La Cañada Flintridge Orthopaedic Guild (LCFOG) will celebrate 62 years of service to Orthopaedic Institute for Children (OIC) on October 22.  OIC is one of the largest providers of pediatric orthopaedic treatment centers in the Western United States.   The annual Book and Author Luncheon will be held at the La Cañada Flintridge Country Club, 5500 Godbey Drive, La Canada.  All profits from the luncheon will be donated to OIC, where no child is turned away for lack of funds or being underinsured.  This year’s event is co-chaired by Caryl Pettit and Arlene Massimino.  Under their direction, every member of the Guild has participated in some way to make this the best ever luncheon.   Authors have been selected, programs designed, menus chosen, invitations are printed and mailed and name tags are being made as this article goes to press.  Nearly 200 women attend this event each year.

When Book and Author co-chairs, Wendy Nicoll and Arlene Massimino, heard of a “book worth reading” from friends, they decided to contact the author, Lydia Fitzpatrick.   She was very receptive and graciously agreed to present her debut novel, “Lights All Night Long” for as she put it “such a worthy cause”.   She is an acclaimed young writer whose book is a gripping and deftly plotted story of family and belonging.   Fifteen- year-old Ilya leaves his native Russia and arrives in Louisiana  as an exchange student but he is consumed with the fate of his older brother, now in a prison in Russia.  This is a tale of intrigue, which shows a fierce bond between brothers and a determination to find their way back to each other.  Lydia’s debut novel is compelling and has been described as a “perfectly paced mystery novel”.

Fitzpatrick’s work has appeared in “The O’Henry Prize Stories,” “The Best American Mystery Stories,” “One Story,” “Glimmer Train” and elsewhere.  She was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford, a fiction fellow at University of Wisconsin-Madison and the recipient of the Elizabeth George Foundation Grant.  Fitzpatrick graduated Princeton University and later received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan.  She and her husband live in the Los Angeles area with their two daughters.

Author Naomi Hirahara, a local resident will present her fresh off the press book “Iced in Paradise”. 

Brigit Binns’ travel, culinary guide, cookbook “Eating Up the West Coast” will be available for sale at the luncheon.  She is unavailable to attend the luncheon but sends her best wishes for a successful event

Entertainment will be provided by Chloe Barber, a fifteen year old student at La Canada High School and a patient Ambassador of OIC.  Chloe will perform a song she composed, music and lyrics, and will accompany herself on the guitar.  Last year, Chloe was found to have a curvature of the spine and was told she would need to wear a back brace which was painful.  At the urging of her grandmother, Barbara Self, LCFOG member, she sought a second opinion at OIC.  Dr. Anthony Scaduto diagnosed her condition, made some recommendations and assured her a painful back brace was not indicated.  She will sing with a grateful heart at the luncheon.

Members of LCFOG are proud to support OIC by volunteering   their time and donating funds from the Luncheon to help children “Grow Well and Play Well.” If interested in attending this event, contact Marianne Jennings 818 398-7323 for available seating.  The luncheon is invitation only.   

Written and submitted by Arlene Massimino    Photos courtesy of Lydia Fitzpatrick and Chloe Barber