was heavily engaged starting the end of March through Aug. 1, figuring out the business aspect. For example, we had to take this year’s operating budget from roughly $16 million to just under $6 million. That was difficult enough, but then we had to look at every one of our relationships and determine the impact on that and work with these entities to limit the damage. We determined we had to make a decision in early July if we wanted to cancel the parade because of the investments and contractual commitments these entities — our float builders, bands, co-sponsors — had to make. That kept me busy 10 to12 hours a day.                                                                                

“The TofR Foundation, which has been in operation, I’m guessing probably in the 1980s, has given almost $4 million to the local community and we’re working to give more. It’s a business and this year it was all about sustaining under these terms. My number one goal was to maintain as strong a balance sheet as we could and keeping as much reserves as we could to make sure this parade and game will be here for another 132 years. There’s no doubt that it has been a very different experience. We all have our journeys in life — I happen to be one who believes everything happens for a reason and, as fate would have it, I was the president during this horrible pandemic.”

Colorado Boulevard during the Rose Parade | Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News

Besides the two-hour television special on New Year’s Day, the CFP semi-finals were originally going to be played at the Rose Bowl that afternoon and then later, at the Sugar Bowl. The winner of the Rose Bowl Game and the winner of the Sugar Bowl will then compete in the 2021 National Championship Game in Miami on Jan. 11 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. and will be aired on ESPN.

TofR devised a schedule and set of activities in compliance with COVID-19 protocol. They will create a bubble environment necessary to ensure the health and safety of the players, coaches, and athletic staff, the vendors, and the media — from where they will be staying during their three days’ stay, to where they will be eating (the traditional Lawry’s dinner was cancelled), to where they will practice.

Because L.A. County had a surge of coronavirus outbreak, state health officials did not approve Rose Bowl representatives’ appeal to allow 400 to 500 people in the 90,888-seat stadium. So the plan was for the teams to play at 2 p.m. without spectators. According to a sports article in the Pasadena Star-News, though, Clemson’s coach Dabo Swinney said it made no sense to fly his players all the way to California to play to an empty stadium. Furthermore, “before losing to Clemson, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly went so far as saying that his team might boycott the game if families were not allowed to attend.”

The Rose Bowl Game | Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News

In the end, it was announced that the playoff between Clemson and Ohio State will be held at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. This marks only the second time that the Rose Bowl Game will not be played in Pasadena’s Rose Bowl Stadium — the first was in 1942 when the game was moved because Japanese military forces attacked Pearl Harbor on the 7th of December and there had been fears of another attack on the West Coast.      

It was quite a disappointing outcome. Miller, however, chooses to take a philosophical view of it all, “I just want to say this because it’s so important. When you look at the financial pain and ruin, the illnesses, and the deaths wrought by this pandemic in this country and around the world, our parade and our game are relatively insignificant. We have to put it all in perspective. And we, like everybody else, just have to adapt and manage the situation as best we can. We have to recognize that as big a deal as our parade and game are to ourselves and, we’d like to think, to our country and the world, it’s a tiny piece of this horrible puzzle.”

On the morning of Jan. 1, Pasadenans can take heart that even if the Rose Bowl Game will not be held in our backyard, we have a Rose Parade TV special to wake up to — it will almost be just like a New Year’s Day of the past. And, as insignificant as the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game are in the face of the destruction caused by the pandemic, echoing Miller’s words, after the devastating year we’ve been through, it is reassuring to see something familiar and normal. That, indeed, would be a gift to Pasadena and the world.          

An Expanded Chinese Garden Opens at The Huntington

/ May S Ruiz / Leave a comment

Originally published on 8 October 2020 in the Pasadena Independent, Arcadia Weekly, and Monrovia Weekly

 
The Stargazing Tower, one of the new pavilions in the expanded section of the Chinese Garden. The Stargazing Tower offers sweeping views of the lake and garden below and of the ‘borrowed landscape’ beyond, including the San Gabriel Mountains and Mount Wilson Observatory, which inspired the pavilion’s name. | Photo by Beth Coller / The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

To say that it took a village and a few decades to create the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Garden’s Liu Fang Yuan (the Garden of Flowing Fragrance) wouldn’t be an exaggeration. And we’ll have the opportunity to see the completed project and revel in all the pleasures within when the expanded Chinese Garden opens on Oct. 9, 2020. And what a treat it will be!   

