Now is a Great Time to Get Involved in OPA! Here are some Task Forces meeting next week (no commitment or membership required to check them out):
- Education Task Force Monthly Meeting (Friday 12pm): Click here to email Christina Allen for more info or click here to join via Zoom.
- Renter/Homeless Task Force Meeting Tuesday May 22 @ 6pm (Stella Barra): This is great opportunity to get involved with these task forces. Click Nick or Robbie to email them and learn more.
- Main St Task Force Meeting (Wednesday 1pm @ Ashland Hill): This task force addresses issues unique to Main St, such as strengthening the ties between stores & the community, helping shape city policy for the street on issues such as restaurant parklets and zoning, and planning events such as Sharing an Open Main St. Click here to email Robbie Leer for more info or to get involved.
TODAY’s Bike To Work Day News & Notes:
- Here is a List of Local Businesses Offering Pitstops. Stop by City Hall (1685 Main Street) where participants can receive goodies and refreshments at a Bike to Work Day pit stop. At the end of the day, join your fellow cyclists at HandleBar Happy Hour organized by Santa Monica Spoke.
- Metro’s Bike Day (Today/Thursday): In honor of Bike Month, Metro is offering free rides this Thursday for commuters on all Metro buses and trains. There will also be a Metro Bike Share Bike to Work Day Celebration with complimentary food, coffee and swag for multimodal bike commuters from 8-11am at the Downtown Santa Monica E Line (Expo) Station Friday. More info here.
- Weekend Events: SaMo Spoke published this list of other goings on including Kidical Mass Sunday.
John Adams Middle School Looking for Support for Annual 8th Grade Red Carpet Celebration on June 2nd: It’s a tradition at JAMS to celebrate the outgoing eighth-graders as they embark on their next journey to high school. This group of youngsters has endured so much and lost out on many school experiences. Please support us by donating a gift certificate, merchandise, or food to our event. We hope you will consider a donation towards the JAMS 8th grade promotion celebration. Click Sylvia or Christina to email them to learn more or coordinate your donation.
City Council Paves Way to Replace Mall Movie Theater with Museum: The Arclight will be replaced by the immersive “Arte Museum” created by D’strict, a South Korean digital design company, and is expected to attract 1 million annual visitors when it opens at the end of the year. More details here.
The Anchor Venice Launches The Little Anchor Lobster Truck: This Eater LA report calls it “One of LA’s Best Lobster Rolls” and says “The Anchor’s Kristin Ciccolella has launched a sunny new food truck selling seafood delights just in time for summer.” This SaMo Mirror report has more logistics info.
Paris Meets Venice: Chef Eleonore Toulin Collaborates with Coucou for Exclusive Pop-Up Dinner: More details here on the Monday May 22 pop up event.
3rd Street Promenade Flash Mob: Bob’s Dance Shop presented an outstanding flash mob on the recently. Here’s the link to watch it on Instagram.
Westside Food Bank Donors Can Provide 2-for-1 Meals: More details here on the $100k donation matching program and the Food Bank’s Annual Phantom Dinner.
Things To Do This Weekend:
- From Me to We – Building Cross-Racial Solidarity for a Better Democracy (Thursday 7:30-9pm): Heather McGhee—author of the NY Times bestseller “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together”—is delivering the keynote address at the SMC Public Policy Institute 2023 Spring Symposium. More details here.
- Pier Locals Night (Thursday night): Music, art and crafts for kids offered tonight at the Pier’s Local’s Night. More details here.
- Third Thursday at Ten Women Gallery (Thursday 6-8:30pm): “Bring a project and get creative at Ten Women Gallery on Main Street every 3rd Thursday of the month. Meet artists, enjoy some delicious snacks and camaraderie and watch a special craft demo! This event is free and open to the public.” More details here.
- Shop It Forward Pop-Up (Thursday – Monday): The annual event organized by The Cause Connection is back with five days of merging luxury fashion and philanthropy. More details here.
- Library of Congress Veterans Oral History Project at SMPL (Friday & Saturday): Volunteers needed to help veterans give an oral history of their experiences as a veteran to become a part of the LOC Veterans History Project collection. More details here.
- Garden Bingo @ Ishihara Park Learning Garden @ 2909 Exposition Blvd. (Saturday 9-11am): “Come pick up your BINGO Card and hunt through our garden and orchard. Prizes for every BINGO. Bring your own reusable plates/utensils and get entered to win a new Birdfeeder. Fun for Kids, Families and Adults. Garden Pancakes on the Griddle, Chalk Art on the Sidewalks, and smiles on everyone’s faces.”
- Celebrate Fire Service Day (Saturday 10am-1pm): Open house activities at at Fire Station 1 @ 1337 7th St. include fire engines and trucks available to explore, station tours with firefighters, emergency preparedness information, and hands only CPR with American Red Cross. More details here.
- SaMo “Pier Pressure” Scavenger Hunt (Saturday): More details here on the Watson Adventures outing.
- EeeeeatsCon @ Barker Hangar (Saturday & Sunday): Expect “a two-day food experience built in the spirit of a music festival, but with restaurants as the headliners.” More details here.
- Children’s Hospital To Hold Walk & Play At Santa Monica Pier (Saturday): More details here on the event that includes a 3K walk, a community festival, live entertainment for all ages, and sports activities hosted by professional teams and athletes.
- Sunday Main St Farmers Market: Agenda includes the Phoenix Morris Tree Dancers at 10am, Kiazi Halprin at 10:30am and coffee with a cop at 10am. We will continue recognize bike month participants with a market buck too.
- Sunday Morning Music Series @ The Broad (Sunday 11am): More details here.
- Kidical Mass Group Bike Ride (Sunday 9am-12pm): This is a “fun, safe group bike ride for all ages, families with kids to seniors. The ride is meant to be comfortable for riders just starting out and biking on city streets for the first time. The ride doesn’t shy away from traffic; a ride like this is meant to help all participants develop skills and comfort for riding in the city by having a group to ride with.” More details here.
- Malibu Film Festival (Sunday): More details here on the film festival focused on emerging artists features film premieres and awards hosted at the AMC Broadway 4 (yes, in SaMo, not Malibu) and Awards Party hosted at The Independence.
