We’ll be doing a talk this Thursday in Westchester (Los Angeles) at the monthly meeting of Environmental Change-Makers. But don’t just come to see us! This event is at the Church of the Holy Nativity, which took out a lawn to grow food for the needy, an idea we’d like to see spread around the world.

The Church of the Holy Nativity is located at Dunbarton at 83rd St., (6700 West 83rd Street) Westchester 90045. The meeting and talk begins at 7 p.m.

More on Church of the Holy Nativity’s amazing garden here.

Just a reminder that Homegrown Evolution will be speaking at the Smart Gals Speakeasy this Sunday August, 17th at 7 p.m. in Los Feliz. We’ll do some hands-on apartment gardening, play some games and listen to the music of our friends Triple Chicken Foot, who will bring their brand of foot stomping roots music to what will be a fun evening.

Location and details:
Mt. Hollywood Underground
4607 Prospect Avenue, Los Feliz
Admission: $15.00
Information and passwords: 323.302.2257 or www.smartgals.org
(not just for chicks)
Remember the passwords: “Polycultural Evolution…”

…Spread the Word

For those of you in the Los Angeles area here’s some events to mark on the calendar:

SALSA SALSA

What: Salsa Salsa, a Celebration of Love Apples

Type: Public Art Event in which we make salsa while dancing to salsa music together.

When: Sunday, August 17th, 3 to 7 p.m.

Where: Farmlab, 1745 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Free to the public

SALSA SALSA is a harvest festival inviting the citizens of Los Angeles to come make and taste tomato salsas while listening and dancing to salsa music. SALSA SALSA is a celebration of public space and the culmination of the LOVE APPLES project in which 72 tomato plants were installed on 12 traffic islands in LA and carefully tracked to see which thrive and which perish, à la Survivor. LOVE APPLES is a collaboration between the art collective Fallen Fruit (www.fallenfruit.org) and Islands of LA (www.islandsofla.org). The artists of Fallen Fruit investigate urban space, ideas of neighborhood and new forms of located citizenship and community all through the lens of fruit. Islands of LA is an art project that is turning traffic islands into territories of art to create community, foster discussion and explore the use and availability of public space.

LOVE APPLES is an experiment in public space in the city of Los Angeles, imagining new ways in which such spaces could be utilized to make our communities more livable and engaged. It promotes community awareness, sharing, food safety, public resources, and organic gardening.

LOVE APPLES is also a celebration of public art and of activated citizen artists. The festival doubles as a thank you to the range of artists, arts and community organizers whose assistance in response to the Department of Public Works’ concerns helped rescue the project. These include: Dorit Cypis (Foreign Exchanges), Jenna Didier of Materials & Applications, Jon Lapointe & Otoño Luján of Side Street Projects, Jay Belloli from The Armory Center for the Arts, and Zazu Faure & the others in the Glassell Park community gardeners. In particular we’d like to thank Al Nodal and the Department of Cultural Affairs, including Joe Smoke, Pat Gomez, Nicole Gordillo, and Felicia Filer. Cultural Affairs came to the meeting with us and we think it is awesome to see them so visibly supporting new public art in LA.

We are thrilled to hold this event at Farmlab, a project by the artist Lauren Bon which serves as a catalyst for community involvement and change through the development of art actions, projects, and otherwise. Farmlab is dedicated to the preservation and perpetuity of all living things.

PLEASE JOIN US from 3 to 7 p.m. on Sunday August 17th at Farmlab (1745 N. Spring Street) to make salsa and dance together. Meet new people and talk about the future shape and texture of life in this city, including the artists and organizers listed above. Bring your homegrown or street-picked tomatoes and collaborate with your neighbors on new and remarkable salsas. Bring a friend – this event is free to the public.

Life After Oil

The Environmental Change-Makers of Westchester (Los Angeles) present a series beginning September 14th called, “Life After Oil:Designing the Transition”. From their announcement:

• Sunday, Sept. 14, 6pm – Movie “The End of Suburbia” followed by community discussion
• Saturday, Sept. 20, 9am-5pm – “Designing the Transition” – a full day conference exploring the Transition concept
• Thursday, Sept 25, 7-9pm – Peak Oil Community Discussion – the first followup event to the Transition conference
• Thursday, October 23, 7-9pm – “Power Down”

Location, details and registration information here.

Homegrown Evolution will be making a special appearance on Sunday August 17th courtesy of the Smart Gals. We’ll be doing a hands-on apartment homesteading demo and delivering a crazed Powerpoint (hint: more info on the Texas Centaur). Here’s the 411:

Sunday, August 17th, 2008
7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Mt. Hollywood Underground
4607 Prospect Avenue, Los Feliz
Admission $15.00
More information and the passwords: www.smartgals.org (don’t forget to look at the Smart Gals website to get the password!).
323 302-2257
(not just for chicks!)

The image on the right is a bookmark we created for the occasion.