Come “shop and schmooze” from 10 AM-4 PM to look over their stock of unique, handmade items, from fine art to clothing and items for Jewish occasions (challa covers, talitot, and kippot, among other items).

Proceeds benefit the Sisterhood of PJTC.

Kids can get an early start on Thanksgiving at Farnsworth Park’s turkey shoot on Tues., Nov. 20.

There will be arts and crafts, games, a free goody bag, and a chance to win a free turkey (they’re a little vague on what the “turkey shoot” will be, but we doubt it’s a real turkey, or real shooting!)  It all starts at 4 PM at Farnsworth Park.

Some things to look forward to this weekend:

from the Altadena Sheriff's Station

Halloween is meant to be a special treat for children and adults alike, but many of its hallmarks, costumes and decorations pose fire, safety and other accident hazards. Altadena Sheriff's Station, Pasadena Police Department, Fire and Public Health Officials offer the following tips and reminders to help all witches,

Jane Szabo’s picture of Hooty along Canyon Crest, after he was restored in January 2012. Hooty has since been pried off the sign and is missing.

by Timothy Rutt

What have they got against Hooty?

The handcrafted “Hooty” sign that welcomes all to the Meadows neighborhood on Canyon Crest has gone missing, the victim — again — of vandals.

Meadows resident Jane Szabo’s sign (which is really Woodsy Owl,

from gloriana casey

Now HOOTY is a lovely owl,
although he’s not alive.
He’s made of wood to guard the goods,
to help our forest thrive!

NEFARIOUS has struck again,
or maybe Voldemort.
An enemy of Common Good
and we don’t like that sort!,

Jane Szabo, please do not give up,
make HOOTY live again!
For we will find the criminal,

Just some of the things going on for the holiday, starting today!….

Altadena Main Library: on Tues., Oct. 30, the main library at 600 E. Mariposa St. will host its annual family Halloween and Día de los Muertos Celebration at 4 p.m. Activities include construction paper jack o’ lanterns, puppets, Mexican paper flowers, and sugar-skull decorating. Admission is free.

Bob Lucas Branch Library, 2659 N. Lincoln Ave. will have a Halloween day activity:  make your own haunted gingerbread house using graham crackers,

Cherie Mercer Twohy received her Professional Culinary Arts diploma from the California School of Culinary Arts. She is the author of the I Love Trader Joe’s Cookbook, I Love Trader Joe’s Party Cookbook and the I Love Trader Joe’s  Around the World Cookbook.

She will present her talk at the Altadena Library Community Room,  

Yes, we know the goblins are coming out tonight, but it pays to think ahead: Christmas!

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church is again taking orders for Christmas trees now through Nov. 11 for Dec. 8 pickup or delivery.

Douglas, Noble, and Grand Firs are available, priced according to size (see graphic for details).  Trees can be ordered online at http://www.saintmarkschristmastrees.org/

Pickup is from 8-noon on Dec.

According to Elliot Gold of ACONA, the topics for the meeting include traffic issues in Altadena (with a guest from the California Highway Patrol), and fire safety.

The meeting will be at the Altadena Main Library, 600 E. Mariposa St. 

And reader Karen TenEyck points us to this 360 degree panorama shot of the Braeburn Haunt, courtesy of actor/photographer Carel Struycken.

Photo of Dia de los Muertos sugar skulls from Calicachica at the Altadena Farmers’ Market this afternoon.

UPDATE:  Lots of cute kids out there tonight!  

by Carolyn Seitz

Southern California Edison's local community liaison just let me know that there will be a power outage in Altadena tomorrow (Thurs., Nov. 1).

Because of a deteriorating power pole at 1955 Roosevelt Avenue and the need to bring in a crane to set the pole, power in the surrounding area will be out around 8 am,

Document verification will be on Nov. 10 and Dec. 8, from 10:30 AM-noon at lower Farnsworth Park Field, Concha St. and Lake Avenue.  Mandatory tryouts for Bantam-Mountain level playsers will be in January.

Click on the graphic for more details.

Seems like every teenager in the San Gabriel Valley (and lots of parents, too) were at the Braeburn Road Halloween haunt.  A large crowd made it look like Mardi Gras, only spookier,  We have pictures after the jump.

The Latin holiday Dia de los Muertos, coming during the Halloween/All Souls’ Day period, is a time to honor the dead.  On Friday night, El Patron Mexican Restaurant, 2555 N. Lake Avenue, will host three traditional altars outside the restaurant.

