Guide to Some Great 4.10.2011 CicLAvia Activities

A lot of folks are asking “what kind of cool activities will be taking place at CicLAvia?” and “where should I go when?” There were a lot of activities at the first CicLAvia on 10.10.2010: a grand opening, yoga, museums, capoeira, a marching band, folksingers… and there will be many many more this time around – and many of them are listed below. But first a word of caution: what’s really wonderful about CicLAvia is pretty spontaneous: catching smiles, running into friends, seeing random street art, walking into a store or restaurant you never knew existed… you’ll be surprised… and you’ll smile like you haven’t smiled in a while.

If you use this list to make yourself a tightly-planned itinerary for Sunday, you may miss out on some of the quiet wonder of CicLAvia. On the other hand, if your boyfriend’s out-of-shape legs are getting tired, and you two need to take a rest and you happen to be a few blocks from a venue, by all means drop in and enjoy.

This list is in rough chronological order. For more listings (or to create your own), go to the CicLAvia activities page.

>> Grand Opening Ceremonies – 9:30am at Japan America National Museum plaza, at First Street and Central Avenue, in Little Tokyo. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Lance Armstrong, and many other local dignitaries will welcome participants and will officially declare L.A.’s streets open!

>> Valet Bike Parking – hosted by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, will be open for business from 10:30am to 3pm – under the tall red Japanese fire tower at the Japanese Village Plaza – on First Street just west of Central Avenue. Park your bike for free (tips accepted though) and explore Little Tokyo on foot – grab lunch, dessert, visit a museum – then get back on the bike. 

Win prizes by exploring Little Tokyo

>> Hidden L.A. and FamilyFinds team up to host a Little Tokyo Scavenger Hunt! To participate, teams of 2-4 must check in at the FamilyFinds table between 10:30-11:30am at the JANM Plaza at First Street and Central Avenue. Explore Little Tokyo, and win cool prizes. Two difficulty levels: “challenging” and “family”! For more information, to pre-sign-up visit Hidden L.A.

>> Chivas USA co-captain MLS All-Star Jimmy Conrad will be visiting a CicLAvia.  All day Chivas USA will have a goal-kicking booth, located at MacArthur Park, on 7th Street, near Alvarado Street.  Visit the Chivas mini-pitch, and get your picture taken with the team mascot – the ChivaFighter! Take shots on goal, win cool prizes, and get information on upcoming Chivas USA soccer games!

>> Invertigo Dance Theater performs at 11am at the Los Angeles Theater Center – located on the route at 514 S. Spring Street. Invertigo performs excerpts from their upcoming  show Fun in Limbo – at LATC May 14th-15th!

>> The Boyle Heights Historical Society hosts a Historic Bike Tour – and we know Boyle Heights has mucho layered and wonderful history! Ride gathers 11am on 4th Street at Hollenbeck Park.

>> At 11am at the Hel-Mel Bicycle District, C.R.A.N.K. MOB hosts a full-on squirt gun squirmish. Rules include “Do not shoot pedestrians or the unarmed.” 

>> Pick grapefruit in East Hollywood with Food Forward – at 11am at New Hampshire Avenue and 3rd Street. Sign-up here! 

>> Roll against Coal! Greenpeace and the Sierra Club host a rollin’ rally for clean energy – goodness knows we need it! Gather at City Hall south lawn at 11am. Details at Facebook event page!

>> At high noon, GOOD L.A.‘s GOOD Book Club discusses a reall good book (what did you expect?) Reyner Banham’s Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies. Spurring the discussion will be Los Angeles Times’ architecture critic and CicLAvia-fan Christopher Hawthorne. The discussion takes place at the 7th Street Bridge over the 110 Freeway. That bridge was built in 1952, and impossible to be confused with the 1931 4th Street Bridge over the L.A. River and also on the route.

>> Dodgeball Dodgeball Dodgeball… yes, Virginia, there will be dodgeball –  the ball is kinda round… spherical… what is there to explain?  7th Street at Valencia, 12:30pm – courtesy of the Eagle Rock Yacht Club and World Dodgeball Society.

Signs of life after CicLAvia

>> And then CicLAvia closes up shop at 3pm (sob.) Then the after-parties kick in!  From 2pm to 9pm Treats N Beats hosts Fiesta De La CicLAvia – with music, margaritas and more! Esta fiesta takes place at at Señor Fish in Little Tokyo on First Street just east of Central Avenue. Not so far from the route, GOOD L.A. hosts a massive CicLAvia after-party 4pm-10pm at Atwater Crossing – details here – and you know, after the kick-ass GOOD CicLAvia party last month this one will be… well… GOOD!

There’s much more going on – these are just a few of the highlights!!! And don’t get us started talking about October 9th 2011 July 10th 2011!