LA Phil Kicked Off Centennial Celebration with Open-Streets Festival: Celebrate LA!: LA Phil 100 x CicLAvia

The Los Angeles Philharmonic kicked off its Centennial celebrations yesterday with an epic, history-making open-streets event: Celebrate LA!: LA Phil 100 x CicLAvia presented in partnership with CicLAvia and Community Arts Resources (CARS), and a free concert at the Hollywood Bowl, LA Phil 100 at the Bowl.

LA Phil 100 x CicLAvia closed eight miles of streets to motorized vehicles and opened them to people to walk, run, skate, scoot, bike, and wander, as 1800 musicians, artists, and dancers came together to showcase L.A.'s creative spirit, including performances by members of the LA Phil, YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles), Ozomatli, Rivers Cuomo, Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis, Poncho Sanchez, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Dengue Fever, Jeff Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, Las Cafeteras, TAIKOPROJECT, USC Trojan Marching Band, Leon Mobley and the Djembe West African Drummers and Dancers, and many more.

The route connected the orchestra's two homes, the Hollywood Bowl and Walt Disney Concert Hall while traversing nearly a dozen diverse neighborhoods.

Over 100,000 estimated participants were treated to 55 music and dance performances between eight stages and 50 additional pop-up and mobile performances along the route.

"We couldn't imagine a more fitting way to kick off our centennial year than by celebrating the city that has supported and inspired us for the past 100 years," said Simon Woods, CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. "Celebrate LA! was a truly epic event, and we are so grateful to CicLAvia, CARS, and all of our partners for helping us stage this historic celebration of the diversity and creativity of Los Angeles. From the opening ceremony outside Walt Disney Concert Hall to LA Phil 100 at the Bowl in the evening, the entire event was an extraordinary testament to the power of music to create community."

"The LA Phil is turning a century old, and CicLAvia was honored to be a part of the historic event," said Romel Pascual, Executive Director of CicLAvia. "It was an occasion for individuals and families to celebrate LA at the intersection of old and new, through two iconic institutions that are woven into the fabric that connects the City of Angels. The LA Phil and CicLAvia came together to reimagine the streets of LA by harnessing the transformative power of live music and open streets to build and connect communities."

"Celebrate LA was truly an historic event - a mashup of music festivals, block parties, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and CicLAvia," said Aaron Paley, President of Community Arts Resources (CARS). "The sheer Los Angeles-ness of the day is worth noting - the 'only in LA' form of celebration that we collectively created to honor the LA Phil's century of accomplishments. What other city presents 1800 individual artists, just shy of 80 different participating groups, six festivals, six pop-up performing areas, and two dozen moving performances along an eight-mile route?"

The event launched on Grand Avenue, with an opening ceremony featuring a fanfare by the LA Phil brass section, and remarks from Simon Woods, LA Phil CEO; Jay Rasulo, Chair of the LA Phil Board of Directors; Romel Pascual, Executive Director of CicLAvia; Seleta Reynolds, General Manager, LA Department of Transportation; Los Angeles County Supervisors Hilda L. Solis and Mark Ridley Thomas; State Senator Ben Allen; and Los Angeles City Council Members David Ryu, and Mitch O'Farrell. The LA Phil Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel led over 400 YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) students in a special performance. The event ended with a performance by the Centennial High School Marching Band to officially open the route.

Festival attendees participated in family-friendly and free activities including the creation of a giant LA Phil birthday cake, a bike rodeo (a mini bike obstacle course, designed to build biking skills), yoga classes with live music, a rock wall, face-painting, aerosol stencil lessons, an instrument petting zoo, and more.

The celebration culminated with LA Phil 100 at the Bowl, a free evening concert at the Hollywood Bowl with Gustavo Dudamel leading the LA Phil, with special guests Katy Perry, Herbie Hancock, Kali Uchis, and YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles). In addition to being performed for a packed house, the concert was streamed via Facebook Live by over 88,000 fans.

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