Screening of Homeboy film on February 21

Celebrate, Educate, Stop Hate presents: HOMEBOY

HOMEBOY takes an unprecedented look at the lives of gay Latino men in the Los Angeles area who are former gang members.
Through candid one-on-one interviews, the men vividly describe the realization and acceptance of their sexual orientation and desire, and their experience in a culture defined by masculinity, heterosexuality and violence. Mature content.

View the trailer here:

Thursday, February 21, 2013
Reception – 6:00pm
Screening – 7:00pm
Q&A with Director Dino Dinco and cast members – 8:00pm
Special Guests: Dino Dinco, Luis Rodriguez and Hector Silva

Cathedral Center of Saint Paul
840 Echo Park Avenue, LA CA 90026

This is a FREE/GRATIS community event.
Parking is FREE at the Center and around the lake.

This is a submission from Celebrate, Educate, Stop Hate. For more information, contact Teresa Sitz at teresa.sitz@gmail.com or (213) 375-8836

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2012 Echo Park Community Parade in photos

We’ve finally finished processing all the photos from the Echo Park Community Parade, which took place on Saturday, December 8, 2012. It was a lot of fun photographing the event, and everyone did a great job. Click here to view the full photo gallery on our Facebook page!

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Echo Park Craft Fair this weekend in downtown

If you’re shopping locally like we are for the holidays, the Echo Park Craft Fair this weekend is a required shopping destination. Although featuring many Echo Park artists, the fair has grown out of its backyard diggs of the past and to a new location in downtown.

Started three years ago by Beatrice Valenzuela and Rachel Craven, it has now grown to over 40 vendors. We know Echo Park’s Tavin will be there, along with lots of local vendors and exhibitors selling home goods, fashion, jewelry, pottery, an candles, and more. Check it out!

The Echo Park Craft Fair
Saturday, December 15, from noon to 7:00 pm
Sunday, December 16, from noon to 5:00 pm
The Storefront Bazaar is located at 821 E. 3rd Street

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Echo Park Community Parade on Saturday

Celebrate the holiday season with Echo Park and neighboring communities – the annual Echo Park Community Parade takes place this Saturday on December 8, 2012 from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm. Santa will be there!

Parade Grand Marshals include: Los Angeles Police Department Captains William A. Murphy, Captain III (Northeast Community Police Station) & Steve Ruiz, Captain III (Rampart Community Police Station).

Parade Ambassadors are: Central City Action Committee & El Centro Del Pueblo, Select Patrol, Los Angeles Fire Department Fire Station 20, Los Angeles Police Department Senior Lead Officers Lewis Ford of the Rampart Community Police Station, and Bobby Hill of the Northeast Community Police Station.

Click here to check out our photos from last year’s parade.

And don’t forget to shop local! The annual Echo Park Shop Hop offers a slew of discounts for supporting our local businesses.

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Get your holiday on: Echo Park Chamber and Improvement Association mixers

Holiday parties are certainly aplenty this time of year! And if you can’t make it to the Echo Park Chamber of Commerce mixer tonight at Fix Coffee at 7:00 pm, be sure you drop by the Echo Park Improvement Association’s annual Holiday Potluck on Thursday.

Hosting a holiday mixer or event for your business or organization? Share the info in the comments below!

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Countdown to Thanksgiving: Volunteering and donating

Gobble Gobble Give, Echo Park

The 14th annual Gobble Gobble Give event is looking for volunteers as well as donations of food and/or money. Held on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 22, 2012), volunteers cook for and collect donated items for the needy – they’ve actually served over 4,000 meals to homeless at The Echo.

They currently need a few helpers for: Email correspondence, Camera and video operators (in locations like Vegas and San Fran), and travelers to go to one of their new locations. They also need small, medium and large donations (tax deductible!), like money, food, and clothing.

Click here to donate and for more info.

Union Station Homeless Services

While the annual Thanksgiving Dinner-in-the-Park volunteer positions are all currently filled, your monetary donations are needed! For more information and to donate, click here.

One Incredible Family in Playa del Rey

The organization, located in Playa del Rey, will be holding a Homeless Feeding and Banner Creation event on Saturday, November 24. They not only need volunteers, they also need cook turkeys, pies, rolls, juice boxes and waters.

More opportunities

Remember, Thanksgiving shouldn’t be the only day you volunteer. The Los Angeles Mission is in nearby downtown LA, as is The Midnight Mission and many more. You can search for more volunteer opportunities on the LA Works website.

Did we miss anything? Please let us know in the comments below and we’ll be sure to add the information!

