The corner of North Lake Avenue where Two Dragons Martial Arts used to sit was reduced to ash in the early hours of Jan. 7, 2025, when the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena’s commercial district. On Saturday, that same corner becomes the site of a daylong block party, a public step in the dojo’s announced plan to rebuild on the property it has now reacquired.
Founder and instructor “Sipoo” Shelene Hearring lost the studio and most of its equipment in the fire. In the months that followed, she gathered Two Dragons students together for classes in parks and garages — improvised arrangements that became a fixture of the broader Altadena recovery story. Hearring spoke with national outlets including ABC News and CBS News as she navigated the loss and the early stages of reconstruction. “My families [of students] made me realize that we need each other and we have to stand up and stay together,” she told ABC News. By late 2025, the studio had purchased back the longtime Lake Avenue site, supported by community fundraising and student family donations.
Saturday’s block party runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is designed as a community celebration of the studio’s return to the property. A full schedule of activities, including demonstrations, food and family entertainment, has been posted to the studio’s Next Door and Facebook pages.
The event is free and open to the public.
Two Dragons Martial Arts will host a block party Saturday, June 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2490 N. Lake Ave., in Altadena. Admission is free. For more information, call (626) 398-8853.
