Grand Park looking for projects from LA County based dance/movement artists/ensembles for presentation in the park on the following days:

November 8, 15, and 22, 2013. An honorarium is provided. Applications are due and must be received at Grand Park by 9:00 AM on August 1, 2013.

DETAILS & INSTRUCTIONS: Call for Submissions — November 2013 Dance at Grand Park

Good luck!

Julia Diamond, Programming Director, Grand Park

Goooood morning Baltimore! Errr…..Los Angeles!

It’s official! Summer is here! If your calendar didn’t tell you then the high energy around our central city will. Word on the street is it is going to be one busy summer packed with special events all around downtown. I cannot wait! With so many events planned for the months ahead it is tough to experience them all, but I guarantee you this Friday’s event at the park is not to be missed. Here is a little hint: Baltimore, 1962, the heyday of hairdos and hair don’ts.

Yes, It’s Hairspray! Friday night’s big event will bring Baltimore 1962 to Los Angeles 2013 with a screening and dance along under the stars celebrating the 25th anniversary of John Waters’ 1988 cult classic, Hairspray. My friends and I will be there, doing “the bird” and “the bug” out on the performance lawn. Don’t leave us hanging!

Though it’s 2013, that doesn’t mean we cannot relive those Tracy Turnblad/Link Larkin glory days. This is my perfect excuse for a 60s throwback. I’ve got out the perfect 60s fashion ready to be topped off with the perfect hairdo. My friend Rebekah and I went downtown to visit another friend of mine, emmy award winning hairstylist Curt Darling. He recently opened his brand new dry cut salon on Main Street, between Winston and 5th. We wanted to learn the perfect vintage hairdo for Friday night, and Curt was gracious enough to give us some tips along the way.

Prep: (24 hours in advance) To get that greasy messy look, create texture and massage the hair up. Add liberal amounts of Hairspray. Get the hair on top of your head as if it’s an updo. Swirl the hair around and clip with one pin.

Step 1: Divide your hair in half. Do a low side part for a “Donald Trump” like combover. Tease the back half of the hair. Then make a low pony tail. Twist the pony tail tightly and twist up, holding your thumb on the inside of the twist. As you pull the twist up, release the grip for less tension.

Step 2: Bring the top of the twist back down and tuck it inside the twisted hair. Have a few clips handy to lock it in tight.

Step 3: Use an air cushioned brush to smooth the surface of the front of the hair. Grasp the middle portion of the hair (or upper part) brush over and clip tightly.

Step 4: Take the left lower part of the hair and sweep over to the right over the forehead and around, and clip.

Step 5: Swoop, clip, spray lots of hairspray and voila! Mama, welcome to the 60s!

There you have it, Ms. Hairspray Spectacular!

I recommend you finish your look with the cool new Grand Park pink sunglasses, free for you when you take Metro to Friday night’s event! See you Friday!

–Joshua Levi, special to Grand Park, Downtown With Me

Curt Darling Salon, 440 S. Main Street, Los Angeles 90013, 213.426.4000

It isn’t difficult to diagnose when I began to fall in love with downtown Los Angeles. It began over 3 years ago. I was living in Orange County, bored and ready for a change. I sought to discover LA’s somewhat undiscovered core. General consensus from colleagues was that there was nothing for me to see. However, consistently the truth was that they had never been. It was what they were told. I begin making frequent trips up to what is now my home, and I could not believe the amount of life and energy that was here. Not only that, but I quickly realized the potential. There was this “city” that many Angelenos yearn for but had yet to discover its existence. In my mind, DTLA (yes, downtown LA has it’s own acronym) had the potential to be known as the true center of Los Angeles again.

After moving here, I immediately described myself as an adopted Angeleno and felt the desire to share the magic of downtown with outside friends and colleagues. I quickly realized I obviously was not alone. Some “downtowners” as we like to call ourselves, have lived here since before I was born. That is loyalty, but whether they are new or old, it is easy to feel the amount of love that lives here in the heart of our great city. There is an overwhelming amount of pride and passion to continue to make this community great for the entire region to enjoy. Beautiful parks and parklets are sprouting up, girl scout cookies have arrived, numerous farmers markets are giving us our apple a day, and fun-filled events pack our neighborhoods weekly. All these great things have been established to connect our city and the downtown community. I can barely walk a block down the street before stopping and catching up with a nearby neighbor.

Not only do I know the people I walk by, I have discovered so many great things in our central city along my walks. Since moving here 3 years ago, hundreds of businesses have opened up. Vibrant bars, restaurants and shops are transforming the aesthetic and energy of our streets. Month after month, the visual landscape of each street evolves.

Every day, I walk around downtown and think the same thoughts to myself. There is something excitingly strange happening down here. That “something” is completely recreating the fabric of all of our notoriously sprawling city. What was old is now new again. Living downtown is enjoyable, and coming downtown is a treat again. There is a lifestyle erupting where walking to work, biking or taking public transportation are outnumbering the traffic-infused commute. This lifestyle brings LA’s beautifully diverse cultures together seamlessly. Where Friday night includes a train ride into downtown for dinner at one of DTLA’s many culinary establishments, followed by a performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall or a screening at the Los Angeles Theatre. Where the locals must turn their cars on every few weeks just to make sure their battery hasn’t died, if they even have a car!

Combining this newfound lifestyle with the energy that is here and what is on the way is incredibly exhilarating. I walk down Grand Avenue and keep my eyes on the Broad Museum’s construction progress while constantly photographing the Walt Disney Concert Hall. I walk down Broadway in excitement of new shops and the return of a streetcar, while looking up at the gorgeous architecture that that has remained in tact. I watch the Wilshire Grand come down in anticipation of the world’s tallest building east of Chicago and west of Taipei.

