A happy ending for one lost pet

Not the dog mentioned below, but gotta love that face! Flickr photo via rachel carr

Now this is a story I can get used to! A resident posted a nice story today on the Echo Elysian Neighborhood Council Forum about a “Jindo” mix that she found late last month. Here’s her story:

I found a Jindo mix on the 19th and took her to Lacy Street [North Central Shelter]. The dog was scanned and no chip was found. I monitored the dog on line, but no one was coming to claim her. It didn’t add up to me, since the dog had an expensive collar, was in good shape, had been spayed, no fleas. I didn’t really want to foster Jindo mix.

I called after her available date to check her status and found out that her owner had come to pull her out, (let’s call the owner Laura), but they couldn’t release to Laura because when they took her in the back to microchip her, a chip was actually found with a completely different persons information on it. Apparently Laura had found the dog a month ago, but did not take her to the pound. The info on the chip was outdated, a letter was sent to the person on the microchip, they did not come for the dog, so now this girl has been pulled and is happily home with Laura.

Yea!!!! A happy outcome! The microchip is now updated and this girl is back with the person who really loves her. And I’m writing all this just to say that sometimes taking a dog to the pound does have a happy ending.

Of course, the question of why the chip wasn’t found on the first scan is concerning.

Thank you for your story! It’s also a reminder that it’s really important if you do have to take an animal to the shelter, you take time out of your busy schedule to make sure it gets to a home as we certainly don’t want any pets euthanized unnecessarily. A little personal time and effort goes a long way! But always remember – if you can hold on to the pet and find its owner, that’s always a safer bet.

I had an experience recently taking a dog I found wandering the Echo Park streets late at night to the same North Central Shelter, and things turned out great for him too. You can read about that experience here.

And, as always, support your four-legged friends in Echo Park by adopting through, donating to, fostering for, or volunteering at the Echo Park Animal Alliance!

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A hundred-year-old murder in Elysian Heights

This week’s Flashback Friday comes to us courtesy of L.A. Creek Freak, an incredibly informative and unique blog that addresses both the ancient and the modern history of Los Angeles’ rios and arroyos, many of which are currently “degraded and forgotten.” The writers speak out and seek to educate readers on L.A.’s ecology, believing that “our rivers and creeks are vital to our communities and our planet.”

A few months ago, Jessica Hall of the Creek Freak website posted a fantastically creepy story about a murder that occurred in Elysian Heights over one hundred years ago. The story came from an old L.A. Times article, found by reader David Kimbrough. Here’s the story, as summarized by Jessica:

On the evening of December 27, 1904, Columbus C. Champion, 67, committed fratricide, shooting down his brother Thomas in a “deadly fusillade…in front of the Elysian Springs bottling plant,” for whom Thomas worked as a water delivery man. Columbus, called “Lum,” lived on property next to the bottling company.

Lum had already been abandoned by his wife, son and father several months previously, and neighbors believed it was “worth almost any effort to keep on good terms. It is said he has terrorized the neighborhood on numerous occasions…” Earlier in the day, he fired BB shot at his niece, threatening to kill the entire family, which precipitated the deadly confrontation with his brother.

Thomas, returning to the Elysian Springs Bottling Company, rode his wagon with his son Sam past Lum’s property:

“At once the old man rushed out of the house and began to abuse his brother. Sam Champion, fearing for his father’s safety, secured a revolver from the home, and started up to where his father and uncle were quarreling.  The younger brother (Thomas) was trying to ward off the attacks of Lum, and just as Sam arrived his father told Lum to go back into his own lot and leave him alone, or he would knock him down.  With an oath, Lum started toward the cottage, crying out that he would kill the whole outfit. He quickly reappeared with his gun, and when within twenty feet of this brother fired the load of shot into his breast. Thomas sank to the ground and expired almost immediately.”

The villain was unrepentant and actually joking with the police who carried him away.

Creepy! So if you’re ever wondering about possible hauntings in Elsyian Heights, this might be a good place to start.