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Twin Peaks resoundtracked at Echo Country Outpost

If you’re a fan of the ’90s David Lynch TV series Twin Peaks like I am, Echo Country Outpost is the place to be on Thursday night. Here are the deets via LA Record:

There’s a bucolic little town called Twin Peaks, where nothing is as it seems and even the cherry pie carries secrets. Laura Palmer was found by the river wrapped in plastic. WHO DID IT?

Brooklyn based electronic duo Silent Drape Runners will resoundtrack the first episode of “Twin Peaks” live. Join us in a world of mystery and deception. Strip away the veneer of respectable gentility to expose seething undercurrents of illicit passion, greed, jealousy and intrigue in a population of unusual characters. Try and resist the enchantment of Kyle MacLachlan’s chin.

Freshen up your Twin Peaks expertise. See some excerpts from previous performances of “Twin Peaks: The Beginning.” Listen to more Silent Drape Runners music.

Silent Drape Runners will also DJ an eerie dance party after the show.

$5 at the door.
Thursday, November 15 at 9:00 pm.
Click here to RSVP
Echo Country Outpost is located at 1770 Glendale Blvd.

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Saturday: Pumpkin carving for families at Echo Parenting

Echo Parenting & Education is hosting a “Pumpkins for Peace” event for families on Saturday, October 20 from 4:00 – 7:00 pm.

Although the non-profit is asking for $20 per family, noone will be turned away for lack of funds. There will be a Pumpkin Carving (you can bring your own or they’ll provide one per family), a “peace walk,” face painting, and healthy snacks and drinks.

Echo Parenting and Education is located at 1226 N. Alvarado Street.

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5th Annual Farmers’ Market “Seize the Sizzle” Salsa contest Friday

On Friday, the Echo Park Farmers’ Market not only celebrates is 6 year anniversary, it’s all the 5th annual Seize the Sizzle Salsa contest.

The contest begins at 6:00 pm. Registrants should come with their salsa already prepared, and check in at the information booth.

The judges haven’t yet been announced, and there may be prizes for the newly crowned Salsa King or Queen!

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Echo Park’s vegetarian heaven, Elf Cafe, offering future discounts

As we reported last June, Elf Cafe is expanding its footprint and applying for a beer/wine license. Just recently, the nearly six-year-old vegetarian restaurant broke ground and is well on its way to getting that license!

Thankfully, the restaurant will not have to close down for any of the renovations as it takes over the next door space formerly known as Branche Boutique, so you can still get your amazing vegetarian food. For those fans of Elf Cafe, or those who are general fans of cool locals who have cool businesses, you can support the restaurant’s new endeavors with a limited time deal. Almost like a Groupon or Gift Certificate, Elf Futures allows you to purchase a gift certificate that is worth twice as much when you spend it. So, for instance, $50 gift certificate will actually gets you $100 worth of food and drinks… in the future. Get it?

Elf Futures will only be available through October 31, 2012, and redeemable from January 1, 2013 through January 1, 2014. They can be purchased at the restaurant during business hours.

Elf Café is located at 2135 W Sunset Blvd and is open Wednesday through Sunday, 6-11:00 pm.

 

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The Warehouse re-opening Saturday with a “high end vintage” focus

The Warehouse LA is re-opening after a few weeks of renovations of the Echo Park vintage store. The redesign focuses on “one-of-a-kind Estate Vintage, a high-end collection available for Stylist pulls and rentals, and an improved community Art Gallery and Event Space.”

And why not celebrate with a little party? The Warehouse is introducing its new changes to the public on on Saturday, September 29 at 7:00 pm with a DJ and refreshments.

Eleven97 is on of the new spaces located within The Warehouse, showcasing new and emerging artists based in Los Angeles. The first exhibition features artist Joshua Mark Logan, which  will be his first solo exhibition of this new body of work, Bald Eagles.

The LOFT is a collection of estate vintage with designers like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Valentino, and Lanvin. It’s by appointment only available to stylist rentals and the public. Call The Warehouse LA at 213-361-0021 for appointments.

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Frogtown Artwalk returns on Saturday

If you’re taking a break from LA Beer Week (although it wouldn’t be entirely without beer, we did enjoy some delicious Eagle Rock Brewery beer last year), head over to Elysian Valley – that little strip of homes and art warehouses just north of Echo Park along the Los Angeles River – for the annual Frogtown Artwalk.

This is the seventh year the community-run event will go on, taking place on Saturday, September 22 from 4:00 – 9:00 pm. It’s a self-guided tour along Blake Avenue, where more than 30 artists, craftsmen, artisans and architects all open their studio doors to the public to view art installations and to just chat about what they do. This year there will also be mobile galleries featuring artists from other parts of Los Angeles.

I See Hawks in LA will perform at RAC DesignBuild at 3006 N. Coolidge Avenue from 6:30-8:00 pm. RAC will also host a Children’s Juried Art Show.