Everything is happening here, and in my posts to come I look forward to giving you the full scoop on my favorite DTLA places to experience along with sneak peek at what is on the horizon. Come visit!

–Joshua Levi, special to Grand Park, Downtown With Me

Today marks the 52nd free yoga class at Grand Park.

At the first class last November, I stood on the Performance Lawn stage with Christel Joy Johnson, the resident Grand Park yoga guru, and we nervously waited. One by one, first a trickle, and then a gush, they came! They came from offices, courtrooms, and lofts, on foot, metro, and bike. On our first day, we had near 40 yogis attend Grand Park’s free class. And ever since then, a wonderful, devoted group of about 50 has come back every Wednesday and Friday to stretch their bodies and calm their minds. We have even had some adorable mini junior yogis come to learn. Participants have come to enjoy being outdoors, to take in the rushing sounds of the fountain, to feel the green grass, to laugh with Christel as she leads them through their paces, and to be together.  I have taken some of the classes myself and felt how special it is to be in the heart of our amazing thriving, thumping city, in the oasis that is Grand Park, looking up at the blue sky, taking deep breaths in and out with the grass underneath me feeling truly part of a this place.

Tree pose amidst the city

Today is the last class until we get into the cooler months later this year. I would like to thank all of the Grand Park yogis who made this program such a success because of their dedication, and good humor. Thank you for spreading the word. Thank you for making time in your busy schedules. Thank you for making Grand Park your own! As a parting gift, Grand Park asked Christel to make an audio recording of a yoga class that you can access below. On cooler summer days or evenings, please make your way to the park, pop your headphones in and take yourself through the class. Movement and relaxation are two of the best ways to enjoy Grand Park. And yoga class or no, we hope that when you are here in the park with us, that you will always feel that sense of calm and respite that Grand Park brings to our madcap, beautiful, bustling downtown, in the heart of yours and my L.A.

A big thanks to the Grand Park yoga team: Christel Joy Johnson, Rachel Scandling, Matt Saltzman, Tati Simonian, Cody Kopp, Ronnie Clark and Keith Barletta. See you on November 6, Yogis!

DOWNLOAD zip file to your computer and take Grand Park’s Yoga reTREAT with you forever / STREAM MP3 – also a great option to practice the breathing, stretching and thriving on your own time until reTREATs begin again in November.

– Julia Diamond, Director of Programming, Grand Park

While some of you may have left town or even the country this past Memorial Day, Grand Park brought the world to you with the first of many Sunday Sessions this summer! Beats, eats and jams. Yes, just call us the Global DJs. We don’t mind. Both local and international artists brought their beautiful beats to our performance lawn, offering an experience for the whole family to enjoy. Families and hipsters (and hipster families!) packed the park with their pets, bicycles and dancing shoes. Guests of the Music Center filtered in and quickly discovered that after enjoying their favorite shows across the way, there was more fun to experience here. Wolf & Lamb, No Regular Play, Garth, Wiseacre, Jeniluv and Eduardo Castillo (of The  Eclectech) brought their beats and some of LA’s popular food trucks brought the eats! Border Grill, Crepe’n Around and Green Truck were there for the entire day; serving up the perfect grub for our happening hub. Top it off with a two-story ice cream sandwich, (yes, we went for it) from the Cool Haus Ice Cream Truck and we were in Sunday Session Heaven.Meanwhile at the Fountain Plaza, families came in herds to get a little wet. When we asked 7-year-old Maddox from Sherman Oaks his favorite part of the park, Maddox responded, “Well, I really love water!”… Splash Pad it is Maddox!Grand Park’s Sunday Sessions will continue on the last Sunday of the month through August, jammin’ again June 30th with Audiofly, Droog, Eduardo Castillo and more! No need to be jelly, we’ll jam, jam, jam again!

View photos from our first Sunday Sessions HERE

UPCOMING SUNDAY SESSIONS:

JUN 30 / Audiofly / Droog / Eduardo Castillo / … and more.

JULY 28 / Scissor + Thread Showcase with Francis Harris / Bob Moses / Gry and Eduardo Castillo … and more.

AUG 25 / The Leverage Agency Showcase with Acid Pauli / NU / Eduardo Castillo … and more.

–Joshua Levi, special to Grand Park, Downtown With Me

If you haven’t heard the peeps on twitter or spent hours spotting our hot pink furniture on instagram, we’ve been hard at work bringing you (drum roll please) GRAND PARK’S FIRST SUMMER! It’s one, large, eventful feeding frenzy. Check out the bajillion things happening, like:

4^TH OF JULY BLOCK PARTY / wrap up your kids, their friends, neighbors, aunts, uncles, hairdressers, (everyone that makes you look good) and bring ‘em to the park for a unique Downtown LA spectacular.

HAIRSPRAY DANCE-ALONG / shake it, watch the movie, say “OMG it’s Ricki Lake,” snack on your picnic, repeat.

OUT OF OFFICE CONCERTS / we all need it. Blow of some steam after punching out with live music and beer garden accompaniment. ‘ Nuff said.

PARK YOUR POLITICS SPEAKER SERIES / living in LA, we face VERY SPECIFIC issues – let’s talk about what makes our city unique (and THE BEST in our opinion).

SPLASH + SURPRISES / we gush over adorable Grand Park kids splashing around in the fountain. Here’s a little something to boost up their Saturday mornings. Get your “awwwww”s ready.

..y mucho más! Go ahead, print out our calendar, stick it on the fridge and find all kinds of ways to PARK HERE ANY TIME!

Prepared food picnics encouraged in the park. Grilling and cooking prohibited. Visitors may not bring alcoholic beverages into the park.