de LaB: May 2 > LA Bloom and Little Tokyo Happy Hour

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

May 2 > LA Bloom and Little Tokyo Happy Hour > Little Tokyo

As the saying goes, showers in April bring blossoms in May. This month we head to Little Tokyo for a special tour of the Japanese American Cultural Community Center's iconic Noguchi Plaza which has temporarily been transformed into a resplendent ecoartspace for the first-ever LA Bloom Festival. Our guide will be LA Bloom co-curator, acclaimed performance artist, Shingon Buddhist priest, master archer, and all-around modern day zen master Hirokazu Kosaka.

The concept for LA Bloom stems from a 16th century painting of a traditional Japanese fair. Based on this depiction of a community bound together by simple, shared activities, Kosaka has curated an eclectic mix of over 120 artists, designers, and performers to bring Japanese culture to life. The underlying theme for the festival is the blossom, or Hana, and the centuries-old Japanese spring time Hanami or "flower viewing" tradition.

Kosaka will lead us on a tour of the grounds, including a closer look at the ten-thousand-thread colorful Mare Nubium rainbow which is being installed during the opening night performance of LA Bloom. Mare Nubium is an abbreviated reprise of Kosaka's much-lauded Kalpa performance that kicked of Pacific Standard Time back in October, not to be missed if you missed it the first time.

We'll all end up in the zen garden just in time for Little Tokyo Happy Hour @ LA Bloom. The grounds and exhibitions will be open to all for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, May 2nd

6:00pm to 7:00pm Tour with Hirokazu Kosaka

7:00pm to 10:00pm Little Tokyo Happy Hour

LA Bloom

Japanese American Cultural Community Center (JACCC)

244 S. San Pedro Street

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Meet in Noguchi Plaza

RSVP via Eventbrite. Admission is free.

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About de LaB

(that’s: design east of La Brea)
part design lab, part social experiment

de LaB (dee-lab) is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)3 nonprofit that celebrates and supports local creatives in their efforts to enlighten, improve and engage the city. Through monthly events that are educational and inspirational, de LaB unites an enthusiastic community of local residents who are invested in the future of L.A.

We firmly believe that the east side of Los Angeles is home to the most exciting creative community in the world. We hope to bring exposure to its artists, designers and architects—both legendary and emerging—through events, workshops and public engagement projects that focus on building a better L.A. Through these events, we explore the changing urban environment, discover new projects and ideas, and learn more about the city in which we live, helping us to become more passionate, invested Angelenos.

Want to know more about what we do? Here's a list of the events we hosted in 2012, a list of the events we hosted in 2011 and a list of the events we hosted in 2010.

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Or say hello [at] designeastoflabrea.org.

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About Your Hosts

ALISSA WALKER//Alissa writes about design, architecture, cities and transportation for publications like Fast Company, GOOD, Dwell, Sunset, and is the associate producer for the public radio show "DnA: Design and Architecture," hosted by Frances Anderton. She is a frequent collaborator with GOOD, most recently as curator of a series of events called GOOD Design, where designers solve city problems proposed by urban leaders. Alissa lives in a royal blue house in Silver Lake where she throws ice cream socials, tends to a drought-tolerant garden, writes infrequently but obsessively on her blog, Gelatobaby, and relishes life in LA without a car. Follow her at @gelatobaby

HAILY ZAKI//A creative at heart, Haily Zaki satisfies her love for modern design by promoting great companies doing interesting things. She launched Secret Agent PR in 2008 with the specific mission of infiltrating the media in the name of good design. She is also a co-founder of the Los Angeles Design Festival and an erstwhile contributor to Inhabitat and The Architect's Newspaper. In her spare time, she blogs about her adventures on the Intel Report and is the proud mom of a ridiculously precocious little boy and a 90-lb. pitbull. Follow her at @SecretAgentPR

MARISSA GLUCK//As co-founder and managing partner at media consultancy, Radar Research, Marissa Gluck is a writer, speaker and consultant covering the marketing and media industries. Marissa became interested in Los Angeles' architecture as she was completing her master's thesis for The London School of Economics and USC. Thus began a love affair with LA's buildings, sushi and sun. In her spare time, Marissa writes about LA real estate, architecture and urban planning for the LA Times, The Atlantic Cities, and LA mag, volunteers as a docent for the Schindler House in West Hollywood, and chases after late night taco trucks. Follow her at @marissagluck

ERIN CULLERTON//Erin is the founder of Design Agency Co., a boutique pr firm specializing in communications, strategy and cultural engagement for the design industry. A newfound lover of Los Angeles' rolling hills, Erin is the former Assistant Director of AIA San Francisco and creator of the popular Architecture and the City festival. A consummate advocate for good design, Erin serves on advisory committees for The Architect's Newspaper, A+D Museum, and Southern California Architecture and Design Consortium; is an honorary AIA SF member; and an occasional curator, writer and crafter. Follow her at @designagencyco

de Lab logo by Keith Scharwath