Also, how cool is it that there was a bottling plant in Elysian Heights?

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Echo Park Crime Updates

At last night’s Echo Park Improvement Association’s Town Hall meeting, we had a rep from both the Northeast and Rampart Divisions to provide us with an update on crime in the Echo Park area. Some notes worthy of mention are:

  • Officer Hill says the Yankee Game weekend enforcement went well, that they were citing people for public drinking as early as 10:00 am in Elysian Park. Northeast also had a DUI task force in place near stadium exits for drunk drivers.
  • Two significant arrests were made Wednesday in relation to recent burglaries (one on Clifford by the elementary school). Approximately four or five people retrieved their stolen property from that bust.
  • From the Rampart Division, there are no new updates on the robbery at the Higher Path Dispensary last week.
  • July 4th is on Sunday, and we were reminded that fireworks are illegal in Los Angeles. Anyone who has lived in Echo Park during a 4th of July knows the havoc that goes on at the Lake. Officers will be responding to calls if residents notify 311 (or 911 if it’s an emergency) of any illegal activity.
  • Update on the shooting at the Echo a couple of weeks ago: the Rampart officer at the meeting last night says apparently someone had been denied entry into the club, so he came back and shot at a security guard.

And from Captain Bill Murphy, we have some information to share from the Northeast Division E-Policing Newsletter we received yesterday:

National Night Out will take place in Echo Park at the Walgreens on Tuesday, August 3 from 5-8:00 pm. “National Night Out is a fun and informative event with entertainment provided at each site.”

Dodger Night: “On Wednesday July 28, 2010, from 6-9:00 pm at the Dodger Stadium Stadium Club overlooking the right field and first base lines. The Dodgers recently renovation the Stadium Club and it now has an overhang deck with a spectacular view of the ballpark. Everyone is invited to this event and free parking will be provided in lot L. Come hear from your Captains, SLOs, and elected officials regarding the ‘State of Northeast Area.’ Make sure you get there early as last year several hundred people attended this event.”

Neighborhood Crime Update:

Echo Park

Over the last week the crime looks good. Over the past 28 days there are some property crimes occuring along the Sunset corridor mostly from late PM hours through daybreak (a few car break-in and GTAs). We had a bad burglary problem that I spoke about in the last newsletter. This has been cleaned up tremendously with several arrests of burglars over the past four weeks.

Elysian Valley

Very clear over the past week – only a few property crimes over the past 28 days.

You can contact Captain Murphy at 26152@lapd.lacity.org. To sign up for the E-Policing Newsletter, go to lapdonline.org. Then click on E-Policing in the navigation. All you have to do is provide your email address and you’re set!

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EPIA meeting tonight to address lake swap meet

The Echo Park Improvement Association Town Hall meeting tonight is an important one – there’s been a recent surge of conversation about the Echo Park Lake Sunday swap meet/vendors on the Echo Elysian Neighborhood Council forum, and the EPIA is addressing the issue tonight with some special guests to speak to residents about the issue. Come get informed!

Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 7:00 pm

Barlow Hospital – Williams Hall at 2000 Stadium Way

TOWN HALL AGENDA

  1. Welcome and Introductions
  2. Council District 1 & 13 reports
  3. Northeast & Rampart Police Reports
  4. Select Patrol
  5. Town Hall discussion on Echo Park Flea Market
  6. Elections
  7. Annual meeting review – goals and future agendas
  8. Treasurer report
  9. Fundraiser – EPIA Dodger night
  10. EPIAn Way – next issue – articles needed
  11. Neighborhood Issues committee report (NIC)
  12. REPORTS / ANNOUNCEMENTS: To make an announcement, sign a card when you come in, giving your name and topic.  Cards are collected and given to the moderator.
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Echo Park Film Center closed in July

We just got our (at the least) weekly email from the Echo Park Film Center. The Center will be closed for the month of July so that they can “tour, make films, and plot and plan for the coming season.” It seems that a couple of them are even taking the Trans-Siberian Railway through China, Mongolia and Russia. Jealous!

