The highly-anticipated 2012 Cal Phil Festival on the Green concert series, presented by Westfield Santa Anita, is gaining momentum and nearing the homestretch of its official start at its new summer home Santa Anita Race Track.
Gates open to the spectacular new season on June 30, 2012, with a phenomenal concert experience taking place every other Saturday evening throughout the summer at what is destined to become Southern California’s premiere outdoor concert venue.

To purchase tickets for Festival on the Green at Santa Anita Race Track, call 626.300.8200 or visit www.calphil.org.

Table and lawn seating is on the plush green grass of the renovated infield (not in the grandstands) with the area’s best unobstructed view of the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains, making Santa Anita Race Track the perfect backdrop to the one-of-a-kind concerts performed by Cal Phil.
Among Santa Anita Race Track’s many amenities that will enhance the Festival on the Green experience are ample and convenient onsite parking adjacent to the infield, plentiful permanent restrooms, jumbo video screens, full bars offering not only beer and wine but premium spirits, numerous gourmet food options and corporate BBQ pits for pre-party festivities.
Gates open at 5:30 p.m. for pre-concert family-friendly activities and live jazz. The concert begins at 8 p.m.

Cal Phil Sunday matinee performances will continue at the incomparable Walt Disney Concert Hall, known for its acoustic superiority. Performances begin at 2 p.m. with a complimentary with ticket price pre-concert Talk with The Maestro at 1 p.m.

The 2012 Cal Phil Festival on the Green at Santa Anita Race Track and Cal Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall schedules are as follows:

Let The Festival Begin!
Saturday – June 30, 2012
Sunday – July 1, 2012

Kicking off the first concert of its 16th season with a bang, the world class orchestra is joined by the platinum selling USC Trojan Marching Band, The Spirit of Troy. But that’s only the beginning…because it’s an extra-Ordinary Day when A Thousand Miles pop sensation and three time Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Vanessa Carlton also performs alongside the orchestra. Cal Phil will also captivate the audience with such classical masterpieces as Copland’s Rodeo and Respighi’s Pines of Rome.

The Association
Saturday –July 14, 2012
Sunday – July 15, 2012

The Association, the original world renowned band that brought us such classic hits as “Cherish,” “Windy,” and “Never My Love,” joins Cal Phil and its esteemed Maestro Victor Vener for the second concert of the summer season. Audiences of all ages will revel in this rare opportunity to rock with one of the greatest bands to come out of the ‘60’s along with one of the Southland’s most acclaimed orchestra’s of today. This one-of-a-kind concert also the features the heralded orchestra performing such revolutionary classical masterpieces as Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz and Don Juan by Strauss.

Center Stage
Saturday – July 28, 2012
Sunday – July 29, 2012

Joining Cal Phil and Maestro Victor Vener center stage during the third concert of the 2012 season are the multi-talented Kristi Holden from Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular and David Burnham who recently starred in Wicked on Broadway. Cal Phil concert goers will be transported by beautiful voices backed by beloved music from such renowned musicals as Phantom of the Opera, King & I, Carousel and Sweeny Todd. Also on the bill, world renowned touring piano virtuoso Gayle Martin Henry, the sole American laureate of the sixth International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, performing Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.

Carmen on Broadway
Saturday – August 11, 2012
Sunday – August 12, 2012

Carmen on Broadway is Cal Phil’s effusive nod to some of the greatest musicals in history including Carmen, West Side Story, Man of La Mancha, Beauty & The Beast, Lion King and Les Miz. Hitting every note during this thrilling and entertaining concert are world renowned powerful featured guests including Bass Baritone Cedric Berry and opera stars Sandra Rubalcava and Christopher Bengochea. Also performing during this fourth concert of the season is 2010 Cal Phil Young Artist Award Winner Emily Dyer and the phenomenal Cal Phil Chorale under the direction Maestra Marya Basaraba.

Beethoven and John Williams
Saturday –August 25, 2012
Sunday – August 26, 2012

The Cal Phil season finale features music from two legendary composers who have left their undeniable stamp on the world of music, Beethoven, arguably the greatest classical composer of all time and John Williams, revered composer of more than 100 feature films. Spectacular music on the bill includes Beethoven: Ode to Joy from Symphony No. 9 and popular scores from Star Wars, Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Saving Private Ryan and Amistad. The world class orchestra and Cal Phil Chorale are joined by a highly talented quartet of up and coming young talent Emily Dyer, Danielle Bond, Ashley Faatoalia and Ben Lowe, this year’s Cal Phil Young Artist Award recipients.

