What to Know
- Wine Tasting Ramble
- Arlington Garden
- Pasadena
- Sunday, Oct. 20
- 5-7 p.m.
- $50 wine-tasting ticket; $25 tea and lemonade ticket; children under age 18 may enjoy free admission
- The fundraiser helps support the path-lined oasis, which is free to the public throughout the calendar
There are a few fabled spots made for wish-making around Southern California, from pretty old-fashioned wells to magnificent mountaintops, the sorts of peaks where people proclaim their most ardent intentions to the wider sky.
But one of the most wonderful and wish-iest places is accessible any day of the year, without a fee, and if you're in Old Town Pasadena, or South Pasadena, you're not too far: It's Arlington Garden, home to the Yoko Ono Wish Trees.
And while visitors do regularly tie slips of paper to the arboreal icons, there is a moment on the calendar when the wishing is made on behalf of the garden itself: It's the fall fundraiser, an easygoing affair which raises money for the sylvan spot.
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That's just ahead, fluttering in the breeze, on the evening of Oct. 20; buy a ticket to the Wine Tasting Garden Ramble, stop by, and enjoy a trio of wine stations helmed by West Altadena Wine.
Tunes, a nature-forward vibe, and early fall colors will add to the late-afternoon magic.
We don't use "magic" in a flippant way: The garden is the result of countless volunteer hours and a dream to give people a free, pay-nothing oasis full of native greenery.
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The sizable plot — it is three acres — is "located on the former staging ground for the 710 freeway." The lot stayed empty after the freeway project was put on hold, but all of that changed nearly two decades ago when a community garden at South Pasadena Avenue and Arlington Drive was beautifully born.
Prior to that time, the grand Durand Mansion stood in that spot, and some remnants remain, including a few trees and stray pieces of masonry.
It is, in short, a fairytale place, for multiple reasons, from its moving Wish Trees to the shared vision held by its many supporters.
Buy your ticket now to this fundraiser, an event that will help keep Arlington Garden humming, happy, and free to all, for a long time to come.
