A REAL 'Taste Of The Eastside'

About a month ago, there was a certain unspecified food festival that took place in a location that was not located East Of The Los Angeles River that had the audacity to use the word "Eastside" in its name. Now, if you've been reading This Here Blog for a long time, you May Or May Not Know Damn Well Know that certain geographically-clueless gentrifying forces have co-opted the "Eastside" name with no regard to the people who live on the East bank of the Los Angeles River who have taken pride in their regional identity for decades longer than the faux-Eastsiders have even been here. And of course, The Militant has had his own well-publicized say in all of that.

But here's some good news, this Saturday, June 1, get to go to a REAL Eastside festival, which takes place in Boyle Heights, and see what The Real Actual Authentic Puro Eastside is all about (the wannabe Eastsiders just call it "Chololand" or don't even acknowledge it exists). It's the 2nd Annual Eastside Community Festival, which takes place at the campus of the Neighborhood Music School, a 99-year old Eastside educational arts institution. Have authentic, inexpensive Eastside-made food, have a chat with REAL Eastsiders and learn about the organizations that work hard to build real, hipster-free community activities, such as PUENTE Learning Center, Alma Family Services, the East Los Angeles Community Corporation, our mobility amigos at Streetsblog Los Angeles (who DO know where The Eastside is), and more. But the biggest whammy of them all is the participation of the world-famous Eastside phenomenon Caine's Arcade, which will set up some games and certainly sell some Fun Passes for the day. Dude, Caine's Freaking Arcade! No faux-Eastside event can claim THAT!

So come one, come all, it's FREE, and not only that, but it's transit-accessible! Take the Metro Gold Line to the Mariachi Plaza station, and walk three blocks south on Boyle Ave. Or better yet, ride your bikes down 1st Street and head down Boyle! There May Or May Not be bike parking, but you'll find a way. Besides, it's been a long-ass time since The Militant has plugged an event, much more written a blog post! See you or not see you there!

Shuttling Down 2012: Event Of The Year

You voted, and The Militant agreed: THE event of 2012 was the return of the Space Shuttle Endeavour to its Southern California birthplace.

Out of 40 Militant Readers, nearly half chose the Endeavour's homecoming journey in September and October of this year. Coming up in second place was the looooong-awaited opening of the Metro Expo Line in April. A distant third was the opening of DTLA's Grand Park, and the sports-related events, namely the Dodgers' acquisition by Guggenheim Baseball Management, and the Kings' Stanley Cup championship, came up 4th and 5th, respectively. Gaining no votes was Dwight Howard's signing to The Lakers, which was sort of included as a joke anyway.

Los Angeles will always have transit line openings, new parks and sports victories, but what we'll never see again in our lifetimes is a big-ass spaceship being shown-off around town. And that's what made the Endeavour THE event of 2012 in Los Angeles. It was a moment that brought Angelenos together, for myriad reasons -- we were all curious, excited, thrilled and behaved. Our homeboy Endeavour brought out the best in us.

It was such a big deal, The Militant forgot about the heavy-ass LACMA Rock that was similarly paraded around in our streets in early 2012!

And the Endeavour's story ain't even done yet! Look forward to 2015 when it'll be reunited with its rocket friends and displayed a la launch style at a new permanent structure at the California ScienCenter.

What will hold for 2013? Only time will tell! Stay tuned for The Militant's projections and predictions for '13!

What Was THE Event of 2012? YOU DECIDE!

Yep, it's that time of the year when we wrap up those times of the year that made this year. Los Angeles had a pretty interesting year, to say the least. Here are some big stories that may or may not have made Twenty-Twelve the year that was:

Kings win the Stanley Cup
It took the Dodgers two years to win a title since arriving in Los Angeles. The Sparks, six. The Galaxy, seven. The Lakers, 12. But the Los Angeles Kings? 45 years of frustration, until this year, when they beat the New Jersey Devils in June to win their very first Stanley Cup. Kings fans, who are the most diehard in all of Los Angeles sportsdom, celebrated joyfully and responsibly. Look ma, no riot! From Disneyland to Dodger Stadium they proudly and rightfully showed off The Cup across the Southland. And with the 2012-2013 NHL season still being in limbo due to the lockout, it looks like we might get to hold on to the Stanley Cup a little bit longer...

Space Shuttle Endeavour returns
The most photographed subject in all of Los Angeles this year was not a celebrity nor a sunset, but the Space Shuttle Endeavour, decommissioned by NASA and making a triumphant return to its Southern California birthplace this past Fall. I wasn't just one event, but three: The playful flight of the shuttle atop a NASA 747 got nearly every one of us looking skyward on September 21; in mid-October, the impromptu parade through Westchester, Inglewood and South Los Angeles drew a million people in simultaneous displays of patriotism, scientific achievement and local pride. And in late October, the shuttle finally went on display at its new home at the California ScienCenter. In a year that saw the loss of the USC-educated Neil Armstrong and San Fernando Valley native Sally Ride,  the shuttle seemingly passed their pioneering astronaut spirit on to all Angelenos.

