The official blog of Laemmle Theatres
Our favorite civic event, CicLAvia, returns this Sunday, this time with a route that connects two great places: Venice Beach and Culver City. Bicycle, walk, run, dance, scoot or engage in some novel combination of these without looking over your shoulder for two-ton rolling exoskeletons (AKA cars). The weather forecast looks lovely and it’s a great opportunity to get some pleasant exercise and explore another unique part of our city at a human pace.
Since 1972, The Trust for Public Land has protected more than 3 million acres and completed more than 5,200 park and conservation projects. This Saturday our friends at TPL will open a new pocket park in Echo Park.
The Patton Street Park and Community Garden is a .4-acre site adjacent to a City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Community Center. Local families with small children had to look elsewhere for places to play, but this park will meet the huge demand for outdoor play areas in the neighborhood. Amenities include a playground, fitness equipment, and small picnic area and community garden. The fenced park will be open from sunrise to sunset and will be operated by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.
The grand opening is Saturday, August 1st at 10:30am. Greg Laemmle will be in attendance representing the Laemmle Charitable Foundation, a long-time TPL supporter. We hope to see you there.
Patton Street Park and Community Garden
317 Patton Street
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Laemmle’s involvement with cycling events such as CicLAvia and Climate Ride stems not just from our love of the sport, but as a way to encourage alternative transportation and inspire creative thinking about our traffic and environmental challenges.
Last year we stepped up to the plate with our own event, the TOUR DE LAEMMLE, a 125-mile Greg Laemmle-led bicycle tour of all our theaters that included a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new bike corral parking outside of the NoHo 7. This year, we’re pleased to announce the 2nd Annual Tour on Sunday, July 19! Departing at 7:00am from the Royal in West L.A., we’ll visit the following venues in succession:
– Music Hall (Beverly Hills)
– Claremont 5
– Playhouse 7 (Pasadena)
– NoHo 7 (North Hollywood)
– Town Center (Encino)
– The new Monica Film Center in
Santa Monica (opening soon!)
– Back to the Royal around 7 PM (phew!)
Also, this year we are adding a brief stop at the future home of our Glendale venue (between the Playhouse and NoHo leg).
Tour de Laemmle is FREE to all participants. Riders can complete the entire 125-mile circuit or choose to do specific legs.
The tour is geared toward intermediate to advanced cyclists but we include a slower-paced, FAMILY-FRIENDLY leg along the S.F. Valley Orange Line Bike Path. The tour will be supported with refreshments at most stops.
VISIT the TOUR WEBSITE for details and sign up!
About the route:
The Tour de Laemmle takes you on a powerful cultural and historical journey through the heart of the L.A. region. First and foremost, you will get the opportunity to see how so many diverse LA County neighborhoods are connected. El Serreno transitions to Alhambra which transitions to San Gabriel, and so forth. Whether crossing the Arroyo Seco or the Sepulveda Pass, you’ll also see how geographical features have shaped the city. While riding on Huntington Drive or historic Route 66, you’ll get to see how older roadways and railway right-of-way passages connected communities in the era before the modern interstate. For early morning riders, you’ll get to appreciate the beautiful buildings on Wilshire Boulevard as we traverse through mid-town. And for those who join later in the day, you’ll get to see how bike paths like the L.A. River bikeway and the Orange Line Bike Path can provide safe avenues of connectivity for those who choose to get around without a car.
Living in a megalopolis has its advantages, not least abundant cinematic choices. This week Angelenos need only journey to our revivified Downtown to enjoy the the lucky number 21 Los Angeles Film Festival. According to the L.A. Times, this year’s fest features a strong focus on diversity and fresh voices and includes a whole bunch — 45 — of world premieres.
“As the primary exhibition arm of Film Independent, The Los Angeles Film Festival’s mission is to showcase diversity, innovation, and unique visions in independent American and international cinema.
“We are inspired by Los Angeles, a city of abundant creativity, and our programming reflects our city-muse through films, performances and panels. The Festival presents unparalleled access to creative voices through energetic film programming, master classes, live performances and conversations with the most compelling artists working today. Discover new voices, watch the most anticipated titles of the summer, and rekindle the excitement and glamour of storytelling at the Los Angeles Film Festival – only in L.A.
