Celebrate Día de Los Muertos in Echo Park

DiaDeLosMuertos

Echo Park’s Dia de Los Muertos celebration takes place on Sunday, November 1, from 1-8:00 pm at El Centro de Pueblo (1157 Lemoyne Street).

This free family event will feature altars, music, and culture, entertainment including Ollin, 5Senti2, Plaza de la Raza Salsa Performing Group, Soft Parade, face painting, arts and crafts workshops, lotería, food and refreshments. To set up your own free altar to remember your loved ones or participate as a vendor for $50, call 213-483-6335 or conradoterrazas@roadrunner.com.

El Centro del Pueblo was established in 1974 as a not-for-profit community service agency. Its mission is to provide social services and resources to the community to improve the quality of life for children, youth and families in the diverse communities of Los Angeles County. They work to alleviate and mitigate the negative affects of gang violence and improve the quality of life for youth and families through prevention, intervention, and education.

Services include counseling, drug prevention, social rehabilitation, employment, outreach, education, health services, and youth services. These services help the physical, mental, emotional and economic well-being of the residents of the communities of Northeast, Downtown and South Los Angeles.

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Stories hosts special Tegan and Sara CD signing

Tegan and Sara

Tegan and Sara

For those of you who pre-orderd the new Tegan and Sara album, titled Sainthood, the duo will be at Stories in Echo Park for a special signing today.
From 4-8:00 pm, 500 individuals who secured wristbands by preordering at Stories will have access to the signing and photo taking.

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YDT Neighborhood Green Guide

Your Daily Thread has put together a Neighborhood Green Guide to navigate what is green, local, sustainable, organic and/or handmade in the areas of  Atwater Village, Echo Park, Los Feliz and Silver Lake.

Echo Park neighborhood shops and restaurants include:

Delilah’s Bakery

Tavin

Taxi CDC (Corrugated Design Collective)

Masa of Echo Park

826LA East

Echo Park Film Center

Echo Park Time Bank

Click here for the full list from Your Daily Thread. You can also download an easy-to-reference PDF of this guide here.

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November is Eco-in-the-Echo

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Warwick, the Vintage clothing and gifts store on Sunset Blvd. in Echo Park, is dedicating the month of November to sustainability in fashion, style, art and design. Titled “Eco-in-the-Echo,” the store will feature local artists and designers who bring awareness to or participate in the environment.

“The idea is to show the community how vintage and restyled vintage is sustainable fashion, using existing materials to create style, trends and art,” says owner Justin Warwick in a press release.

On Thursday, October 29 from 8:00 pm – 1:00 am, Warwick will be kickstarting the month with a special launch party with complimentary beverages and gift bags for the first 100 guests.

In addition to his own vintage line, some of the artists that will participate in Eco-in-the-Echo include:

Chandra Abel Designs
Colleen Corcoran
Joseph Prichard
Nooworks
Docs Pop
Button Muse
Joanna Oster

Warwick is located at 1461 ½ West Sunset Blvd.

Check out some recent coverage on Warwick in the Green Guide Network, and for more information about Warwick you can go to the store’s website.

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Raw-Vegan Restaurant (hopefully) Opening Soon in Echo Park

Mooi in Echo Park

Looks like Mooi, a raw vegan restaurant we read about earlier this year, is no longer set to open up on Glendale Blvd. under the bridge – its new location has sprung up at the corner of Sunset and Logan. Taking over a former medical clinic, the new corner location is part of Jensen’s Recreation Center.

According to its website, the restaurant concept includes organic food, and, whenever possible, locally grown. They don’t use any animal protein or dairy products, soy, wheat, or gluten. They never deyhdrate anything over 118 degrees, “therefore preserving all of their natural nutriets and enzymes which allows us to bring you not only the best tasting but the healthiest and most nutritional food that we can.”

While we await their opening, you can try out their vegan desserts at Elf Cafe (2135 Sunset Boulevard).

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Inside Sunset Five

At a price tag og $495,000 to $649,000, the 5 Sunset Five lots are now officially up for grabs. You can take a look at what’s inside by going to the website, www.sunsetfive.com. A little stark and modern for my tastes, but those views are totally worth it.


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Tonight: Smiths Tribute Night

Tonight’s Part Time Punks is a tribute to the Smiths, with guest DJ Jose Maldonado (from The Sweet And Tender Hooligans), and resident DJs Michael Stock and Benny Shambles spinning “mutant disco.”

The weekly event takes place at The Echo at 10pm – 18+ and $5 at the door.

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Echo Park Fright Night

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Echo Park Fright Night will take place on Saturday, October 31 from 4:00 – 8:00 pm at the Echo Park Recreation Center.

The event is free for everyone!

There will be Monsters on Parade at 5:30 and a Teen Dance from 5:00 – 8:00 pm, Carnival games, Moonbounce, and more!

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Saturday: Echo Park Bike Tour

Explore the historic highlights of Elysian Park’s western edge on a bike ride sponsored by the Echo Park Historical Society. The 90-minute tour, on Saturday, October 24, headed by Matthew Dubois will include several stops at points of historical interest (the tour is limited to paved roads). Space is extremely limited. Riders must provide their own bikes and helmets. The tour is free to EPHS members and $5 for all others.

Please send an email to ephs@HistoricEchoPark.org to reserve a spot and receive information about the tour starting point.

