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“Wipeout” originally aired on ABC from 2008 to 2014. The reimagined “Wipeout” features a three-stage obstacle course designed to challenge competitors of all backgrounds and fitness levels.

‘Wipeout’ is casting throughout the summer By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Pasadena Weekly Executive Editor

The John Cena-hosted competition show “Wipeout” is casting Southern California residents for its next season through the summer.

Cena is joined by Nicole Byer for “Wipeout,” which was 2021’s highest-rated new unscripted cable series. Season one airs 9 p.m. Thursdays on TBS.

Duos who are interested, no matter their athletic capability, can apply at wipeoutcasting.com.

“It’s going to be a really fun season,” said casting director Katy Wallin and president/chief executive officer of MysticArt Pictures.

“We’re casting teams of two. It could be a friend, coworker, neighbor, family member. People have come in with interesting hobbies, occupations, men and women, female-female teams, male-male, coed. You’re going to have a blast with it.”

To apply to be on the series, applicants must be legal U.S. residents ages 18 and older. They must be able to travel to the Los Angeles region for approximately three nonconsecutive days during the shooting period, as well as any additional days to comply with COVID-19 testing protocols.

“Thousands upon thousands apply for the show,” Wallin said. “It’s one of those bucket list things. The show has a huge following and people love the opportunity to think they could actually face the big ball.”

“Wipeout” originally aired on ABC from June 24, 2008, to Sept. 7, 2014. The reimagined “Wipeout” features a three-stage obstacle course designed to challenge competitors of all backgrounds and fitness levels. The new format twists and elements that will push the athleticism and willpower of each contestant pairing to even greater extremes.

“We look for people who have great, great energy who have larger than life personalities,” she said. “The duo has to have great chemistry. Contestants have a lot of fun on the course no matter what.

“We have a team of talented producers who review all the applications.”

From there, those who are in the running undergo a series of interviews.

Photo courtesy of the Tournament of Roses

The 2022 Royal Court will ride down Colorado Boulevard on the Royal Court float in the 133rd Rose Parade, presented by Honda, and attend the 108th Rose Bowl Game, both on Saturday, Jan. 1.

Applications opening for Royal Court

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Pasadena Weekly Executive Editor

Applications for the 2022 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Royal Court presented by Citizens Business Bank will be available on Monday, July 26, on the Tournament of Roses website.

The 2022 Royal Court members will each receive a $7,500 educational scholarship and serve as ambassadors of the Tournament of Roses, the Pasadena community and the greater Los Angeles area.

All are encouraged to apply and participate in one of the initial interview sessions at Tournament House on Saturday, Sept. 11, or Monday, Sept. 13. Participants are selected based upon a combination of qualities, including public speaking ability, youth leadership, academic achievement and community and school involvement. Eligibility requirements are on the Tournament of Roses website.

With the cancellation of the 2021 Rose Parade, those who were looking forward to applying for the 2021 Royal Court, are encouraged to apply for the 2022 Royal Court. Eligibility requirements have been extended to include applicants who would have been eligible for the 2021 Royal Court.

Royal Court members experience countless benefits — becoming part of an organization dedicated to hands-on volunteerism, discovering opportunities to connect with and give back to the local community, developing public speaking skills and growing self-confidence. The Rose Queen and Royal Court are iconic traditions, steeped in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses’ history and will continue as a treasured legacy.

Royal Court interview participants, and those who are selected for the Royal Court, are required to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination during the application process before the initial interview sessions. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after having all doses of a CDC-approved COVID-19 vaccine; two doses for Pfizer or Moderna and one dose for Johnson & Johnson.

Royal Court eligibility requirements and additional information can be found at https://tournamentofroses.com/about/royal-court/.

Rugs range in different styles and different sizes from 2 feet by 3 feet to 10 feet by 14 feet.

Ten Thousand Villages will be partnering with Bunyaad, a fair trade rug company that seeks to increase employment opportunitie for women across Pakistan.

Ten Thousand Villages to host three-day fair trade rug event

By Jordan Houston Pasadena Weekly Staff Writer

Ten Thousand Villages Pasadena is set to host its annual Fair Trade Rug Event, featuring more than 300-hand-knotted rugs from Pakistan, for collectors of all tastes.

The South Lake store is partnering with Bunyaad, a fair trade rug company that works with more than 850 families throughout 100 villages in Pakistan. Bunyaad seeks to increase employment opportunities for women across the country by paying them a living wage and working with the artisans in their homes.

The affair will take place at the store, located at 567 S. Lake Avenue, from Thursday, July 15, to Sunday, July 18, during regular business hours, according to Ten Thousand Villages Assistant Manager Hayley Chesshir Bernard.

“They’re all fair trade rugs, so there is no exploitation used in the process – no slave labor, child labor or anything like that,” she said. “It’s a really popular event because rugs are an investment.”

Attendees can expect to see rugs of all sizes, patterns and styles, the assistant manager continued.

From intricate florals, to hand-spun wool, natural dye and tribals, the rugs range in size from 2 feet by 3 feet, to 10 feet by 14 feet.

“The artisans have total creative control to design it however they want,” Bernard said. “We (Ten Thousand Villages) are guaranteed to buy them no matter what, so it gives them a lot of freedom to create whatever they want.”

Made with a “love of love and care,” Bernard added that the rugs’ variety in style will be sure to satisfy all tastes, including traditional, modern and contemporary.

According to Fair Trade Certified, fair trade is a “global movement made up of a diverse network of producers, companies, consumers, advocates and organizations putting people and planet first.”

