Upcoming Workshops for Kids at 826LA East

Here are a couple of 826LA’s upcoming writing and tutoring workshops for kids:

Write to Create on Saturday, July 17 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm – Imagine you are shown a mysterious, intricate object. Your critical mission is to write a description of how to build this object, only using words. No drawing allowed! Then, to test your skills, your partner will be given the materials to build this object and your instructions. How well they recreate the mystery object depends exclusively on your attention to detail! Do you think you are up for this challenge?

8 – 2 = 6 (Eight Minus Two is Six) on Saturday, July 31 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm – This workshop is for those who fall asleep while doing their math (or, even worse, have nightmares too) *and* students who would eat math instead of Cap’n Crunch for breakfast if they could. Every student in attendance will learn to harness the most intense math they know to create an infinitely elegant short story.

Both workshops are for kids ages 8 to 12. A $25 deposit check is required to reserve space in the workshop. Click here to sign up.

Click here to view all workshops for the month of July, including those being held at 826LA West (in Venice) and at the UCLA Armand Hammer Museum.

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Urban Hikes: Discover Echo Park to Poetry

Get your tickets now for Urban Hikes: Forgotten L.A. with Mike the Poet and explore unexplored cultural and architectural parts of Los Angeles, along with walking poem performances by Mike the Poet.

Echo Park: Sunday, July 18 at 11:00 am
First 10 hikers to purchase a ticket will receive a free copy of The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse. Hikes last an hour and a half.
Three-Tour Package | General Ticket | Student Ticket | A+D Members FREE

MacArthur Park: Sunday, August 1 at 11:00 am
Featuring: A tour of the MacArthur Park Bandshell, hosted by the Levitt Pavillion and an inside peek at the Park Plaza Hotel. Hikes last an hour and a half.
General Ticket | Student Ticket | A+D Member FREE

LA River, Confluence Park: Sunday, August 8 at 11:00 am
Special Guest: Mia Lehrer, Landscape Architect for the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan. Hikes last an hour and a half.
General Ticket | Student Ticket | A+D Member FREE

Tickets are $30 for the three-tour package, and $15 general price per tour general price per tour ($5 for students). Architecture and Design members are FREE (email info@aplusd.org to RSVP). They request you purchase tickets by the Friday before each hikes.

Here’s the full info from the event organizers:

Los Angeles poet and native Mike Sonksen, aka ‘Mike The Poet’, performs his poems live and loud while providing a cultural, historical, and architectural tour exploring the forgotten and hidden gems in our City of Angels.

Mike is widely acclaimed for his live performances, contributions to international publications and legendary city tours with A+D Museum, Red Line and The Museum of Neon Art. Poet, journalist, historian, tour guide, and teacher, Mike is published in Citybeat, O.C. Weekly, New Angeles, L.A. Weekly & many others. A third generation L.A. native, Mike graduated from UCLA in 1997. His book I AM ALIVE IN LOS ANGELES! has been added to the curriculum of several universities and receives rave reviews.

Email the event organizers with questions at info@aplusd.org or call 323.932.9393

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Photos: A Photographer’s “Walkabout” in Los Angeles

Photographer Mathieu Young did a photo essay last year, embarking on a a 20 mile walkabout across Los Angeles, and photographing the sites and people along the way.

“Fascinated by the social and cultural diversity of Los Angeles, I embarked on a four day, 20 mile journey across the city on foot. Pushing a large strobe light, I walked through L.A.’s neighborhoods, asking to photograph everyone whose path I crossed. It was a remarkable experience to step out of the bubble and engage with the city’s changing landscape as it is reflected in the faces of its denizens.”

Here are a couple of his photos he took in Echo Park, which we found on Good.is:

Click here for the rest of the Mathieu’s photos of Los Angeles. Learn more about Mathieu Young by clicking here.

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The Gentrification of Echo Park Student Documentary

Here’s a short student documentary about the gentrification of Echo Park, “with a focus on local businesses, real estate, racial tension, and class struggle.” They interview Echo Park residents, including Rickey Kim of Evil Monito in Echo Park.

Though I’m not sure when this video was made exactly (it was uploaded to YouTube recently), it does mention the Echo Park swap meet (at around 8:26), saying: “Every Sunday, Latino families and vendors from other parts of Los Angeles come to the park to sell used clothing, appliances, and other items as part of the Sunday Swap Meet… Due to residents’ complaints, strict ordinances have been placed on the vendors regarding what can be sold. Vendor numbers have diminished while tension persists.”

