The City of Santa Monica is partnering with McCabe’s Guitar Shop to present Americana in the Park in Gandara Park, on Sundays between September 19 and October 10 from 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. Americana in the Park is a pilot project to create a new partnership model for outdoor events, where local organizations are provided funding and support from the City to bring unique and diverse events to the Santa Monica community. 

Of the new partnership, Cultural Affairs Manager Shannon Daut shares, “Our hope is that this new model of partnership will engage and support local community organizations, and will strengthen our communities’ connectedness. Jazz on the Lawn was a beloved series for 14 years and we’re looking forward to this new approach to continue to bring free family-friendly events to public spaces across Santa Monica.”  

The Americana in the Park series will explore the arc of Americana music from its roots in traditional African, Appalachian, roots, blues, bluegrass and folk music, to its modern forms of folk and country music. Showcasing a diverse group of Southern California artists and Americana styles, each concert will feature two family-friendly groups, with the opener geared towards children. Each concert will also feature food trucks and a McCabe’s Guitar Pop-Up Shop. 

• September 19: The nine-member Masanga Marimba Ensemble will perform traditional and popular high-energy music from Zimbabwe and Latin America on a variety of instruments, including marimbas of various sizes, drums, percussion, saxophone and trumpet. 

• September 26: Ukulele musicians Heidi Swedberg and Daniel Ward open for the Grammy-nominated New Orleans-style jazz band The California Feetwarmers who reimagine 1920’s and 1930’s classics from around the world. 
  
• October 3: Children’s music duo Hullabaloo will open for Phil Salazar and The Kin Folk. Led by Southern California bluegrass legend, Phil Salazar, the band performs a unique mix of traditional music, infused with rock, blues, country, jazz, Irish, pop and bluegrass. 
  
• October 10: Kid folk band The Hollow Trees opens for songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joachim Cooder, who will perform African-inspired Americana on his mbira, an African thumb piano. Joachim is known for collaborations with his father, American roots legend Ry Cooder, having appeared together on iconic recordings such as the landmark Buena Vista Social Club sessions. 

“We are thrilled to partner with the City for this music series. We’ve been a beloved concert venue in the Pico neighborhood for over 60 years. During the pandemic, we were forced to temporarily discontinue our concerts and we are so excited to host shows again and for the opportunity to reimagine the Jazz on the Lawn series and give some context and history to the Americana music genre,” said McCabe’s Concert and Event Producer, Kora Peterson. 

Americana in the Park is made possible by Art of Recovery, an initiative of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs that harnesses the arts to play a major role in the City’s recovery efforts.

The concerts will be held in accordance with the most current guidance from state and local health agencies.

For more information visit: santamonica.gov/arts.

Credit: The City of Santa Monica and McCabe’s Guitar Shop.

The Aquarium of the Pacific hosts a monthly habitat restoration event at the Los Cerritos Wetlands. The Los Cerritos Wetlands Stewardship Program is working to restore 66 acres of wetlands owned by the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority. The program’s ongoing restorative activities have included removing non-native plants, planting native plants, collecting seeds from rare plants for later use, and collecting trash. Restoring local wetlands helps the animals that rely on them for habitat, like amphibians, reptiles, and birds.

These events are led by trained naturalists and local educators, offering an opportunity for people to learn more about the Los Cerritos Wetlands, while getting hands-on involvement with the restoration. Everyone is welcome to participate. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Closed-toe shoes are required. Hat and sunscreen are recommended. Drinking water will be provided, but this is a plastic water bottle-free event. Please bring a reusable water bottle.

WHEN: Saturdays, August 7, September 4, October 2, November 6, and December 4, 2021, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

WHERE: Participants will be greeted by Los Cerritos Wetlands staff at the corner of Pacific Coast Hwy and 1st Street in Seal Beach. Arriving around 10:15 a.m. is recommended.

COST: FREE. No reservations are required.

Credit: The Aquarium of the Pacific.

On Sunday, August 15, streets will be opening up in Wilmington for a 2.25-mile route connecting Banning Park and Wilmington Waterfront Park. Bike, skate, run, walk, skateboard, and enjoy the route however you want. We welcome people of all ages and abilities! CicLAvia is a free, open event – show up anywhere along our route at any time, and have fun!

