"One Arroyo," L.A. Forest, Pasadena

OneArroyo.org; Xochitl, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Effort

Kizh/Tongva once preserved the land

What is the "One Arroyo" effort? The Arroyo Seco ["Dry Riverbed"] is Pasadena's great outdoor space, used by millions each year for recreation and enjoyment.

Even though the Arroyo itself has seldom been conceived or designed as one continuous space, from the headwaters in the north to the tributary waters in the south, its natural habitats, resources, and historic sites are unlike any other and enthusiastically enjoyed by those who live, work, and visit the city.

 

The "One Arroyo" Effort endeavors to bring awareness to the work by the Arroyo Advisory Group (AAG) and others to restore the legacy of Pasadena's historic Arroyo Seco and unite all three areas of the Arroyo -- Hahamongna, Central Arroyo, and Lower Arroyo -- under a singular vision.

The Vision

One Arroyo Walk with Mayor (arroyosage)

Vision for the Arroyo. The AAG has developed a draft vision statement for the Arroyo. This vision will be refined as the group conducts its outreach to the community.

"Pasadena's great outdoor space, the historic Arroyo Seco, will become 'One Arroyo.' From the headwaters in the north to the tributaries in the south, its natural habitats, resources, and historic sites will be preserved, enhanced, and connected by an extraordinary end-to-end trail system, all anchored by a central hub." More

• The School of Self-Reliance: surviving in the forest
• The Arroyo Sage remembers the Arroyo Seco
• VIDEO: Bridget Nielsen on her hybrid chidren
• Halszkaraptor, a duck-like semiaquatic dinosaur genus, is described from Mongolian fossil discovery
• Trump announces US recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital
• Australia passes legislation to allow same-sex marriage
• Int'l Olympic Cmte bans Russia from 2018 Winter Olympics for doping at 2014 Games
• "Jesus Christ Superstar," Chicago (lyricopera.org)
• War Inside Your Stomach: Silence the Cravings
• Jesus Christ Superstar, O.C. (KPFK Film Club) Fans, Rejoice! Ted Neeley is coming to The Frida Cinema! to join audiences for three screenings of the Webber/Rice Spectacular on December 16th and 17th. Meet the man who, 44 years after the iconic film’s release, is still touring the world with the stage production as the Superstar. The Frida Cinema, 305 E 4th St #100, Santa Ana, CA 92701 (thefridacinema.org)
  

PLAY: "Alicia in Arroyoland" (free)

TeatroArroyo.com, Arroyo Arts Collective; Dhr. Seven, Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly

But my name is Alice not Alicia

Teatro Arroyo presents an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" called "Alicia in Arroyoland"! It's a bilingual, Enlgish-Spanish, extravaganza of comedy and poetic nonsense written by Ralph Waxman and directed by Guillermo Aviles-Rodriguez.

It is being performed FREE at the Audubon Center at Debs Park (on the side of a hill across from the Southwest Museum in Highland Park below Montecito Heights). It is a family-friendly event brought to the community by the Arroyo Arts Collective.

• Teatro Arroyo (at Debs Park)
• 4700 North Griffin Ave., L.A. 90031
• Aug. 12, 13, 14, 19, 20 @ 3:30 PM/5:30 PM
• Facebook event page
• RSVP: brownpapertickets.com (FREE)

"Coachella," too: The Arroyo Seco Fest (video)

Bliss Bowen (pasadenaweekly.com); Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

(Visit Pasadena) Arroyo Seco Weekend is a new music and arts festival that will take place for the first time this summer (June 24-15, 2017) in the park surrounding the Rose Bowl Stadium, which is located in the lower Arroyo Seco, the festival’s namesake. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Alabama Shakes, Mumford & Sons, Weezer, and The Mowgli’s are just a few of the 30 acts in the lineup that will perform on three stages. More: visitpasadena.com/events

 

The new West Coast Woodstock

Filling the local summer festival void created by Make Music Pasadena going on indefinite hiatus, Arroyo Seco Weekend brings headliners Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and Mumford & Sons to Brookside at the Rose Bowl Saturday and Sunday.

