It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

National Night Out

Highlights from 36th Annual National Night Out at Santa Monica City Hall on Tuesday, Aug, 6, 2019. National Night Out is an opportunity for the Santa Monica Police Department to honor the exceptional relationship our police and community share together. This partnership allows the City of Santa Monica to be a safe place to live, work and visit. The event is designed to generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime efforts. It strengthens neighborhood and police-community partnerships and sends a message to criminals letting them know neighborhoods are organized and fighting back. Along with showcasing the Department's personnel and equipment, there were local bicycle vendors, driving demonstrations, giant inflatable fire engine slide, rock climbing wall, carnival games, food trucks and more. National Night Out involves over 15,325 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases around the world.

Posted on Tuesday, August 6, 2019 at 07:20PM by Registered CommenterFabian Lewkowicz | CommentsPost a Comment | EmailEmail | PrintPrint

Muir Woods

Jane Golden's 1978 "Muir Woods” mural on Olympic High School is being restored, August 6, 2019.

Posted on Tuesday, August 6, 2019 at 09:38AM by Registered CommenterFabian Lewkowicz | CommentsPost a Comment | EmailEmail | PrintPrint

COAST TO COAST

Eleven young cyclist (ranging from 16 to 22) arrived at Santa Monica Beach on Monday, August 5, 2019, concluding Overland's bicycle tour, the 'American Challenge.' The challenge began six weeks ago in Savannah, Georgia. The Bicyclist rode more than 3,000 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, averaging 85 miles per day, while camping out in tents along the way. The cyclists rode over the pier, took off their front tire and raced across the sand and into the ocean celebrating the end of the journey.

Posted on Monday, August 5, 2019 at 02:38PM by Registered CommenterFabian Lewkowicz | CommentsPost a Comment | EmailEmail | PrintPrint

Festival of Chariots

Harre Krishna's hand-pull three fully decorated, 40-foot tall “chariots" along Main Street Santa Monica during the 42nd Annual Festival of Chariots on Sunday, August 4, 2019. The Festival of the Chariots featured free feast for thousands, free entertainment, exhibits and booths all bringing together the finest in Indian culture. The festival celebrates Lord Jagannatha, the Lord of the Universe, and is put on by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The Festival of the Chariots is now performed in every country across the world and dates back 5 thousand years to Jagannatha Puri, India.

Posted on Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 01:47PM by Registered CommenterFabian Lewkowicz | CommentsPost a Comment | EmailEmail | PrintPrint

Squad Harmonix 

Squad Harmonix students perform at the Santa Monica Farmers Market on Sunday, August 4, 2019. Squad Harmonix is LA’s top Cappella kids vocal group. ðŸŽµ#acappella 🎶

Posted on Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 12:08PM by Registered CommenterFabian Lewkowicz | CommentsPost a Comment | EmailEmail | PrintPrint

WestSide VolksWagen Club 

Live from the WestSide VolksWagen Club & monthly VW Coffee Meet at the Santa Monica Pier on Sunday, August 4, 2019. WestSide VW Club & Monthly VW Coffee Meet meets the first Sunday of every month. All vintage VW's are welcome. #VW #Vokswagen

Posted on Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 12:00PM by Registered CommenterFabian Lewkowicz | CommentsPost a Comment | EmailEmail | PrintPrint

Serengeti

Installation at the Third Street Promenade promoting Discovery channal's revolutionary new series “Serengeti” premiering Sunday August 4 at 8pm.

Discovery Channel travels to the vast, nearly untouched plains of Tanzania in SERENGETI, a new innovative six-part series highlighting the majestic animals and their day-to-day lives living together. Created and produced by Emmy®-winner Simon Fuller (“American Idol,” “So You Think You Can Dance”) and directed and produced by Emmy®-winning wildlife filmmaker John Downer (“Penguin: Spy in The Huddle”), the six-part series gives unrivaled access to one of the most pristine and unspoiled corners of the Africa. Featuring a lush original score and narrated by Academy Award®-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, the groundbreaking series follows the heartwarming stories of a cast of African wildlife including lions, zebras, baboons and cheetahs over the course of a year, showcasing the dramatic moments that make each day of survival on the Serengeti a feat.

SERENGETI premieres on SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 at 8:00pm ET/PT on Discovery with new episodes airing subsequent Sundays. The first episode will be presented commercial free. Viewers can also watch episodes and access exclusive bonus content on the Discovery GO app, free with their paid TV subscription.

Soon the season of plenty will begin to fade and food will be harder to come by, putting the animals of the Serengeti to the ultimate test. With new arrivals and unexpected problems, old foes resurfacing and dangerous encounters at nearly every turn, the Serengeti will demand courage from all who call it home. In Serengeti, the world’s most captivating animals try to survive in the beautiful, demanding lands of Northern Africa, stopping at nothing to protect their offspring and prove their worthiness to their tribe.

From Kali the lioness and Shani the Zebra, to Zalika the Hyena and many more, each species has their own unique story, whether dealing with their enemies or desperately searching for prey. Kali makes a big mistake and is now left completely alone to fend for herself and her cubs– an almost impossible task in the African plains. The series also features Tembo, a young male elephant struggling to take the next step on his journey into adulthood, as well as Nalla, the family matriarch juggling to lead the herd and be a mother. Across the Serengeti, Bakari the Baboon looks to honor the memory of his lost love by fiercely protecting her orphaned child. SERENGETI gives viewers a front row seat to witness how the animal experience isn’t so different from our own.

Collaborating for the first time, Fuller and Downer worked together on Serengeti for several years. Using a photographic and highly stylistic approach, their team employed innovative filming techniques in some of Africa’s most treasured regions, painting the ultimate portrait of survival in SERENGETI. Set to the backdrop of original music by Will Gregory with vocals by artists such as Lola Lennox, this television experience combines Africa’s unimaginable beauty with its equally unforgiving brutality, highlighting daily challenges of life on the Serengeti.

This landmark series is created and produced by Fuller and directed and produced by Downer. Nancy Daniels and Howard Swartz serve as executive producers for Discovery Channel.

SERENGETI is made by XIX Entertainment and John Downer Productions and was commissioned for BBC TV by Tom McDonald, Head of Commissioning, Natural History and Specialist Factual.

Posted on Saturday, August 3, 2019 at 03:06PM by Registered CommenterFabian Lewkowicz | CommentsPost a Comment | EmailEmail | PrintPrint

Unbridled

Art conservators from May/Burch Conservation, Inc., remove graffiti from the mural entitled, “Unbridled” (1985 by David S. Gordon) at Ocean Park Blvd. on Wednesday, July 31, 2019.

Posted on Thursday, August 1, 2019 at 01:46PM by Registered CommenterFabian Lewkowicz | CommentsPost a Comment | EmailEmail | PrintPrint