To purchase tickets for Festival on the Green at Santa Anita Race Track, call 626.300.8200 or visit www.calphil.org.

Tickets for Walt Disney Concert Hall are available for purchase through Ticketmaster at 800.745.3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

About 400 lawn bowlers from all over the world began competing in the Southwest Division Open tournament Saturday at the Santa Anita Bowling Green Club on the east side of the County’s Arcadia Park, 405 S. Santa Anita Ave.

Ryan Neptune from Laguna  Liam Courtney of Monrovia won first place in the top flight competition.

Competition in multiple categories will continue through Thursday with bowlers vying for points that may put them in the national championship, which will be hosted here by the Santa Anita Bowling Green Club in 2013. The club is celebrating 75 years in Arcadia this year.

Monday and Tuesday the men play what is called “Rinks/Fours,” in which four players each use only two bowls (the irregularly-shaped balls). The women will play singles Monday and Tuesday. Thursday will feature men’s singles and women’s pairs.

Slamminsliders gourmet Food Truck is scheduled to be in the parking lot Monday – Wednesday from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
<Story continues below following 90-second video highlights from Sunday Lawn Bowling.>

Another big tournament – the Men’s U.S. Singles & Pairs Playdowns – will be hosted by the club Saturday and Sunday June 6 & 7 to determine who gets to go to the U.S. National Tournament. Those winners are often asked to be on an international team.

The Santa Anita Club is considered to have some of the premier greens in the country. As one of only two clubs in the country with four greens, it is a popular site for tournaments. Another unique feature of the Santa Anita lawn bowling are lights on two of the greens, allowing bowling in the evening. Beginning Tuesday, May 8, Santa Anita will have social bowling at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, as well 8:30 a.m. Saturday mornings. In July and August BBQ is offered before each Thursday evening bowling.

Lawn bowling is a low-impact, low-cost sport with no age or skill requirement. The American Heart Association has recommended lawn bowling as a positive aid to maintaining a healthy heart.

Learn more at Santa Anita Lawn Bowling’s Facebook page or send schedule a free lesson on the first and third Saturday mornings.by sending an e-mail to lawnbowling4U@yahoo.com.

– By Scott Hettrick

The episode of AMC’s “Mad Men” that was filmed at Rod’s Grill on Huntington Drive last October was featured this past week on the network.

An extensive amount of footage at Rod’s is featured in this season’s episode called “Far Away Places,” in which star Jon Hamm’s Don Draper character is featured in a tense discussion with his TV wife Megan (Jessica Pare) at a Howard Johnson’s motor lodge — motel and restaurant.

Many minutes of the episode takes place inside Rod’s from the entry area to the counter to the booth in which Don and Megan sit and eat before Don leaves angrily. There are more scenes later in the entry and near the restrooms when Don returns to the restaurant looking for Megan.

In Hollywood fashion, several scenes that take place immediately outside the Howard Johnson’s in the parking lot were shot elsewhere by an actual orange-roofed Howard Johnson’s building.

Rod’s is frequently used for filming locations, including the recent HBO series “Luck,” for which a mild earthquake took place as stars of that series were eating at the diner.

Rod’s Grill was closed for three days last October when “Mad Men” was shooting there. Rod’s owner Manny Ramirez said that there are downsides to allowing such filming at his diner. His employees potentially lose pay and he can alienate and potentially lose his regular customers, some of whom eat two or three meals at Rod’s every day. To compensate Manny and allow him to pay his employees their regular salary without working, Manny says TV production companies pay him as much as $10,000.

– By Scott Hettrick 

The first-ever flash mob of 100 dancers at historic Santa Anita horse race track broke out without warning in a choreographed routine amidst an estimated crowd of 15,000 Saturday afternoon who were moved from initial wide-eyed surprise to big smiles and ultimately a strong round of applause.