Other marquee acts scheduled to perform on the heavily promoted fest’s three stages include Alabama Shakes, Andrew Bird, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Dawes, Fitz & the Tantrums, Live, the Shins and Weezer. Arroyo Seco Weekend is being presented by Goldenvoice, the production entity behind the Coachella and Stagecoach extravaganzas in Indio and last year’s Desert Trip dad-rock fest.

The freeway bridge over the usually "dry river" or Arroyo Seco, Pasadena (scpr.org)

 

The concert-going "hippies" of the 1960s

Both the lineup and the layout were shaped over a year and a half of meetings between promoters, neighborhood groups and city planners. One result: Arroyo Seco will be catered by restaurants such as Barrel & Ashes, Broken Spanish, Chigo, Frankland Crab & Co., Genghis Cohen, Sweetfin Poké, and Union. (So much for greasy burgers and cheap beer.)

The lineup spans several genres (although country and hip-hop are notably absent). More

• Arroyo Seco Weekend takes place rain or shine
• Brookside at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena
• Noon to 11:00 pm Saturday, June 24 
• Noon to 10:00 pm Sunday, June 25

Single Day Pass/$125, Weekend Pass/$225. Children 10 and under FREE. Ticket info: (855) 273-4481. See arroyosecoweekend.com for more details, including shuttle and Metro info.

Fall Equinox: Chumash Celebration (Malibu)

Xochitl, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Wishtoyo.org via Tim Martinez (ArroyoSage)

How we used to dance without judgment, all-inclusive, everyone a member of the tribe.

OPEN TO ALL: Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014, 4:00, 33904 PCH, Malibu, CA 90265 (wishtoyo.org)

• Wishtoyo Benefit Dinner, Oct. 26, Malibu Chumash Discovery Village! Details
  

Exploring the Hills of Mt. Washington

Tim Martinez (The Arroyo Sage)

Last week, my friend and Arroyo Seco Foundation colleague Scott Cher took me on a walking tour of Mt. Washington [in the foothills of Los Angeles near Pasadena], which he has long called home.

 

Nestled in the hills behind the majestic Southwest Museum, Mount Washington is a historic L.A. neighborhood [above gentrified Highland Park crowned by the Self Realization Fellowship mother center] with commanding vistas and surrounded by nature.

 

We set out to explore the open spaces and habitat in the area that have been set aside, preserved, and some still in need of protection

 

Shuttered Southwest Museum languishing under Autry Museum management (AS)

We began our walk by hiking through Moon Canyon Park. Moon Canyon is an unmaintained Los Angeles City park with great potential for habitat restoration. The canyon's slopes are home to the rare California Walnut tree, which Mt. Washington is known for. More

 

Moon Canyon Park surrounded by residential area, L.A. (Tim Martinez/ArroyoSage)

US Senator to Visit Burma

(Radio Free Asia, Aug. 8, 2009)
U.S. Senator Jim Webb announces a visit to Burma, as officials reassess policy toward the isolated Southeast Asian country.


Senator Jim Webb, with his wife Hong, at press conference in Hanoi, 7/4/07 (AFP).

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Jim Webb will leave Sunday on an Asian tour that will include Burma, his office said, as U.S. officials review Washington's longstanding sanctions policy against the military-run country. Webb, a Democrat who chairs a Senate subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific affairs, will be the first U.S. legislator to visit Burma in more than a decade.

The aim of his trip to Burma is "to explore opportunities to advance U.S. interests in Burma and the region," his office said in a statement. Webb—a Vietnam war veteran who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific affairs—leaves Sunday and will also visit Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia over a two-week span, his office said in a statement.

Along with other U.S. lawmakers, Webb has pressed the Burmese junta to release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. But he has also publicly advocated a rethinking of U.S. sanctions on Burma. More>>

Arroyo Calls for the Release of Suu Kyi

Glenn Kessler (Washington Post, 7/31/09)

Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo called Friday for the immediate release of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, saying that Burma should demonstrate whether it has a legitimate hold on power by accelerating a "road map" to democracy and by permitting the full partici-pation of Suu Kyi's party in elections.

"The best way to find out [whether the government is legitimate] would be to accelerate the road map and have elections being conducted in an atmosphere and an environment in which Aung San Suu Kyi and her party are able to participate fully," Arroyo said in an interview. "It would help to promote human rights, democracy and peace and stability in the region." More>>