They will return sometime in August, but you still have one more chance to get your summer film fix this Friday, July 2 when the Filmmobile screens “The Savage Eye.” This “dramatized documentary” from 1959 follows the newly-divorced Judith on a journey through Los Angeles where she encounters all sorts of unsavory characters. The film “provides a peephole into the seedier side of a long gone Los Angeles.”

The screening is FREE and open to anyone, and starts at 8:00 pm. The location is somewhere along the 7000 block of Hollywood Blvd. between Sycamore and Orange. Keep an eye out on the Filmmobile Twitter page for more detailed info.

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And… we’re back!

Thank you for your patience. Our second year online started off with a bang! And then the site went down.

You/we/everyone are no longer at risk for viruses, but as always feel free to let us know if you run into any technical issues with the site.

Thanks again!

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Found a lost pet? Here’s what to do

 

A friend's dog, Murray, is missing right now in Echo Park

A recent personal experience has prompted me to share with everyone some basic information about what to do when you find a lost cat or dog wandering the streets of Echo Park. Here are some steps and suggestions for what to do:

  1. Of course, always approach with caution. The little dog I recently found running around was super friendly, so we didn’t have a hard time getting to know him.
  2. No collar or tag? You can try and hang on to the animal and hang up posters around the neighborhood or post a notification on the Echo Elysian Neighborhood Council forum or the Echo Park Animal Alliance forum. However, if you’re like me and have other animals in the house or just no room for another, you might want to go to the next step.
  3. Go to the nearest animal shelter, which is, for the 90026 area code, the North Central Shelter located at 3201 Lacy Street, Los Angeles, CA 90031. There they can find out of the animal is chipped, which is your best bet to find the owner (assuming the animal is correctly registered).
  4. If there’s no chip, get the impound number so you can track the animal and make sure it gets adopted. They have a first rights program, which allows the “finder” first dibs on the animal if unclaimed. After five days of impound, you can adopt/rescue the animal. You can keep track of the animal through the LA Animal Services website by clicking here. If the tracking number doesn’t come up, it means the animal has been picked up by its owner or adopted.

I got a lot of help from someone at the Echo Park Animal Alliance, a great resource for residents. They “feed, foster and re-home stray dogs dumped in Elysian Park, raise funds for local animals’ medical expenses, offer free pet food and shelter to the neediest members of our community.” There are some really cute dogs and cats up for adoption through the EPAA, you an take a look at those animals through its website by clicking here.

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Xoia Vietnamese restaurant opens in Echo Park

Xoia Vietnamese restaurant (pronounced soy-yah) opened up last Friday, and we finally got a chance to go check out the new diggs and try out the menu.

Right now, Xoai is having a soft opening – meaning there is a limited menu and cash only (that was a surprise for us – we had to run down to the ATM a couple of blocks away for cash). They don’t serve alcohol yet, but according to Eating LA may apply for a license some day.

Echo Park Now didn’t attend the restaurant’s “community night” on Monday where bloggers and press were treated to sample the soft opening menu, so we ventured out last night and ordered just a couple of dishes on our own. I was feeling under the weather, and with the temperature outside unusually cool lately, I had to warm up with some pho. I ordered the vegetarian Pho Chay with tofu, my dinner date the Pho Tai with rare steak.

The broth is delicious – heavy on the anise flavors and plentiful. At first I didn’t think the broth had enough heat (I like mine spicy and steaming hot), but that was nothing a little sriracha didn’t fix. As mentioned, the vegetarian dish had plenty of broth and plenty of noodles, and while there were only about five chunks of tofu there were a LOT of mushrooms (mini portabello I believe). I’m not a huge fan of mushrooms (flavor good, chewing not so much), so I avoided those as much as I could. Other than that, it was tasty and while I put good dent in the bowl I couldn’t finish the whole thing in one sitting.

Vegetarian Pho

Oh yes, and my dinner partner really liked the Pho Tai.