The opening of Grand Park
Los Angeles finally has its own town square in the opening of Grand Park, which stretches from Los Angeles City Hall to the Music Center in DTLA. Opened in two phases in July and October, the park has already been put to good use as a concert venue, a CicLAvia stopover and a place to watch the results of this year's presidential election. Gee, could we have like a New Year's Eve countdown celebration there sometime?

The Metro Expo Line opens
Rail transit finally reached the Westside for the first time in 60-something years as the newest branch of Metro's rail network had a new set of commuters "Going Metro" for the first time. Kings, Lakers, Clippers, Trojans and concert fans have already seen the wonders of Expo. And the story isn't over yet: By 2016, the Expo Line will become "The Trolley To The Sea" when it finally reaches Santa Monica.

Guggenheim buys the Dodgers
The long nightmare that was the Frank and Jamie McCourt era finally ended this year when Magic Johnson and some of his wealthy friends in the form of Guggenheim Baseball Management got together and made their 2-billion bid to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers. The organization wasted no time in flexing its financial muscle, doing things like lowering the stadium parking fee to $10, resurrecting the Cool-A-Coo and making some high-profile mid-season acquisitions on the roster. If only the team's physical muscle were as strong...But hey, at least no more McCourt!

Dwight Howard joins the Lakers
Lakers diehards have talked about getting him for a while, and this year we finally landed Superman Iron Man. And okay, so he hasn't really done much this season aside from being a glorified (and expensive) cheerleader for the Purple & Gold, but he will be the face of the franchise following Kobe's inevitable retirement.

You as a reader of The Militant's blog has the opportunity to vote on which one of these was the Los Angeles event of 2012. Just select it on the upper right side of This Here Blog and vote! Polls are open from now until 11:59 p.m., Sunday, December 30, 2012 (That's New Year's Eve Eve!).

The Militant may or may not have missed some other important events this year...if you think there were some more he should have added to the list, feel free to list them in the comments!

Muertomania!

The Militant just loves stumbling into cool random events around Los Angeles. Right when the Militant was done with his research mission on Sunday in the SGV for his upcoming SGV Week series (as selected by you, the readers!) , while on his way back to The Militant Compound, he passed by a banner right before the Los Angeles River bridge on North Main Street in Lincoln Heights that read "Muertomania" and a gathering of several people in a canopy-lined parking lot.

Hmm...instinctively, he decided to do a U-turn.

Some pretty badass Dia de los Muertos-themed art at Muertomania!

He didn't regret it. It's a small Dia de los Muertos-themed festival at the Solidarity Ink print shop and gallery featuring holiday-themed arts, crafts, food and lucha libre matches! (You gotta love the Dia de los Muertos/Wrestlemania portmanteau moniker...) It's a total local Eastside event, small but apparently very well-organized with lots of stuff going on. MILITANT APPROVED! Definitely check it out if you can today - it's on until 10 p.m., do if you're reading this on Sunday afternoon, get on over there!

Muertomania
Sunday, October 30, 12-10 p.m.
Solidarity Ink
1749 North Main St.
Lincoln Heights

Pose with these life-sized luchador figures!

Mr. La Cucaracha himself, Lalo Alcaraz in the house! Ask him to sign some of his artwork!

The 2011 Low-Dose Festival In Echo Park

OMG! THE LOTUS PLANTS HAVE FINALLY RETURNED TO ECHO PARK LAKE!!!!

Pysch. :(

Los Angeles has many cultural festivals, but The Militant is particularly fond of The Lotus Festival, for several reasons. First of all, he's been going to it ever since he was a Lil' Mil, it symbolically marks the middle of the year and most of all, its attendees reflect the total diversity of all that is Los Angeles.
Recently, the ups-and-downs of the Festival almost seem to be a direct reflection of the City government's financial health.

And of course, The Militant Angeleno has been covering The Lotus Festival every single year.

So here we go with the 2011 edition...

Right after The Militant arrived in Echo Park on Saturday, the whole thing was summed up in two words: SCALED DOWN.

Hey, the bird vendor exhibit was really popular though.

Though no one's boycotting The Lotus Festival, like nearby Dodger Stadium, crowds were visibly smaller. Not as packed, and the Festival grounds were a lot more compact. Even the entertainment wasn't as loud as it usually is.

The food court was sorely lacking in variety. You had like eight Thai food stands, four Mexican food stands and one Korean BBQ stand (Guess where The Militant ate at...nothing against Thai or Mexican food, he loves them too, but give us some more choices, sheesh!), and that was it. Gone were those crazy USC students selling Okinawan dangos. The Vietnames banh mi was more like banh M.I.A. And likewise for anyone looking for Indian, Hawaiian, Filipino or Chinese food...you were out of luck this year.

