The Music Center today announced Grand Park’s spring 2016 programming line-up with free events and activities for Angelenos to enjoy music, literature and art and improve their mind, body and spirit.  New this year is Grand Park’s Springtime Reads program, an extension of the park’s highly successful annual Grand Park’s Downtown Bookfest, which salutes Los Angeles’ burgeoning literary scene.  Returning to the park is the LAUSD Grand Arts Festival, presented in partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), and the park’s popular lunchtime concerts and yoga sessions.  Grand Park will also present a number of collaborations with community partners that provide ways to improve both the health of the planet and the youth of Los Angeles.

“Whether it is a lunchtime concert, a workout or a visit with family and friends for a special event, Angelenos find Grand Park a beautiful, serene and accessible setting in the middle of the bustling L.A. civic center,” said Rachel Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center.  “The park provides the connective tissue for many in Los Angeles County to join together with others in our diverse communities around shared passions and experiences,” she added.

“This spring, Grand Park visitors will discover new ways to improve their lives and enjoy one another, from witnessing some of L.A.’s finest young, emerging talent, to exchanging their own ideas,” explained Lucas Rivera, director of Grand Park.  “By offering the platform for creativity and expression, we continue to strive to enrich the communities we serve,” Rivera offered.

Grand Park’s spring programming line-up in chronological order includes:

Spring 2016

Grand Park’s Springtime Reads
Grand Park’s Springtime Reads launches a season of free reading and writing activities, creating interesting places and ways for bookworms of all ages to indulge in their passion for the written word.  Two new literary opportunities lead up to the fourth annual Grand Park’s Downtown Bookfest.

Grand Park’s The Bradbury Room
Saturday, March 12, 2016; noon-4:51 p.m.
In this partnership with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the nationwide Big Read, Grand Park brings the [type]written word to life to celebrate L.A.’s own Ray Bradbury and his seminal work, Fahrenheit 451.  Grand Park’s Olive Court will be transformed into an art installation of DIY typewriting inspired by Bradbury’s own experience writing Fahrenheit 451, which he did in the basement typing room at UCLA’s Lawrence Clark Powell Library in 1952.  All are invited to channel their inner Bradbury and type away, prompted by quotes from the famous book, amidst Grand Park’s trees, fountain and spring breezes.

Grand Park’s Lunchtime Writers’ Meetup
Tuesdays, from March 15, 2016 – May 10, 2016; noon-1:30 p.m.
This new addition to the “¡Lunchtime! at Grand Park” programs invites writers interested in writing in a group setting to join together at Grand Park’s Performance Lawn for a free writers’ meetup.  All are welcome, from the novice writer to published authors.  An instructor will provide writing exercises, and writers are encouraged to bring their own projects to work on.

Grand Park’s Downtown Bookfest: “Literary LA: Places, Spaces and Faces”
Saturday, May 7, 2016; noon-5:00 p.m.
Back for the fourth year in a row, Grand Park’s Downtown Bookfest is Los Angeles’ only book festival focused entirely on the local literary community.  Celebrating the love of reading, writing and Los Angeles, the free event offers book lovers of all ages access to the largest coalition of Los Angeles-based authors and publishers, all available in an outdoor bookstore setting.  This year, the event will explore “Literary LA: Places, Spaces and Faces,” a celebration and reflection of where Angelenos love to read and write – past, present and future.  Activities include storytelling, bookmaking, book-swapping, book-shopping (at a pop-up bookstore featuring more than 30 L.A.-based independent publishers), readings by authors of diverse backgrounds and languages, a family pavilion of performances and activities for all ages, and more.  Guests are encouraged to bring books to donate for Grand Park’s Little Libraries (please no explicit materials), where they can also take books for free.

LAUSD Grand Arts Festival
Saturday, April 16, 2016; 10:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m.
Presented by the LAUSD in partnership with Grand Park, the LAUSD Grand Arts Festival spotlights the importance of the arts as a powerful catalyst for learning and achieving.  The Festival features work by more than 3,000 students from all over the LAUSD in such areas as music, dance, theatre, film, and visual art.  The public is welcome to the free event, where they can also enjoy performances by professional artists, family art activities, food trucks and presentations by community arts partners.

Earth Day LA (Grand Park, The Music Center and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)
Friday, April 22, 2016; 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

The Music Center, Grand Park and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power collaborate to offer Downtown L.A.’s residents, workers and visitors ways to live clean and go green.  Attendees will discover energy efficiency and water conservation displays; sustainable gardening tours; composting, electric and solar vehicle demonstrations; tree giveaways; recycled art projects; E-waste drop-off; fitness and yoga classes; and the opportunity to eat lunch and enjoy a walk-through of Grand Park’s sustainable landscaping. 

Ketchum-Downtown YMCA Healthy Kids Day
April 30, 2016; 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Presented in partnership with the Ketchum-Downtown YMCA, this special festival is part of a national initiative to improve the health and wellbeing of kids.  Healthy Kids Day features kid-friendly fun, prizes, healthy games and snacks, and more.

“¡Lunchtime!” at Grand Park

Grand Park’s Lunchtime Concerts with L.A. County High School for the Arts
Beginning on March 3, 2016 and continuing every other Thursday in March, April and May;

12:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Angelenos can feed their soul during a lunchtime break with concerts by advanced students from L.A. County High School of the Arts (LACHSA).  The park will highlight all of the disciplines taught at LACHSA, including “Grand on Grand” (classical piano), jazz combo, string quartet, “Grand on Grand” (jazz piano), dance, and vocals.

Grand Park Lunchtime Yoga reTREAT
Wednesdays and Fridays, through May 27, 2016; 12:15 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Grand Park’s popular yoga sessions offer participants the opportunity to relax, rejuvenate and reenergize.

Food Trucks

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Lunch trucks on Olive Court (between Grand Avenue and Hill Street) and the Marketplace (near City Hall)

Grand Park spices up the lunch options on Bunker Hill by providing downtowners and park visitors with a range of food trucks three days a week.  Trucks are parked on Olive Court, between Grand Avenue and Hill Street, and on the Marketplace near City Hall, between Broadway and Spring Street.  Jurors at the courthouses located around Grand Park can get a 10 percent juror discount with ID.  People can stop by for free knitting and crafting lessons at the Yarnover truck, which is located at the Marketplace area on February 24 and March 23.

About Grand Park
A vibrant outdoor gathering place, Grand Park is a beautiful public park for the entire community in Los Angeles County.  With expansive green space for gatherings large and small, Grand Park celebrates the county’s cultural vitality and is host to community events, cultural experiences, holiday celebrations, and many other activities that engage and attract visitors from all communities.  The 12-acre Grand Park stretches from The Music Center on the west to City Hall on the east, and is easily accessible by Metro via the Red/Purple line to the Civic Center/Grand Park station.  The park was named one of American Planning Association’s 10 “Great Public Spaces” in the U.S. for 2013.  Working closely with the county, The Music Center is responsible for all operations and programming for the park.  For more information, visit http://grandparkla.org/

About The Music Center
The Music Center is Los Angeles’ home to the world’s greatest artistic programs and events.  With four iconic theaters and four renowned resident companies – LA Phil, LA Opera, Center Theatre Group and the Los Angeles Master Chorale – and recognized for its illustrious dance programming, Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, The Music Center is a destination where audiences find inspiration in the very best of live performance, as well as nationally recognized arts education and participatory arts experiences.  The Music Center also programs and manages Grand Park, a 12-acre adjacent greenspace, with year-round free programming.  For more information, visit musiccenter.org and follow The Music Center on Facebook and Twitter (@MusicCenterLA).