The power behind it is Stephanie Pinto, whose company Calacachica (Skull Girl) makes traditional sugar skulls for crafting and teaches local schools how to build Dia de los Muertos altars.  

The Pasadena Waldorf High School will have an open house on Sat., Nov. 3, for prospective 9th and 10th grade students.

The open house will be at the  Pasadena Waldorf High School on the campus of William Carey International University, 1559 E. Howard St., Pasadena.

 No reservation is necessary. 

The holiday kick-off is an opportunity to shop Ten Thousand Villages Pasadena’s unique handmade holiday gifts and decorations, and the abundance of fair trade jewelry,

Altadena’s 125th Birthday Bash is coming up Saturday, and for something that was drummed up on short notice, it promises to be memorable!

Starting with a small group of determined women, — Michele Zack of Altadena Heritage, Jane Brackman of the Altadena Historical Society, Monica Hubbard, and Sussy Nemer, field deputy for Supv. Michael D. Antonovich — the bash has grown to be a full celebration of Altadena’s history,

The Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy (AFC) and its docents are leading hikes for the public across gorgeous terrain the conservancy is working to preserve in Millard Canyon. The hikes will be held on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 9 AM, and Saturday, Nov. 17 at 9 AM.

The conservancy needs to raise an additional $29,000 for the project by Nov. 15. So far it has raised about $646,000,

The Fork in the Road will be the site of a food drive this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 10 and 11.

The now-annual event will be part of the “Put the Fork in Hunger” effort by Bob Stane and Ken Marshall of the Coffee Gallery Backstage, Phllip A. Coombes, and The Fork Foundation.

Present the attached flyer and 20% of your purchase will be donated to the PTA.

The Eliot Student Jazz Band performs at 3 PM and student art will be on exhibit during the entire month of November in the Coffee Gallery’s Conference Room.

Fancy Food Truck Friday is coming this week to the Webster’s parking lot, with the opportunity to helpd out a child in need for the holidays.

Webster’s Community Pharmacy is the official Altadena Toys for Tots drop-off center, and you can start that day by putting an unwrapped toy in the box by the pharmacy’s table.  In return, you’ll receive a coupon worth 25% off through Nov. 24  (offer not valid with other coupons,

• College preparatory services available: The City of Pasadena’s La Pintoresca Teen Education Center has partnered with the Pasadena City College TRIO Academic Talent Search program to provide college preparatory services to high school students. The TRIO Educational Talent Search program prepares students to attend the college of their choice by offering small group academic advisement, college counseling, college application assistance, ACT/SAT preparation, college tours, financial aid and scholarship assistance, study and life skills workshops and tutoring.

Stevens’ art reflects a mixture of music, the environment and space. His work if often captured by his inspiration from other artists, such as George Lucus, Stephen Spielberg and Santiago Calatrava. Steven’s detailed images transfer from mind to sketchbook and then are transformed to in-depth works of art. What makes his work unique and inspiring is his love of music and keen imagination.

Currently (3:45 PM) there’s a rescue going on at Eaton Canyon: Altadena Sheriff Station says that two hikers, male and female both age 20, are stranded on a cliff.  Air 5 has them currently and will set them down in the parking lot.  No reports of injuries yet.

Altadena Heritage presents Altadena resident and frequent LA Times gardening writer Emily Green in a free waterwise gardening workshop on Wed., Nov. 7, at 7 PM at the Altadena Community Center, 730 E. Altadena Dr.

Green will look at ways to improve your parkway and other street-facing areas by curbing water runoff and using alternative landscaping in an effort to save water and reduce runoff pollution.

NATHA (Neighbors Acting Together Helping All) will his the 9th Annual Lincoln Village Festival "Function at the Junction" on Lincoln Avenue, between Montana and Idaho, on Sat., Nov. 10 from noon to 4 PM.  

"Function at the Junction" is a spectacular one-day event for all ages to taste great ethnic foods, live Jazz music,

Proof of residency (for all players) and age verification (for new players only) should be presented on Dec. 8 at Donley Field from 8:30 AM-1 PM.

East Altadena Little League is pleased to offer scholarships to allow any child a chance to play baseball or softball due to financial hardship.  Please inquire to registration@eall.org for scholarship information.

by Timothy Rutt

"I dreamt my lady came and found me dead  – and that's OK, she's dead, too."

Can forbidden love bloom between the undead and the walking dead?

Altadena-based MoonHill Productions (Richard Moon, now of the Altadena Town Council, and wife Junie Hildebrandt) have just released the trailer for their latest film,