East Hollywood ArtCycle Video!

Streetfilms' Clarence Eckerson Jr., who rode along on the 3:00 p.m. ArtCycle ride I led (The 2-hour Extended Director's Cut edition :)) made this great video that shows the energy and excitement of last weekend's East Hollywood ArtCycle. Check it out, you might also see some familiar faces too...

East Hollywood ArtCycle!

Today was the big day for East Hollywood ArtCycle, our community's version of an art walk/artcrawl. It was something that was born in the fall of 2008 at the EHNC Arts & Culture committee meetings, and it's the brainchild of the co-chairs of the committee -- Jennifer Moran, an artist, and Enci Box, a cyclist. After months of planning, organizing, outreach and a $2500 budget from the EHNC, it finally happened.

But a simple artwalk on two wheels it was not. It was helluva lot more than that. It was a street festival at Hel-Mel, it was a concert, at least four candidates in this coming Tuesday's municipal election showed up to represent, and there was even a (n illegal) fireworks display!

Much of the people came from elsewhere, but nothing wrong about that - part of the reason this was organized was to highlight East Hollywood. I did see the neighborhood Latino and Armenian kids and families either curious join in or extended the party to their front yards by putting up lights and blasting their own music.

I got to lead one of the four hourly bike rides through the neighborhood from Hel-Mel to art studios in the Cahuenga Library area to Sunset Junction - which is technically Silver Lake, but it's still East Hollywood Adjacent, to La Luz de Jesus gallery on Hollywood and a couple of private studios in Thai Town. My ride, which had over 20 people, left Hel-Mel at around 3 p.m.

Of course, myself being the "Hijo de E-Ho," I wanted to show off some of the 'hood...so I gave them the Director's Cut. The 1/5-hour ride turned into a 2-hour ride, not only stopping at the designated galleries and studios, but pointing out things like the histories of the Ukrainian Cultural Center, LACC, Thai Town, Little Armenia, and even Keifer Sutherland's secret lair (shhhh!), the lighting yard-cum-park to be and the "EAST HOLLYWOOD" advertising kiosk at Hollywood and Sunset.

The event attracted several hundred people. Not bad, eh?

It was a true community event. I got to re-connect with familiar faces in the community. I got to
connect with new people involved in the EHNC. I even met, for the first time, a neighbor of mine who lived in East Hollywood about as long as I have, and he even rocked his own Y-Que "East Hollywood" t-shirt. One of my friends turned up just because he read my Facebook status on ArtCycle!

Personally speaking, I'm real tickled. This is the first major event of the EHNC that I didn't have to directly plan and organize, and I'm actually happy about that - it's about damn time! Most of all it's gotten the "East Hollywood" name out there, as the event posters have attested, and it would leave no doubt to the visitors as to where and what E-Ho is. Kudos to Jen, Enci, everyone who helped out and look forward to ArtCycle 2010!

Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture in San Pedro

This weekend is the 15th annual Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture (FPAC) at Pt. Fermin Park down in San Pedro, an annual celebration of arts, entertainment, food and activities focused on Filipino American culture.

Though the event itself is not in East Hollywood, the organizer of the festival, FilAmARTS is based in E-Ho at the Hollywood Youth & Family Center on Vermont, and the festival itself was born from humble beginnings on the campus of LACC back in Spring of 1992 and 1993 before moving down to 'Pedro.

With a visible presence of markets, restaurants, church parishoners and medical center staff - not to mention a good number of residents, the Filipino community is one of the most culturally-visible ethnic communities in East Hollywood. I should know - I'm one of them. My first FPAC was in 1993 and as a Filipino American music artist, I've performed at the festival for seven straight years from 1999 to 2005.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and tomorrow and admission is $5. Consult the website for information on shuttle parking in the vicinity.