CicLAvia Sundays are back with open streets events for the remainder of 2021. CicLAvia is where joy meets purpose, restoring comfort to the community and reminds us of the value of public spaces for all. CicLAvia reinforces what matters most to us – connection with each other and with our communities. Whether one bikes, walks, strolls, skates, or jogs, we create more incredible moments and experiences enjoying our city streets together. Inspired by Bogotá’s weekly ciclovía, CicLAvia temporarily closes streets to car traffic and opens them to Angelenos to use as a public park.

WHO:

Free for all, CicLAvia connects communities to each other across an expansive city, creating a safe place to bike, walk, skate, roll, and dance through Los Angeles County. CicLAvia is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that catalyzes vibrant public spaces, active transportation, and good health through car-free streets. CicLAvia engages with people to transform our relationship with our communities and with each other.

WHERE and WHEN:
• Wilmington, Sunday, August 15

•  Heart of LA, Sunday, October 10 (CicLAvia’s 11th Anniversary Celebration)

•  South LA, Sunday, December 5

HOW: 
Visit https://www.ciclavia.org/wilmington21 or https://www.ciclavia.org/ for more detailed information.

Credit: CicLAvia.

OC Parks invites the community to learn about monarch butterflies in their natural habitat during the annual Monarch Butterfly Day at Mile Square Regional Park on Saturday, August 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Monarch Butterfly Day celebrates majestic Monarch Butterflies during a free day of outdoor fun that takes place at Mile Square Regional Park’s Freedom Hall, near parking lot E. Butterfly experts will be onsite to engage attendees with educational information and fun facts about the life and transformation of these beautiful and unique creatures. Park visitors can explore a netted butterfly enclosure and learn how to plant their very own butterfly garden. Families can also enjoy interpretive programs, festive crafts, face painting and a balloon artist, with food available for purchase.

“Monarch Butterfly Day has become an annual community tradition at Mile Square Regional Park,” said Supervisor Andrew Do, Chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. “We’re thrilled to welcome families back to celebrate these magnificent creatures through fun, educational activities.”

Recommended for outdoor enthusiasts and children ages four to 12, discover the magnificent world of Monarch Butterflies at the 11th annual Monarch Butterfly Day at Mile Square Regional Park. Cameras are encouraged.

August 14 – 11th Annual Monarch Butterfly Day
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Location: Mile Square Regional Park (Freedom Hall near Lot E) 16801 Euclid St. Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Website: http://www.ocparks.com/milesquare/
Cost: Free
Parking: Free. Please park in the overflow lot and walk through the Nature Area to the event site.
Contact: (714) 973-6600, milesquare@ocparks.com 

Credit: OC Parks.

Available in all Bowls, Burritos & Kids Meals

Tomorrow, July 14, Rubio’s Coastal Grill will offer Cauliflower Rice in all California, Arizona and Nevada restaurants. Providing a healthy, plant-based option for guests, the new menu option aligns with Keto, Whole 30, Paleo, vegan, gluten-free and vegetarian eating preferences.

With health benefits, fewer calories and carbs compared to rice, Cauli Rice, is available for an additional $2 as a substitute for rice in any of Rubio’s bowls and burritos. It can also be ordered as a side with any entrée or kids meal. 

“Rubio’s guests are incredibly food savvy and appreciate being able to order meals customized to their wellness goals,” said Rubio’s Co-Founder Ralph Rubio. “When Cauli Rice is substituted in place of rice in our California Bowl, the Cauli Rice is just 130 calories with 7 net carbs per serving. It’s an easy swap that tastes delicious with great health benefits.”

Made from riced cauliflower cooked with fresh cilantro, lime juice, lemongrass and sea salt, Rubio’s Cauli Rice is the perfect complement to Rubio’s signature Mexican flavors. Cauli rice is a functional and nutrient-dense food that contains antioxidants, such as Vitamin A and C, fiber, potassium, and calcium.

About Rubio’s® Restaurants:

Rubio’s first opened in 1983 in the San Diego neighborhood of Mission Bay. Today, Rubio’s uses responsibly sourced seafood and continues to expand its menu with innovative recipes ranging from seafood tacos and burritos to California Bowls and crisp, fresh salads. In addition, Rubio’s offers all-natural chicken, raised without antibiotics, and all-natural USDA Choice steak, “no fried” pinto beans, handmade guacamole, a variety of proprietary salsas, and craft beer and hard seltzer beverage options. The award-winning restaurant regularly receives accolades for its famous Original Fish Taco®. It was also recently ranked as one of Fast Casual’s “Top 50 Movers and Shakers” as well as one of the top five most loved fast casual chains ranked by Foodable Labs and Digital CoCo. Rubio’s is headquartered in Carlsbad, Calif., has over 3,000 employees and currently operates over 150 restaurants in California, Arizona and Nevada.