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Gathering of Community Gardens 2009

2009-gathering-of-gardens

The Los Angeles Community Garden Council is holding the Gathering of Community Gardens 2009 this weekend, October 24-25, 2009. Here are the details:

Saturday Conference
October 24, 2009
8:00 am – 3:00 am

The Saturday conference will provide a series of workshops, discussion panels, networking opportunities and a resource fair for community gardeners throughout Los Angeles. Three workshops will be conducted entirely in Spanish.

Suggested donation is $10, and will be held at 1745 North Spring Street, Unit 4 Los Angeles, CA 90012.

Sunday Garden Tour
October 25, 2009
8:00 am – 3:30 am

On Sunday, the Council will offer a van tour of community gardens (which is full, but you can follow in your own vehicle), starting and ending at Solano Canyon, near Dodger Stadium. The tour will visit gardens in downtown LA, East LA, Elysian Park and Hollywood. Most of these gardens, run by volunteers and serving local neighborhoods, are rarely open to the public at large.

All attendees must meet at Farmlab by 8:00 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 24.

To register, click here.
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Film Festival and Book Signing this weekend

joshuas-stories-signing1
On Saturday, October 24, Fantasy Film Festival guest speakers Joshua Dysart and Joshua Hale Fialkov will be signing books and hanging out at STORIES Bookstore after their panel discussion at the Saturday Fantasy Film Festival. The Festival, which takes place at the Rec Center Studio in Echo Park, is an “all-day film festival that will showcase sci-fi, fantasy and horror films and discussions that explore hope + fear in uncertain times.”

STORIES is located a few doors down from Rec Center Studio at 1716 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026. A limited number of copies of the authors’ books will be available for purchase.

Click here to purchase your Saturday Fantasy Film Festival tickets for $10, or here to find out more about the Fantasy Film Festival.

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Vegan Happy Hour at The Short Stop

veganhappyhour

VEGAN HAPPY HOUR at The Short Stop is going on every third Thursday of every month. Be there early, and bring something to share!

Vegan Chili, $2 pabst, pool, jukebox, drink specials, sexy vegans, and more.

Doors are at 5pm, and the potluck goes until 9pm.

The Short Stop is located at 1455 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park

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Tonight: Echo Park Improvement Association Meeting agenda

Tonight (Wednesday, October 21) at 7:00 pm, the Echo Park Improvement Association will meet at Williams Hall at Barlow Hospital (2000 Stadium Way).

The agenda includes some topics that many Echo Park residents have been debating lately, including the Lake restoration project, the Flea Market at the lake, and Dodger Stadium traffic (always a contentious issue).

1. Introductions and sign in
2. Local Schools:
    a. Van De Kamps/LACC-LACCD Update (Garsten)
3. Land Use:
    a. Barlow Hospital-Proposed Entitlements and Development Update (Garsten)
    b. Taco Trucks Downtown Echo Park (Schenot)
    c. New Business
        i. Angeles Group to discuss Durbin project and Morton Village complex
        ii. Farmer’s Market Expansion (Schenot)
        iii. Proposed fee increases for LADBS appeals (Garsten)
4. Parks Issues:
    a. Echo Park Lake
        i. Restoration Project (Raskin)
        ii. Illegal Flea Market (Hubert)
    b. Elysian Park
    c. New business
5. Public Works Issues:
    a. EPIA/Echo Park Transportation Study (Javier Aguilar)
    b. Route 2 Terminus Improvement Project Updates (Lassen, Raskin).
    c. Mural Projects-EPIA Committee Progress? (Lassen, Meksin)
    d. Walkable Streets-Streetscape and pedestrian amenities (Meksin)
    e. Southbound 101 Alvarado Exit Left Turn Lane (Hubert to present Draft Letter)
    f. Dodgers traffic issues (Hubert)
    g. New Business
6. EPIA Policies & Procedures
    a. Bylaws Amendments (Hubert, Garsten)
7. Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items
8. Future Agendas
9. Adjourn

For info email: andrew.garsten@sbcglobal.net

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Zombiethon 2009 Brain Cancer Fundraiser

ZombiethonLogo

“Zombiethon is a community FUN run/walk event held on Halloween, Saturday October 31, 2009, from 4-6:00 pm, along the recreation trail around Silver Lake Reservoir in Los Angeles, California. This event is organized to raise donations for Brain Cancer Research. All of the proceeds will be donated to the local charity, City of Hope, to find a cure for this devastating disease. Your $10 donation will grant you a numbered participation bib and goodie bag! This is a family-friendly event, and everyone is encouraged to arrive in their finest zombie attire. If you don’t have access to zombie make-ups, don’t worry, for an additional donation of $5, you may have your make-up applied by professional special effects make-up artists on site! Not a runner? Don’t worry! It’s not a formal race, just a chance for everyone to get out there and have some fun while supporting a very important cause! Hope to see you all there!”

Check out their website for tips on makeup, costumes, and other zombie-ralated activities!

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Wednesday: Echo Park Hospitality Night

ECHO_PARK_Hospitality_Night

The third Echo Park Hospitality Night will take place this Wednesday, October 21 from 6:00 pm – 11:00 pm.

The event begins west of Alvarado, and continues east towards Dodgers stadium. Finish up the crawl at our good friend’s vintage shop, Warwick, for some good merchandise and good company.

Click here for a list of participating businesses.

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