2013 is turning out to be the Los Angeles River’s big year. From bridges to kayaking to bike-paths, there are quite a few things in the works for Los Angeles’ infamously derelict waterway. While organizations and agencies are making significant strides on revitalization efforts, there are still quite a few non-believers out there. We hear all the time how big and expensive and crazy all these plans are. But what great idea isn’t? Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Angelenos don’t believe, because they never have been given a reason to. Well now is the time, people. All over the world, communities are standing up for their cities and rethinking their public spaces. The beauty about place making, is that it allows people to participate in revitalization everyday, sometimes without even knowing it. And while fixing urban infrastructure is a daunting task, having fun and building community is not. So it has now become part of our organization’s task to do both.
For months we’ve been grappling with the question: how do we get People (emphasis on big P) to come to the river and experience the love for this amazing public space? After awhile it became painfully obvious that folks just need to have some fun. And what says fun like a free outdoor movie theater on the L.A. River that you don’t need a car or money to get to?
A Bike-In Movie Theater will be the first of it’s kind for the L.A. River. We need to raise at least $10,000 to cover the production costs for it, so we did what people do these days: launched a kickstarter campaign. With the community’s help we can make the city’s most underutilized public resource one of the coolest places to hang out in Los Angeles this year.
So help a river-sister out and donate to our campaign. If the movies series is not incentive enough, free popcorn and lemonade should seal the deal.
This project was featured in GOOD's Saturday series Push for Good—our guide to crowdfunding creative progress.