I don’t eat red meat, but there seemed to be a pretty good balance between poultry, red meat, and vegetarian options. Though the menu doesn’t say, I did ask our server and the spring rolls do come vegetarian as well (on the menu they have pork and shrimp).

Read more

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Week in Music

For the week of Monday, June 28 through Sunday, July 4.

Monday
Rainbow^Arabia, Gary Wilson & The Blind Dates, Tame Impala, Weave! @ The Echo (FREE!)
Cold Mold, Vulture, Fuckass, Treasure Mammal, Jamuel Saxton @ Pehrspace
New Music Monday feat. Buzz or Howl, Daryl Shaun + guests @ Echo Curio
Stone Axe @ Origami Vinyl

Tuesday
Johnny O’Donnell’s Pratfall Effect, Mack Winston and the Reflections, Dante VS Zombie @ The Echo

Wednesday
Hot Hot Heat, Voxhaul Broadcast, 1, 2, 3 @ Bootleg Theater
KSCR presents Asura + Shlohmo @ Origami Vinyl

Thursday
Dum Dum Girls, Crocodiles, Dunes, Soft Healer @ The Echo
Batwings Catwings, I.E., Luna Is Honey, Michael Nhat, Kid Infinity @ Echo Curio
These Are Photos: A Collection By Danny Krug music by My Pet Saddle @ Origami Vinyl

Friday
Mates of State, Free Energy, Nick Thune @ The Echo
The Foreign Resort @ Origami Vinyl

Saturday
Mates of State, Free Energy, Nick Thune @ The Echo
Moses Campbell’s summer tour fundraiser feat. Moses Campbell, Pizza!, Rare Grooves, Voice on Tape, Ostrich Eyes, Heller Keller, PROTECTME, Nouns, Sober Two Year Olds, Forts, Moriel Berger @ Pehrspace
Closing party with Mammoth Life, Cave Country + Special Guests @ Echo Curio

Sunday
Part Time Punks feat. Magic Bullets’ record release, The Tartans @ The Echo

Shout-out to LAist

Club nights generally not included. For more information on weekly musical events see our community resource pages.Visit the venue website for more information on the cost and times of shows. Venue information can be found in our community resource pages.

This list may not represent all the musical events happening in Echo Park this week. Feel free to add more events in the comment section. All events listed are subject to change at any time. New events announced for the week after this posting may not be included.

Monday

Concrete Blonde, Flametal, Shok @ Henry Fonda Music Box Theater
One Eskimo @ Largo at the Coronet
Anjulie @ Bardot (RSVP Only)
We Barbarians, Rumspringa, Kissing Cousins, Stone Darling @ Spaceland (FREE!)
Rainbow^Arabia, Gary Wilson & The Blind Dates, Tame Impala, Weave! @ The Echo (FREE!)
Line and Circle, The Minor Canon, HT Heartache, Wet & Reckless @ Silver Lake Lounge (FREE!)
First Ever Hotel Comedy Night feat. Neal Brennan, Ian Bagg, Brent Weinbach, Josh Haness, Steven Benaquist, Amy Dresner + more; Music by Nikki Lynn Katt & Zachariah & The Lobos Riders @ The Hotel Café
Cold Mold, Vulture, Fuckass, Treasure Mammal, Jamuel Saxton @ Pehrspace
New Music Monday feat. Buzz or Howl, Daryl Shaun + guests @ Echo Curio

Tuesday

Taking Back Sunday, Rufio @ The Wiltern
Blitzen Trapper, The Moondoggies @ El Rey Theatre
The Parson Red Heads, Wheelhouse, Ghost Kings, Goldenboy @ Spaceland
Tame Impala, White Arrows, Bowery Beasts @ Silver Lake Lounge
Nicole Simone’s record release, Sam Bradley, Grouplove, Tim Williams @ The Hotel Café
Johnny O’Donnell’s Pratfall Effect, Mack Winston and the Reflections, Dante VS Zombie @ The Echo
The Gracious Few, Royal Bliss @ Troubadour
Saint Vitus, Stone Axe @ The Viper Room
The Submarines @ Detroit Bar

