818 local Alyssa Necesito grew up on Filipino food. In high school, she started branching out and trying different cuisines. “I grew up in Canoga Park and my Filipino got to spot was at Nipa Hut. I literally lived just around the corner there…I just had to go to the church, walk and I was right there,” she shares. She
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For over a decade, Christina Villegas had a stable career as a reality television producer, working on docu-reality series for various networks. She was a co-executive producer when a tragic incident changed her life and impacted the trajectory of her life. This led her to establishing Flying Curves Dance Studio, empowering women through the art of pole dancing and burlesque.
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Robert Shindo started his culinary journey when he was 16. He was worked in a variety of restaurants, filling any and all restaurant jobs you can think of. He is currently the General Manager of two restaurants while owning his own business, Chiisai Cakes. Family is–and has always been—at the heart of his culinary interest. “Growing up always seeing my Grandparents and
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Duy Nguyen, owner and baker of Baking for Twelve, is a valley boy, born and raised. It’s not surprising that 818 is his luckiest number. By day, he’s a space system’s engineer, working on exploring the final frontier but when the moon rises, he transitions all that “nerd energy (his phrase)” into baking–a passion of his since Food Network captured
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When the CDC restrictions allowed for outdoor gatherings again, business owners Christina Bernal (owner of 1984 Vintage), Joeleen Medina (co-owner of Truman House), and Board President of the San Fernando City Chamber of Commerce, Adriana Gomez planned and organized a monthly outdoor market in historic downtown San Fernando, featuring local vendor in the San Fernando Valley. Their goal was to
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Marie Urquidi, the author of DLI Parent books, a series of Dual Language Immersion books teaching both children and parents Tagalog (Filipino). Starting this series during the pandemic, her goal was to introduce Tagalog to her children while keeping the cost of learning affordable and the time committed to learning flexible. She shares a bit about her story with us
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When Vanessa Murphy and her business partner, Jaime Vela walked into Unwind, they immediately saw their future vision come to life and they knew they had to have it! They took over and bought the space in June 2020 from the original owners who were forced to sell as a result of the Covid shutdown. “We kept the bones of
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It’s my pleasure to welcome back Mia P. Manansala to the first Meet the (818) Interview of 2022! When we first talked to this Chicago-based writer, it was the debut of her first published cozy mystery, Arsenic and Adobo. Today, we’re chatting about the release of her second book in the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Series, Homicide and Halo-Halo. In the
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Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural and Bookstore finds a new home on Glenoaks and Hubbard in the Sylmar Towne Center, just a couple of miles away from their former location. With a location three times bigger than the original, they can house more books and have more space for their various programs from workshops to music lessons, book clubs and other
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Every December, something magical happens on the corner of Hayvenhurst Ave. and Plummer St.. Fido, the resident 12-foot tall ivy hedge shaped poodle, turns into Fido, the red-nosed reindeer! And what a sight it is! It adds a certain je nais se quios to your drive down Plummer St. during the holiday season. Of course, this San Fernando Valley landmark
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Outside, the arches of lights look like any other light display but when you step inside those tunnels, that’s when the magic happens. Walking through these tunnels, the night sky becomes a beautiful backdrop to the incandescent light of the tunnels. It turns your walk around the block extra special. This family winter holiday display started 17 years ago, when
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Tina Schaefer always loved decorating for the holidays. She would decorate her home for Valentine’s Day, Back to School, Easter and of course, Halloween and Christmas. “When we (Arnie and I) met, I didn’t know he liked to decorate but I love to decorate. So I was always decorating every holiday and he called me up and said, ‘What are
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MEET THE (818) 