The two most fun events of the Festival - The Saturday night fireworks display and the traditional Dragon Boat Race - were absent from the Festival for the second year in a row, for obvious budget reasons.

Even though the Festival is no longer exclusively run by the City's Department of Recreation and Parks, the Lotus Festival Inc. nonprofit that operates it now isn't exactly oozing with money either. The fireworks display, normally performed by a Rialto-based pyrotechnics company, costs over ten thousand dollars to produce.

The Dragon Boat Race, a benefit event raising scholarship money, run by participating local businesses, nonprofits and offices of elected officials, using privately-owned boats, is also a victim of the budget crisis. According to one operative, the City's Rec and Parks Department charges the boat race organizers $4,000 just to use the Echo Park lake's jetty, and an additional $2,000 to tranport the boats out of storage.

Sure the City needs some extra cash, but will $6,000 in revenue really make a difference in the $336 million budget deficit? And why all that money just to use the dang jetty, when the lake will be shut down on Tuesday for a 21-month rehab project anyway (more on this next week)?

Speaking of which, this will be the last Lotus Festival until at 2013 or 2014. The organizers have previously toyed with the idea of moving the Festival to either Lincoln Park or nearby MacArthur Park, but have decided it's best to just go into hiatus again and stay put.

Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. is your last chance to enjoy the Lotus Fest (and Echo Park Lake itself) for quite a while. This year, the featured culture is Thailand, and on Sunday only they will have a muay thai kickboxing ring set up in the park (According to another operative, it's not the same ring as the one at the Songkran Thai New Year festival). So get your kicks while they last.

Lotus Fest, The Militant will miss ya, but do come back strong.

Vlogstyle Episode 07: The Militant Experiences CicLAvia!!!

So CicLAvia finally happened on Sunday. The Militant's utopian wet dream of car-free streets in Los Angeles came true, if only for five hours on 10/10/10. It was a unique day in the city, having been shared this event with some 100,000 others. The day was chill, peaceful, joyful. Never before has he seen so many Angelenos engaged in wondrous displays of leisure. But most important is the social impact. Lots of new friends were made (Facebook as well as real-life), mutual experiences were shared. The Militant was even spotted (probably, he can never conform nor deny any spottings by any of the other participants, but he was definitely out there). Kudos to the people who organized this history-making event. No doubt, this is but the first of many. Los Angeles will never be the same.

So enjoy the Militant's little video of the event. As you can see, it made him react...quite emotionally.

Domingo Gigante: It's CicLAvia!

CicLAvia. You know what it is. Sunday, 10/10/10. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Eastside to East Hollywood. Definitely part of the public space revolution in Los Angeles the Militant recently blogged about. Ride yo bikes, jog yo legs, roll yo skates, push yo strollerz, walk yo dawgs, cuz ERRYBODY gonna be a part of it! Be there -- The Militant may or may not. See ya at CicLAvia!

Get Down In Chinatown This Saturday!

You may or may not know that Los Angeles' Chinatown is celebrating its 72nd birthday on Saturday, with a big '40s-themed bash in Central Plaza on Broadway.

The party lasts from 7 to 11 p.m. and will feature Chinese, American and Chinese American entertainment. The price? Like totally free!

Operative reports relayed to The Militant indicate that free strawberry cakes courtesy of Phoenix Bakery will be given away as part of the celebration.

According to ChinatownLA.com, there will be free valet parking at 950 N. Hill St starting at 5 p.m., but of course, that's gonna be crazypackedbackeduptrafficlongwait, so you're gonna be taking the (M) Gold Line or riding your bike there, right?

Los Angeles history buffs know that the 24-block Los Angeles' Chinatown is actually Chinatown 2.0, dedicated in 1938. Chinatown 1.0, established circa 1870, was originally located a few blocks to the southeast, on the other side of Alameda, and was moved to make room for the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, otherwise known as Union Station.

Today, Chinatown is still going strong as a cultural tourism destination, with a handful of late-night eateries, bars and art galleries. Plus there's this real cool park next door.

Check out this FunnyOrDie.Com video from Hollywood stuntman Steven Ho (a recurring guest on the now-unfortunately-defunct Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien), who made this viral flick for the Coco crowd in April. You'll see some very familiar sights:

Asian Conan Ep. 1 - watch more funny videos

Atwater Villagers Celebrate A Century

The Militant spent a good part of his sunny Sunday afternoon partaking in the Atwater Village Centennial Street Festival.

Several hundred people descended upon the 3100 block of Glendale Blvd, where the southbound lanes were blocked off for the fest (street traffic was routed through Larga and Glenhurst avenues).

It was a neighborhood festival in every sense of the word, bringing out the Friends of Atwater Village, the local neighborhood council and the local residents association. There were arts and crafts vendors, music and dance entertainment, a trackless train ride and food (the weekly farmer's market at the nearby Wells Fargo parking lot ran a little longer on Sunday, and the Vesuvio, Baby's Badass Burgers, Kabob N'Roll and King Kone food trucks represented.

