PPCC to Host 50th Anniversary Jubilee & Community Celebration

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Pacific Palisades Community Council will commemorate its 50th anniversary alongside dozens of area officials and organizations during a Jubilee & Community Celebration on Saturday, September 30, from 12 to 4 p.m. at Simon Meadow.

“Public officials and elected representatives and Palisades community leaders from almost every local organizations will be present for a wonderful day of community and a celebration of the volunteer spirit that helps make the Palisades wonderful,” read an email from PPCC.

Festivities will include music, food, specialty coffees and desserts, which have been underwritten by members of the community and local organizations. The day will be emceed by Sam Laganà, a longtime Palisadian and stadium voice of the LA Rams.

PPCC will share its anniversary with other community entities, including Palisades Village Green (50 years), Pacific Palisades Historical Society (50 years), Theatre Palisades (60 years), Palisades Fourth of July Parade (75 years) and more.

“It is impressive to see how many organizations are active in this town,” PPCC Chair Maryam Zar said to the Palisadian-Post, “and how together, we make up the tapestry of this wonderful community.”

In addition to entities celebrating anniversaries, dozens of other area organizations will also be participating in the event, including Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness, Palisades Gift Shop, Malibu-Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce, Pacific Palisades Baseball Association and more.

“It is exciting and infinitely gratifying that what began as plans for a 50th anniversary celebration for PPCC has grown to a Community Jubilee that is truly all encompassing,” Zar said. “As of right now, we have 30 community organizations joining the celebration with booths, and a dozen that will give volunteer awards on this spectacular day of celebrating community.”

The program will begin with a presentation from PPCC, remarks from elected and other area officials, a brief history of the Palisades, and recap of the community council from long-standing members and founders, according to the PPCC website. There will also be a “procession of awards” given out by participating organizations to local volunteers.

Local elected officials who are expected to attend and participate include Councilmember Traci Park, Senator Ben Allen and Congressmember Brad Sherman. Los Angeles Fire and Police department officials also have plans to be at the event.

There will be a display of poems, art, photographs and other writings from students who live or go to school in the Palisades, organized by Palisades Charter High School and Pacific Palisades Library Association, with prizes to be awarded in various categories.

Founded in 1973, PPCC operates with a mission of protecting and improving the quality of life in Pacific Palisades.

“The PPCC is a forum for the consideration of community issues,” according to its mission statement. “[It] is an advocate for Pacific Palisades to government and private agencies upon issues where there is broad community agreement as reflected by two-thirds of the board members voting on any one of those issues at a PPCC meeting, and assists other organizations in Pacific Palisades which want help in accomplishing their objectives or projects, which the PPCC determines to support.”

For more information, or to donate to support PPCC’s efforts, visit pacpalicc.org.