Another Lotus Festival Without the Lotus

Remember when the Echo Park lotus plants once bloomed, coinciding with the annual Lotus Festival?

Remember when teams took to the Echo Park waters to compete in Dragon Boat races?

Well... put those thoughts out of your head. Because although the Lotus Festival is back, the lotus (which began dying out a few years ago for still-unknown reasons) aren't.

And now, according to the organization that operated the boat race, that ain't happening anymore either:

After much discussion and deliberation, HAP, Inc. has made this difficult decision to cancel the races. Since, we are a not-for profit organization, our primary goal is to provide scholarships to graduating high school students to further their higher education aspirations. Due to unforeseen complications and in the best interest for those most in need of our scholarships, this year races have been cancelled.

But don't completely dispair. Even without those signature elements, the Lotus Festival is still worth checking out, even briefly. Here's more info:

Opening Ceremonies on Saturday, July 10, 2010 at 12:00 p.m., to earmark the celebration of the 32nd Lotus Festival, which includes live music, dance and entertainment from a variety of performers representing many of the diverse countries of Asia and the Pacific Islands. This year, the Festival will highlight the people and cultures of China.

Asian and Pacific Islander personalities from the media and its communities will act as emcees/hosts during this two-day event.

Artisans-at-work will be on hand to demonstrate their skills on the beautifully decorated Flower Island Pavilion. Their artwork illustrates their spirit, tradition and pride of the Asian and Pacific Islander handiwork. This includes: paper-cutting, hand painted scrolls, calligraphy, plant and flower expertise, fish, birds and other Asian artifacts.

I still have a soft spot for the Lotus Fest, as it's the very first event I took the Blogger Kid (then known as Blogger Baby) solo in 2005. I do hope they eventually find a way to bring back the lotus plants in Echo Park.

Ten Things Los Angeles Lost in 2009

It was another rough year for farewells in Los Angeles, where frequently there's truth to that old cliche that nothing here is ever permanent.

A few things we lost in 2009:


(Pic by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.)
1. Much of the Angeles National Forest, sadly, to the massive Station Fire. The fire burned 160577 acres (251 square miles) and killed two firefighters. Ash from the mountains continues to rain down on Angelenos, and it will be decades before the forest starts to recover.


2. Indie 103.1 (KDLD/KDLE) and 97.1 FM Talk (KLSX) both disappeared in 2009, the victim of a weak radio economy and the rise of personal people meters -- Arbitron's new way of measuring radio listenership. Indie was never a big ratings grabber, while KLSX's replacement, KAMP "Amp Radio," has turned into a strong performer for owner CBS Radio.


(Pic by Gary Leonard.)
3. Richard Ankrom's guerilla 110 Freeway sign art installation disappeared after Caltrans replaced its signs on the 110 North. Ankrom attempted to find the signs he made and secretly installed -- but discovered that they'd already been crushed for scrap metal.


4. KNBC's Paul Moyer (above, when he decided to give his on-air farewell from the golf course, rather than show up to say goodbye in the Channel 4 studios) retired due to budget cuts, while former KTTV anchor John Beard, fed up with L.A. news operations, headed to his old stomping grounds in Buffalo, N.Y. Also, Rick Dees gave up his attempt at an L.A. radio comeback, as "Movin' 93.9" flipped to a Spanish format.


5. Former Police Chief William Bratton made major strides in decreasing crime and turning the Los Angeles Police Department around. And although the chief would be the first to tell you that (modesty isn't his strong suit), much of that conventional wisdom is true -- crime is down in the city of Los Angeles, while the LAPD's image has been greatly improved. Bratton stepped down in late fall, replaced by Charlie Beck.


6. A preservation group managed to "Save the Derby" -- at least, the Los Feliz building (the last surviving one-time Brown Derby restaurant) where the Derby nightclub was housed. But The Derby itself -- the club known best for its cameo in the movie "Swingers" and as ground zero for the 1990s swing dance revival --shut down in early 2009. Other clubs closing in 2009 included the Knitting Factory and the Key Club.


7. Chili My Soul, the Encino eatery known for its adventurous chili selections (my fave was the Habanero/Mango Chicken), shut down in late summer after the death of owner Randy Hoffman. Other eateries closing in 2009 included Fritelli's Doughnuts and Twin Palms; also shut down were popular book store Cook's Library, as well as Little Tokyo grocer Mitsuwa Marketplace.


8. The first big event I ever took Evan to, the Echo Park Lotus Festival, didn't take place this year -- a victim of budget cuts, and even sadder, the death of the once-vibrant lotus blooms in Echo Park. Also nowhere to be found this year: Another favorite event, Little Tokyo's Tofu Festival.


9. A year after the Lou Ehlers Cadillac showroom was torn down, a similar fate was in the cards just down Wilshire for the mid-century Columbia Savings Bank building. Demolition has already begun on the 1965 Miracle Mile building, which the L.A. Conservancy notes is "an important example of postwar bank design as well as the innovative integration of art and architecture." The building had most recently served as a Korean church.