There were even pet adoptions, and local issue-oriented booths from California High-Speed Rail (which will run along the AWV's northern border) to saving the Van De Kamp's Bakery site. And yes, what would a street festival be complete without an appearance by councilman Tom LaBonge (pictured right) - who represents a portion of AWV.

There are neighborhood festivals all over this great city, but this one was centered around history (which is the main reason why the Militant made it a point to bike his ass over here).
The AWV is celebrating its 100th anniversary, which actually came in February, when the community at the time joined numerous towns and unincorporated areas that year in voting to annex themselves into the City of Los Angeles to gain access to summadat Owens Valley water. Incidentally, for most of the past century, the AWV was actually known simply as "Atwater," and it wasn't until the late 1980s when the name "Atwater Village" came into use (derived from a community sign once placed on the Glendale Blvd median which read, "Welcome to Atwater: A village within a city").

There were pictures galore of things like old Red Cars running through Glendale Blvd, and advertisements of old businesses in the Village. The nearby Artology 101 gallery had several historical pictures on display. The Friends of Atwater Village was also promoting the production of AWV's own Arcadia Publishing "Images of America" book, slated to be published by early 2011.

Pictures are always fascinating, but the best kind of history is the kind that has been passed down for generations - oral history. The Militant met a native Atwater Villager named Michael who recalled a time when he and some friends rode their bikes through the concreted Los Angeles River bed in his youth, and would race against the rich kids who biked down from Los Feliz. But the more working-class AWV kids knew where all the potholes in the concrete were, and when challenged by the rich kids, they would pick the course, only to sabotage the Los Feliz kids to win the race.

Years later, Michael met someone through his professional work who engaged in a conversation about growing up near the Los Angeles River. Turned out the other person was one of those rich Los Feliz kids.

Like the Militant always says, Los Angeles is really a small town. It just happens to have a lot of concrete.

Los Angeles Kicks Off African American Heritage Month

Say it loud! The Militant's black and he's proud! Okay, keeping his ethnic identity (or identities) ambiguous to his readers, he may or may not be. But he still didn't want to miss the City's African American Heritage Month celebration at City Hall on Friday.

Earlier that morning, the City Council honored radio and TV host Tavis Smiley, singer Chaka Khan and actor/comedian/singer Jaime Foxx in the council chambers.

After council got back to usual business, the attention went straight to the South Lawn of City Hall along 1st St where there was a mini-festival featuring entertainment, info booths and of course food. The host of the festivities was KABC 7's Leslie Sykes (who grew up in Compton).

Tavis Smiley (pictured left) got up and spoke for a couple minutes, speaking about being honored earlier in the morning and mentioning that he once worked for the City as an aide to Mayor Tom Bradley (America's first African American mayor of a large city who headed Los Angeles City government from 1973 to 1993, for all you n00bz) back in the 1980s.

Incidentally, working at the Mayor's Office wasn't
Smiley's only experience with City government. He ran for Los Angeles City Council in a 1991 special election to fill the vacancy by the death of longtime 9th district councilman Gilbert Lindsay, which was ultimately won by Rita Walters (The Militant, by the way, knocked on doors in South Central Los Angeles as a campaign volunteer for an unspecified candidate in that election).

Afterward, the crowd was treated to a 5-song live set by Grammy-winning gospel duo Mary Mary, (pictured right) who rocked the crowd with their tunes, which get heavy airplay on KJLH (one of the Militant's favorite local radio stations, in fact). The two sisters (literally, they're siblings) from Inglewood even got some members of the crowd on the dancefloor in front of the stage.

But a good portion of the crowd was on the other side of the South Lawn, queuing up for summa dat free soul food being served up for all guests. Unfortunately, the Militant had an appointment to make at that time and couldn't partake in the free lunch. But it sure smelled good.

The Militant did find out some info he'd been meaning to pass on to you readers for sometime. A group called the Our Authors Study Club, Inc., dedicated to preserving African American history and literature in Los Angeles, puts on an annual Black History Bus Tour of Los Angeles around this time of year. The Militant and one of his operatives took the bus tour a few years ago and learned a ton about the rich history of African American Los Angeles.

This year's tour is next Saturday, February 6, and the tour buses leave at 8.a.m. from the Consolidated Realty Board of Los Angeles, 3725 Don Felipe Drive (off of Stocker St.) in the Leimert Park/Baldwin Hills area. This tour is FREE and is by all means MILITANT APPROVED. Got that? The tour lasts until 4 p.m. and covers the area stretching from the Crenshaw District to Hancock Park to Downtown Los Angeles to South Central (the real South Central, that is). The tour covers houses of famous black Angelenos, community institutions and even places that don't exist anymore (the old Sugar Hill district, now obliterated by the Santa Monica Freeway). If you're into Los Angeles history like the Militant is (or aspire to be), this tour is not to be missed. For more information on the Black History Bus Tour of Los Angeles, call (310) 854-6967.