Enjoy the arrival of fall meandering along lush landscapes, magnificent pavilions, and new attractions. Spread on 15 acres of land, 12 acres of which comprise a central garden, it features a bamboo grove on its western edge and a conifer forest to the north, making it one of the largest classical-style Chinese gardens in the world.

The Stargazing Tower is the perfect vantage point from which to view the gorgeous landscape below and the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains in the distance. This 527-square-foot pavilion is situated on the highest point in the garden at the southern end of the lake and evokes the Mount Wilson Observatory, which is visible from the tower, and the work of astronomer Edwin Hubble, whose papers are part of the Library’s holdings in the history of science.

Visit The Verdant Microcosm, the 17,900-square-foot area on the western slope of the garden designed for the study, creation, and display of penjing (miniature potted landscapes, similar to Japanese bonsai).

Take a breather at the aptly called Reflections in the Stream and Fragrance of Orchids Pavilion, which is shaded by mature California oaks near a gently flowing stream. The name of this 308-square-foot pavilion brings to mind the legendary gathering of poets at the Orchid Pavilion in Shaoxing in 353, immortalized by the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi, who wrote the preface to the collected poems.

Wander into the Courtyard of Assembled Worthies, a large patio paved with intricate pebble mosaics which links the existing Clear and Transcendent pavilion on the north side of the lake – the frequent site of concerts and performances – with the new exhibition complex.

Mature oaks frame a view of the Courtyard of Assembled Worthies and the Flowery Brush Library, two of the new features in the expanded Chinese Garden. | Photo by Aric Allen / The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

As you would correctly surmise, all these wonders are the culmination of the yearslong work of countless experts and contributions from numerous individuals. In a pretaped interview, Phillip E. Bloom, June and Simon K.C. Li curator of the Chinese Garden and director of the Center for East Asian Studies, expands on what went into the garden’s creation.

Bloom reveals, “The idea for the Chinese Garden came about more than 20 years ago when Jim Folsom, the Telleen/Jorgensen director of the Botanical Gardens, began conceiving of a garden where he would showcase common American garden plants that are actually Chinese in origin. But as he learned about what a Chinese garden is and how it typically incorporates architecture, calligraphy, poetry, sometimes even painting, he began to understand that having plants alone would never be sufficient.

“It was a cross-cultural effort which began with The Huntington collaborating with Chinese American designers in the San Gabriel Valley in the late 1990s. In the early 2000s, we began working with a design firm in China. Since 2004 we also worked with a construction company based in Suzhou, China to build the actual garden which was done in three phases – from 2004-2008; 2012-2014; 2018-2020. The completion of the project took over two decades, involved more than 2,200 donors, probably over 150 artisans from China, innumerable subcontractors and laborers from the U.S., as well as 150 docents, and two or three different curators.

“On the construction aspect, at any one time, there typically were three or more languages being spoken – English, Mexican Spanish, Mandarin, and the Suzhou dialect. The workers had to learn to collaborate with each other despite their linguistic differences so there tended to be a lot of sign language being used on site.”

Bloom discloses further, “The Chinese American community played a major role in its creation. Before there was even a design for the Liu Fang Yuan, Jim initially consulted with the Chinese American community to understand, first of all, what a Chinese garden is and, more importantly, how it can serve the area around it. In the 1980s, the population of San Marino changed quite dramatically; today 70 percent of its population is of Chinese American descent. So it became imperative for The Huntington to create a garden that would be meaningful to the people who live in the area.

“Subsequently, these residents have become supporters either as donors, docents, or members of The Huntington. Many of them come to the garden every single day for their morning walk. It has also become a vital educational space. Students from various school districts in the San Gabriel Valley frequently come to the garden to learn about Chinese culture and how it is being adapted in an American context, to see examples of Chinese art which we feature periodically in the garden.”

World in a Wine Pot, one of the architectural features within the Verdant Microcosm, the garden’s new penjing complex.The Chinese art of penjing is similar to Japanese bonsai. | Photo by Beth Coller / The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

As to what sets the Liu Fang Yuan apart and makes it noteworthy, Bloom explains, “Physically, the garden is unique because of its site. Southern California has a relatively dry climate so they had to plant it quite differently from what is typically done in Suzhou. It has also been adapted to local building and audience requirements. The garden itself, although it looks traditional, was designed to be able respond to its environment – the buildings are earthquake-resistant – and the needs of an American public – they are wheelchair- and stroller-accessible.