10. Army Archerd passed away in September at the age of 87. Army spent more than 50 years at Variety (where I saw him on a nearly daily basis for 10 years), spanning several generations of Hollywood. A lot of us cover Hollywood -- but none of us will ever have the career that Army had at Variety. The stars changed, the pictures changed, the whole industry evolved -- yet there, until nearly the end, was Army, chronicling it all daily in his "Just for Variety" column.

Share your thoughts on L.A.'s great 2009 losses below.

Here's Where We Weren't This Weekend: The Fake Lotus Festival

Lotus in Echo Park, five years ago


No lotus in Echo Park, last year

The first big event I ever took Evan to, the Echo Park Lotus Festival, didn't take place this year -- a victim of budget cuts, and even sadder, the death of the once-vibrant lotus blooms in Echo Park.

A smaller, replacement fair took place this weekend at Echo Park. But as the L.A. Times reports, it was quite pathetic:

The city's landmark lotus bed is dead and the Asian community group that since 1972 held a summer celebration around the blooms couldn't raise enough money to put on the event.

When the neighborhood's chamber of commerce stepped in to put on a festival in its place, Lotus Inc., the nonprofit behind the original festival, refused to allow the chamber to use the Echo Park Lotus Festival name, as it has been known for years.

Saturday, at the event simply called the Echo Park Community Festival, indie rock music blared on loudspeakers and ducks and turtles idly swam in the murky lake devoid of its once-teeming lotus blossoms and the dragon-boat racing that became a staple of the festival.

"It's a little less of a celebration," said Vanessa Garcia, 27, noting that this year's festival was missing its theme celebrating Asian culture. "It was like a treat that came around once a year."

Lotus-Free Festival

Here's how Echo Park looked in 2005, when Evan and I took in the annual Lotus Festival. It was the first big event I took him to -- he was 6 months at the time -- and I've taken him every year since. This year, he's probably going to ask me -- uh, Daddy, where are the flowers?

The Lotus Festival is coming up on July 11, 12 and 13. For the first time ever, though, it looks like there won't be any actual lotus plants in the pond as part of the festival. Here's how it's looking at Echo Park these days, via the Los Angeles Times' Ken Hively:



The LAT writes:

Some experts blame trash and debris for the demise of the lotus beds. Echo Park Lake is a storm drain catch basin in the winter, leading some to suspect that contaminants in the runoff may be the cause. The first sign of trouble came after the storms and floods of 2005-2006, after which the lotus blooms started appearing later, and smaller, than usual.

More info on the festival at the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks website. It's still a nice festival, even minus the Lotus plants... but it's definitely not the same.

One L.A. Attraction Slowly Disappears; One L.A. Eyesore Is Slowly Dismantled

(Pic credit: Los Angeles Times)

The Los Angeles Times reports that the ugly parking lot off of 1st and Olive -- you know the one, it's that terrible structure you park in when you go downtown for jury duty -- is finally going away.

When it was built, the Times notes, city leaders complained -- and were promised that it was a temporary parking fix. That was nearly 40 years ago:

Even before it opened in 1969, the "Erector set" parking lot at the corner of 1st and Olive streets downtown was one of Los Angeles' most reviled structures.

Richard G. Mitchell, head of the Community Redevelopment Agency, complained that it was just another monolith of concrete, asphalt and steel atop Bunker Hill. The mass of girders and slabs, perched atop what look like stilts, "fights you," Mitchell said. He predicted it would have a "depressing effect" on downtown.

Robert Bolling, president of the Southern California chapter of the American Institute of Architects, agreed, warning that the structure would have a "deleterious effect on the fabric of the city."

At the time, the 1,062-car structure's saving grace was that it was temporary. Planners promised the "portable parking structure" would be dismantled and moved somewhere else, replaced by a more fitting form of architecture.

(Pic credit: Los Angeles Times)

Meanwhile, the Times also digs into the mystery of the disappearing Echo Park lotus plants. As everyone has noticed in recent years, the plants -- which inspired the park's annual Lotus Festival -- have been dying off at an alarming rate. The paper writes:

Only 30 blossoms appeared in 2007, down from hundreds the year before. Park employees blamed cold weather and drought. When the lotuses bloomed too late for the 2006 festival, cool winter and an extra-hot June were considered the culprits. When the 2004 blooms came early, some cited an extra-hot May.

The lotuses' recent strange behavior remains a mystery, park staff told the Echo Park Advisory Board at its regular meeting Tuesday.

"No one can give you a rational scientific explanation," said board member Isa-Kae Meksin. And their condition this year? "It's too early to tell," Meksin said. The underwater plants don't send up new green shoots until late April or May.

The lotus problem is unrelated to the 13 turtles found dead at the park last year, said Stephen Moe, the park department's water manager.

The lake is scheduled to be drained and cleaned in 2010; park officials hope the removal of contaminants in the water might lead to healthier, more plentiful plants.