Board 2 School Construction plans.
Town 4 About Under the Fig Tree.
reaction 3 Sour To the economy.
Map 6&7 Events Plan your weekend.
Volume 24 Issue 20
smdp.com
THURSDAY 12/12/24
Look to eat, drink and be merry for food bank
Malibu wildfire prompts evacuation orders and warnings for 20,000, including Dick Van Dyke and Cher
THOMAS LEFFLER SMDP Staff Writer
Santa Monica will look more like Santa’s Workshop on Saturday, with thousands of Santa’s helpers expected to roam the streets for a worthy cause. The 16th annual SANTA Monica Pub Crawl returns, with more than 20 of the city’s best bars and restaurants expecting one of the busiest traffic nights of the year. The hefty attendee list will not only support the local businesses, but will go towards fundraising for the Westside Food Bank. Since 2008, the crawl has raised over half a million meals for the food bank, which distributes nearly 4 million pounds of food annually to the food assistance programs of 65 Westside social service agencies. The crawl comes a month after the bank’s annual Hunger Walk, which President and CEO Genevieve Riutort said raised over $100,000 for the organization. Spin PR President Kim Koury, who created the crawl, picked the
Courtesy Photo
CRAWL: The 16th annual SANTA Monica Pub Crawl returns Saturday to
raise funds for local businesses and the Westside Food Bank.
food bank as a partner from the event’s origin. “(We were) looking into the organization that was near in our backyard,” Koury said. “I live a couple blocks from the actual food bank itself, and knowing that they
distribute food to the entire Westside and a lot of women and children during the holiday season, (it) felt near and dear to our hearts and (we wanted) to help support them.” SEE PUB CRAWL PAGE 11
LA County Fire Department
BLAZE: Crews have been working to gain a measure of control over the fire. ASSOCIATED PRESS Officials in Southern California reported significant overnight growth of a wind-driven wildfire that has forced thousands of people, including celebrities like Cher and Dick Van Dyke, from their
homes in Malibu, but forecasters said firefighters could get a break Wednesday from improving weather conditions. With much of the coastal city under evacuation orders and SEE WILDFIRE PAGE 8
The second coming of Santa Monica’s beloved Nativity scenes SCOTT SNOWDEN SMDP Staff Writer
The non-profit organization that creates Santa Monica’s beloved Nativity scenes has found a new home for their life-size diorama for the 2024 holiday season at 2311 Main Street. The official opening was on Sunday and featured live music, refreshments and a celebration of the 70-year-old festive tradition. “Santa Monica used to be called the ‘City of the Christmas story,’ it was actually on the patches that the policemen used to wear on their
sleeves,” said Kari Czer, of the organizers of Santa Monica Nativity Scenes, adding, “They would close off Wilshire Boulevard, they’d have a parade down Wilshire and then walk all the way to the Palisades Park, where the scenes had been set up that Saturday before and it was a huge deal.” There are 14 different scenes in total from the story of the birth of Jesus that Santa Monica Nativity Scenes (SMNS) traditionally display: the Annunciation, Joseph’s Dream, the Visitation, Caesar’s Decree, Rest Along the Road, No Room at the
Inn, Peace on Earth, the Nativity, Herod’s Court, the Three Wisemen, Presentation at the Temple, Joseph’s Warning, Flight To Egypt and finally, the Return to Nazareth. Five scenes are currently on display at the Main Street site, the Annunciation, the Visitation, Peace on Earth, the Nativity and the Three Wisemen. The work of the SMNS began back in 1953, when Herb Spurgeon, a local businessman and civic leader, collaborated with Santa Monica churches to create the SEE NATIVITY PAGE 11
NATIVITY: The Nativity scenes are now open.
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