For the first time in two years, Pasadena Senior Center will host its annual festive holiday celebration in person on Saturday, Dec. 24, featuring food, music, presents, and Santa Claus.
The celebration begins at 11 a.m. If the weather cooperates, PSC will party in true Southern California style, out on the patio; otherwise, attendees will move indoors.
“We haven’t done it since 2019. And so we are so excited that it’s going to be in person and that people get to come and celebrate the holidays with their friends on Christmas Eve,” Akila Gibbs, Pasadena Senior Center Executive Director, said.
“We’re going to have lots of refreshments and food and we’re going to have a Santa Claus and a photo booth and music and people are going to dance and have a really good time. So we’re excited about that.”
Gibbs said this is also the first time the Senior Center’s celebration will be brunch. Traditionally, Christmas parties at the Center have been held on Christmas Day at lunchtime.
“Since it’s Sunday, we want to give everybody an opportunity to worship, so we’re going to do it on Christmas Eve and a lot of people celebrate Christmas Eve as well as Christmas Day,” she said. “It’s a little bit of departure from what we’ve done in the past.”
Musician Steve Ormond will be playing live music. Ormond has been a Pasadena Senior Center regular for some time, performing a fun mix of Tin Pan Alley, Rock and Roll and novelty tunes on many programs, including Music on the Patio.
Originally the musical director of a melodrama/vaudeville theater, Steve Ormond’s musical career has included performances at the Edinburgh Theater Festival and involvement in a variety of bands playing classic rock, Latin, jazz, Dixieland and ragtime. He performs regularly at a variety of venues and events.
During his 32 years of teaching for Los Angeles Unified Schools – now retired – he used music daily in his classroom as a way of teaching all subjects.
Gibbs said the brunch menu for the Senior Center holiday celebration will include quiche and salad, vegetables and fruit.
“We are the home away from home for a lot of older adults in Pasadena who really don’t have the opportunity to celebrate the holidays,” Gibbs said. “For over 25 years, we’ve been the place for older adults to come and celebrate the holidays. And we are just ecstatic that we get to do it again this year.”
Tickets are $15 to $20. Pasadena Senior Center members and non-members are welcome.
Reservations will close on Wednesday, Dec. 21, space is limited and tickets will not be available at the door. So sign up now through www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org/activities-events/special-events/751-christmas-eve-brunch-and-party.
Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required to attend.
And for the New Year, Gibbs said they’ll have something on Dec. 29. Details will be announced later, he said.
For more information, call (626) 795-4331.
The Pasadena Senior Center is at 85 E. Holly Street.
