Beginning with a star-studded parade along Hollywood's famous boulevards-Hollywood and Sunset- and contining into the first week of January, the holidays in Hollywood are always a grand occasion. While some places mark the seasons with colorful falling leaves or snow and cold, we start the winter off with the Hollywood Christmas Parade and then proceed into the Oscar or Awards season.
And, yes, there is a winter here that we welcome joyously with Hollywood's favorite flower, the poinsettia. Of all our claims to fame, the Ecke family's contribution of the poinsettia plant is one of my favorites. They first commercialized the flower selling it at stands on Sunset Boulevard.
Also, along with Award Season, following the holiday gift season is the award gifting season. Susan Hornik gives us an idea of what's included in the "goody" or "swag bags" handed out at special events and fundraisers as well to celebrities and attendees at our award shows. This tradition adds a whole new dimension to the term "gifting."
Ninety years ago, the Hollywood name wasn't the big attraction it is today, but in those early filmmaking days, its allure and saleability had a definite cache. However, it would be a real estate developer's gigantic advertising for "Hollywoodland" that would become a real icon that identifies this place and now ties it to its famous industry.
Holidays, parades, flowers, awards, gifts and real estate...you can see why our cover girl Carrie-ann Pishnak is jumping for joy!
About our cover: Carrie-ann Pishnak, Marketing Manager for The Second City Hollywood, holds a BA in Theatre from UNLV. She was classically trained at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England and is a graduate of The Second City's Conservatory and Long Form programs. Carrie-ann has traveled the world in various shows and can be seen performing in various shows at Second City Hollywood. She hails from both East Chicago, Indiana and Las Vegas where she wore a lot of feathers and rhinestones. You can follower her on Twitter @capishnak or go to www.pishnak.com. Photo by Ayumi Iizuka (digitally enhanced by Edward Howard and The Magazine Factory's Dave Destler)