Just to clear things up, at this time there are currently no ordinances in place for the Sunday swap meets at the lake (let alone restrictions on what items can be sold), and the numbers have actually increased in the past year.

The above video is written and directed by Sinziana Velicescu with the help of Marvin Arias and Chelsea Zeffiro.

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Echo Park’s Week in Music

For the week of Monday, July 12 through Sunday, July 18.

Monday
Mississippi Man, Superhumanoids, Dahga Bloom, Useless Keys @ Echo
New Music Monday With Greg Mullen, Glacier Saint, Maraca Mouths, Air Surgeon @ Echo Curio
Hyena, Kid Infinity, Myths, Professor Calculus, Sean Pineda, DJ Mapi (KXLU) @ Pehrspace
Residency Night 2: The Black Apples, Wait. Think. Fast., Cue The Moon, Summer Darling @ Origami Vinyl

Tuesday
Smog Sessions With Mrk1, Juan Basshead, Emu, Kemst @ Echo
Big Tree, The Shade, C-horse, Birdlips @ Echo Curio
Open Mic night hosted by Josh Bassett at 7:30 pm @ Tribal Café
Superhumanoids @ Origami Vinyl

Wednesday
Dub Club With Echodelic Soundsystem, Jah Faith, DJ Danny Holloway, DJ Expo, J1 @ Echoplex & Echo
Basshaters, Mirage (Featuring Members Of Smegma + Sissy Spacek), Damion Romero, Indian Mound @ Echo Curio
i can be cheery and LA Record 100 Present: Lola Loshkey, VOICEsVOICEs, Halloween Swim Team, Corridor, DJ Jung Hollywood @ Pehrspace
The Breeding Ground Open Mic (every Wednesday) hosted by Joe Mullenix at 7:00 pm @ Tribal Café

Thursday
Threadless West Coast Social With Special Guest DJ Greg Dulli (Of The Twilight Singers), Teen Inc, The Samps @ Echo
Antibalas, The Sway Machinery @ Echoplex
The Gripping Play Ulysses Crewmen, Performance By Peter J Woods, Moment Trigger, True Womanhood @ Echo Curio
Open Mic night hosted by Jackie at 7:30 pm @ Tribal Café
Foxtails Brigade @ Origami Vinyl

Friday
Club Underground With Secret History, Sweater Girls, Waterlaso @ Echo
Trannyshack La @ Echoplex
Kacey Johansing, Honeycomb, Nightmare And The Cat, Kandyce And The Killdozer @ Echo Curio
Otik Records Presents Shirley Rolls Video Release: Shirley Rolls, C-Horse, Brown Irish, Mountain Animal Hospital @ Pehrspace
G.T.Y.E Presents America Eats its Young, Michelle Macedo and Co. @ Tribal Café

Saturday
Bootie La With Dj Shyboy, DJ Paul V., Raid @ Echoplex
Funky Sole @ Echo
Heather Woodbury’s “As The Globe Warms” followed By Simon Joyner, Queen Victoria, Claire Cronin @ Echo Curio
Oh Yeah, The Future, Therapy Session, Tubby Boots @ Pehrspace
Mystery Claws @ Origami Vinyl
Indie Rock Night featuring alternative country band, Oak Street Blues and more TBA @ Tribal Café

Sunday
Part Time Punks: Factory Records Night With DJ Tim Burgess (of the Charlatans) @ Echo
Echo Obscura @ Echo Curio
Diggin’ Sunday is Back, Failings Exposed (music event to raise money for lupus) @ Tribal Café

For more information on weekly musical events like club nights, 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.

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Lotus Festival Sunday Schedule

Here’s the schedule for Sunday I snapped a shot of last night at the Lotus Festival, click on the image for a larger view.

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Brief History of the Lotus Festival

2006 Festival Photo via LA Taco

Since we didn’t publish our usual “Flashback Friday” history post yesterday, with the Lotus Festival going on I thought it’d be a good opportunity to do a quick history of the Fest.

"Lotus Festival in the 1970s." Flickr photo by La Angelena

The Lotus Festival started out being called “The Day of the Lotus,” and debuted at Echo Park Lake in 1972 thanks to the Department of Recreation and Parks and members of the Council of Oriental Organizations (COO). Each festival takes place in July, timed for the blooming of the lotus flowers. Starting out as one-day affairs, the Day of the Lotus was designed to promote awareness of the contributions by Asian Americans to our culture and communities. The festival focuses on a different Asian ethnicity each year, this year they will showcase the Chinese culture.