Tickle Me St. Elmo - Drums, Blues and Jazz Fest This Weekend

Most people pass up the Mid-City section of Los Angeles as some random ghetto nothingness, but on the way along everyone's favorite non-freeway route to LAX, just southeast of Venice and La Brea, lies a small artists colony that's been practicing sustainability before it became a buzzword.

The place is St. Elmo Village, and if you have even the slightest inkling of Angeleno militantism, you will join the Militant (who may or may not be there) this weekend as the village celebrates its 40th anniversary.

This Saturday and Sunday, May 23-24, from 12 noon to 7 p.m., the village is throwing its annual Drums, Blues and Jazz festival, featuring an aentire weekend of music and good vibes all around. Sunday, jazz artist Dwight Trible, a familiar name and face to those familiar with the Leimert Park scene, will perform. St. Elmo Village is nestled in a residential neighborhood at 4830 St. Elmo Drive, just east of La Brea.

The Militant, of course, recommends biking (via from the nearby Venice Blvd bike lane) or taking Metro Local 212 down La Brea, because it's a residential neighborhood, and the locals will undoubetly get pissed if you take away their parking spaces. If you absolutely need to drive, park at the Mid-Town Shopping Center at Venice & Rimpau, and a shuttle will transport you to the village.

For those of you who have never been there, it's quite a sight, with painted walkways, uniquely designed gardens, and a commons area where human interaction isn't only encouraged, it's mandatory. One of the Militant's operatives even lived there an unspecified number of years ago.

The place was started in the late '60s by local artist Roderick Sykes and his late uncle Rozell as a community meant to inspire, foster and nurture people's creative and artistic spirit, especially in light of a tumultuous era both the City and the country as a whole were facing at the time. Those conditions are gone, or at least have changed, but St. Elmo's Village still remains.

So check it out and see a totally unique slice of Los Angeles. And if you do spot the Militant, quietly give him a "Stay Militant!" raised fist. He may or may not respond back.

Train-ing Day

Saturday, as you may or may not know, was National Train Day, which was a day celebrated nationally, but not a national holiday per se. You follow?

The day, according to the event's organizer, Amtrak, was meant to commemorate the May 10, 1869 driving of the Golden Spike in Promontory, Utah, that completed the Transcontinental Railroad. But since that was such a long-ass time ago, most people see it as a fun day to get the family out and see trains.

Amtrak, though has also used the day to market their rail passenger services, especially in this day and age of eco-consciousness and fluctuating gas prices. And especially this year, with not only the second-most powerful person in the US as one of their faithful customers (as well as the Militant himself), the rail service wanted to make people aware of how railroads drive the economy.

Locally, the festivities centered around Union Station, which actually turns 70 this month (but that fact was not mentioned). The events included free Metrolink, Santa Fe, Amtrak, Disney and private rail car exhibits, where one can walk through current and historic passenger cars, a concert in the old ticket lobby, train- transit- related groups offering info, an N-scale model railroad layout (pictured left), and a kids area, which was located in the old Harvey House restaurant next to the station.



Militant reader laluna_negra Twittered the Militant that she wanted to see pics, so, at your request, here goes!

Parents and kids gather at the AmtraKids Depot at the old Fred Harvey Restaurant site.
The parents weren't even alive when this was last used as an eatery.

Just so you won't get the Swine Flu...

Not part of the NTD festivities, but the Militant got to go right up to the Metro Gold Line
Eastside extension viaduct...Open Open Open!

21st century people lounge inside a 1930s-era passenger car. Now that was travelin'!

Another advantage of traveling by rail: You definitely don't get airline food!

Inside the Coast Starlight lounge-cafe car: Amtrak recycles! Yay!

Pain, Anger and Sorrow In Little Armenia

Today an entire community banded together in solidarity to commemorate the 94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which was known to have lasted from 1915 to 1923, where 1.5 million ethnic Armenians were systematically killed by Ottoman Turks. Businesses closed down, people wore black and marched on the streets (The Militant was there last year).

The red, blue and orange tricolor of the Armenian Flag are prevalent throughout the streets, along with the color black. Many a people have been wronged throughout history, and their presence in this country is an after-effect of it. But no other community bears their pain like this one.

The Militant spent his afternoon in Little Armenia to see it all.

Get Your Local History On! Los Angeles Heritage Day At Heritage Square!

An unspecified nerd with civic inclinations recently notified the Militant of this event happening on Sunday at Heritage Square Museum in Highland Park. It's the 2nd Annual Los Angeles Heritage Day (Ummm...and why didn't the Militant hear about the 1st annual one?) event going on from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is $5, or free if you print this out. It will be a day of panel discussions, kids' events and free tours of the museum, which is comprised of several houses of architectural significange, relocated from all over the City. Who knows, perhaps the Militant will finally get to meet the Nerd there (Now won't that be a FTW photo-op if there ever was one?), if he might or might not have already done that already.

