Upcoming 826LA Writing Workshops

Here are some new workshops and panels hosted by 826LA. For the grown-ups they’ve got…

826LA Adult Writing Seminar Series: Comedy Writing on Monday, May 3 at 8:00 pm with Bob Odenkirk, Jen Kirkman, Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, and Jill Soloway! Moderated by Marc Evan Jackson! Our panelists will discuss comedy writing: how they got started, what inspires them, and the dark, dark place comedy comes from. We will also be screening some shorts written by our panelists. Takes place at Busby’s East (5364 Wilshire Blvd.). Click here to buy tickets.

And a couple of youth workshops…

Advertise! – Saturday, May 1 from 12:00 – 2:00 pm Students will receive a brief primer on the components of print advertising-layout, copy, and graphics-and immediately put their knowledge to work. The products at the Echo Park Time Travel Mart need to be advertised. Working with volunteer instructors from the worlds of advertising and television, students will write copy and lay out the graphics for the Time Travel Mart products of their choice, creating actual print advertisements. Taught by ad folks from TBWA\Chiat\Day and TV folks from “Deadliest Catch” and “Mad Men.”  For students ages 8 to 12. Takes place at 826LA East (1714 W. Sunset Blvd). Cost is FREE. Go here to sign up!

Improv: Comedy and Character – Sunday, May 2 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm This workshop introduces participants to the core concepts of improv comedy: group mind, space work, character, and, of course, fun! Participants will play games, write character monologues, and create scenes using their characters. For students ages 8 to 13. Takes place at UCLA’s Armand Hammer Museum. Cost is FREE but PLEASE NOTE: this workshop is full. If you’d like to be included on a waiting list, email julius(at)826la.org

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Fishing for Trout in Echo Park Lake?

Throughout this week, Echo Park Lake is amongst other Southern California and Eastern Sierra waters to be stocked with rainbow trout by the Department of Fish and Game. Rainbow trout is generally stocked during the cooler months of winter through late spring, while catfish are stocked during the summer, and will join other fish like bass and maybe even some perch.

I personally enjoy rainbow trout – growing up, my family and I caught them in the mountain lakes in Northern California. My mother would wrap the fish in foil and cook them on our campfire, making some incredibly fresh dinner for our camping trips. But this isn’t the High Sierras – this is Echo Park Lake, which is considered a catch-and-release site for recreation only. Poor water quality keeps me from imagining anyone enjoying fish from the lake as a meal – the lake is in fact a flood control basin that catches all the urban run-off in the area, along with a collection of pollutants like ammonia, copper, lead, trash, and more that have accumulated in the lake.

However, I have been reading that the fish are safe to eat – the CA Department of Fish and Game told the Eastsider LA in November last year that most are caught within 1-3 months and are safe. I personally expect someone to discover a three-eyed Simpsons fish any time now, but I’ll leave it up to you whether or not you’ll be dining on some Echo Park Lake delicacies.

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Menu Mondays: Taix

Taix
1911 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026-3288
(213) 484-1265
www.taixfrench.com

Monday-Thursday: 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
Friday: 11:30am – 11:00pm
Saturday: 12:00pm – 11:00pm
Sunday: 12:00pm – 9:00pm

Make a reservation online.

Read more

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New Yoga Classes for Kids at Echo Park Yoga

Denise over at Echo Park Yoga just started teaching yoga classes for kids every Sunday from 5:00 to 6:00 pm.

I began this class at the beginning of April because I love Yoga and love working with children. I  got certified in teaching Kid’s Yoga last Fall and decided to provide my community (I live in Echo Park) with an outlet for kids to have fun and learn something new.

Echo Park Yoga’s studios are located in the Jensen Rec Center at the entrance on Logan (1161 Logan Street).


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Cigar Box Beauty at Miss Scarlet in the Parlor

Opening reception for a new show entitled “Cigar Box Beauty” tonight Saturday, April 24 from 7:00 to 11:00 pm at Miss Scarlet in the Parlor.

They have style, they have face. Drawing influences from fashion and propaganda, the art of Cigar Box Beauty explores the concepts of style and appeal with aplomb. The exhibit features an international group of young guns, including Jeremy Forson (US,) Eliza Frye (US,) Naja Conrad-Hansen (Denmark,) Soey Milk (US,) Yana Moskaluk (Russia,) and Mateu Velasco (Brazil.) Suave, complex, and admittedly fetishistic, the pieces in Cigar Box Beauty engage in a conversation exploring the exploitation and exaltation of beauty.

Admission is free and “seraphic” (light? sweet?) refreshments will be served. Miss Scarlet in the Parlor is located at 1282 W. Sunset Blvd.

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Earth Day Sale Today at Tavin

Swing by Tavin today for 15% off your purchase of anything in the store. Located at 1543 Echo Park Ave, Tavin is open until 7:00 pm today.

