2nd Annual Echo Park Elementary Appreciation reception

The Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council (GEPENC), along with the Positive Energy Group, are hosting the 2nd Annual Echo Park Elementary Principal/Teacher Appreciation Reception on Thursday, October 7th, 2010 from 3:00 – 6:00 pm.

Join your fellow neighbors to help honor the hard working teachers and principals of our community! Food and refreshments will be served.

The event is open to the public – please RSVP to Lisa Baca at 323-660-7234 or by email at bacasigala@eartlink.net by Tuesday, October 5.

2nd Annual Echo Park Elementary Principal/Teacher Appreciation Reception
Thursday, October 7th, 2010 from 3:00 – 6:00 pm
El Centro del Pueblo located at 1157 Lemoyne Street

Click here to download the flyer.

UPDATE:

The event has been rescheduled due to weather conditions tentatively for Thursday, November 4 from 3-6:00 pm.

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Get ready for Echo Park’s Culture Collide Fest

Get your tickets for this week’s first annual Culture Collide Fest, where venues large and small in Echo Park, Silver Lake, and downtown will host a variety of music and food trucks over four days. Echo Park will be hosting the majority of the shows at the Echo, Echoplex, Taix Lounge, and even 826LA (Echo Curio was on that list, but it’s not looking like they’ll be open due to permitting issues).

Headliners include the Black Lips, Klaxons, Monotonix, Cass McCombs, The Besnard Lakes, and El Guincho.

We’ve got quite a few local shops and restaurants participating in the event, including:

  • The Downbeat Café: Wristband holders receive a Free Latte with Sandwich purchase
  • Chango Coffee: Wristband holders receive 1 free small drip coffee to enjoy in house or to go
  • The Fretted Frog: Wristband holders receive 10% off strings and accessories
  • Echo Curio: no longer able to participate
  • Origami: Wristband holders receive 10% off all records
  • Delilah Bakery: Mention the Culture Collide Special and receive a Free Cupcake with a purchase of $10 or more
  • Vacation Vinyl (Silver Lake): Wristband holders receive 10% off all vinyl
  • Blue Collar, For Working Dogs: Wristband holders and dog lovers receive 15% off everything (with the exception of canned food)
  • Masa of Echo Park: Wristband holders who dine at Masa will receive 10% off their meal (excluding beer + wine)
  • City Sip La : Wristband holders who dine at City Sip will receive 10% off (dining only)
  • Happy Tom’s – Restaurant: Wristband holders receive a 10% discount
  • Rodeo Mexican Grill: Wristband holders receive a 10% discount
  • Feeding Birds Boutique: 10% off purchases up to $99.99. Free “Feeding Birds Original Organic Crew Neck Print Tee” for purchases over $100.00 (while supplies last).

Culture Collide Fest goes on from Thursday, October 7 through Saturday, October 9 with a free Toyota Antics Block Party on Sunday the 10th.

Click here for the full schedule.

Click here to buy tickets – $20 for the whole fest.

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Final Dodger Stadium fireworks of the season

Our last fireworks show at Dodger Stadium (which used to happen every Friday home game last season) is coming up on Friday, October 1. Get your tickets and show up early – these special events are usually packed!

Also, if you’re an Echo Park resident, make sure you get your free tickets soon! They always run out within hours.

Here’s the details from Community Relations Manager Noel Pallias:

As we advised and discussed with members of the Solano Community and the Community Advisory Group, we have added for our fans and neighbors a final fireworks show for the season.  As you are hopefully aware, the Friday fireworks show creates a wonderful family environment and we know our fans appreciate this late season gesture.

On Friday, October 1st, a 10-15 minute fireworks show will take place after the conclusion of that evening’s game against the Arizona Diamondback, which is scheduled to start at 7:10PM.

As always, the safety of those attending the event, our neighbors, the surrounding community and the firefighters themselves is of paramount concern to us. Therefore, as has been our policy, should the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) request that we cancel the fireworks due to weather concerns, or any other concern for that matter, we will comply. Decisions on this will be made right up until the time of the show.

LAFD personnel (including a water truck as is required by the fire safety code) and, as an added precaution, we will wet down the hillside closest to the demonstration area. Stadium management will be on site to manage the event.

Additionally, as has been our standing offer to closest neighbors, we have tickets available for our members of the Echo/Elysian Park and Solano Canyon residents who are interested in attending the game. Therefore, if you are a resident of either community and are interested in attending the game as our guest, please contact me at noelp@ladodgers.com with your interest, your address and telephone number (*additionally, since these tickets will be left under the name of the person making the request – THEY ARE NOT TRANSFERRABLE*). Your request must be received by Wednesday, September 29th.  Please understand that these tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis and that this offer is only for game tickets.

A confirmation email will be sent by noon on Thursday (9/30) indicating the time, as well as the location where the tickets will be available for pick-up on Friday.

Should you have any concerns relative to this event, please call our Neighborhood Focus Line at (323) 224-2636.