“New this year are competitive sections for independent, feature-length U.S. fiction films; a diverse selection of documentary films from around the world; and a smaller round-up of exceptional international films, curated to showcase break-out global talent. Also newly launched is Nightfall, a robust line-up of genre films by independent filmmakers making their world premieres; and a section exclusively dedicated to discovering the brightest emerging voices in independent filmmaking. 2015 is also the inaugural year of Launch, a section introducing new talent that’s crafting fiction in digital spaces, through a program dedicated to expanded forms of storytelling: web series, music videos and podcasts, the best in independent gaming, and anticipated premieres of TV series.
“From Inglewood to the Valley, L.A. has been an inspiration for artists to find their voice, tell their story and perfect their craft. Returning for its second year, the highly lauded L.A. Muse section showcases world premieres of films that capture the spirit of Los Angeles. The Festival offers mentorship for high school students with the Future Filmmakers program, including a screening of short films created by high school students.
“The Festival’s signature programs include Master Classes, invaluable talks from prominent artists about their trade; lively discussions at Coffee Talks on the craft of filmmaking by composers, cinematographers, actors, writers, directors, and more; Diversity Speaks, a day-long convention of filmmakers and storytellers of color; the Music in Film Nights at The GRAMMY Museum®, featuring live performances in an intimate venue by some of the world’s most acclaimed musicians; the Spirit of Independence Award; the Glory to the Filmmaker Award in celebration of women filmmakers; and the Filmmaker Retreat, exclusively for feature filmmakers with films world premiering at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival. Films selected for competition, which premiere in the US for the first time at the Los Angeles Film Festival, are eligible for multiple juried and audience awards.”
“The L.A. River is on the mend and safe to paddle,” declares L.A. River Kayak Safari, the outfit that offers guided kayak tours throughout the summer.
Kayak season has indeed officially begun and you can now book your adventure through the end of September. Your L.A. River excursion will take you through the beautifully restored and surprisingly bucolic Elysian Valley stretch that runs just south of Griffith Park. Having taken advantage of this opportunity last year, this an experience we highly recommend! For someone who hasn’t been kayaking before, or who is inexperienced, this is a great way to get into it. Reading articles on sites like campingfunzone.com, and getting first-hand experiences can make someone much more confident in the water, and create a more enjoyable experience.
Returning the L.A. River to a more pristine state and making it more hospitable for both people and wildlife has been of paramount concern of the Laemmle Foundation.
“Upgrading our natural waterways is one of the simplest and most effective ways we can improve the quality of life in our city,” says Foundation Board President Greg Laemmle. The Foundation backs up his words through its ongoing support of FOLAR (Friends of the L.A. River), a grassroots non-profit dedicated to river improvement.
To celebrate last year’s grant to FOLAR, Greg and his wife Tish hosted a group kayaking tour led by L.A. River Kayak Safari. Happily, Greg captured his experience on a GoPro camera. The video has since been edited into a three-minute short — CLICK HERE or scroll down to the bottom of this post to check it out!
The L.A. River has a checkered history, but the future looks promising. As the folks at Kayak Safari explains, “In the later 1930?s after a series of devastating floods, Federal Authorities began to create a concrete straightjacket for the river. With channelization, natural habitats suffered. By the 1960?s Freeway expansions, industrial pollution and street run-off further degraded the river. Yet, in the Elysian Valley stretch, a high water table and the dynamics of the river’s bends around the local hills left a soft-bottom (instead of concrete,) creating an environment for aquatic plants, fish, birds, and humans.”
What’s more, large scale restoration projects envisioned by L.A. city officials could channel billions in funds (some from the federal government) over the next couple of decades into the river project. In it’s wake, we could be left with a truly unique river area that both reflects our aspirations as a modern city and yet stays true to our region’s pre-industrial heritage. On the cusp of real change, now is an exciting time get to know the L.A. River and be part of its transformation. To be able to flow down the river at your own leisurely place, picking the right kayak will make all of the difference in your experience of the river. You might decide that the inflatable kayaks are the best choice for you and the group that you’re with. Make sure you thoroughly research kayaks before you pick one first so you know that it’s definitely right for you. You can find reviews of the best inflatable kayaks at outdoorempire.com if you are interested in that type of kayak.
