Improvement association meets in Hacienda Heights

The Hacienda Heights Improvement Association will hold it Annual Business Meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 21 in the new Hacienda Heights Community Center at 1234 Valencia Ave., Heights. 

Reports for events of 2014 will be presented by the officers and chairs of the Association Committees.  The highlight of the evening is the counting of ballots for candidates to fill six vacancies on the Board of Directors.  

Doors open at 6 pm and the meeting will begin at 6:30 pm. Refreshments will be served. 

In the event members did not mail their ballots, they may bring them to the meeting.  The meeting is open to all residents of Hacienda Heights.  

For further information please call Mike Williams, Chair Public Relations, at 626-536-3407

Hacienda Heights Community Center has family Christmas

The new Hacienda Heights Community Center will hold a family Christmas party on Dec. 10. The holiday event is sponsored by the L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation as well as the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Lowes.

Beginning at 11 a.m., children will enjoy food, music, games and soccer. There will also be magic tricks by Pun and Alex Thal.

A special screeing of “How to Train Your Dragon 2” will be shown at 1 p.m. , courtesy of DreamWorks Animation.

The Make A Wish Foundation will bring 100 children to the fun. Registration begins at 10 a.m. At 3 p.m., Santa will stop by to distribute toys to the boys and girls.

The center is located at 1234 Valencia Ave. in Hacienda Heights. For more information, call 626-333-3250.

Hacienda Heights Community Center offers weeklong party

Hacienda Heights residents will celebrate the grand opening of the new $21 million community center with a week of special events and performances.

The fun begins 11 a.m. Saturday with the dedication by Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe and civic leaders. Residents will be able to tour the amazing center at 1234 Valencia Ave., just off Turnbull Canyon Road.

Then Hacienda Height’s own Grammy Award winning Mariachi Divas will perform on the outdoor stage from noon to 2 p.m. Founder Cindy Shea lives just down the street.

Residents will enjoy a free lunch from local Mexican, Hawaiian and pizza restaurants. Children will be entertained with many games and face painting.

“It’ll be a great day for the community to come out and celebrate with us,” said the center’s new director Susan Brown with the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation.

On Saturday night, a dinner dance will serve as the inaugural ball. The cost is $10 for an Italian dinner of pasta and salad. Couples 21 and older can then dance to a live band.

On Sunday, everyone can kick up their heels at the big country Western barbecue and dance from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“We’ll have activities for cowboys of all ages. Live entertainment by Del Rio, a mechanical bull, games and face painting,” Brown bragged.

For $7, residents can enjoy a Western BBQ of chicken and ribs. Then they can work off the extra pounds by learning how to square dance and line dance in the center.

On Monday, a community showcase will take to the new stage from 6 to 8 p.m. Brown said the center has scheduled the Ballet Folklorico and hula dancers, as well as a guitar class to perform.

Trio Ellas will perform from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday. The three women combine traditional mariachi, romantic boleros, bluegrass and rock. Their Latin Pop album “Noches Angelinas” was nominated for a Grammy Award. The concert is free, but seating is limited in the 500-seat auditorium.

Thank you, thank you very much. Elvis takes the stage in a tribute concert on Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets are only $5.

“We looked months to find some great acts,” Brown explained. “And David Hoover puts on a great Elvis show.”

Kids rule the night on Halloween. A free Halloween carnival will take over the lush grounds with lots of games and entertainment.

But beware, maties! Pirates will battle on the outdoor stage at 6 p.m. The award winning pirate troupe specializes in action and comedy with sword fighting, pistols and breakaway bottles.

“I’m friends with Ted Shred, an actor and stunt coordinator who started the group with nine other pirate enthusiasts,” Brown said. “They put on a great show.”

Then families will move inside the auditorium to see Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” until 9 p.m.

On Nov. 1, the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District moves into the community center for a district wide open house from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The local school district provided the land for the new community center.

“The district is excited about the ongoing partnership we have with the county,” said School Superintendent Cindy Parulan-Colfer.

She said the open house will feature performances by musical groups from many of the local schools. Each school will also have a booth.

The weeklong celebration concludes that evening with a production by the STC Foundation and Dance Impressions.

“They’ll perform a colorful variety of Chinese dances, including the lion and dragon dance,” Brown said. “I’m not sure how much they will be charging at the door, but it will be worth it.”

 

 

New Hacienda Heights Community Center blends beauty, utility

New Hacienda Heights Community Center blends beauty with utility.

New Hacienda Heights Community Center blends beauty with utility.

By Richard Irwin, Staff Writer

The new Hacienda Heights Community Center is an amazing place. And its beauty isn’t just skin deep. The $21 million edifice has been designed to serve multiple uses.

“That’s what I like best about the new community center, it can do so many things for so many different groups,” agreed Joe Mendoza, Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation deputy director.

The center sits on Turnbull Canyon Road. Hacienda La Puente Unified provided seven acres at the old Hillgrove Elementary School.

“The district is excited about the ongoing partnership we have with the county,” said School Superintendent Cindy Parulan-Colfer.

She said the new community center will showcase many school events and performances, including the district’s big open house on Nov. 1.

Next week, the spotlight will shine on what Mendoza calls “the granddaddy” of community centers. The 21,000 square-foot-center has its grand opening 11 a.m. Oct. 25.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe has been a longtime supporter of the project.

“This is one of the rare times that the actual building is even more impressive than the architect’s renderings,” Knabe said. “I love the flexibility in the design. At the community input meetings, everyone wanted the center to be as flexible as possible, and I’ve think we’ve done that with the new center.”

Visitors will discover a visually stunning structure rising from lush landscaping. The three-story high auditorium pulls the eye up to the cantilevered roof front.

Theater patrons will be impressed with the 6,400 square foot auditorium. Center Director Susan Brown demonstrated how the plush stadium seating automatically retracts into the back wall.

“This allows us to use the space for banquets and conferences,” Mendoza pointed out. “We can even divide the auditorium into three separate rooms with folding partitions.”

Read more in Rich Irwin’s story CENTER.