Phew I just finished editing  750 photos from The Parade down to about 450 and then another edit down to 160! So here are a couple links to view the long and short versions of The Parade & after-parties:

The Short Version: www.julieklima.com/doodahparade2011

The Long Version: http://gallery.me.com/julieklima#100369

Here are a few to feast your eyes on!

Pasadena Weekly article w/my photo of 2011 Doo Dah Queen Red Rosie(or pick up a hard copy this week!): http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cms/story/detail/keepin_it_real_weird/10051/

Oh and here’s an NBC-LA article w/ a pic of my boyfriend James and I in The Parade last year! http://www.nbclosangeles.com/the-scene/events/Weekend-Royal-Shenanigans-Pasadena-Style-120864574.html

Cheers & Hope to See You Tomorrow! I’ll be lugging around cameras galore with my Photo Paparazzi Posse

~Queen Skittles

Queen Skittles & King James on the Queen of Arts Float- 2010 Doo Dah

There were many many amazing contestants- such as Jesselynn Desmond, Fuchsia & Violet WhatsIt, and The Whistling Diva! (Yes they were ladies I was rooting for). But the one who amused the crowd and won them over was Red Rosie. Donned with a school girl outfit, she transformed into Wonderwoman while serenading the judges with her melodious song.

I’ll attach a few for eye candy:

Hope to see whoever is reading this at The Parade in a couple weeks!

Cheers,

Queen Skittles, 2009 Doo Dah

I photographed my friend for her Valentine’s day gift for her boyfriend. They enjoy playing scrabble in a 1970′s-like setting

Makeup and hair by Tiphanie Grace- hairbytiphanie.com

Ok, I might be exaggerating a bit. Charles Phoenix, for those of you who don’t know, was the Grand Marshal of the Doo Dah Parade the same year I was Queen- we were a perfect match! Aside from performing retro slide shows around the country, Charles is pretty much a walking Americana dictionary. I mean that VERY literally. I describe him as such but haven’t mentioned it to him that he needs to write a dictionary on Americana. He could easily fill 1,000 pages with all his knowledge!

Please visit his website & sign up for his newsletter for his Slide of the Week- www.CharlesPhoenix.com

I attached some of my fav pics from the shoot. Check them out!

Since I had to put together a show in only 2 days for the Downtown LA Artwalk on July 9th, I didn’t give all of you enough notice ahead of time to be able to make it. So, August 2nd we’ll be having a closing reception of the show I curated and put my own work in- titled ’3,500 Square Feet in 48 Hours’! Artists included are: Julie Klima (that’s me!), Cassandra Marquez, Kristina King, Conan Dynes, Mary Amor & Arpi Alaverdyan.

What: Closing reception for Edgar Varela Fine Arts presents ’3500 sq feet in 48 hours’, Curated by Julie Klima

When: August 2nd, 6pm-10pm

Where: The Continental Gallery @ 408 South Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013

Here is the google map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=the+continental+gallery,+los+angeles,+ca&sll=34.155799,-118.250849&sspn=0.011631,0.012188&ie=UTF8&z=16

If you are reading this post, I would love to see you there! We might have refreshments of the liquid and pastry kind (if we can gather enough funds between us starving artists).

By the way, the opening night was glorious! At least a couple thousand people strolled through the gallery. A man came in and requested to sing & play his guitar early in the evening, which he said he did at the last Artwalk, so of course I said yes! He played acoustic, which sounded lovely in the large space. Later on, Prince Sunshine Starseed Lightbringer & Princess Zen Sunshine from My Royal Court came and made wonderful noise with their drums……they danced around and had a couple audience members join in the fun!

There are photos on my flickr from the show here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/julieklima/sets/72157621818511716/

Until we meet again………

Cheers,

QS

So I’ve been meaning to blog about my hikes for awhile now (about a month and a half!). My boyfriend James and I enjoy hiking to waterfalls as much as possible. Check out photos from a few here on my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/julieklima/collections/72157621302778099/

(All info on directions & length come from the book The Definitive Guide to Waterfalls of Southern & Central California by Chris Shaffer.)

June 8th, we went to Switzer Falls in La Canada. It’s about 3.6 miles, very easy hike. I rate it about a 4 out of 10.

Switzer Canyon - Upper Falls in La Canada

Switzer Canyon- Lower Falls

My flickr has photos from along the entire hike for you to check out. We keep hiking later in the day, so we don’t get the chance to go in the water. I loved the views on the way there & back, though!

