Celebrate A Little Holiday Romance at the Dickens House Holiday Boutique

This Holiday season, bring your friends and family to the whimsical world of the 2008 Dickens House Holiday Boutique and Designer Show House, October 18 - November 2 at 333 Uplands Drive in the quaint town of Hillsborough, CA.

Inspired by famed author Charles Dickens, the Dickens House Hoilday Boutique transforms this year's home into a shopping extravaganza to support St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School. Guests will be able to stroll through the house, admire the work of the Dickens House designers and shop for unique holiday gifts displayed throughout the rooms.

Designers, parents and volunteers donate their time and resources each year to the Dickens House Fundraiser. In addition to being a fabulous shopping experience, the Dickens House provides an opportunity for the community to come together and share the Holiday Spirit.

The Dickens House, currently celebrating its 20th Anniversary, attracts an average of 5,000 visitors each year. Show dates and hours are listed below:

When: October 18th – November 2nd
Where: 333 Uplands Drive, Hillsborough CA

Hours: Opening Day, Oct 18th - 11am – 4pm
· Saturdays – 9am – 2:30pm
· Sundays 11am – 4pm
· Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday – 9am – 2pm
· Tuesday, Thursday, Friday evenings – 6pm – 8pm
· Closed on Wednesdays all day and Halloween

Tickets: Advance Purchase $30 , At The Door $35, Children 14 and under enter free
Info: Visit http://www.dickenshouse.org/ or call 650.342-5436, ext. 219

2008 International Vintage Poster Fair Lets You Decide

This Friday, October 24th, the International Vintage Poster Fair returns to San Francisco with a very timely theme - "Politically Correct? / Politically Incorrect?" An annual event featuring over 10,000 original vetted vintage posters, the IVPF will introduce visitors to a series of provacative, occasionally controversial images, in addition to the ever popular artwork of food and liquor advertisements, travel and transportation, film, and sports.

The 2008 exhibition is slated for the 24th through the 26th at Fort Mason Center, Landmark Building A in the beautiful city by the Bay. A $15 ticket allows entrance all weekend long, and grants guests the opportunity to rediscover the evolution of advertising and propaganda over the past 100 - 200 years.

Posters are for both show and sale, ranging from $200 to $50,000, and are presented by world-class exhibitors from the United States, Canada, China, Israel, and Western Europe.

To the left you'll see a piece by Tomi Ungerer, a famous political poster designer in the 1960s who challenged the idea of power under racial control. At the time, the item was a testament to the civil rights movement and acts of desegregation taking place in the US; named "Black Power / White Power", the poster continues to be a piece of social controversy today, and is indicative of the artwork you'll witness at the International Vintage Poster Fair.

The show opens at 5pm on Friday, and lasts until 9pm; Saturday hours are 10am through 7pm, and Sunday hours are 11am until 6pm.

"Politically Correct? / Politically Incorrect?" You decide.

Frances & Crystal Shawanda at the 2008 Long Beach Harvest Festival

This past weekend, our Principal and the Founder of The Larose Group, LLC had the honor of meeting up-and-coming country artist Crystal Shawanda at the Harvest Festival Original Art & Craft Show in Long Beach.

Crystal, who was prominently featured and applauded in the September 22nd issue of People Magazine for her new album, "Dawn of a New Day", was one of the premier performers at the event, held October 17th through the 19th.

With her beautiful singing voice and Native American roots, Crystal crosses cultural, musical, and spiritual boundaries, and was a huge part in the success of this year's Long Beach Harvest Festival.