Wednesday

Hot Hot Heat, Voxhaul Broadcast, 1, 2, 3 @ Bootleg Theater
Sally Seltmann, Jasmine Ash (Canceled!)
Damien Jurado, Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground, Hi Ho Silver Oh, Tenlons Fort @ Spaceland
Oona, Bullet and Snowfox, Big Moves @ Silver Lake Lounge
Golden State, The Break and Repair Method, John Lefler, The Wandering Bears, The Western Front @ The Hotel Café
60 Watt Kid, White Arrows, DJ Dirty Diaz, Death At Space Camp @ The Viper Room

Thursday

Gulf Coast Benefit feat. Kaki King, Ben Lee, Carina Round, Rachael Cantu, The Silver Lake Chorus @ The Mint
Dum Dum Girls, Crocodiles, Dunes, Soft Healer @ The Echo
Also I Like To Rock feat. Saint Motel, Kitten @ Hammer Museum
Year Long Disaster, Waxy, Open Hand, Solare @ Spaceland
The Foreign Resort, Tigers Can Bite You, Dreamtiger, Space Waves @ Silver Lake Lounge
Batwings Catwings, I.E., Luna Is Honey, Michael Nhat, Kid Infinity @ Echo Curio
Tiny Little, Ostrich Eyes, Disciple of Saturn, Plasma Center @ The Smell
B-Kids, The Legion of Dumb, Anesthetic Frank, Cosmonots @ Mr. T’s Bowl
Gary Jules, Garrison Starr, Congos, Scott Mellis @ The Hotel Café
See Spot, The Bohunks, The Debonaires @ Troubadour
Sloan @ House of Blues Sunset Strip
Pinback presents The Rob and Zach Show @ Detroit Bar

Friday

CocoRosie, Cibelle, Busdriver @ The Orpheum Theatre
Dam-Funk, Master Blazter, Peanut Butter Wolf @ Troubadour
Mates of State, Free Energy, Nick Thune @ The Echo
Fishtank Ensemble @ Levitt Pavillion (FREE! 85 E. Holly Street, Pasadena)
The Entrance Band, The Growlers, VOICEsVOICEs @ The Smell
Rademacher @ Casey’s Irish Bar & Grill
Wallpaper, Rob Roy, White Apple Tree @ Spaceland
Black Light Revelation, Wulfbane, Die Fast, The Beatmeters, El Death @ Mr. T’s Bowl
Zac Poor, Jennifer Quiroz, Army of Me, Tiff Randol, Sonnett, Marcus Very Ordinary @ The Hotel Café
Nobody @ Amoeba Music (FREE!)

Saturday

Hootenanny 2010 feat. Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Old 97’s, Shooter Jennings, Nick 13 (of Tiger Army) and more @ Oak Canyon Ranch (5305 Santiago Canyon Rd. Irvine)
Mates of State, Free Energy, Nick Thune @ The Echo
Steel Train, Shadow Shadow Shade, Matt Embree, Young The Giant @ El Rey Theatre
Los Pinguos @ Levitt Pavillion (FREE! 85 E. Holly Street, Pasadena)
Baths, Daedelus, El Ten Eleven, Matthewdavid @ Troubadour
Moses Campbell’s summer tour fundraiser feat. Moses Campbell, Pizza!, Rare Grooves, Voice on Tape, Ostrich Eyes, Heller Keller, PROTECTME, Nouns, Sober Two Year Olds, Forts, Moriel Berger @ Pehrspace
Stevenson Ranch Davidians @ Casey’s Irish Bar & Grill
Closing party with Mammoth Life, Cave Country + Special Guests @ Echo Curio
blectum from blechdom, Captain Ahab, Foot Village, E&E @ The Smell
Love Revisited, Hot As Balls, Quincy Blaque Trio @ Spaceland
The Janks, John Torres, White Lights, Katelyn Benton, Kristin Diable @ The Hotel Café
Death at Space Camp, Blond Summer, Black Angel, Dark Underground, Inside the Black @ Mr. T’s Bowl
Miss Kittin, Paolo Mojo @ Avalon
Carte Blanche, Destructo @ Key Club