Directions to Switzer: From the 210 Fwy in La Canada, take Hwy 2 north and drive 9.8 miles to the Switzer Picnic Area on the right.

We went to Millard Canyon Falls on June 14th. This is a short hike- about 1 mile- and really easy. I rate it a 7. I like the waterfall a lot more than Switzer. Here is a couple of photos:

me @ Millard Canyon Falls

along the way to the millard falls.....

Directions: From the 210Fwy in Pasadena, exit Lake Ave & go north. Drive 3.5miles to Loma Alta Dr & turn Left. In one mile you’ll come to a flashing yellow light and see a sign for the Chaney Trail. Turn right & drive approx. 1.5 miles to Millard Campground.

As you can see from the photos in this set, there are houses in the beginning of the trail. Some pipes are along the way too. Not so exciting to see but the trail is nice. There’s no water to swim in at this waterfall. I love this portrait I took of my boyfriend.

James

One more hike for now………Eaton Canyon Falls in Pasadena.It’s 3 miles and I rate it a 6 out of 10.

I actually did still photography for a documentary about Benjamin Eaton called “Eaton’s Water”, which is about how Mr. Eaton brought water out of the San Gabriel Mountains to develop Pasadena, Altadena & South Pas (read about it & see a photo I took here: http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cms/story/detail/?id=4234&IssueNum=55). For more photos from the documentary, go to my website: http://julieklima.com/stills-eatons.html . The film is distributed to various schools in the area. For even more about the film, go to the official website: http://www.eatonswater.com/.

Benjamin Eaton & his wife Alice from Eaton's Water; photo by Julie Klima

Eaton Canyon Falls

Eaton Canyon Falls trail

You can swim at this waterfall! My best friend Kristina would hike to it and swim, but I never went until recently. Of course, it was late in the day so I didn’t bring my suit. Next time! There were other people there (as you can see in the photos), who had some beer. They gave me and my boyfriend a beer, so that was nice hehe. Definitely a great hike!

Directions: From the 210Fwy in Pasadena, drive east & exit Altadena Dr. Drive 1.6miles north on Altadena to Eaton County Park.

Hope you enjoy this! I’ll blog about more as I hike more. I have a couple which I still need to post photos for.

Cheers,

QS

For those of you who don’t know…….for the past month or so, I have been working a photo booth at Cirque Berzerk in downtown LA! It’s a glorious circus that all of you should come check out! It compares to Cirque de Soleil, except with a twist of punk rock, goth and opera singers! I’ve snuck in during the times I didn’t have to work and after seeing just parts of it, I need to tell all my friends about the show.

Here are the details—

Where: 1245 N. Spring St., Los Angeles

When: Thurs-Sun through Aug 9th @ 8:30pm, except 8pm on Sundays

Check out video clips & more info @ www.CirqueBerzerk.com

Check out the photos we’ve taken so far! @ www.OhSnapStudios.com (I also attached a few of The Crew)

To buy tickets discounted from $60 to $35, go to www.Goldstar.com and sign up for free! Plus you can get discounted tickets for shows all over after signing up! I suggest to buy the tickets in the green section, or the blue section if you have a little more cash

If you have tickets at will call, get there early because the line can be long! But don’t fret, if you get there super early to pick up tickets, you can hang out with us over at the photo booth in the beer garden & take tons of silly photos before the show starts! I also suggest to not go on Thursday because on the other nights, there is an amazing band that plays during intermission & after the show. I LOVE THIS BAND! You can check them out here: www.vaudandthevillains.com

So I hope to see you all there! Email or call me with any questions about the show or to find out which nights I work.

Cheers,

Queen Skittles

I gave out the Most Humorous award at the Pasadena Chalk Festival on June 21st! It was a glorious, sunny day in Pasadena. I got there a little late, so I ran around making sure I saw every piece before the awards presentation. There were so many wonderful chalk paintings! Check out my favorites and some other photos from the day on my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/julieklima/sets/72157621300266617/

I also was invited to the pre-party. Tommy Coston & Patricia Hurley (who run the Light Bringer Project non-profit) were there, as well as Ben McGinty (owner of Gallery at the End of the World in Altadena), Ann Erdman (the Public Information Officer for the City of Pasadena), & THREE other former Doo Dah Queens! (Naughty Mickie, Erika and Carvenita…..whose name I think I’m spelling wrong) check out my photos from the parties: http://www.flickr.com/photos/julieklima/sets/72157621299737661/

Cheers,

Queen Skittles