A Hoola Hoop Contest will be held at TAS Architect at 2041 Blake Avenue starting at 5:30 pm, ending with prizes for adults and kids.

Kid’s Sidewalk Chalk Drawing will be held at the  Blake Avenue Lofts at 1839 Blake Avenue from 4:00–9:00 pm.

Local landscape painter Mary-Austin Klein will also be showing her work at the art walk, as well as other return artists like Allen Anderson of Grain Surfboards showing hollow hand-made wooden surfboards.

For your rumbling tummy, bring some cash along and check out the many local vendors and food trucks, including Elysian Valley’s own Tacos by Kevin (delicious burritos!!).

There’s a lot going on, so be sure to check back here or visit the event website on September 22 for the event map with all the details. View photos from last year’s artwalk on Atwater Village Now’s Facebook page.

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Beer Gelato? Echo Park’s Musical Beer Crawl on Tuesday

One benefit of celebrating LA Beer Week 2012 is doing it in your own neighborhood! (No one has to be a DD when you get to walk there.) This year’s annual Echo Park Musical Beer Crawl takes place on Tuesday, September 25, 2012 all along Sunset Boulevard and beyond.

The event combines some tasty craft beers with some ear-tickling music around Echo Park. All you have to do is get a “passport” (think of it like your Musical Crawl coupon) to take advantage of some great discounts and give-aways. Also, you have to be 21, and it’s recommended that you carry some cash for those cash-only venues, as well as for the Hot Dog Lady the meat-eaters will likely visit at the end of the night.

El Prado will have special brews on tap, while Pazzo Gelato is serving up “beer-infused frozen treats” like Golden Road’s Hudson Rye Imperial Porter, Hefeweizen and Wolf Among Weeds. Other participating venues include Backside, iam8bit, Lot 1, Mohawk Bend, Masa, Taix Sunset Beer, Two Boots, and more. There are also (gasp!) non-Echo Park venues like Golden Road, Eagle Rock Brewery, Gobi Mongolian BBQ and Los Globos. Click here for the full list of venues and events.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter as we explore Echo Park’s beer and music events on Tuesday night!

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So you just want wine? The new City Sip has it

City Sip, located near Fire Station 20 on Sunset Boulevard, has been closed for a few days for a little makeover/renovation. Reopening on Friday, September 21, the casual dinner sport promises a reinvention as a wine bar and lounge, and serving a new food menu by Chef Gloria Felix alongside plenty of beer and wine. There will also be an emphasis on happy hour and, of course, lounging and socializing.

In an email, City Sip says, “We cherish our neighborhood & our place in it. We are proud to offer our community a fresh and creative perspective on nightlife in Los Angeles.”

In the video advertising the new City Sip below, owner Nicole Daddio is fed up with the monotonous tone of a wine teacher, thankfully interrupted by a customer saying “We just want wine.” Hear, hear!

Join City Sip Wine Bar & Lounge on Friday, September 21 from 6:00 – 11:00 pm for the grand re-opening. City Sip is located at 2150 Sunset Boulevard.

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Señor Fish expanding its footprint and liquor license

Tonight, the Greater Elysian Echo Park Neighborhood Council (GEPENC) will discuss an application by Echo Park restaurant Señor Fish to add liquor to its existing beer and wine license, as well as to expand its seating to the adjacent building, formerly the tortilleria.

Señor Fish may have opened last May, but it would be difficult to tell if you were just walking by. Though a new sign has been installed on the corner of the roof, the restaurant chain has yet to repair the graffiti-riddled windows. General Manager Jesse Pimentel said in July, in an email, that the windows were to be replaced within a couple of weeks, saying, “The windows will be replaced first. We are also going to put some stools along the counter by the TV and also beautify the interior.”

In an article by The Eastsider LA from late August, the windows were again addressed and the new windows were only a “couple of weeks” away from being repaired:

Ramirez [the restaurant owner] said he has held off  replacing the windows for fear they would get scratched as soon as they get replaced. He said vandals can still scratch or cut their way through the plastic film that has been applied to many windows to protect them against scratches.  Currently, his family is working on a wood screen that would protect the windows at night but roll down and out of the way during the day time and create a wainscoating at the base of the building. If that does not prove practical,  the store will install some other type of metal screen or folding doors. What ever option is selected, expect new windows in a couple of weeks, he said.

Pimentel also mentioned the response to the restaurant opening had been great, but they may not get the community support for a full liquor license and restaurant expansion if the windows aren’t repaired.

The neighborhood council meeting is tonight, Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 7:00 pm. The Community Center where the meeting will be held is located at 1572 Sunset Boulevard behind the Bank of America.

The meeting agenda also includes discusion of five single family small lot dwellings at 1516 Echo Park Avenue.

 

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