greater leimert park crenshaw...
TRANSCRIPT
Volume 4, Issue 1
BUSINESS
GREATER LEIMERT PARK
CRENSHAW CORRIDOR
IMPROVEMENT
DISTRICT 4305 Degnan Boulevard, Suite 102
Los Angeles, California 90008 May 2013
THE 28th ANNUAL MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. KINGDOM DAY PARADE
BID Administration:
Community Build, Inc.
Brenda Shockley, President
(323) 290-6560
CKG Communications,
Writer, Graphic Design
(310) 410-9039
Inside this Issue:
Kingdom Day Parade
Spotlight on BID Advisory Board
Member Curtis Fralin
BMPAC Hosts: I Wanna be Loved
Leimert Park Art Walk Expands
Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
Calendar of Events
Pan African Film Festival
Advisory Board:
Fred Calloway
Curtis Fralin
Ben Caldwell
Belinda Williams
Nuriel Zeituni
THE VILLAGE CORRIDOR NEWSLETTER
“His dream will never die” was the theme of the 28th annual Kingdom Day Parade in
honor of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The parade featured
marching bands, drill teams, dance groups and equestrian units, as well as many
other performers. The event also included food booths, live entertainment and a
children’s play area. The day long celebration concluded with the 10th annual Gos-
pel Fest which hosted two main stages and over a dozen performers.
The event was organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). In addition to
observing what would have been King’s 84th birthday, Kingdom Day Parade founder
Larry Grant, who died last year, was also honored.
The parade, which is traditionally held on the third Monday in January, was resched-
uled to the third Saturday of January to avoid conflicting with the historic 2nd inau-
guration of President Barack Obama which took place on Monday, Jan. 21.
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp served as this year’s grand marshal. Many
other former Dodgers participated in the parade as well, including Maury Wills, who
rode on the Dodger
fire truck. The parade
featured an effort by
Donate Life California
to promote organ and
tissue donation.
The parade began its
route on Western,
ended at Vernon &
Crenshaw where the
Gospel Festival took
place.
Village Corridor Newsletter Page 2
Spotlight on BID Advisory Board Member Curtis Fralin
This quarter’s Village Corridor puts the
spotlight on Advisory Board Member
Curtis Fralin. He is the owner of Maver-
ick’s Flat and the founding member of
Infinity Redevelopment, a commercial
development company, which he began
12 years ago. He was also recently
nominated to be a commissioner for
the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA).
Fralin is dedicated to the redevelopment of South Los Angeles.
“We like providing shopping centers and office buildings at a
higher quality than most developers build because we’re not ab-
sentee owners,” Fralin said of his eight-person firm. “We’re in the
community.”
Fralin was a commercial real estate broker for 15 years before
branching out on his own. He decided to focus on underserved
areas after completing an internship at King Drew Medical Center,
brushing aside plans to pursue a doctorate. Fralin has a Master’s
Degree from the California School of Professional Psychology.”
Fralin said.
Fralin is looking forward to serving as a commissioner for HACLA.
“The housing commission is good because it’s housing develop-
ment which I don’t do, so there’s no conflict, but I am a developer,
so I believe I can bring a level of expertise to the board,” Fralin
said.
Fralin purchased Maverick’s Flat three years ago. He plans to use it
to showcase new talent while also honoring the now internation-
ally-known artists who were “born at Maverick’s,” including Chaka
Khan, Earth, Wind and Fire and Richard Pryor. However, the pur-
chase has come with its share of challenges.
“We decided to renovate Maverick’s Flat and put $2.5 million into
it about three years ago because we wanted to preserve the his-
tory, and so it’s been a struggle because of the economy and be-
cause I’ve had no experience in restaurants,” Fralin said. “It’s a
labor of love. The people in our community appreciate Maverick’s,
and it’s something that we’re proud of.” Fralin said purchasing
Maverick’s Flat is in line with his personal goals to make a differ-
ence.
“I still think our community needs faster rehabilitation,” Fralin
said. “There are still too many empty lots and too many old build-
ings that are, you know, just old. I’d like to beautify the community
through new development and, hopefully, I can continue to do
that. Our goal is to bring national credit tenants to these commu-
nities. ”
Barbara Morrison Performs
“I Wanna Be Loved”
“I Wanna Be
Loved: The
Story of Dinah
Washington”
returned to the
Barbara Morri-
son Performing
Arts Center
(BMPAC) in
April. Morrison
said she first
thought about doing the show nearly 30 years ago but ran
into roadblocks along the way.
“It seemed every time I wanted to do the show someone
else was doing it and I didn't want to step on anyone's toes,”
she said.
Morrison’s childhood memories helped sparked her interest
in the subject matter. Her father, whom she described as “a
great singer,” often serenaded her with songs by performers
including, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washing-
ton.
“I love my father so, and I wanted to be just like him,” Morri-
son said. “When I started my career, he was my biggest
cheerleader.”
She hopes those who support the show will take advantage
of the opportunity to learn more about Dinah Washington
and the commitment such a successful career entails.
Don’t miss the Spring
Blues Festival at
BMPAC May 10, 11 and
Mother’s Day, May 12.
Barbara Morrison will
be joined by Keb Mo,
Big Terry Derouen,
Bernie Pearl, Ray
Goren, Sheri Pruitt and
many more.
For more information is
available at www. bar-
baramorrisonpac.com,
or by calling (310) 462-
1439.
Village Corridor Newsletter Page 3
LPV Art
Walk
BALDWIN HILL CRENSHAW PLAZA : SOMETHING FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY
The Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza has new stores and a new look this year. Kids Foot Locker opened its doors last month. The store, which is located on the second level of the shopping center, joins Foot Locker and Lady Foot Locker, allowing the mall to now have “the whole Foot Locker family,” according to the mall’s marketing director, Rachel Erickson.
