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Someplace We Know
December, 2024 - Issue #236
In 2013, English retailer John Lewis unleashed a weapon of mass emotional devastation. Their annual Christmas advert, as it's known, featured animation of a thoughtful, lonely rabbit gently coaxing its best friend, a depressed hibernating bear, from its cave to a woodland Christmas. The journey is long, backed by Lily Allen's heart-wrenching version of a Keane song: "'Cause this could be the end of everything, so why don't we go, somewhere only we know..." The lyrics capture that bittersweet sentiment of longing for shared memories and places from our past. Obviously, don't watch it right before you take the family holiday photo. But it is worth taking a quiet moment to think about memories of home in Santa Clarita. Can we still go somewhere only we know?
Swapped for Houses
The Saugus Speedway wasn't always a speedway, but it was always exciting. Over the course of a century, it was sometimes a rodeo, sometimes a movie ranch, sometimes a race track and sometimes a swap meet. Crowds could exceed 10,000. People of all kinds got their thrills from high-speed races or from a really good deal on some cowboy boots, depending on what day you went. But it started to get quieter in the '90s. The stands at the Saugus Speedway were deemed unsafe not long after the Northridge Earthquake, so the sound of roaring engines drifted into memory.
So too, now, has the swap meet. In October, the City Council pushed past objections of its own Planning Commission to make way for over 300 homes and warehouse space in the area. At the final swap meet in late October, there were huge lines. People wanted to enjoy this fixture of Claritan life one final time. Shoppers didn't necessarily need a gently-used bike pump, but many wanted some last tangible piece of an institution in a place that will soon change forever. As they put it rather succinctly on saugusspeedway.com, "THANK YOU FOR 55 GREAT YEARS!!!!"
Come Back!
Filming in LA isn't what it used to be, even compared to a few years ago. Based on stats published by The Hollywood Reporter and FilmLA, there are now thousands fewer shoot days per quarter compared to 2021-2022. But rather than let local TV and movie productions simply evaporate, Governor Newsom released a plan to more than double the financial incentives available to the industry, proposing $750 million in tax credits per year. Many Claritans work in digital media and entertainment, and the boost might mean more work and better job security.
Closer to home, eyes have been on Sable Ranch, a sprawling property used in many productions. The New York Times reported that it recently hit the market for $35 million. It's one of those places with chameleon qualities, serving projects that range from last year's Academy Award winner for best picture, "Oppenheimer," to music videos, competition shows and good-old scripted TV. Interest in the property might serve as one more indication of how bullish folks are regarding filming in the greater Los Angeles area. Sable Ranch is firmly a part of Santa Clarita's storied history of Westerns and movie making. For now, we're still that place for Hollywood.
Holidays Here
It's not often that I address you directly, dear reader. You might be one of those lifer Claritans who grew up here and raised your own family here. Or you could be a recent arrival, drawn by the promise of good schools or a yard for your dog. Or, this time of year, you could be a holiday visitor, picking up this magazine from the coffee table while your mother-in-law puts the final touches on her "famous" ambrosia salad.
I appreciate your readership, truly, but I really must insist that you leave your house soon. There are so many places to visit that make Santa Clarita feel special this time of year. Watch the nutcracker ballet, the Cube's holiday show (On ice!), local theater, holiday concerts. Give the people who strung up miles of holiday lights the grudging admiration and gawking that they need to feel validated. Go out to drink an over-priced, over-sweet, over-cinnamoned coffee and eat someone else's tamales or latkes or Christmas cookies. The things and places we heart in the SCV don't last forever - some barely last a moment - but if we share them, the memories endure.
This column is intended as satire and a (sometimes successful) attempt at humor. Suggestions and catty comments intended for the author can be e-mailed to iheartscv@insidescv.com.
"Shoppers didn't necessarily need a gently-used bike pump, but many wanted some last tangible piece of an institution in a place that will soon CHANGE FOREVER."
The Saugus Speedway wasn't always a speedway, but it was always exciting. Over the course of a century, it was sometimes a rodeo, sometimes a movie ranch, sometimes a race track and sometimes a swap meet. Crowds could exceed 10,000. People of all kinds got their thrills from high-speed races or from a really good deal on some cowboy boots, depending on what day you went. But it started to get quieter in the '90s. The stands at the Saugus Speedway were deemed unsafe not long after the Northridge Earthquake, so the sound of roaring engines drifted into memory.
So too, now, has the swap meet. In October, the City Council pushed past objections of its own Planning Commission to make way for over 300 homes and warehouse space in the area. At the final swap meet in late October, there were huge lines. People wanted to enjoy this fixture of Claritan life one final time. Shoppers didn't necessarily need a gently-used bike pump, but many wanted some last tangible piece of an institution in a place that will soon change forever. As they put it rather succinctly on saugusspeedway.com, "THANK YOU FOR 55 GREAT YEARS!!!!"
Come Back!
Filming in LA isn't what it used to be, even compared to a few years ago. Based on stats published by The Hollywood Reporter and FilmLA, there are now thousands fewer shoot days per quarter compared to 2021-2022. But rather than let local TV and movie productions simply evaporate, Governor Newsom released a plan to more than double the financial incentives available to the industry, proposing $750 million in tax credits per year. Many Claritans work in digital media and entertainment, and the boost might mean more work and better job security.
Closer to home, eyes have been on Sable Ranch, a sprawling property used in many productions. The New York Times reported that it recently hit the market for $35 million. It's one of those places with chameleon qualities, serving projects that range from last year's Academy Award winner for best picture, "Oppenheimer," to music videos, competition shows and good-old scripted TV. Interest in the property might serve as one more indication of how bullish folks are regarding filming in the greater Los Angeles area. Sable Ranch is firmly a part of Santa Clarita's storied history of Westerns and movie making. For now, we're still that place for Hollywood.
Holidays Here
It's not often that I address you directly, dear reader. You might be one of those lifer Claritans who grew up here and raised your own family here. Or you could be a recent arrival, drawn by the promise of good schools or a yard for your dog. Or, this time of year, you could be a holiday visitor, picking up this magazine from the coffee table while your mother-in-law puts the final touches on her "famous" ambrosia salad.
I appreciate your readership, truly, but I really must insist that you leave your house soon. There are so many places to visit that make Santa Clarita feel special this time of year. Watch the nutcracker ballet, the Cube's holiday show (On ice!), local theater, holiday concerts. Give the people who strung up miles of holiday lights the grudging admiration and gawking that they need to feel validated. Go out to drink an over-priced, over-sweet, over-cinnamoned coffee and eat someone else's tamales or latkes or Christmas cookies. The things and places we heart in the SCV don't last forever - some barely last a moment - but if we share them, the memories endure.
This column is intended as satire and a (sometimes successful) attempt at humor. Suggestions and catty comments intended for the author can be e-mailed to iheartscv@insidescv.com.
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