ICE CREAAAAAAAAM!!!!

Saturday in Griffith Park is the 11th annual Great Los Angeles Ice Cream Party (any event that spells the city's name out gets an automatic Militant approval), a yearly fundraising event for a deserving local organization that involves prizes and lots free ice cream. The Militant talked about it last year and may or may not have been there. This time around, the beneficiary is LA Commons, a Leimert Park-based nonprofit that has been busy the past few years with programs that highlight the culture, food and art of the communities of Highland Park, Thai Town, Little Armenia and its own stomping grounds of L'murt. The Militant blogged about some of the events they did last year.

The party began 11 years ago by a Valley dude named John Bwarie, who currently works as a deputy for Councilman Grieg Smith's 12th District Office. This year's ice cream party will be right by the Merry-Go-Round in the Crystal Springs section of the park from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. The organizers recommend you RSVP so they know how much ice cream to supply. It'll be a wonderful day in the park (except for those f'ing annoying noisy inflating fans for those "bounce houses" that a lot of families like to bring to the park (uh, why? the whole point of the park is to get your kids closer to nature...MASSIVE FAIL!). The Militant hopes that those inflatable bounce houses will be banned from Griffith Park. But until then, enjoy the ice cream!

Park(ing) Day MA

Friday was Park(ing) Day LA, an event that the Militant is very familiar with. So he decided to look up the map and roam around town on bike and on rail on Friday afternoon to tour some of the temporary parks being set up on street parking spaces to call attention to the need for people-oriented public spaces. Pretty much the majority of the proposed parks were situated in the Central Los Angeles area, with a few in the Westside (Santa Monica to be specific), a couple in the South Bay, and a handful in the SFV and SGV combined. It seemed as if Park(ing) Day LA was less of a deal this year than last, and it did seem that there were less points on the map. Of course, the Militant still couldn't see 'em all, so here's the somewhat limited tour...

The Militant headed to one of the nearest parks to his compound (pictured right), in East Hollywood's "Hel-Mel Bicycle District" where a park set up by the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust and the local neighborhood council yielded an inflatable swimming pool, a BBQ grill and some potted plants for decoration. A few people took a dip in the 80-plus degree heat, and others had their Scoops ice cream while chilling out at this location.

The Militant then headed to the nearest Metro station and took the12-minute ride Downtown where he disembarked at Pershing Square and..had to carry his ride up the northeast station portal (escalator was not in service, d'oh) to 4th street, where he headed due east. Near 4th and Spring, he saw a park ready to be taken down, with just a patch of astroturf marking the spot. Hmm. The Militant headed further and made his way to Main and Winston, where a rather large park installation was taking place.

Well, this was kind of cheating, as it wasn't the takeover of parking space but rather a (the Militant assumes, permitted) street closure. Winston, as some of you may or may not recall, is the tiny sidestreet upon where Blossom Vietnamese restaurant is situated, which the Militant covered in his long-dormant spinoff food blog, the Militant Angeleno's Mess Hall (wonder when he'll start that thing up again...).

This particular park (pictured left) was also organized by the local neighborhood council, this time the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council (which was cool since the Militant always thought that neighborhood councils were just comprised of a bunch of cranky-ass, quasi-racist rich white old farts with no lives who like to shout at each other, wank off to Planning and Land Use Management issues and cling to their little fiefdoms. Oh yeah, did the Militant mention they're OLD? We're talking Pre-Cambrian, stop-driving-your-car-or-you'll-crash-into-a-farmer's-market fogeyness here. But the Militant digresses...good to know there's some NCs who aren't as fogey-ized and dig the Park(ing) Day thang) . This park had the requisite astroturf foundation, but also bore an entertainment stage, a basketball court and a display of James Rojas' infamous "Lego Downtown." The Militant also may or may not have spotted another local blogger there, who apparently had no idea the Militant was in his midst. Muhahaha. The main theme though at this park was the $196 monthly cost of a parking lot space, and various posterboards gave a quantitiative indication of what can be purchased for that price (i.e. one park bench, seven basketballs, 174 tennis balls, etc.).

The Militant continued on to the Financial District where he was promised a bunch of parks. Unfortunately he wasn't able to see squat. One site (Melendrez) was supposed to be near Pershing Square (which is an actual, permanent park - aren't we supposed to be putting these things up where there is no park space?) but apparently they decided to shut down early, and no trace of it was found.

The Militant did get to see the Torti Gallas and Partners Park, on 6th and Grand, who cordoned off their area with a picket fencing and adorned the space with a realtor's sign. Their theme was a similar cost-analysis of space, this time treating the parking space as though it were real estate property (valued at $77,000) and "selling" a parking space-sized residential structure for that price.