Sunday

Part Time Punks feat. Magic Bullets’ record release, The Tartans @ The Echo
Las Sangronas Y El Cabrón, Stella Pace, Sin Remedio, Desmadre En Krisis, Social Concern, Angustia @ The Smell

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GEPENC Planning and Land Use meeting tomorrow

Tomorrow, Tuesday, June 29 at 7:00 pm is the GEPENC Planning, Public Works, Parks and Land Use Committee meeting. An item of interest is the motion/action about a 64-unit complex going up at 2229 Sunset Blvd in Echo Park. This is the site of the former community garden, now possibly the site for the 65,000+ square foot residential complex.Go to the meeting if you’re interested in learning more!

Also, according to agenda item D-2, Rodeo Grill might be getting a full liquor license (they upgraded to beer and wine at the end of last year). I’m all for it as long as the margaritas are tasty!

Here’s the meeting agenda from the GEPENC website:

COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 – 7:00 p.m.
GEPENC Office and Community Center
1572 Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90026
(entrance off of Echo Park Avenue)

A. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS:

  1. Call to Order
  2. Roll Call – Committee Members
  3. Adoption of Committee Meeting Minutes

B. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS**:

Comments from the public on non-agenda items within the Committee’s jurisdiction. Two minutes per speaker.

C. REPORTS:

  1. Chair
  2. Vice Chair
  3. Committee Members

D. MOTIONS & RESOLUTIONS (Discussion Items/Possible Committee Action):

  1. Discussion and/or Possible Action on new 142,126 Square Foot mixed use project of 64 residential units with a new floor area of 65,437 square feet, a net commercial area of 9,609 square feet and garage/storage/circ. Area of 67,080 square feet and density bonus with a 2 on Menu incentives; Transition over a Zone Line, FAR and One off Menu incentive for height at 2229 Sunset Boulevard. (CPC-2009-3488-DB-DPR)
  2. Discussion and/or Possible Action on request for Conditional Use to upgrade to a Full Line of Alcohol at an existing restaurant (Rodeo Grill) located at 1721 West Sunset Boulevard with 90 seats, and to extend the hours of operation from 7:00 am to 1:00 am, in the [Q]C2-1L-CDO Zone. (ZA-2010-644-CUB)
  3. Discussion and/or Possible Action on request to establish a monthly district walk to focus on identifying bulky items, graffiti and other public works needs in the GEPENC area.
  4. Discussion and/or Possible Action on request for the GEPENC Board of Governors to approve the establishment of a District Bulky Item – Roll Off Bin Pick Up program and using neighborhood council budgeted funds for outreach, food and refreshments.
  5. Discussion and/or Possible Action on request for GEPENC to formally participate in the 2010 California Coastal Clean Up event in Echo Park.
  6. Discussion and/or Possible Action on the establishment of a monthly committee meeting date and time.

E. FUTURE COMMITTEE AGENDA ITEMS

F. ANNOUNCEMENTS

G. ADJOURNMENT

* Time allocations for agenda items are approximate and may be shortened or lengthened at the discretion of the Chairperson.

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Happy Anniversary, from Echo Park Now!

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of Echo Park Now! We have also surpassed 600 posts since that first one on June 27, 2009.

Thank you to our readers!

We’d like to give a hearty thanks to everyone out there who read and respond to our posts.Your comments are very important to us and are a very integral part of our dialog regarding all the activities in the neighborhood. We couldn’t do that without your comments, tips, and questions.

We do the best we can to provide you with as much accurate information as possible, but sometimes we may forget or overlook some things (we are a small group of volunteers living in Echo Park, so we don’t get paid or sponsored). We encourage you, our wonderful readers, to comment on our articles, and share information about what’s going on in Echo Park! We would also love for you to participate in other ways – if you are interested in being a guest blogger, please email us.

