Arcadia Recreation Department

Ok mixed reviews here. Front desk is pretty unhelpful and rude. I had to switch a class on a saturday bc i realized the later class worked best but the same lady who signed us up in the front counter with glasses insisted she can only make that change mon-​fri only! And let me add that she did take forever to sign us up weeks ago!
My daughter has taken many classes here throughout the yrs, myself included.
It is affordable, instructors are hit and miss, but way better than other cities.
Pilates with amy– she really makes u work work. No excuses!
Zumba with james– 5 stars! Very fun and good workout!
Cooking class– pretty fun– teamwork!
Ballet for tots– the teacher doesn’t participate. She just tells the kids what to do… Somehow it works!
Paint and play for tots– takes place at paint and play in monrovia. Kids get to paint the pottery. Very fun. Pricy. Owner of the shop is pushy on getting u to sign up for future classes but the teachers are amazing!
My friends highly recommend the gym class for toddlers!

of ALL the places my kids take classes at, this place really is at the bottom of anything. FRONT DESK SERVICE IF ANY SUCKS. MEDIOCRE INSTRUCTORS AT BEST.
Today was a Snow festival they have at the center, which ALSO has a class in their schedule. I asked IF there’s a class today, the blond BiXCH tossed me next year schedule and said annoying, «there’s no classes today!!»
also, we took a few classes there already. On some Saturdays I have to work overtime, so I had my kids take the transit to the center and my disabled father will be waiting for them at home. The staff even had the nerves to call me at work saying, «parents are complaining I let my 10 yr old son ride the transit by himself!» PEOPLE: IF YOU CAN’T HELP, JUST KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! THAT INCLUDES THE BALLET TEACHER! that’s just common courtesy. I would have taken them IF I could or even have anyone else that drives in the family. I am a single mother just trying take care of my parents and my kid. Please bring your manners in public!

My cooking instructor: «We are going to make this just like Olive Garden»
In my head: «Oh my god, please don’t ever say anything like that ever again.»
Two weeks later…
My cooking instructor: «It’s like those potatoes at that place in the mall. You know, Sbarro.»
My head: «Oh no, she just went down from Olive Garden. I didn’t know that was possible.»
Despite the terrible (like really terrible) references, I still enjoyed the cooking class. Our instructor was this young Latina woman who is currently a student at Le Cordon Bleu, specializing in deserts. Joining me in the class were four Chinese woman who wanted to learn more «American» recipes. I just wanted to learn more recipes.
Keeping in mind the students’ goals, the class was perfect. We learned a variety dishes, most of which were fairly easy to make and had a lot of diversity. Risotto, bacon hamburgers (recipe borrowed from Slaters ⁵⁰⁄₅₀), pana cotta, rosemary potatoes, tamales, cannolis, brownies from scratch, lasagna soup and a few other things I can’t remember. Of those, my big win was the Risotto, which I honestly never liked until I tried the one we made in class and then made at home.
Will I take the class again? Probably. Would I recommend it to others? If you are looking for simple, easy to use recipes, most definitely. If you are looking for high-​end dishes, this probably isn’t for you. Also, if you’re not a fan of butter, you are not going to like this either. Then again, who doesn’t like butter… lots and lots of butter…
;-)

Of all the cities my wife and I have taught Zumba classes for, this city is the best! We’ve had very responsive service with the front desk staff and the administrative staff as well.
They’ve helped us promote our Zumba classes with flier distribution and connections to city events for promotion. The coordinator’s responsiveness is great — definitely better than any other city we’ve worked with.
The facilities are very nice, too. At the community center on Campus Drive, there is a very nice stage with lights, making a presentable appearance for our students. There’s also a sound system too, but we usually just bring our own.
At Dana Gym down the street, there’s a very large space that we can fill with 50 students. This facility also has a built-​in sound system as well. I think the only small downsides to this location is the air conditioning may leave something to be desired during the hottest part of the summer and our students have told us that parking has been a challenge when our classes are full.
We’re quite happy with their catalog of classes that is sent to the residents of Arcadia. We get nearly all of our students from either that program or from word-​of-​mouth referrals. They have great distribution — I think I remember hearing that it’s about 3000 recipients (someone should fact-​check that number, though).
As of fall 2013, there are currently talks about adding a new location to teach classes because all of the existing classes are so popular.
Keep up the great work, Arcadia Recreation! (just get that air conditioning fixed at Dana Gym…)