Independent certifiers, such as Ten Thousand Villages, audit producers, traders and companies to ensure that they are complying with the movement’s “economic, social and environmental standards,” Fair Trade added.

“I wish fair trade was the norm because it really is important,” Bernard said. “There is so much exploitation that happens in the regular manufacturing of products and clothing.”

She continued, “When you buy something that is fair trade, you can be assured that there was no exploitation and that nobody was harmed in the making of that product.”

Ten Thousand Villages, identifying as a global maker-to-marker movement, seeks to connect 20,000 artisans in 30 developing countries across the world with “conscious shoppers” in the U.S. Ten Thousand Villages offers a fair, living wage in safe working conditions, its website states.

The company guarantees ethically sourced, handcrafted gifts, home wares and fashion accessories via a network of 50 branded stores, 300-plus retail partners and an e-commerce shop.

“Everything we sell at Ten Thousand Villages is certified fair trade,” Bernard shared. “We go directly through artisans and we’re not going through any middle men.”

“We can tell stories about every item in the store,” she continued. “That’s really the big difference between buying from fast fashion.”

Ten Thousand Villages has been pioneering the concept of fair trade since 1946, its website discloses. According to the Fair Trade Certified website, the movement began shortly after World War II, writing:

“The fair trade movement began to take shape in the years following World War II as a way to connect marginalized producers to global markets. One of the movement’s key pioneers was Edna Ruth Byler, an American businesswoman who, in 1946, was moved by the women artisans she encountered along her travels and began selling their handmade textiles to her friends and neighbors to help them earn a living. Out of this grew Ten Thousand Villages and a global fair trade movement.”

For more information about the Ten Thousand Villages Fair Trade Rug Event and its products, visit rugs.tenthousandvillages.com.

Photo courtesy of Midwestern University

Danielle Lucine Balian, D.V.M., graduated from Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy in 2011 and earned a B.A. in biology from Occidental College in 2015.

Altadena’s Balian graduates with veterinary degree

By Pasadena Weekly Staff

Danielle Lucine Balian, D.V.M., of Altadena, has completed the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) degree at the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) of Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona.

Balian is the daughter of Altadena residents Dr. Raffi and Patricia Balian. She graduated from Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy in 2011 and earned a B.A. in biology from Occidental College in 2015. While at Midwestern, she spent her Saturday mornings volunteering at Liberty Wildlife Sanctuary and served on the boards of several clubs, including the Exotics and Wildlife Club, Trap-Neuter-Return Club, and the Poultry Club. After graduation, she will work at Vet Villa Animal Hospital in South Pasadena.

The College of Veterinary Medicine, home to Arizona’s first veterinary doctoral program, graduated its inaugural class in 2018. Its mission is to improve animal and human life through innovative veterinary education, state-of-the-art health care services, and scholarly work relevant to the principles of One Health. Veterinarians provide healthcare services for small, large or mixed-animal populations via general practice or specialty fields, as well as work in biomedical research, veterinary medical education, diagnostic laboratories, regulatory medicine, public health, industry or biosecurity.

Dine at El Portal to support Pasadena Senior Center

By Allison Brown Pasadena Weekly Staff Writer

El Portal is partnering with the Pasadena Senior Center Tuesday, July 20, to aid the donor-supported, nonprofit organization by donating 20% of sales from customers who opt to participate.

“We have been rolling up our sleeves and coming up with creative solutions to help keep our operations up and running during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Akila Gibbs, the Pasadena Senior Center’s executive director.

“Abel Ramirez, founder and co-owner of El Portal with his son, Armando, is a living legacy for his passionate and inspiring advocacy for improving and supporting the lives of older adults, and I thank him from the bottom of my heart.”

The Pasadena Senior Center was the first senior center in California, and opened over 60 years ago, according to Charmaine Nelson, director of public relations.

The center is dedicated to engaging, enriching and empowering the lives of older community members.

“Especially coming out of the pandemic, (for us) to make it possible for people to come together and have community is so important,” Nelson said. “Also, living a healthy, active life is important. I think the idea of coming together at the Pasadena Senior Center creates a higher quality of life where people can engage with others and make new friends.”

With vaccinations aplenty and COVID-19 lessening, the center reopened when state mandates were lifted on June 15. The center normally holds a Friday movie matinee every week, and when it opened back up, they had over 60 people show up. Nelson said it seems people are eager to get out of their homes and engage in the community again.

Besides Friday movie matinees, the senior center offers more than 20 different classes, with in-person and online options available. Nelson said watercolor, strength training, Tai Chi, Pilates and French are their most popular classes at the moment. The center also has educational lectures once a week on topics that specifically impact the elderly.

“Every Thursday we have people come in and talk on subjects such as finance, medical issues, scams and other important topics that affect people at this stage in life,” Nelson said.

The Pasadena Senior Center is an independent, donor-supported, nonprofit organization. Nelson said a common misconception is that the city funds the center, when, in actuality, the city provides no financial support at all. The funds from community partners like El Portal are greatly needed and will go toward general operation expenses for the center.

El Portal will be open 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., reservations are requested and customers will need to mention the Pasadena Senior Center if they want to help support the organization. Anyone who is unable to dine at El Portal can still help by ordering takeout or donating directly to the senior center through its website, pasadenaseniorcenter.org.

“‘I want to support the Pasadena Senior Center’ will be music to my ears on July 20,” Gibbs said.

Dine at El Portal to support Pasadena Senior Center

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 20, (reservations requested) WHERE: 695 E. Green Street, Pasadena. INFO: Donate online at pasadenaseniorcenter.org, or call 626-795-8553 to make reservations at El Portal