The past year we have really worked hard to develop Echo Park Now as a source for residents to know what’s going on from a youthful and multifaceted perspective – we’ve written about Echo Park history and community activism, as well as information about music, events, businesses, non-profits, traffic, and even the occasional rumor.

We decided to call the website Echo Park Now – the word “Now” being not just about expediency, but also about engaging residents in all things Echo Park, and getting us all involved in the many unique facets of this community. That’s why, in addition to the website, we have personally taken time to volunteer and be a part of the community in many other way. We encourage you to as well – our Community Resources section contains information about volunteer opportunities, and ways to get involved in local government and community activism.

And as always, we are on Twitter constantly sharing small-item news and comments (our Twitter feed is always displayed on the right of the articles pages).

We’d also like to give a special shout-out to everyone else working hard to keep you updated about what’s going on in Echo Park:

(You can also see all related sites here)

Thank you again, everyone, and we look forward to another wonderful year!

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Family Campfire Days at Vista Hermosa Park

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority are teaming up for free family campfires each week throughout the summer.

Along with the campfire, naturalist staff will be in attendance to help demonstrate how to perfect the roasted marshmallow! From the email invitation: “This summer, pack up the family, a picnic dinner, a blanket and head to any one of our four weekly campfire programs…. Programs are complete with an interpretive nature program, campfire songs, and activities.”

Closest to Echo Park is the Vista Hermosa Park campfire evening, which takes place every Wednesday at 7:00 pm starting July 7.

Vista Hermosa Park is located at 100 N. Toluca Street (near Glendale and Beverly Blvd.)

Click here for more info about the other Los Angeles campfire locations.

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Soul Cups Tasting at Say Cheese Cafe

When Echo Park resident Celeste Alleyne isn’t working full-time at Microsoft as the Director of Community Affairs and Corporate Citizenship, she is baking up some delicious cupcakes through Soul Cups, her very own Los Angeles-based catering company.

We caught wind of Celeste and Soul Cups with the announcement of a tasting event of Soul Cups at Say Cheese Cafe, happening this weekend in Silver Lake!

“Say Cheese is an amazing establishment with the type of design esthetic and food insight I adore-Glenn Harrell is my mentor who has graciously asked me to showcase my cupcakes for every holiday in his cafe,” she says.

Make sure to stop by Say Cheese Cafe, located at 2800 Hyperion Ave in Silver Lake (right by the Trader Joe’s). The tasting event goes on Saturday, June 26 from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm. We definitely plan on stopping by to support our fellow Echo Park resident, especially since they are showcasing flavors like Strawberry Twist, Lemon Drop and Muddy Water Chocolate cupcakes. You’ll be able to taste, as a sample, Blueberry, Strawberry Twist and Apple Pie cupcakes (the samples are like mini cupcakes, which she calls “baby dots”). Yum!

Read more

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Le Magnifique Sample Sale at The Warhouse This Saturday

Le Magnifique Sample Sale

Saturday, June 26
10:00 am to 5:00 pm
1197 W Sunset Blvd (Sunset and Marion)

Sample sales happen all the time downtown where it can be hard/expensive to park. It’s nice when Echo Park gets to play host to some fashionable discounts.

Le Magnifique is an LA-based and -made clothing line designed by French designer Nils Kock. Graphic and limited editions T-shirts (for men and women) will be available for up to 70% off retail price. Prices start at $5.

The company also has a pretty cool blog on its website.

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Fix Coffee’s Local Artisans Bazaar Sunday

Fix Coffee is holding a free Local Artisans Bazaar the last Sunday of every month, starting this Sunday (June 27)!

Local artisans will be selling their wares, sidewalk chalk artists will be coloring up the area, and band African Cowboy will be playing starting at 4:00 pm. Bring your families, friends, and even doggies are welcome. They will provide chalk for the kids to join in.

The Bazaar goes from 2:00 – 7:00 pm.

If you are interested in playing or vending at the venue, please email Veronica Hunt at screamingchica@mac.com

Fix Coffee is located at 2100 Echo Park Ave (at Baxter)

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