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Our June event was a fitting finale to our historic 110^th Season and it vividly demonstrated what makes our club so unique: a distinctive and beautifully curated exhibit of works by an extraordinary ceramic artist, Keiko Fukazawa, and a thrilling performance of opera and Broadway favorites by soprano Lisa Christine Thelen.

Kudos to our Visual Arts Exhibits Chair, Jo Butcher, for another exceptional exhibit, and to Performing Arts Program Chair James Stauffer for successfully scouting our such outstanding musical talent. Our thanks also to all those whose efforts have contributed to making Season 110 such a success – the officers, chairs, committee members, and volunteers who have made the club such a remarkable and enduring organization.

We wish all of you a great summer, filled with family, friends, and enjoyment. We look forward to seeing you in October at our first meeting of our 111^thSeason!

P. S. Please make note of the dates above and mark your calendar so you can be sure to join us for every event – you won’t want to miss a moment!

Our Annual Awards Event is always a highlight of the Club’s season, and this year was a perfect demonstration of just why that is. Three extraordinary young artists shared their talents with us and provided in-person evidence of why our Club’s mission is so important.

Visual Arts Awards chair Paige Peter presented two artists and their works: Ava Weisberg, whose deeply felt connection with the City of Los Angeles is evident is much of her work; and Claire Richards, a mixed-media artist exploring the distortion of language, ownership, and identity in her work Pirate Babble.

Our Performing Arts Award winner, Keilani Bolhuis, now holds two of this year’s honors since she was also named our scholarship winner in February. She delighted the attendees of our event with a diverse program that proved why she deserves both honors: accompanied by two different pianists in a program that ranged from Bach to a song popularized by many great 20^th century vocalists (including Billie Holiday), Keilani proved that she is a star on the ascendant.

The evening also included a well-deserved recognition of Mary Cronin, our previous chair of Performing Arts Programs, for her years of dedicated service in arranging for the extraordinary musical performances that have so distinguished our Club’s gatherings over recent years. A wholehearted Brava to Mary!

Our February dinner meeting turned into a vital celebration of artistry in its many forms,despite discouraging weather forecasts earlier in the day.

The evening began as members and guests entered the Athenaeum to be greeted by the striking works of furniture craftsman, designer, and all-around artist Christopher Grant Ward. Ward’s impressive and lyrically designed Idyllia doors capture the daily passage of time from sunrise to moonrise, reflecting, like so much of Ward’s work, how he takes his inspiration from nature. Many of the pieces exhibited were part of Ward’s design room exhibit at the 2023 Pasadena Showcase House.

The musical performances of the evening were a celebration of young performing artists in our Southern California community. First, Keilani Bolhuis, our 2024 recipient of the Roman Andrew Borek Endowed Scholarship, performed and captured the audience with her grace and maturity at the violin. Then the audience was treated to an enthusiastic performance of several traditional and contemporary numbers by the fourteen members of the Mariachi Diamante de Downey. Such youthful energy was a great way to start our 2024 programs!