Can’t make it Friday? Make sure you support the Echo Park Improvement Association and the Echo Park Chamber of Commerce and purchase tickets for Echo Park Night at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, October 2. There won’t be fireworks, but you get to watch a game some cool Echo Park people! Click here for more info on how to buy tickets for Saturday.

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Watch the moon rise at Vista Hermosa Park

2008 Flickr photo by Pixelflip

Last night I noticed the moon was crazy huge as it rose over Echo Park right around Sunset. Families have an opportunity check out this phenomenon close up – bring everyone out to Vista Hermosa Park for Double Delight: Sunset and Moonrise on Friday, September 24 at 6:30 pm.

Meet at the Grotto Amphitheater for the FREE 1.5 hour program. You’ll get to look through a telescope to see the differences between the sun and the moon right as the sun sets and the moon rises.

Sponsored by the Santa Monica Conservancy and presented by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority.

For information contact Judy Perez Soto at (213) 250-1100 and judy.perezsoto@mrca.ca.gov

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

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Montana Cans Grand Opening on Friday

I’ve been by the new Montana Cans store a few times and have yet to see it open, so now it makes sense! The Grand Opening for the store takes place on Friday, September 24th starting at 5:00 pm.

There will be a special live painting with Germany’s Ma’Claim team (AKUT, TASSO, CASE) and some of LA’s finest street artists. There will be a taco truck, a special event sale, and free giveaways.

Montana Cans is located at 1528 1/2 Sunset Blvd

Hours are Thursday through Monday 12-00 noon pm – 7:00 pm

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Acoustic Concert at Fretted Frog

Flickr photo via The Fretted Frog

Fretted Frog will be hosting an acoustic concert with Anthony Da Costa, a talented 19-year-old folk/rock/Americana/pop musician, on Saturday, September 25 at 7:30 pm.

Opening acts include Micah, who has played twice in the open mics at Fretted Frog, and Elliot Smith (inspired rock/folk songwriter).

The show goes until 10:00 pm, is all ages, and FREE! (donations, however, are accepted).

RSVP by emailing info@thefrettedfrog.com

Fretted Frog is located at 1200 N. Alvarado St.

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Echo Park Night at Dodger Stadium – Get your tickets now!

Support the EPIA and the Chamber of Commerce and enjoy a Dodgers game with your neighbors!

The annual Echo Park Night at Dodger Stadium is coming up on Saturday, October 2 at 7:10 pm, the Dodgers play the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Tickets are ONLY $11 each (for $18 seats!)

Get your tickets today! Email the EPIA at epiamail@yahoo.com with your name and the number of tickets you are committing to purchase, and instructions about delivery/pickup and payment will be emailed back to you. If you see the above flyer in the window of a business (like Masa!), inquire there as well! You might be able to buy tickets with your dinner.

Go to www.epia-echopark.org for more info or to download the event flyer.

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Will the pigeons win this time? Find out at the Echo Park Lake Bird Count

Flickr photo via BlackDaffodill

Last Christmas, pigeons trumped coots 240 to 239 at the annual Echo Park Lake Christmas Bird Count. Will they win this round?

The Autumn Echo Park Lake bird count takes place on Saturday, September 25 at 9:00 am (meet at the Boathouse!). Bird lovers in Echo Park have identified over 70 species of birds over the last ten years. You can expect to find species such as mallards, great-tailed grackles, robins, American coots, sparrows, finches, great egrets, black-crowned night herons, green herons, blackbirds, hawks and various gulls and doves, and more.

Beginning birders, including children, are welcome to the free bird walk. Binoculars are strongly recommended along with a bird guide if you have one.

For more information contact  judycalifornia@yahoo.com, or call (323) 663-6767.

See you at the bird walk!

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Echo Park Film Center screening during Park[ing] Day LA

In addition to the Park[ing] Day festivities throughout LA and the Echo Park Time Bank park up on Echo Park Avenue (which we wrote about yesterday), the Echo Park Film Center is hosting its 4th annual Park[ing] Day LA 2010 Ride-In Movie and Pot Luck Dinner at Echo Park Lake on Friday. Meet up on Park and Logan, the event starts at 6:00 pm with some tasty eats, and the screening at 7:00 pm.

The Echo Park Film Center will be screening “Breaking Away” on the side of their FilmMobile, the eco-friendly cinema and film school on wheels. Reclaim great public space and join the EPFC as they regenerate the long and noble tradition of itinerant cinema.

Just in case you missed it: “Park themes range from Shakespeare in the Park[ing] to Dog Park[ing], from a Western Hoedown to a country picnic, from a Pedestrian Plaza to a Village Square. Park-ticipants include activists, artists, architects and all sorts of folks who simply want to engage the community in a discussion of public space and how it’s allocated.”

See you there!

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“Pocket parks” to take over parking spots on Friday

The fourth annual Parking Day LA will be taking over a few of the city’s parking spots all day this Friday, September 17. The goal? To transform our parking spaces into small pockets of parks, and to change the landscape of LA from one day from a car-infested city into a sustainable (and pretty!) public space. The Parking Day LA website further clarifies: “Additional parks will help reduce the heat-island effect of the City by converting our over-abundance of concrete and asphalt into green spaces that will inevitably promote the civility of the City by offering more spaces for the public to converge.”