In addition to the aforementioned kayaking, FOLAR hosts a wide variety of river-related activities. And their offerings really ramp up for the summer. Consult their River Blog and Community Calendar for upcoming events.
EDIT: The voting period has ended. The winners are NORTH BY NORTHWEST, PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE, E.T., THE BIG LEBOWSKI, and THE GENERAL. Thanks for voting!
CicLAvia: Pasadena is Sunday and we need your help choosing movie backgrounds for our free #LaemmleVia photo booth! Our green screen photo booth will transport you directly into scenes from iconic films but we have too many to choose from. The five images with the most votes* will be available for your picture-taking pleasure in front of our Playhouse 7 theater from 9am to 4pm on 5/31. Vote below!
We’ll also be giving away free popcorn! Click here for the full list of CicLAvia activities.
BACK TO THE FUTURE II |
BREAKING AWAY |
CHARIOTS OF FIRE |
E.T. |
THE GENERAL |
THE BIG LEBOWSKI |
MAD MAX |
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO |
NORTH BY NORTHWEST |
PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE |
THE USUAL SUSPECTS |
[gravityform id=”2″ action=”polls” mode=”results”]
*In the event of a tie, I will choose the winner and bump the other photos down one spot. Who am I to make such decisions? I’m the tie-breaker guy, that’s who!
=)
Join us for a day of car-free fun at our Playhouse 7 theater during CicLAvia on Sunday, May 31st! Our green screen photo booth will transport you directly into scenes from iconic films like BREAKING AWAY, PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE, and more! You can vote for your favorite scenes here. Plus, any photos shared on Twitter and Instagram using #LaemmleVia will appear on one of our movie screens! Come inside, sit back with friends, post photos, enjoy some free popcorn, refill your water, and listen to Pasadena-related songs.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for updates!
CicLAvia – Pasadena takes place from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 31. Our Playhouse 7 theater located right on the route at 673 East Colorado Boulevard, just east of El Molino Avenue.
Since 2010, CicLAvia has challenged the concept of Southern California as a car-only region. By temporarily removing cars from streets for one day, people are encouraged to transform their relationship with their communities and with each other.
New to CicLAvia? Here are four things you need to know for May 31:
Hope to see you there!
If you’ve got budding cinephile children in your life, there’s a great place to take them for the next three weekends!
12:00 pm Party Animals (Ages 2 and up, 62 min.)
1:30 pm Abracadabra (Ages 4 and up, 55 min.)
3:00 pm Be Different (Ages 7 and up, 72 min.)
Sunday, May 3
12:00 pm Snuggle Time (Ages 2 and up, 57 min.)
1:30 pm Free Your Mind (Ages 6 and up, 76 min.)
3:00 pm Wave of Wonder (Ages 8 and up, 71 min.)
Saturday, May 9
12:00 pm Fantastic Journeys (Ages 4 and up, 70 min.)
1:30 pm High Tech Hijinks (Ages 5 and up, 63 min.)
Sunday, May 10
12:00 pm Snuggle Time (Ages 2 and up, 57 min.)
1:30 pm Party Animals (Ages 2 and up, 62 min.)
3:00 pm Family Matters (Ages 7 and up, 70 min.)
Saturday, May 16
12:00 pm Party Animals (Ages 2 and up, 62 min.)
1:30 pm High Tech Hijinks (Ages 5 and up, 63 min.)
3:00 pm Finding My Way (Ages 9 and up. 63 min.)
Sunday, May 17
12:00 pm Snuggle Time (Ages 2 and up, 57 min.)
1:30 pm Abracadabra (Ages 4 and up, 55 min.)
3:00 pm Fantastic Journeys (Ages 4 and up, 70 min.)
Curated by Elizabeth Shepherd and Katie Pappageorge.
Funded in part with generous support from members of the REDCAT Circle and REDCAT Council.