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Echo Park Beautification with Garcetti’s Office

The first Echo Park Beautification was scheduled for late February, but all that rain interfered with the events.

This time the Beautification project will take place on Saturday, May 1, 8:45 am at the Echo Park Walgreens parking lot (1625 W. Sunset Blvd). Join Council President Eric Garcetti, members from the Positive Energy Group, Echo Park TAP, GEPENC, and volunteers from Kaiser Permanente and the Big Sunday Organization.

The morning will start out with refreshments and instructions, followed by a couple of hours of some beautification labor, all for the purpose of continuing to make Echo Park a little brighter.

Download the flyer here.

Please contact Field Deputy Alejandra Marroquin of the LA City Council at Alejandra.Marroquin@lacity.org, or call 323-957-4500 for more information.

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Sunday: Mishka Lunch Truck Day

Shop Echo Park Avenue and fill your belly with mobile food goodies on Sunday, April 25 in front of Mishka L.A. from 12 noon – 4:00 pm.

Dosa Truck (Indian sourdough crepes), Mandoline Grill (Vietnamese cuisine), and Lomo Arigato (Japanese cuisine) trucks will be feeding you for the day.

Mishka L.A. is located at 1547 Echo Park Ave.

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Shakespeare for all ages at the Bootleg Theater

Hamlet, Prince of Puddles

April 10th – May 9th

Saturdays and Sundays at 11am

$9.99, $5 for children

The Bootleg Theater

Get tickets here.

“Hamlet, Prince of Puddles is an all ages adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic play opening at the Bootleg Theater on April 10 at 11am. All tickets are priced $9.99 and under (kids are only $5) with the hopes that the economy and cost will not prevent families from exploring the wildly imaginative world of live theater.

Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark, but after the untimely death of his kingly father, his mother Gertrude hastily marries his uncle Claudius. When Hamlet learns who is to blame for his father’s death, he struggles to take action and becomes known as the Prince of Puddles! Find out why in this all-ages adaptation of the Bard’s classic.

The show is a coming out party for new theatre group l’Enfant Terrible. The company is dedicated to creating family friendly plays for all ages and reaching a variety of communities throughout Los Angeles. By making its work accessible to adults and kids L’Enfant Terrible aims to create new theatre lovers while pushing the boundaries of children’s theatre.” – Bootleg Theater

The Bootleg Theater is located at 2220 Beverly Blvd.

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Echo Park Lake Walking Tour Tomorrow

The Echo Park Historical Society is hosting its Echo Park Lake Walking Tour tomorrow, Saturday, April 24 at 10:00 am.

According to the EPHS website, the tour will include “some of the neighborhood’s most prominent landmarks, such as Jensen’s Recreation Center, Angelus Temple and, of course, the lake. The tour takes about two hours to complete and includes several stairways. Building interiors are not included. Reservations required. The tours are free for EPHS members; we ask a $5 donation of all others.”

Make your reservation by calling (323) 860-8874, or e-mail your name, the number of people in your group, your phone number and the name and date of the tour.

The tour starts at the Echo Park Lake Boathouse, located at 751 Echo Park Ave.

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Bake Sale Fundraiser at Mooi in Echo Park

On Saturday, April 24, Bake Me Up LA is holding a bake sale at Mooi Food on the corner of Logan and Sunset in Echo Park. The bake sale proceeds will benefit cats and dogs via PAWS LA and Kitten Rescue.

Bake Me Up is part of the “Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale” and will be holding bake sales on occasion to raise money. They still need help baking all the goodies, so if you’re interested please sign up here.

Bake Me Up Fundraiser
Saturday, April 24, 2010
11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Mooi Foods at 1700 Sunset Blvd.

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Flashback Fridays: Chavez Ravine (Part 2)

Photo by Don Normark

During the 1940’s, Chavez Ravine came to the city’s attention as an area ripe for re-development. At the time, it was the home of a well-established, predominantly Mexican-American community. It was poor but pastoral and self-sufficient. Many of its inhabitants grew their own food and raised their own animals. This small, hidden valley was home to several hundred families many of whom had trouble finding other places to live due to housing discrimination.

During the post-World War II housing shortage, the city of L.A. looked to Chavez Ravine as the perfect place to build public housing (rooms that were meant to be rented-out by low-income families). In preparation for the building of this complex (to be known as “Elysian Park Heights”), most of the inhabitants of Chavez Ravine were evicted from their homes. But before construction even began, the political climate in L.A. changed drastically. It was the height of the Red Scare and this plan for public housing were a bit too socialist for L.A.’s public officials including the newly-elected mayor. The planner of this project, Frank Wilkinson, was then called before the House Un-American Activities Committee. His was fired due to his refusal to confirm or deny Communist Party membership.

