Things To Do in South El Monte

Phantom Projects Theatre Group celebrates its 16th season, bringing a wonderful 4-show season to the beautiful 1,251-seat, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts

PickUp USA takes the infamous pitfalls of pickup basketball—uneven teams, sloppy play, and incessant arguing over fouls and whose mama gives the best hugs—and replaces them with officiated and organized game play without the restrictions of a league. Its members hit the courts in a pristine 17,000-square-foot space, which features a lounge, a stretching area, and courts built by the designers who create them for the NCAA and NBA. Here, California Basketball Officials Association–trained referees officiate one-on-one to five-on-five games every day and night of the year. Though they are unscheduled, the matchups unfold in an organized, staff-guided fashion, a scoreboard keeps track of points, and a constantly running clock keeps games rotating.

The instructors at California Survival School impart decades of wilderness-survival know-how during outdoor, hands-on courses. Participants prepare themselves to live self sufficiently off the land using both modern and primitive techniques, which can come in handy when lost in the woods or the year 1412. During the Core Survival Skills Adventure Clinic, up to 30 students spend five hours learning to create fire using only sticks, build shelters with natural materials, purify water, and feed themselves off the land. The Ancient Artisans Workshop teaches novices how to fashion crude implements from scratch with materials found in nature, and how to use them while out in the wilderness. California Survival School also offers team-building workshops and private events.

In the 1998 remake of Godzilla, a mutant lizard famously destroyed Manhattan—and at Hollywood Sports, visitors can do the same. The 23-acre sports center's paintball fields are each designed to mimic sets from classic movies, ranging from Godzilla to Saving Private Ryan; as they battle with their rented markers, paintball players live out their own twist on those film's battle scenes. Matches occur day and night thanks to the fields' stadium-style lights, which also ensure no one finds themselves in a shootout with a really aggressive bat. In addition to paintball, the park hosts other sports—rock-climbing walls, beach volleyball courts, and BMX racing tracks complement the movie-themed battlefields.

Our goals are to provide a rewarding and fulfilling experience, and to meet the needs of any student interested in the performing arts. Great care and individual attention is given to nurturing the abilities of each student to their fullest and greatest potential. We STRIVE TO TEACH our students to reach his or her own ulti

Cafe 322's homey atmosphere and fare will remind you of your Italian grandmother’s Polish dinner table. Try a different lasagna each day ($12.95) with the lasagna de la casa, or opt for the sophisticated mélange of flavors in the fettuccini di spinaci e salsiccia with fresh spinach, Italian sausage, and fresh garlic sautéed in olive oil ($12.95). Cafe 322 also serves up some tasty meatier dishes, such as rack of lamb, herb-crusted and served with butter mashed potatoes that fall directly into that place in your heart reserved for mom, America, and butter ($22.95). Smaller plates include salads, sandwiches, grilled panini, and burgers. Stars of the gourmet pizza menu include the quatro formaggio (layered with fontina, mozzarella, gorgonzola, and parmesan cheeses, $12.95) and the flavorful grilled chicken pesto ($14.95).

Whittier Narrows trains and nurtures novice and advanced tennis players with its roster of iTennis lessons, USTA adult league teams, and well-kept courts. Each of Whittier Narrows’ 16 courts are painted U.S. Open shades of blue and green to emulate professional play and increase ball visibility, and are fully lighted for nighttime and solar eclipse play. Tennis center memberships entitle players to complimentary perks such as a one-hour drill clinic, a racket demo program, weekly stroke clinics, and free ball machine rental (during off-peak hours), as well as a 10% discount in the pro shop and discounts on classes. After rinsing away sweat and lingering grunts in the men’s and women’s locker rooms, an airy member lounge invites athletes to relax on a leather couch and enjoy wireless Internet, a flat-screen television, and refreshments.