Credit: Rubio’s. Some form of compensation was received to post.

Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. in partnership with the City of Santa Monica’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment, Starpoint Properties and Los Angeles-based non-profit reDiscover Center presents “Cardboard City,” an innovative, pop-up community art center on the Third Street Promenade. 

Cardboard City is a 10,000 square foot pop-up art center with free museum-style exhibitions of large scale cardboard sculptures and architectural models constantly added to by artists-in-residence, free family art activities introducing youth and adults to cardboard crafting techniques, a schedule of fee-based classes for youth and adults, and a Cardboard City Shop selling tools and materials so families can make cardboard art at home. The space will highlight fun, unique, family-friendly cardboard sculptures including a “wow factor” installation facing onto the Promenade. 

This free public art gallery will present inspirational cardboard sculptures by local artists and sponsoring architecture and design firms, with a capacity for 102,000 visitors over two months. reDiscover will sponsor 8-25 artists’ residencies, supporting local and nationally prominent artists working in cardboard. Cardboard City’s fee-based art and maker classes, teaching youth advanced cardboard forming skills, has the capacity to serve 1,500 students ages 8+. Cardboard City is available for private daytime and evening events of up to 200 people.

In keeping with their triple-educational mission of promoting community, creativity, and sustainability, reDiscover is partnering with P.S. Arts, one of LA’s leading art education non-profits, to create a 10-week curriculum for 4th-5th graders on cardboard art and engineering, to distribute to LA County schools, based in part on the art created for Cardboard City and featuring reDiscover’s Tinkering Toolkit. reDiscover is also partnering with Makedo, an educational products company, to provide Makedo’s system of creative cardboard tools for free to Cardboard City participants and to partner schools throughout LA County.

WHEN:

Cardboard City opens July 8 and runs through August 29; open Thursday through Sunday 12:00pm to 6:00pm. There will be a grand opening ceremony on Thursday, July 8 at noon. 

WHERE:

1231 Third St. Promenade, Santa Monica, CA 

Credit: reDiscover Center 

 Irvine Ranch Conservancy, along with its partners OC Parks and the City of Irvine, are thrilled to welcome nature lovers back to the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks with the return of Wilderness Access Days. These free activities are the perfect opportunity for visitors of all levels to get out and explore native wildlands found in Orange County.

Explore OC Parks’ Black Star Canyon during Wilderness Access Day on Saturday, July 10. Black Star Canyon offers pleasant introductory trails for beginner hikers and families, as well as challenging experiences for seasoned trail users. A gateway to the backcountry of the Cleveland National Forest and the northern Santa Ana Mountains, visitors can take in views of the striking red rocks, views of Irvine Lake and the Pacific Coast, along with diverse coastal sage scrub and chaparral habitats with a variety of rare plant and animal species.

Nature enthusiasts can enjoy self-guided access in the southern portion of Irvine’s Open Space Preserve during Wilderness Access Day in Bommer Canyon on Saturday, July 17. During this Wilderness Access Day, the entire southern Open Space Preserve trail network will be open for self-guided hiking and biking, including single-tracks in Shady Canyon and Bommer Canyon that are reserved for guided activities only. Visitors can stroll past ancient oak and sycamore groves, through rough rock outcrops and explore trails that were once used by cattle and ranchers in the historic Cattle Camp.

“Irvine Ranch Conservancy staff, volunteers and partners are excited to welcome visitors back to experience the beauty of the Landmarks,” said Dave Raetz, Irvine Ranch Conservancy Vice President & Chief Operating Officer. “Throughout the pandemic, IRC staff and land owners worked diligently to restore and preserve local trails and natural habitats, so they would be ready for nature lovers to enjoy once again.”

Free activities on the Landmarks were temporarily postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are gradually resuming in accordance with the most current guidance from State and local health agencies. Pre-registration is not required, but is encouraged to ensure participation. For more information about the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks and to register for an upcoming Wilderness Access Day, visit LetsGoOutside.org.

Credit: Irvine Ranch Conservancy.