GRAND PARK'S EASY MORNINGSLaunches for Weekend Well-Being - Broadway World

The free series will offer wellness-focused programming with home-based activities that promote social, cultural and environmental connectivity

Grand Park announces Grand Park's Easy Mornings, a new weekly digital experience that will offer a calm start to the weekend with relaxing and family-friendly activities focused on deepening relationships with self, community and green space. The free, one-hour program will stream on Grand Park's digital channels on Saturday mornings from 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. on September 12, September 19, September 26 and October 3, 2020. Programmed to accentuate the physical space of the "park for everyone" and the metaphysical healing of personal well-being especially during these unpredictable times, each episode of Grand Park's Easy Mornings aims to create a sense of social cohesion through performances, arts-based practice activities, park tours and community partnerships. Evoking the serenity of a casual stroll through the park, Grand Park's Easy Mornings intends to show viewers ways of how they can enjoy outdoor spaces in their own neighborhood park. The program was filmed on location in Grand Park, following all L.A. County health protocols applicable to film production.

Each episode of Grand Park's Easy Mornings will feature four main elements: morning meditations with Grand Park yoga instructor Courtney Seiberling; coloring workshops with GURL Museum Day® and nature photography tips from Las Fotos Project; food truck demos with participating food trucks from Grand Park's Lunch à la Park program; and performances or conversations with different artists and community members, ranging from landscape professionals to musicians, focusing on their relationships with Grand Park.

"We know the arts can be an important healing force to counter the difficulties of today's unpredictable climate," said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO, The Music Center. "Grand Park's Easy Mornings addresses the challenges of isolation and anxiety by helping us center ourselves through relaxing and engaging activities and the beauty and peace one can experience through arts and culture."

"The best backdrop possible for Grand Park's programming has always been the urban oasis of this beautiful civic space. For now, instead of park-goers coming to the park, the park is going to them, highlighting both the green spaces and community-driven values in a program designed to captivate and inspire," said Julia Diamond, director, Grand Park. "We hope our online guests will find Grand Park's Easy Mornings a way to not only enjoy the many things Grand Park has come to represent-well-being, the arts, food, fun and connectivity-but also learn how to bring the park's values and benefits into their own neighborhood. Although we are connecting virtually with this program, we will one day bring back the program elements featured in Grand Park's Easy Mornings so park lovers can once again experience them in person when it's safe to do so."

Grand Park Presents Easy Mornings*

Wellness

Grand Park's beloved resident Yoga Instructor Courtney Seiberling will open each Easy Mornings hour with either morning breathing techniques or morning stretch exercises to gently prepare folks at home for their weekend ahead.

Arts-based Activity

Diane Lindquist, Founder of GURL Museum Day®, will guide viewers through a 15-minute "Color Healing Sesh." Each week, the park will make a new downloadable coloring sheet available (at grandparkla.org) highlighting some of Grand Park's popular landmarks including the welcome pillar, Little Libraries, playground and dog park. Using their own colored pencils at home, fans of all ages can take advantage of the calming aspects of coloring as a tool to melt away stress, anxiety or negative thoughts. Participants are invited to tag @gurlmuseumday and @grandpark_LA and share their results on social media.

As members of Las Fotos Project, student Karina and her mentor Gabby will demonstrate how to look closely at Grand Park's famous features through a photographer's lens, sharing weekly tips and tricks for creating one-of-a-kind images.

Performance

Multidisciplinary artist, educator and organizer José Richard Aviles will captivate audiences with two performance pieces using movement and poetry while highlighting Grand Park's green spaces as assets to community: "Callejera" is a multimedia art piece using spoken word, dance and film to explore identity and queerness through the artist's life and experiences as a queer bus rider in Los Angeles; "Semilla," a collection of poems that follow the metaphor of the harvest, surveys the relationship between personal trauma and the trauma of parents. Through performances and discussions, Aviles will engage audiences each week to consider the intersectionality of public spaces, identity and marginalized communities through an urban planning and healing lens.

Food Demos

Grand Park's Lunch à la Park is a beloved program that encourages park-goers to take a break and grab lunch while enjoying the sunshine. Given the impacts of COVID-19, Lunch à la Park was temporarily halted, but has resumed with safety measures following local public health guidelines. Each week, Grand Park's Easy Mornings will showcase interviews and food demos with Grand Park's food truck family, including Birria de Res specialists Cerda Vega, authentic Mediterranean by The Habibi Shack, classic Cajun cuisine with Smhokin Pot and Korean-inspired dishes from Belly Bombz.

Conversations

Fatima Dodson, owner of Runway Boutique, discusses the importance of cultural programming in public spaces. Dodson organizes Head Wraps in the Park, an annual festival in Grand Park that provides a safe space for women to celebrate wearing head wraps.

Known as a member of the trio Fleece Jones, musician Kiazi Halpern is also embarking on a solo project called Fleece Kawasaki. The artist, with an affinity for performing in public spaces, will discuss the importance of using civic areas as his stage and perform acoustic songs from his new EP, Desert Flower.

Focusing on the power of community and resilience, musician/curator Slim Jeff (Jefferson Kahlid) will explain the relationship and impact of public parks, accessible cultural programming and music from an artist-driven point-of-view.

Grand Park acknowledges and recognizes the valuable contribution of landscape workers who beautify the park's landscape for all to enjoy. Workers from BrightView will tour the outdoor space and describe their work in sustaining the green areas of Grand Park.

With his experiences as an actor, writer, radio show host and artistic director of Watts Village, Bruce Lemon will examine the intersections among storytelling, public spaces and depictions of life for BIPOC in Los Angeles.

*Artists and performances are subject to change. For updated information, visit grandparkla.org.