🌱 Patch AM: How a new film captures Altadena’s Black arts after the Eaton Fire

Hi there, Altadena! We've got your morning read ready! Read on to stay connected. ☀️

In today's newsletter:

• How a new film captures Altadena’s Black arts after the Eaton Fire
• How Metro helped Eaton Fire survivors keep moving after losing everything
• What one Altadena artist’s loss reveals about saving fire-damaged art

Also on today's calendar: 2026 Mindful Start: Guided Meditation @ Altadena Library (January Sessions) and 5 more events.

Today's riddle: After dinner, my parents asked if I could clear the table. 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Thursday: Sunny and breezy, with a high of 60 and low of 44 degrees.
• Friday: Plenty of sunshine, temps: high: 64, low: 46.
• Saturday: Plenty of sunshine, with a high of 69 and low of 49 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. L.A. wildfire survivors' films premiere at festival in Cypress Park (theeastsiderla.com) — Altadena’s Black arts and cultural legacy, threatened by last year’s Eaton Fire, is the focus of a new short film premiering this weekend. Local stories like “Altadena: The Heart. The Art. The Soul” headline the Ashes to Films festival in Cypress Park, showcasing how wildfire survivors across L.A. are processing loss and rebuilding through filmmaking.
   

2. From crisis to connection: How fire-impacted riders moved forward with Metro (metro.net) — Altadena residents affected by the Eaton Fire are among thousands across Los Angeles County who turned to Metro’s LIFE program and new Emergency Mobility Wallets to stay mobile after losing homes and cars. The story follows fire survivors, including a former Altadena renter, as they rebuild routines using free transit passes, virtual transportation funds, and on-demand services that kept them connected to work, medical care, and family.
   

3. Artist Diana Thater Partners with Conservation Lab to Save Work Destroyed by Altadena Fire (artnews.com) — Altadena readers will recognize the trauma described as artist Diana Thater recounts losing her Altadena home, studio, and decades of work in last year’s fires. She’s now partnering with a new conservation lab to track down surviving tapes and digital files worldwide, highlighting how vulnerable media-based art—and artists’ archives in fire-prone communities like Altadena—remain without better preservation support.
   

4. Through Wildfire and Loss, the Music Plays On at This Pasadena Jazz Club (eater.com) — Altadena residents still reeling from the devastating 2025 Eaton Fire are finding a sense of normalcy and community at 1881, a jazz club just yards from the Altadena border in Pasadena. The club’s owners and many musicians lost their Altadena homes, yet have rebuilt a vibrant music and cocktail scene that doubles as a gathering place for fire survivors and neighbors who love Altadena.
   

5. 6 Health Issues We're Watching in 2026 (projecthope.org) — One of the global health challenges highlighted for 2026 connects directly to Altadena, where longtime resident Karen Barnard lost her home in the Eaton Fire and now relies on mental health support. Project HOPE uses her experience to illustrate why expanding psychosocial care, alongside work on vaccines, maternal health, antimicrobial resistance, and workforce shortages, will be crucial worldwide this year.
   

📸 Around Altadena

Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!

🗓 Upcoming Events in Altadena

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

★ Featured events ★

Thursday January 8

• Philip Krohnengold, Leeann Skoda
  Healing Force of the Universe, 1200 E Walnut St, Pasadena
  8:00 pm

Want to see your event featured? Click here!

Other local events

Friday January 9

• English Conversation With Ronnie
  Playa Vista Branch Library
  10:00 am
• 2026 Mindful Start: Guided Meditation @ Altadena Library (January Sessions)
  Altadena Library , 600 E Mariposa St , Altadena
  5:00 pm
• A Tribute and Dinner Show to the music of Stevie Nicks & Fleetwood Mac
  Hawg Heaven BBQ & Gastro Pub , 119 E Colorado Blvd , Pasadena
  7:15 pm
• The Jester's Court at Ice House Comedy Club - California Room
  The Ice House , 24 N Mentor Ave , Pasadena
  7:30 pm

Saturday January 10

• Knitting and Crochet Club
  Harbor Gateway Branch Library Harbor City -
  1:00 pm
• Music Grows On Trees w/ Melinda Sullivan + Larry Goldings
  Healing Force of the Universe , 1200 E Walnut St , Pasadena
  2:00 pm

Sunday January 11

• PASADENA, CA - KPOP STARS
  Marshall Fundamental Secondary School , 990 Allen Ave , Pasadena
  5:30 pm

📣 Altadena Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

🗓 Events Nearby

Thursday January 8

• Teen Game Day
  Playa Vista Branch Library
  3:00 pm
• DJ Crenshaw
  Sid The Cat Auditorium , 1022 El Centro St , South Pasadena
  5:00 pm
• Amy Winehouse Tribute & Other Jazz Legends Dinner Show
  Hawg Heaven BBQ & Gastro Pub , 119 E Colorado Blvd , Pasadena
  7:00 pm

Friday January 9

• English Conversation With Ronnie
  Playa Vista Branch Library
  10:00 am

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

Thank you 👏👏👏 to the local businesses for making Altadena PatchAM possible:

• Mindsee.it — (646) 663-8317
  Teach your kids they can achieve the impossible!
• LA Fire Justice — (626) 684-3315
  Holding Southern California Edison Accountable

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• Shoutout: Altadena's Rey Helps Push The Great Altadena Poppy Project Past Promised 100,000,000 California Poppy Seeds Sown!
  Many thanks to Altadena's Rey, who helped poppify plenty of properties today, and who helped The Great Altadena Poppy Project surpass it's previously… (Nextdoor Janes Village)
• Please join our community to reflect through a series of paintings on the Eaton Canyon Fire Trauma, Melancholy and Hope we are experiencing.
  This is a one day exhibit and while the paintings are not for sale there will be free prints available to the community courtesy of the Altadena and… (Nextdoor Stonehill)

• The Stepping Stones Group, LLC posted a job opening for Paraprofessional / Educator in Altadena. Apply here.
• Schwan's Company posted a job opening for Part-Time Merchandiser in Pasadena. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Altadena here.

Ok Altadena! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I needed a running start, but I made it!
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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