“Additionally, we have chosen to include an art gallery and a reproduction of a Ming Dynasty scholar’s studio. Through these spaces, we’ll be able to engage in exciting cultural activities and public educational programs. Eventually, students can come in to the studio and pick up a calligraphy brush and experience pre-modern scholar lifestyle.

“Most importantly, through the Center for East Asian Garden Studies, we’re able to offer a monthly lecture series on East Asian garden history, mount exhibitions periodically that bring art into dialogue with the garden, stawge performances directly from China as well as other places in the United States occasionally to perform traditional music as well as modern adaptions of such. There is no garden – to my knowledge – anywhere in China that is supported with scholarly and public programming.”

Liu Fang Yuan plays a significant role in promoting understanding and appreciation of East Asian garden culture, according to Bloom. He elucidates, “Our programming allows Americans to better understand East Asian garden culture and Chinese Americans to have a different perspective to learn about their own culture from scholars. Every month we have a lecture on East Asian garden history. Periodically we hold concerts, we bring artists, through an artist residency program, we actually create artwork in the gardens.

“Our initial exhibition, called ‘A Garden of Words,’ displays the original works of calligraphy we used to create the name placards on the buildings and scenic features and poetic couplets throughout the garden. Before any of these Chinese inscriptions were written on wood, stone, or tile, they existed as works on paper created by about 35 different contemporary artists from around the world, including China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the U.S., and the U.K.

“At the same time, the garden itself functions remarkably well as a place of cross-cultural understanding with the scholar’s studio – where people can sit and try to do calligraphy or play the guqin – and art gallery and where we’ll have exhibitions that will provide an artistic perspective on Chinese garden culture. In the western expansion we created a massive, new penjing court where people would be able to compare Chinese penjing and Japanese bonsai.

View of the Lake of Reflected Fragrance, showing some of the original features that opened in 2008 (l–r): the Pavilion of the Three Friends, the Jade Ribbon Bridge, and the Hall of the Jade Camellia. In the foreground is the Bridge of the Joy of Fish. | Photo by Martha Benedict / The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

A press release issued by The Huntington’s Communications Office describes the indoor spaces, which Bloom mentions, to open later: The art gallery, Studio for Lodging the Mind, a 1,720-square-foot climate- and light-controlled building at the northern end of the garden that will showcase changing exhibitions of Chinese artworks, both contemporary and historical. The gallery’s inaugural exhibition will feature ‘A Garden of Words: The Calligraphy of Liu Fang Yuan,’ will open in May 2021.

There’s the Flowery Brush Library adjacent to the gallery, a hall designed in the style of a scholar’s studio –a garden retreat traditionally used to create paintings and calligraphy. Also in this north section is a new casual restaurant with outdoor seating, known as the Pavilion Encircled by Jade. And a large open space overlooking the lake, the Terrace of Shared Delights, will be used for banquets, festivals, and other gatherings.

Cultural programming slated to coincide with the opening will include a virtual screening of the video ‘Fragrant Rhythms: The Seasons of Liu Fan Yuan’ by artist Tang Qingnian, on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 4 p.m. The video was produced during Tang’s residency as the Cheng Family Visiting Artist in 2019. The screening will be followed by a conversation with the artist and soundtrack musicians Wu Man (who composed the score) on the pipa (lute) and Kojiro Umezaki on the shakuhachi (bamboo flute). Presented on the Zoom videoconferencing platform, the screening is free with reservations, available at huntington.org/calendar.

Online lectures related to the opening will include: ‘The Pleasures of Chinese Gardens’ by curator Phillip E. Bloom on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 4 p.m., and ‘The Past and Future of The Huntington’s Asian Gardens’ by James Folsom, on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 4 p.m.

In addition, a special display of orchids throughout the Chinese Garden will celebrate the debut of the expanded features. Many of the flowers will be drawn from The Huntington’s own extensive orchid collections, supplemented by blooms from local orchid societies and commercial exhibitors. The display is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 16–18.

After being confined indoors for seven months remote learning and working from home, we’re longing to finally see what’s out there. An outing to Liu Fang Yuan fits the bill perfectly!