The mall also added new food merchants: CoffeeWalk YogurTalk and Chipotle Mexican Grill. CoffeeWalk YogurTalk offers self-serve frozen yogurt and made to order beverages. Chi-potle Mexican Grill opened at the end of January and offers healthier food options according to Erickson. “I think the Chipotle experience, and the type of food selection they bring, of-fers something the neighborhood doesn’t have,” Erickson said. “That’s been a roaring suc-cess, and that place is jammed every lunch hour.”
In addition, TJ Maxx was recently renovated, adding new fitting rooms and window displays. “It’s one of the highest performing T.J. Maxx stores in the chain,” Erickson said.
Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza’s multi-million dollar facelift also included a renovation of the Rave Cinemas Baldwin Hills Crenshaw 15, formerly known as the Magic Johnson Theatres.
“This is very much a family, community mall,” Erickson said. “We have more family-focused tenants, and it’s reflected in our cus-tomers as well.”
LEIMERT PARK ART WALK EXPANDS
The Leimert Park Art Walk, held on the last Sunday of each month, has added a car show to its offerings. Thanks to the car culture of
Los Angeles, the show is something that naturally evolved,, according to organizer Ben Caldwell. “It’s kind of a unique California art
form that we’re celebrating,” Caldwell said. “We have *car shows+ driving up and down our streets on Crenshaw, and we just underes-
timate its power, but the rest of the world sees it as quite unique.”
Caldwell, who is also a filmmaker, said it wasn’t until he was working on a film project in Cuba that it occurred to him that both Cuba
and Los Angeles have a strong car culture. “It’s an art form, and we’re not monetizing it for our neighborhood,” Caldwell said.
Just in time for March’s Art Walk and Women’s History Month, the newly renovated The Vision Theatre re-opened for with the
“Women’s Day Festival” showcasing the work of actress Beah Richards. April’s Art Walk was held in conjunction with United in Peace
Foundation’s “UP Fest.” The festival featured an outdoor stage with live music and performances, a classic car show, and a motor-
cycle rally for peace. April’s Art Walk also featured an appearance by the Leimert Park Queen who performed with the Drum Circle
and the Organization of African Unity.
In May, Caldwell plans to showcase the art walk with a procession of cars in addition to the Drum Circle which he describes as “an in-
tegral part” of the Leimert Park Art Walk. “I think that’s what we’re trying to do with our neighborhood, really orchestrate what’s al-
ready there and magnify it and make it better by showing how much money is really rolling around,” Caldwell said. May’s Art Walk will
also feature a group of singers and artists from Nigeria. The next Walk is scheduled for Sunday, May 26th.
Village Corridor Newsletter Page 4
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
(323) 298-7541
www.baldwinhillscrenshawplaza.com
BHC Kids Club Every 2nd Saturday 10am-3pm BFresh Farmers Market Every Saturday 10am-3pm BFit Classes Zumba, Tuesdays 7:30pm Cardio Kick, Thursdays – 7pm Yoga, Saturdays – 10am Cinco de Mayo Outdoor Fiesta Saturday May 4 2pm-6pm BFit Wellness Fair May 18 &19 11am-4pm
Washington DREAM Theatre 10860 S. Denker Avenue Los Angeles, CA. 90045 (310) 461-8111 www.feelinggoodmusical.com “Feeling Good” Musical May 2 – May 5 7:00pm
Crenshaw Neighborhood Pride Day (213) 381-2862 May 4 8am – Noon
Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center
(310) 462-1439
www.Barbaramorrisonpac.com
Spring Blues Festival May 10 – 12 Call for specific show times
21st Annual Pan African Film Festival
Social Activist icon Angela Davis and Film Director Shola Lynch celebrated the debut of
the historical documentary “Free Angela and All Political Prisoners” at the Pan African
Film Festival. The film along with a Q & A session was featured at the festival’s closing
ceremony.
This year’s 21st annual Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) featured an array of
celebrities, discussion panels and eclectic films. The film festival was held at
the Rave Cinemas Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza 15.
PAFF is America’s largest and most prestigious international film festival fea-
turing films from throughout the African diaspora. This year, a total of 154
films, representing 34 countries — 23 documentaries, 13 short documenta-
ries, 67 narrative features, and 51 narrative shorts were screened. PAFF
awarded prizes for Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary Short, Best
Narrative Short, Best Narrative Feature, and Best First Feature Film, as well
as audience favorite awards at the close of the festival.
Although no one film swept the awards, films from the United States and the
Caribbean proved to be the favorites at the festival this year. Haiti’s “Stones
in the Sun,” directed by Patricia Benoit walked away with the top prize of
Best Feature Narrative.
An estimated 1,500 movie lovers attended the festival’s films and panels
each day. This compares to about 1,000 daily attendees in 2012, according
to PAFF’s Development Coordinator Oduduwa Olatunji. He stated that atten-
dance has been steadily increasing for the past four years.
The panel discussions featuring “Django Unchained” producer Reginald Hud-
lin, actress Meagan Good and Columbia Pictures’ Senior Vice President of
Production Devon Franklin proved to be the most popular this year. There
was standing room only during the closing session featuring Angela Davis
and Jada Pinkett Smith promoting their new documentary, “Free Angela and
All Political Prisoners.”
A poetry slam with poet Iselyfe was also part of this year’s festival. That
event was also sold out, according to Olatunji.
“It was definitely a successful year,” Olatunji said. “People really enjoyed it,
and we’ve definitely gotten a lot of good feedback.”
For more information on PAFF and a list of all the winning films, visit
www.paff.org.
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