<Story continues below the following 2 1/2-minute video of the flash mob… — also see more videos posted by others at bottom of this story>

Ricky Sun, center, with some flash mob dancers

Dancing to choreography by dancer/instructor Ricky Sun and Evoke Dance Group, amateur volunteer dancers from age five to 75 recruited by the Chamber suddenly appeared at the foot of the grandstands wearing purple shirts sponsored by Walgreens of Arcadia on Foothill Blvd with giant Relay for Life wording. Nearly 20 Evoke dancers, a group of recent Arcadia High School graduates founded by Jeniffer Hsu, Justine Hsu, and Josephine Lau who had quietly led a half-dozen instructional classes over the last month for dozens of volunteers at a studio space donated by 1999 AHS grad Kelly Huang at Arcadia Fitness Sports Club,  were the first to burst into the crowd and begin dancing and catch the eye of the crowd and and viewers who saw them live on the giant HD screen.

Justine and Jeniffer Hsu, and Josephine Lau of Evoke Dance Group

Seconds later a group of about 30 other dancers dressed incognito and sitting on the next terraced level between the grandstands and the track shed their outer garments to reveal their purple shirts and exhuberantly join the dance. Likewise, a few seconds later, another 30 dancers led by Sun, a former contestant on the TV show “So You Think You Can Dance,” who has also been teaching the flash mob routine to his dance students and others, joined the routine on the third terrace level. Finally, about 20 dancers emerged from an underground track-side stairway to complete the group.

Dozens of Arcadia school students of all ages participated, thanks to the word being spread quietly by Arcadia High School dance supervisor Liza Tedford to instructors at every school, including Foothills Middle School dance coach Marissa Lluch, who recruited many participants.

Giant HD video screen graphic created by Chamber member Jerry Dominguez of Printing Control

Likewise, word was spread among Relay for Life teams by volunteer Relay organizers Carter Spruill of the Arcadia School District and Beth Goldberg of Walgreens.

The entire group met and rehearsed together for the first time just two hours before show time in the secluded “Top o’ the Stretch” area at the far end of the grandstands.

Chamber members participated and recruited friends and family, such as board member Joan Francone’s friend Stacey Martinez, who brought about 30 students from her Dance Family Studio in Pasadena. Other Chamber members not only mustered the courage to perform their first public dance but also showed additional support in other ways, such as Jerry Dominguez, whose Printing Control company created the graphic shown on the giant video board following the flash mob as legendary track announcer Trevor Denman thanked the Chamber, Ricky Sun, and Evoke Dance Group whole alerting the crowd to the June 23-24 Relay for Life event.

About two-dozen employees at Santa Anita sported the purple shirts and danced along with the flash mob from their posts at various locations throughout the track, some while watching on TV monitors.

That secret coordination of announcements and logistics at the track — designating space to meet before the race, donating 15 cases of bottled water and ice, providing parking and admission passes and signage for participants and their families — was coordinated by event coordinator Elizabeth Booth with generous approvals and assistance by marketing executives Chris Quinn and Nate Newby, and coverage of the event by three stadium TV cameras handled by HRTV‘s Amy Zimmerman.

Also providing video camera coverage was Frank Krueger, and Monrovia’s community cable channel KGEM-TV, thanks to Lance Mungler and Steve Whisler.

– By Scott Hettrick

About 400 lawn bowlers from all over the world are expected to attend the Southwest Division Open tournament beginning at 9 a.m. daily from April 28 – May 3 at the Santa Anita Bowling Green Club on the east side of the County’s Arcadia Park, 405 S. Santa Anita Ave.

Gourmet food trucks will be on hand in the parking to serve bowlers and observers at nearby picnic tables during lunch time 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

• Saturday, April 28: Komodo, Flying Pig, Rounds Burger Truck
• Sunday, April 29: Slamminsliders, No Tomatoes, Rounds Burger Truck
• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, April 30, May 1, May 2: Slamminsliders

Some of the top men and women bowlers in the country will be competing in this prestigious tournament at the Santa Anita Bowling Green Club, which is celebrating 75 years in Arcadia this year.

The Santa Anita Club is considered to have some of the premier greens in the country. As one of only two clubs in the country with four greens, it is a popular site for tournaments. Another unique feature of the Santa Anita lawn bowling are lights on two of the greens, allowing bowling in the evening. Beginning in May, Santa Anita will have social bowling on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, as well Saturday morning.

Lawn bowling is a low-impact, low-cost sport with no age or skill requirement. The American Heart Association has recommended lawn bowling as a positive aid to maintaining a healthy heart.

Learn more at Santa Anita Lawn Bowling’s Facebook page or send schedule a free lesson on the first and third Saturday mornings.by sending an e-mail to lawnbowling4U@yahoo.com.

– By Scott Hettrick