HOLIDAY ADVENTURES IN LOS ANGELES

Greeters at the Swedish Fair at the Shrine Auditorium
Each year when our friends Mary and Linda plan with us for our Southern California adventures, the idea of going to the Swedish Fair comes up, along with a Christmas lunch at the Tam O Shanter Inn on Los Feliz Boulevard as it heads towards Glendale. This year, we did them both.
The Fair was great fun, and a lady even gave me a pepper-cookie. (In the good old USA, we call these ginger snaps. Little kids in Goteborg Sweden sing the cutest Christmas song about pepper cookies.)
At the Tam O Shater Inn, we all got to taste our pal Linda's winter mushroom soup - sooooo good, it was worth planning an invasion of Scotland for.
Kirsten of Copenhagen - Photo by Gerald Fecht for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley - December 2009
Kirsten Carr (Kristen of Copenhagen) once had a jewel of a shop in Tarzana. Then the great Northridge Earthquake of 1994 devastated her business. Can you imagine the damage done to a store full of crystal and china from Sweden and Denmark? My wife Janne and I went to her store to replace our Royal Copenhagen Christmas plates and have been friends and customers of Kirsten ever since. How much fun it was to see her with Jule' treasures today at the Chistmas Fair (Everybody calls it the Swedish Fair). Today Kirsten lives in Woodland Hills.

On the way home from the Fair, we stopped at Peter Shire's amazing art studio in Echo Park to watch neighborhood dogs having their pictures taken with Santa Claus. There was stunning pottery and of course Peter's world class sculptures. I hope you have seen Peter's NoHo Arch in North Hollywood on Lankershim Boulevard.

In the early evening, Janne and I returned into the city to stop by the Christmas Party of the AIDS Lifcycle organization. It was held at the Gay and Lesbian Center in Hollywood. There, aside from visiting with friends that we have made over the years as volunteers for Ride, we saw a fine show called Boxes Exposed by Dwora Fried. The exhibit of box sculptures runs through January 30. 1125 North McCadden Place in Hollywood.

BECOME PART OF YOUR MUSEUM COMMUNITY TODAY

Liane Schirmer, son and Peter Shire 2009 (click on image to enlarge)

Involvement with your Museum is an adventure. Being part of bringing about a real Museum for the San Fernando Valley is so rewarding! Here Liane Schirmer (chair of The Museum's Committee on Religion) introduces her son to the great California artist Peter Shire.
Start your Museum experience by joining Richard Hilton tomorrow morning at the Amelia Earhart statue in North Hollywood Park (Magnolia and Tujunga) at 10 am. In about 2 and 1/2 hours, you'll get hooked on San Fernando Valley history and lore. The walking tour is yours for a $10 donation, and the memories are free.

Join your Museum soon - telephone: 1 (818) 347-9665

BIG TURNOUT FOR SHIRE SCULPTURE LIGHTING IN THE NOHO

Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge presents sculptor Peter Shire with commendation at the lighting of his NoHo Arts District arch - 2009 - Photo in the archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley (click on image to enlarge)
Board Members of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley chat at the lighting of Peter Shire's sculpture arch. In red shirt is Richard Hilton (Director of Museum Tours) and Gary Fredburg (Secretary of The Museum's Board)
Gerald Fecht (President of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley) and Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge share the excitement of the NoHo Arts District's continuing success. Seated are Bruce Akerman (Economic Alliance and CRA) Alice Roth and Peter Shire
Crowd at the Shire Sculpture lighting.

PETER SHIRE LIGHTS UP THE NO HO

2009 The Year of Valley History
Peter Shire Sculpture Arch - NoHo Arts District 2009 (click on this image to enlarge) Photos by Gerald Fecht for the archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley



The San Fernando Valley, in the heart of the Creative Capital of the World, deserves a great Museum of history and culture

NO HO GETS A GREAT PETER SHIRE ARCH

Close up of Peter Shires No Ho Arch 2009 - Photo by Phyllis Hansen for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley


Close up of Peter Shire's No Ho Arch 2009 - Photo by Phyllis Hansen for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley (click on image to enlarge)

Phyllis Hansen, free lance author and member of the Board of your Museum, captured these two closeup images of Peter Shire's provocative new sculpture-arch for the NoHo Arts District. (Read more about Shire and Hansen on this blog)