Lakewood Community News - December 2021

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Lakewood

News

Community

Official publication of the Greater Lakewood Chamber of Commerce | 30,000 Circulation - Delivered to every home in Lakewood www.lakewoodchamber.com

Volume 41 Number 12

Don't miss the annual tree lighting event on Friday, Dec. 3

Join the community to watch the tree light up at the Civic Center.

Lakewood residents are cordially invited to join in the city’s 8th annual tree lighting ceremony and community gathering on Friday, Dec. 3 outside The Centre at 5000 Clark Ave., next to City Hall. Carnival games and food trucks will be on the scene starting at 4:30 p.m. Santa will be ready to hear your children’s holiday

wishes and take photos (with your own device) from 4:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. The official tree lighting program starts at 6:30 p.m. Festivities wrap up at 8 p.m. Fun features include: • Lots of falling snow • Mayfair High School choral group

• Plenty of food trucks located in the parking lot behind City Hall where there is more room to spread out and relax. • Wonderful and free family holiday photo opportunities. Costumed characters will help with several holiday photo scenes, including one with Santa and two large sleighs. Parking will be available behind The Centre and in the large, gravel parking lot at the corner of Del Amo Boulevard and Clark Avenue. The parking lots immediately in front of and behind City Hall will be closed for use in the event. There will be plenty of other opportunities to enjoy good cheer around the Lakewood tree if you can’t make the tree lighting on Dec. 3. From Dec. 4 through Dec. 31, the tree will be on display in the plaza, providing an animated light show that changes colors to music continuously from 5 to 10 p.m. each night. Stop by and enjoy the splendor of the winter holidays! If it is raining the late afternoon of Dec. 3, the event will be cancelled, but the tree will still be lit for the first time at 6:30 p.m. that evening. If the rain stops by 1 p.m., the event will go on, although some activities may be limited. For more information, including weather-related updates on Dec. 3, visit www.lakewoodcity. org/treelighting or call city staff at 562-866-9771, extension 2408. ♦

Multicultural music & food festival is a big hit

One of the multicultural performances at Fest-Of-All.

Over 10,000 Lakewood residents and guests attended over the course of Lakewood’s premier Fest-Of-All, a day-long event held in beautiful weather on Saturday, Oct. 9 outside Lakewood Center mall.

Fest-Of-All featured a children’s cultural booth…food court and food trucks with a wide variety of cuisines…and live music and dance such as a Selena tribute band, Motown/ R&B, Classic Americana mu-

sic, Filipino Tinikling Dance, Break Dancing, and Country Line Dancing. For highlights, watch the CityTV video at www.lakewoodcity.org/FOAvideo. Lakewood is one of L.A. County’s most diverse communities, with people from all over the country and world, representing a wide variety of cultures. The Fest-Of-All was recommended by residents and organized by the City of Lakewood as a way to celebrate that diversity and bring the Lakewood community together for a fun day of music, dance, food and getting to know our neighbors. ♦

December 2021

‘Tis the season for Project Shepherd

Teddy Bear Trees help fulfill a child’s wish.

As the holiday season quickly approaches, we are reminded of those who are less fortunate. Over 1,600 individuals living in Lakewood, many of them children and seniors, will not able to enjoy the holidays without the food, gifts and toys that many of us have come to take for granted. With your help, Project Shepherd will ensure there’s enough joy for everyone in Lakewood during the holiday season. Here are five ways you can contribute to the program: 1. Make a donation by check Mail a check to Lakewood Project Shepherd, c/o Lakewood City Hall, 5050 Clark Ave., Lakewood, CA 90712. Or, put the check in an envelope addressed to Project Shepherd and drop it off in the utility payment box outside City Hall. 2. Fulfill a child’s wish on a Teddy Bear Tree displayed in the Recreation and Community Services Dept. at City Hall as well as the Burns Community Center. Here’s how the program works: • You select an ornament with a child's name, age and wish (for a reasonably priced toy) and then shop for the gift that will fulfill that wish. • Bring the unwrapped gift with the matching “ornament” to the donation box at the City Hall or the Burns Community Center during business hours prior to Monday, Dec. 6. • All of the unwrapped gifts go

to children registered through Project Shepherd, which is Lakewood’s homegrown charity to assist local families in need. 3. Visit Project Shepherd’s gift registry on Amazon to purchase a gift to fulfill a child’s wish and have it sent directly to the program. Visit the link to Project Shepherd’s gift wish list on Amazon at www.lakewoodcity.org/PSAmazon. 4. Support the Virtual Canned Food and Toy Drive Sponsor 1 to 35 canned goods for holiday meal baskets or donate to provide a toy for a child in need – or do both! It’s easy using the secure online form at www. lakewoodcity.org/PSholiday. 5. Donate $10 Grocery Gift Cards Next time you’re at the market, pick up a $10 grocery gift card or two to donate. Drop off gift cards to the Burns Community Center, 5510 Clark Ave., Lakewood before Dec. 6. Project Shepherd is operated by the Rotary Club of Lakewood and the City of Lakewood. For more information about Project Shepherd, call 562-925-7512, or visit www.lakewoodcity.org/ProjectShepherd. Project Shepherd would like to thank our Platinum Sponsors H&H Nursery, Lakewood Regional Medical Center, Life Center Church, and Macy’s for their generous support this holiday season. ♦

If you miss the Dec. 3 Tree Lighting event outside The Centre, you can still enjoy the holiday scene at the Lakewood Civic Center through Dec. 31. Every night from Dec. 4 to Dec. 31, the 24-foot-tall tree will light up with accompanying holiday music between 5 and 10 p.m. in the plaza between City Hall and The Centre along Clark Avenue. Many people find the tree a wonderful backdrop for holiday photos.


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