The rest of the Militant's search wasn't very fruitful. Either these sites never sprang up or they shut down early, mostly due to parking lane traffic flow restrictions inherent in Downtown (booo...). The one park by the Central Library was gone, for example.

The Militant also made his was a little west to Pico-Union where a park site was to go up on Hoover and Alvarado, but the Militant found no trace of it whatsoever.

So that was one complaint of the day, either many sites only set up for a short amount of time, or not at all. That was pretty much it for the Militant's tour, though Damien Newton from Streetsblog seemed to have more luck than the Militant in his report.

At one of the sites the Militant visited, he did run into a couple ladies who told him they set up their own site in Little Tokyo, which subsequently got shut down at around 2:30 p.m. by the cops. BREAKIN' DA LAW! They also explained that earlier in the day, other officers would drive past and even wave, though they theorized one of the businesses in the area called to complain. But they shrugged it off as no big deal, as 2:30 was past their original time limit anyway.

Still, Park(ing) Day 2008 didn't seem to have the splash it had last year, when it generated some mainstream media attention. This time, it was strictly a blogging event, it seems.

The Militant also didn't go to the Miracle Mile afterparty, though it probably had better music than the parking garage festivities of last year.

Oh well, maybe we'll have a better impact next year.

Get Cultured This Weekend!

It needs not be said that Los Angeles is the most ethnically-diverse metropolis in America, and perhaps the world. But the Militant said it anyway. This weekend, whether you want Southeastern Europe or Southeast Asia, or crave paidakia or pancit, this weekend is for you.

L.A. Greekfest 2008, Byzantine-Latino Quarter: This festival celebrates a decade's worth of feasting and promises a Hellas-good time at the Byzantine-Latino Quarter; specifically on the grounds of St. Sophia's Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Normandie, near Pico. As usual, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson will kick off the festivities (despite the fact that Hanks has no Greek ancestry whatsoever - he's actually partly of Portugese stock - it's just that he and his wife are members of the St. Sophia's congregation). Friday 5-11 p.m. (free); Saturday 1-11 p.m. and Sunday 12-10 p.m. ($5, under 12 free).

Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture (FPAC) , San Pedro: Celebrating their 17th year, this festival, which the Militant covered last year, and even walked right past the Franklin Avenue crew (without them knowing it, lol), is an annual celebration of Filipino American arts which happens at the cliffside Pt. Fermin Park. Live music, dance acts, cultural presentations, former American Idol finalist Camille Velasco and even YouTube celeb Happy Slip will be there. Saturday-Sunday 10a.m. - 6 p.m. ($7).

Happy LAbor Day: A Few Suggestions

With MemDay the start of summer and July 4 as its midpoint, Labor Day ushers in the symbolic end of summer (boooo!), though the actual end of summer won't come for another three weeks (hoooray!!!). And for the Militant, who really wants the summer to last fo'evah, the absolute end of summer won't ccme until he sets his clock back an hour in the last week of October. Being Southern California, it might as well be summer, since we'd likely have a major heat wave that weekend.

So what to do on your Labor Day Monday? The Militant offers a few things to do:

6 a.m. - 2 p.m.: Pobladores History Walk, San Gabriel Mission - There are three kinds of people who do the annual 9-mile Pobladores History Walk, which reenacts the founding of Los Angeles: 1) Elected officials who like to show how hardcore they are, even though they don't have the cojones to even finish the damn thing; 2) Living descendants of the Pobladores and 3) Truly hardcore Angelenos/Southern Californians who wish to profess their unconditional love for this place. Since the Militant's name hasn't appeared on any ballots (at least none that you've heard of...), and his parents immigrated here in the 1960s, category 3 is the obvious answer (um, as if you weren't aware of that already).

There is nothing like retracing the steps of our City's founders by getting up early and walking west, in the heat, eventually getting blisters on your feet and cramps in your leg, but damnit, it's worth it. Plus you'll get to hobnob with categories 1 and 2, and meet others from category 3.

The Militant did the walk last year and had a blast. And not to worry, you get hooked up with free water and free food at the end when you reach El Pueblo State Historic Park, next to Olvera Street. He may or may not do it again this year. But you definitely may. San Gabriel Mission is located 428 S. Mission Drive, though the walk's start is at the intersection of Mission and Junipero Serra drives. The walk begins at 6:30 a.m.

11 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.: Angel City Jazz Festival, Barnsdall Art Park - Down for some music in your Labor Day? The Angel City Jazz Festival, at Barnsdall Art Park, sponsored by local beermakers Angel City Brewing, features a day of music, art, food and brews, of course, in one of Los Angeles' most underrated (and underutilized) public spaces. Performances are both indoors in the Barnsdall Gallery Theater and in an outdoor stage.

Caveat: The festival ain't free (the Militant only found this out like right now). It's $25 presale, $35 at the door (yet there's no actual door there, it's outdoors after all). Tickets can be purchased online here.