The project died, and in the meantime, Chavez Ravine was still occupied by a small number of its original inhabitants that refused to leave. In 1958, the city of Los Angeles (wanting to pull in the revenue that would come from having a major baseball franchise) sold the 352 acres of land to the Brooklyn Dodgers. The remaining residents were forced out through the use of condemnation or eminent domain. A handful of residents avoided this and held out until the very end when, in May of 1959, the sheriffs department came in with bulldozers and armed men and physically forced them out.

The story of Chavez Ravine is a complex and interesting one, and I highly recommend that those who are interested in it read more about it. One of the best books on the subject is Don Normark’s Chavez Ravine: A Los Angeles Story. As a young photographer in 1949 he photographed the residents of Chavez Ravine. Years later he found many of the people that he photographed and their memories make up the majority of the book’s text.

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Friday Night In Echo Park

Everybody Was In The French Resistance…Now, Ezra Furman and The Harpoons at The Echo:

9pm. $8. 18+

If you don’t know the gimmick yet, Everybody Was In The French Resistance… Now is all about rewriting the biggest mistakes in pop history. Whether it’s telling Avril Lavigne to back off or correcting the likes of Bob Dylan on “Think Twice (It’s Not Alright)”, they’ve corrected some grave injustices in the popular musical landscape. But if you’re still not sure what’s going on, you can get a first-hand look when the band, lead by Art Brut’s Eddie Argos and The Blood Arm’s Dyan Valdes, tour the U.S. and Canada this April and May.

The tour kicks off April 23rd in Los Angeles, CA and darts all across the U.S. and into Toronto and Montreal before wrapping up on May 26th in Phoenix, AZ. In an interview with NME recently, Argos said he was excited to get out on the road, especially to get ahead of work on his day job band.

“I’m really looking forward to the tour,” Argos said. “Unfortunately Dave Newton, who played the European tour and SXSW shows, can’t make it. We have Ian Catskilkin from Art Brut instead, which will be useful for writing the next Art Brut album.” – Consequence of Sound

with resident DJs spinning the best in Brit / Indie / Soul / Twee / Madchester / Punk / Glam

Find out more at ClubUnderground.net.

Read more

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Announcement For Our Email Subscribers

echo park now logoAnnouncement!

Do you subscribe to Echo Park Now via our email service? If you do, I’d like to inform you of a small change to the schedule. Instead of receiving the email between 7am and 9am with all the prior days posts, emails will now be sent out between 5pm and 7pm with all the current days posts (plus anything posted after the previous day’s email went out).

I hope this change will make the emails more current and useful. Why wait for tomorrow to read today’s news?

If you don’t like this change, feel free to comment in this post. If majority rule wants to return to the old time slot we will do that!

Wait, I can read EPN in my email? Yes! If you would like Echo Park Now delivered daily to your inbox, you can subscribe below. Emails are sent once a day with all the posts from the previous 24 hours. When you sign up you will receive an email containing a link to active your subscription. You will not start receiving emails until you click on that link. You can cancel your subscription at any time by scrolling to the bottom of any daily email and selecting the unsubscribe now link. How risk free is that! Don’t worry, we won’t share your email address. If email is not your thing, you can subscribe to EPN using any standard blog reader. Just click here!

Enter your email address:

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Joel Osteen Event at Dodger Stadium on Saturday

On Saturday, April 24 started at 7:00 pm, Dodger Stadium is hosting the Joel Osteen Ministries event called the “Night of Hope.” Noel Pallais, Neighborhood Relations Manager for Dodger Stadium, sent out some details on how the Stadium will handle the traffic and timeline:

  • Set-up will commence on Wednesday, April 21st in the parking lots immediately adjacent to the Stadium – during the set-up stadium lights will be on;
  • A sound check for the event will commence at approximately 3:00 pm on Saturday;
  • Parking gates will open at 5:00 pm, event will start at 7:00 pm and the will conclude at approximately 10:00 pm;
  • The event is expected to be a sell-out and all parking gates will be used for inbound traffic. However, to minimize the impact on the community please note that the Scott Avenue gate will not be utilized for outbound traffic and the City will not close any streets but the “Local Access Only” barricades will be placed at the previously agreed upon locations;
  • Event breakdown will commence on Sunday, April 25th and will be completed on Monday, April 26th – as will be the case for the set-up the stadium lights will be on.
  • Finally, you may contact our Neighborhood Focus line at 323.224.2636, should you have any questions, require additional information or to report any security concerns.

As it turns out, the Scott Avenue gate will in fact be open for outgoing traffic, and while Noel’s announcement indicates there will be Local Access Only barricades, it hasn’t been confirmed whether or not there will be traffic officers around to help the flow of traffic at the intersections.

Jenny Burman of the Chicken Corner might be saying a prayer herself about the potential traffic issues: “…here’s to the hope that for Osteen’s nighttime service the traffic and crowd flow through the surrounding neighborhood is managed more effectively than we’ve seen at the ballgames. Or maybe say a prayer to that effect.”

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