In Echo Park, the Echo Park Time Bank Park will be at Echo Park Avenue and Delta (near Chicken Corner, the Durbin project that has been left vacant for so long) from 10:00 am – 7:00 pm. They will be “PARK(ing)” front of the lot they hope to some day be, instead of condos, a public park. Time Bank members, Aaron Kuehn and Orchid Velasquez will be offering “‘PARK(infusion)’ – the ‘steepest’ park ever! Assorted aromatic blends of wild flora for you to experience, just add water and your own cup.”

Stop by and hear live music and celebrate time bank member, Alicia Beach’s birthday!

Parking spaces are being transformed all over Los Angeles – click on the map below to find a location near you:

Click on the map for more

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From our Neighbors: Stairways and Beer tour

Bob Inman, who is not a stranger around Echo Park, will lead a “Stairways and Beer” tour around Eagle Rock this Sunday, September 19, 2010.

Inman is the author of  “Guide to Public Stairways of Los Angeles” as well as a veteran of the annual Big Parade LA in Echo Park and surrounding neighborhoods. He’s the perfect guy to take you on a tour of stairways anywhere in LA!

The tour starts at Verdugo Bar in Glassell Park, and explores four public stairways in an eight mile loop, along with great views and little known jewels of the LA scene.

After the tour, return to Verdugo Bar for music, special beers, and gourmet food trucks.

For more information, contact Bob Inman at LASTAIRWAYS@pacbell.net

Verdugo Bar is located at 3408 Verdugo Road

Sun 9/19 Stairways and Beer

Led by Bob Inman, author of
“Guide to Public Stairways of Los Angeles”
and veteran of June’s “Big Parade LA”

Meet at Verdugo for an exploration through the highlands of Eagle Rock including 4 public stairways, lovely streets with great views, and little known jewels of the LA scene.

Return back to Verdugo to hang on the patio with tunes, special beers, and treats from the gourmet food trucks!

For more information contact Bob Inman at LASTAIRWAYS@pacbell.net

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2010 CA Coastal Cleanup Day in Echo Park

Along with 80 locations at beaches, rivers and other Southern California neighborhoods, Echo Park Lake will be a site of the 2010 CA Coastal Cleanup day. Heal the Bay and the California Coastal Commission have teamed up for this event in Echo Park and need everyone’s help picking up trash and beautifying our community – 80% of trash found on beaches comes from an inland source, and last year 120 volunteers cleaned up 1,000 pounds of trash and over 6,000 cigarette butts around Echo Park Lake alone.

Signing up is easy! Just go to the Heal the Bay website and click on the “participate” button to the right. Click here to download the Echo Park cleanup PDF flyer to pass along to your neighbors and friends!

Saturday, September 25, 2010
751 Park Avenue (by Glendale and Park Avenue just north of the Lotus bed)
8:00 – 8:45 am registration
9:00 am – 11:00 am cleanup
11:00 am – noon trash count and snack lunch
Don’t live in Echo Park but want to participate? Inland neighborhoods like Silver Lake and Culver City, along with a slew of beaches will be cleanup site. Click here for the full list and map from Heal the Bay.
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Sea Nymph: A shipwrecked boat inside Machine Project, opening tonight!

We mentioned last month that the Machine Project would be hosting Josh Beckman’s Sea Nymph – a series of nautical-themed events, workshops and performances along with a capsized hull of a ship inside the art space. There will also be a crystal cave!

The opening reception is tonight, September 5, from 5-10:00 pm. Performances by Clay Chaplin, Ambient Force 3000, Ecce, OK Music, Chris Kallmyer, and Colin Woodford.

Check out a couple of the photos from the Machine Project website of the ship being built:

Read more

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Stop Motion Mini Film Festival at Echo Park Film Center

This Saturday, August 28th at 8:00 pm, Stop Motion Magazine will be hosting a stop motion film festival at the Echo Park Film Center. An array of stop motion short films will be shown that feature puppets, clay, sand, cut-outs, toys and legos. Prizes and awards will be handed out by professional stop motion animators. But the grand prize (the coveted “Purple Monkey” Award) will be awarded based on the audience’s decision!

Festival is open to everyone. Cost is $5. The Echo Park Film Center is located at 1200 N. Alvarado Street.

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Frogtown Artwalk: A tour of Elysian Valley studios and galleries

This Saturday marks the fifth annual Frogtown Artwalk event put on for studios and art galleries in nearby Elysian Valley area alongside the LA River. The artwalk is free, self-guided, and looks like a lot of fun!

This year you can expect a few things going on other than art exhibits (more than 30 studios are participating), including hula hoopers, DJs, an art and drum parade, outdoor screenings, drinks and live music. One of the films, which will be projected on an inflatable screen in Elysian Valley Gateway park, is about the history of Frogtown, and features photos and interviews with neighbors and artists.

Visit the website for Frogtown Artwalk for more information and a map of participating galleries and businesses.

Frogtown Artwalk
Saturday, August 28
5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Website
Press Release

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