The Militant may or may not be at one or both of these events. Or maybe he'll be spending time with a few operatives at an unspecified local beach with its own municipal pier, enjoying himself some seafood and sun on the sand.

The Militant's Non-Coverage of Sunset Junction

You may or may not know by now that the Militant Angeleno loves to cover his local events.

And there was one major local event this weekend that more than a few of you went to.

But the Militant wasn't there.

Actually he was there, kinda. But just on the outside looking in, to snap an intentionally symbolic photo (pictured right) of the chain-link fence that cordoned off the festival grounds.

Now, the Militant knows what you're thinking: "The Sunset Junction Festival was just crawling with hipsters, so the Militant decided to avoid it at all costs."

But that's actually not an accurate statement.

The Militant isn't afraid of hipsters, just intensely annoyed by them. But they do no harm to the Militant. If anything, the Militant doesn't even exist to them, as when he tries to engage in conversation with them, they produce no replies. So that must mean that in their eyes, the Militant is pretty much invisible. Which...is just fine with the Militant.

So no, the "H" factor has nothing to do with it, at all.

It's just that (sit tight folks, especially you SoCal n00bs, historical perspective coming up) when it began in the 1980s, Sunset Junction was - a community festival (pictured left). It celebrated the community, in involved the community, it featured the community. Back then, there was a Silver Lake, but not really a "Silverlake." Actually, Silver Lake was really that hilly area around the reservoir, and maybe the parts north and south of it adjacent to the eponymous boulevard. Sunset Junction wasn't really Silver Lake, nor was it Hollywood (despite the fact a "Hollywood" community sign stands there (and until a couple years ago the sign had been there so long, it was colored black and not blue) on Sunset between Sanborn and Hyperion) - it was pretty much its own community.

But nearly 30 years later Sunset Junction is all of a sudden the "Downtown of Silverlake [sic]" or at least its proper central business district.

Okay, get to the point Militant. It used to be a free festival. It used to actually be a boost to all the local businesses, institutions and residents. Used to. This is not the Sunset Junction the Militant knew from his youth. No, the Militant isn't being a change-resistant reactionary here, it's just that the festival totally abandoned its roots.

Now it's (trying really hard to be) a freaking Coachella on asphalt (once upon a time, the music acts were all local bands who rehearsed at the now-defunct Hully Gully rehearsal studio on Fletcher in the AWV). It costs $20 (?!?) to get in now, which is more than the real people of the community can afford, it only benefits a certain number of businesses that are on the organizers' good side, it actually blocks off many businesses, keeping them from benefiting from the festival, has become a logistical headache (though okay, the recent arrangement allows people to come in from the Red Line, the Militant gives credit where it's due) and the music stages are racially segregated.

The last time the Militant was at Sunset Junction, he happened to go late enough that he got in at a discount. There was still some music going on, though he discovered all the white indie rock acts played at the Bates Stage and all the "colored people" acts played on the extreme opposite end of the festival grounds. The festival has been somewhat reconfigured, but the musical and racial segregation still continues. Why not stages that bring people together? Most of the other festivals in town seem to be able to work it. And oh yeah, they seemed to capitalize on the recent death of a certain soul music legend (originally booked to perform there) rather well (Shut your mouth!) But the Militant's talking about Sunset Junction!

But whatever. If you went to SJ, the Militant won't give you crap for it (besides, you already got crap to begin with, so the Militant won't add anymore). And when a recently-transplanted near-operative (you gotta earn these things...) brought up going to SJ in a conversation before the weekend, after the Militant dissed it, he still encouraged him to go "just for the experience." If you wanna go back next year, fine.

But it's just that Sunset Junction ain't the Militant's cup of tea.

Happy Birthday, Historic Filipinotown

The community of Historic Filipinotown celebrated the sixth anniversary of its designation on Saturday with a street fair on Temple Street, between Union and Alvarado. The Militant, with only a small window of time to check out the festivities, was able to see most of what he could see; the festival site was only two blocks long -- one with booths/entertainment and another, a Kids' Zone, which apparently hardly had any kids in it (they were apparently freaked out by all the freaky-looking carnies working the rides...). He did run into some operatives there, and wanted to check out the food booths, but instead decided to spend most of the time in the confines of a nearby restaurant...a nearby air-conditioned restaurant, that is.

There was an entertainment stage that featured not only Filipino American and overseas Filipino acts, but Latino acts as well, as though Hi-Fi is dotted with several Filipino institutions (a free bus tour took visitors to those locations during the festival) the majority of its reisdents are Latino. Though, judging from the crowd, there weren't many non-Filipinos in attendance.

The community celebrates the anniversary of its designation by the City of Los Angeles on the first weekend of August each year, and in past years they took place in the more residential streets. But this was apparently the first time Temple Street was closed in part for this festival, which didn't make too many motorists by Temple and Alvarado happy; as there was construction going on along Alvarado in addition. Of course, the Militant, as you know, didn't have to deal with the traffic or parking limitations...