Read more

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Sobriety Checkpoint Tonight in Echo Park

Another sobriety checkpoint tonight in Echo Park (the last one was May 28, 2010), this time at Sunset Blvd. and Sutherland right in front of El Compadre. They will be checking for drivers under the influence as well as for drivers licenses.

The checkpoint is planned for 8:00 pm – 3:00 am.

Tonight the Dodgers are playing the Cubs for game two, and for those fans exiting the stadium down Sunset Blvd., well you’re in for a wait in traffic.

Click here for the full LAPD announcement.

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Learn Dog CPR and First Aid at Blue Collar Supplies

Learn how to save a dog’s life by getting certified in Dog First Aid by the American Red Cross at Blue Collar Supplies in Echo Park.

The event takes place on Sunday, July 11th from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

Cost is $55 (includes course fee, Red Cross Dog First Aid manual, DVD and certificate)

The training is three hours long, and provides hands-on training for emergency care procedures as well as the certification in Canine First Aid. You’ll learn how to:

  • Administer CPR & rescue breathing
  • Identify a normal heart and pulse rate, breathing rate and body temp.
  • Safely handle an ill or injured dog.
  • Safely muzzle a dog.
  • Identify life threatening warning signs and symptoms.
  • Care for a dog who cannot breath or is in shock.
  • Provide basic wound and trauma care and control bleeding.
  • Care for a dog with a muscle, bone or joint injury.
  • Care for a dog involved in a car accident.
  • Care for a dog with sudden illness.
  • Care for a dog who has been bitten by another dog or animal.
  • Care for a dog who has been bitten by a snake.
  • Care for a dog who has been poisoned.
  • Care for a dog with a gunshot wound.
  • Care for a dog who is over-heating
  • Care for a dog who is suffering from hypothermia or frost bite.
  • Properly use the items in a dog first aid/emergency supply kit.
  • Prepare for your dog in the event of disaster or evacuation.
  • Help any dog in the event of an emergency!

Don’t bring your dog! Dog mannequins will be provided for demonstration.

RSVP my emailing Bluecollar.Seminars@gmail.com or on the Facebook event page.

Click here for the full email and event information.

Blue Collar Supplies is located at 1533 Echo Park Blvd.

Blue Collar Supplies also as another round of dog training courses coming up: Starting July 18, basic obedience class begins at 4:30 pm and will meet every week for the next six consecutive Sundays. Click here for more info on the training.

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Masa Pizza Specials when the Cubs Play

We just had dinner at Masa tonight and realized that whenever the Cubs play at Dodger Stadium, Masa has some incredible specials on Chicago deep dish pizzas.

During the game only, Chicago Deep Dish Pizzas are half off (dine in or take out). This series is a four-game series starting tonight, July 8, and goes through Sunday, July 11.

You can usually watch the Dodger games at the restaurant – but only when the games are on KCAL9, a broadcast channel available at Masa (tonight was an exception as the game was on Prime Ticket). We were assured by our always awesome server that Saturday and Sunday, the games will be on at Masa.

Click here for the Dodger schedule and times on our Dodger Calendar page.

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Echo Park Farmers’ Market finds

Last Friday, I posted a sneak peak of all the wonderful goods I picked up at the Echo Park Farmers’ Market, all delicious goodies which I cooked up over the long holiday weekend.

This little Farmers’ Market shopping trip was meant to explore some the vendors and find out how far away (or close) the food at the market was coming from. It also gave me an opportunity to meet with blogger Valentina of the newly published Eastside Food Bites as we explored the sights, smells and tastes of all this great, local food.

While unable to interview all the vendors at the market, I do have some recommendations based on this recent experience as well as from some raving reviews from other Echo Park residents:

John Sweredoski helps customers at the Farmers' Market

Sweredoski Farms: Located in Bell Gardens (more less, about 15 miles from Echo Park) has a lot of herbs, lettuce varieties, really fragrant tomatoes, and other produce. The man behind the counter shown above is John Sweredoski; he is very friendly and knowledgeable about the produce he has available, and is there every week. From there I purchased an enormous zucchini and saucer squash, squash blossoms, potatoes, dill, and lemon basil. Everything is fresh, organic, and delicious.

Read more

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Lotus Festival 2010 is this weekend

Flickr Photo via citta-vita

While the Lotus Festival isn’t going to coincide with the blooming of the Lotus flowers in Echo Park Lake this year,  have to admit we are a little excited about its return this weekend. In 2009, the Lotus Festival was canceled due to budgetary cuts, and instead turned into the first Echo Park Community Festival. This year marks the 32nd celebration of the Festival, and is sponsored by L.A. Lotus Festival, Inc. and the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.

