A 90th Birthday Celebration honoring Ray Bradbury will be held on August 19 at 8:00 p.m. in the South Pasadena Public Library Community Room.  Festivities include a free showing of Something Wicked This Way Comes, a 1983 PG-13 rated Disney film starring Jason Robards and Diane Ladd.   The screenplay was written by Bradbury and adapted from his iconic novel.

Mr. Bradbury, who turns 90 three days later, will be receiving a Proclamation from Mayor Richard D. Schneider, M.D. declaring August 22 as “Ray Bradbury Day in South Pasadena.”  Bradbury will also be honored by the offices Congressman Adam Schiff, Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, Senator Gilbert Cedillo, and Supervisor Michael Antonovich.

Fantasy Frostings, a specialty cake design business in operation since 1971, recently moved to South Pasadena and learned of the project to honor Bradbury, widely considered as one of contemporary America’s finest authors.   Fantasy Frostings is donating their services to custom design a cake for Ray and those in attendance at the program.  The company is best known for celebrity events and has recently created cakes for the weddings of New Orleans Saints football player Bobby McCray, film comedian Kevin James, television star Kendra Wilkinson, and Jamie Priestly from My Name is Earl. Some years back they developed a cake for the wedding of Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky that was held at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. The cake studio’s couture creations have also been prominently featured on the Food Network, The Learning Channel’s Ultimate Cake Off, and for Discovery Channel’s 25th Anniversary party.

Cake design artist Leslie Maynor states that Fantasy Frostings is thrilled to be in South Pasadena where there is such a strong sense of community. Leslie loves her company’s 301 Pasadena Avenue location, although she admits it wasn’t the easiest building to move into because of all the reconstruction that was needed, including the installation of a new kitchen.

Even though Leslie’s cakes have been included in so many celebrity weddings and recognized by prestigious national publications, she’s still happy to support her local library’s efforts to honor the legendary author.  According to Leslie, Fantasy Frostings prides itself on the reputation they have with high profile clients in the entertainment industry and the corporate world, but they also want the local community to know that they offer custom cake designs for baby and wedding showers, birthday parties, and almost any other special occasion. Adds Leslie, “We’re just not the place to go when you want to buy a single cupcake.”

 The Library Community Room is located at 1115 El Centro Street. No tickets or reservations are necessary for the event.  The program is co-sponsored by the Friends of the South Pasadena Public Library and SOSOUND Entertainment with financial support from of The Helix Foundation.  Special thanks to Best Custom Frame.