AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Make a point to celebrate diversity this month BECCA SCHMIDT BALDWIN PARK LIFESTYLE DIRECTOR Lifestyle Director Becca Schmidt has lived in Baldwin Park since 2005 and has the pulse on neighborhood social gatherings. Check out the Groups and Gatherings section of baldwinpark.net for a list of Baldwin Parkbased groups. Contact Becca at lifestyledirector@baldwinparkpoa. com if you’d like to start a new group or have questions about how you can meet your neighbors.
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hat are you doing for National Celery Month? What?! Nothing?!? Did you not realize that March is the month we raise our bloody marys to this crunchy green veggie? OK, so you don’t “celery-brate” National Celery Month. Instead, perhaps you get excited about going all green for St. Paddy’s Day or can’t wait for the March Madness hoopla. Some of us hit the beach or the books — or get ready for the college kids to come home for a week. Whatever you look forward to, make March the month to celebrate the many people and diverse activities that Baldwin Park offers. Our neighborhood is a wonderful mixture of people in all life stages, cultures and personalities. We are lucky to have so many opportunities to discover not only our similarities, but to also celebrate our differences. This month, step out of your comfort zone by interacting with some of your neighbors who can offer a new perspective on how you currently see the world. Consider some of these opportunities: n WIN (Women Innovators Network) is Baldwin Park’s newest group of female entrepreneurs. It’s open to all Baldwin Park women who own a business. That includes all kinds of businesses — from
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BALDWIN PARK LIVING | MARCH 2020
hair salons to dental practices to cleaning companies. This group’s mission is to exchange ideas that work in one business and translate them to solutions for other types of businesses. WIN is a win-win for Baldwin Park women. n Meet new people through fitness activities. This is something in which I have personal experience. Three times a week, I hit the pavement with the Mighty Girls running group. These are women I never would have met had I not made the commitment to join them on their 5:30 a.m. runs. We talk, laugh and learn that even though our lives are quite different, our fitness struggles are often exactly the same. These are powerful, fabulous new women friends I never would have had without this group. If running isn’t your thing, try the amateur tennis group What’s Love Got to Do With It or the morning stretch classes at Grace Hopper and Enders. Or swim with the diehards who plunge into Grace Hopper pool at sunrise. Hop on the elliptical or treadmill at the same time every day at one of our two gyms. Bump into the same people often, and you’re likely to make a friend — maybe someone your mom’s age, maybe a teenager, maybe someone from halfway across the world. n Eat and shop local. Go to Café 906 on a Tuesday morning and listen for laughter and conversations
Let March’s motto be, “He or she is not like me … and that’s exactly why I want to meet them.” in French. The women of Nifty Fifties also meet at the café on the first Thursday of each month. A coffee shop is the best place to practice going to a restaurant solo. n Our Epicurean Enthusiasts dining group offers a huge mix of culture and life stages. Many participants are single and find this group intelligent, engaging and welcoming to newcomers. Group leader Shannon is a magician at connecting people who may have otherwise not ventured out to mingle with singles. n No doubt that people connect over sports. On March 21, basketball fans of every age will come together at Tactical Brewing for a chili cook-off and the March Madness basketball tournament with a bunch of fun strangers. n Make your rounds at Baldwin Park’s semi-annual porch sale on March 28 and get a glimpse into the life of some of your interesting neighbors. n Finally, join other Baldwin Park neighbors at this month’s Meet & Mingle on Sunday, March 29, featuring UCF professor Fernando Montalvo, who will present a talk on how the brain understands others.