For those of you who have never been to a Lotus Festival and are new to the area, it’s basically a medium-sized fair around the Lake with vendors selling clothing, jewelry, and other knick-knacks, along with a variety of festival-style food. There’s also a stage where entertainment takes place – we’ve seen some impressive taiko-style drumming, traditional dancing, and other great music.

All this is designed to promote an “atmosphere of understanding in which Asian and Pacific Islander communities in Southern California are brought together for two days of cultural sharing.”

Also in past years, there used to be a Dragon Boat race, where teams applied and paid to race each other in the lake. It seems due to some cutbacks, the races are canceled this year. From the Lotus Festival Dragon Boat Races website:

After much discussion and deliberation, HAP, Inc. has made this difficult decision to cancel the races. Since, we are a not-for profit organization, our primary goal is to provide scholarships to graduating high school students to further their higher education aspirations. Due to unforeseen complications and in the best interest for those most in need of our scholarships, this year races have been canceled.

Read more

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Share your skills at the Echo Park Share Fair

The Echo Park Share Fair takes place on Saturday, July 10, 2010 from 1- 5:00 pm at 1380 Echo Park Ave. (on the corner Echo Park Avenue and Montana).

Basically, the Echo Park Share Fair is a collective of people sharing their knowledge and services – artistic, entertainment, and other skills and services – so that community members can benefit from your knowledge. From the event organizers:

Join in giving and/or receiving goods, services, skill-sharing, meeting your neighbors, and FUN.

Free market, skill-share, potluck, community building…it’s in your hands.

Ideas for what to share: food, clothes, sewing, bike maintenance, cooking lessons, haircuts, massage, music, anything you imagine might be useful to someone else in the community.

If you would like to contribute a service, skill-trade, teach a workshop, or entertain, please contact the event organizers at ohjeepers@gmail.com. If you let them know ahead of time, they’ll make sure to save a space for you!

Check out the event website here.

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Cookbook to open on Echo Park Avenue this summer

Cookbook set to open at 1549 Echo Park Avenue

If you’re like me and don’t always make it to the Echo Park Farmers’ Market on Fridays (generally speaking, Fridays are often spent seeking out happy hour spots), a good alternative to the Market for good grocery shopping is opening up hopefully later this summer in Echo Park.

Located at 1549 Echo Park Avenue, near Chango and Chicken Corner, Cookbook is the creation of Echo Park residents Marta Teegan (author of Homegrown, gardener, trained chef, and teacher) and Robert Stelzner (who has experience working at green grocers in Southern California). Once open, you’ll be able to shop for seasonal fruits, vegetables, kitchen utensils and other basics like milk, butter, eggs, bread, as well as a small selection of prepared foods.

“Not only will we offer delicious ingredients to cook with, but we will also have a great selection of cookbooks to choose from, along with a beautiful selection of fresh cut flowers each day,” says Martha. “Organic herb and vegetable starts will be available each spring and fall. We will further offer a variety of events at cookbook, including classes, readings, and tastings throughout the year.”

Cookbook was offering a limited number of “subscriptions” through the end of last week. Contrary to an LA Magazine article and the LA Times/Daily Dish article today, the subscriptions will not solely fund the day-to-day operations of the store, but will more serve as an “opportunity for friends and neighbors to earn free groceries and to support a green grocer in our community,” she says.

So just to make sure the information is cleared up for anyone who had purchased subscriptions, here’s how it will work:

  • A $250 subscription will earn you a $300 tab at the store
  • A $500 subscription will earn you a $500 tab at the store
  • A $1000 subscription will earn you a $1200 tab at the store

The tabs have not set time limit, but are non-renewable once spent in full. Cookbook will email your balance at the end of each month, and it’s easy to sign up – just email them at info@cookbookla.com

Cookbook
1549 Echo Park Avenue
Open daily from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
Everyone is welcome to shop at Cookbook

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Photo: Dodger Stadium Fireworks

Echo Park residents watch the Dodger Fireworks from afar

I was impressed to see how many neighbors came out last night seeking higher ground to watch the Dodger Stadium Independence Day fireworks. Last season the Stadium put on a fireworks show every Friday home game, this year the fireworks are minimal. The next show this season takes place on Labor Day weekend on Friday, September 3, 2010.

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