Grand Park Announces Fall And Winter Line-Up

The Music Center today announced Grand Park's fall/winter programming line-up featuring the return of its most popular free activities and events along with additional programs that inspire Angelenos to celebrate the diverse fabric of Los Angeles and the county's promising future. The season's highlights include the return of Grand Park's Downtown Día de los Muertos, a week-long event that highlights the customs and traditions surrounding the increasingly international Día de los Muertos/Day of the Dead holiday; the introduction of Grand Park's Winter Glow, a month-long immersive nighttime light show to celebrate the winter holiday season; and the park's annual, highly popular New Year's Eve celebration, Grand Park + The Music Center's N.Y.E.L.A.

"Grand Park has become L.A.'s central gathering place where friends, families and neighbors from across Los Angeles County can find common ground and enjoy free programming amidst the beauty of 12 acres of open space. With events that highlight L.A.'s diverse artists, organizations and cultures, Grand Park has built a following of Angelenos young and old," said Rachel Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. "This fall and winter, the park offers opportunities to discover cultural celebrations, sample tastes from other countries, ring in the New Year as one community and dream about the future," she added.

Julia Diamond, interim director of Grand Park, offered, "Grand Park welcomes back some of Los Angeles' favorite events and introduces new opportunities to explore the magic of the park. From the stunning lights in Grand Park's Winter Glow and the beauty and traditions of the Los Angeles County Tree Lighting, to the discovery of family-friendly activities, Angelenos will have a great time creating memorable experiences," she explained.

The 2018 fall and winter programming line-up includes:

Grand Park & Ryman Arts Present Make Your Mark in the Park
Sunday, October 7, 2018; 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
For the seventh year in a row, Grand Park and Ryman Arts team up to present the flagship event for The Big Draw
LA - Make Your Mark in the Park. This free fun-filled, public drawing celebration brings together families, seniors and art lovers including professional and amateur artists, to participate in an array of hands-on, collaborative drawing activities of every level. Grand Park will be transformed into a giant experimental drawing studio with activities that explore traditional and alternative mark-making where guests can experiment with colored tape to create giant geometric patterns along the sidewalks and collaborate to create and share comics, masks and banners. All art materials are provided free of charge.

Grand Park Presents La Feria de los Moles (Mole Fair)
October 7, 2018; 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Grand Park welcomes La Feria de los Moles, the largest Mexican food festival in the U.S. Angelenos will have the chance to taste the different flavors of Mexico including the varying types of the always popular dish mole. From the sweet, to the mild and the spicy, moles from across Mexico will be prepared and sampled in dishes served throughout Grand Park.

Grand Park's Downtown Día de los Muertos

Grand Park's Noche de Ofrenda
Saturday, October 27, 2018; 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
For the sixth year in a row, Grand Park will partner with Self-Help Graphics & Art to present a traditional Noche de Ofrenda ceremony honoring the dead and featuring prayer led by the local indigenous community. The evening will include performances by traditional dancers representing the Aztecan, Oaxacan and Michoacán traditions, as well as Los Angeles-based poets and musicians. The event, which will unveil a master altar that invites contributions from the entire community, kicks off the official unveiling of Grand Park's Día de los Muertos altars and art installations developed by local artists and community groups.

Grand Park Día de los Muertos Altars
October 28, 2018 - November 4, 2018
Grand Park celebrates the traditions of Día de los Muertos with multiple ways to experience and learn about the holiday. In partnership with Self-Help Graphics & Art and Lore, the park will present 50 altars and art installations created by local artists and community groups that reflect the theme Looking to the Past to Build the Future.

The park will offer free lunchtime tours, which will highlight the artwork and discuss the traditions of the holiday.

Grand Park's Winter Glow
November 26, 2018 - December 25, 2018
Grand Park's Winter Glow is a new month-long, immersive nighttime art experience that will take over Grand Park in celebration of the holidays. As the days shorten and darken, the park will celebrate light as a giver of warmth, a source of beauty and the key component to bringing people together during the fall and winter months. Families will make new holiday memories strolling together through this 12-acre art, projection and light display, exhibit and installation and experience the wonder of Grand Park lit up like never before. Iconic elements of the park, including the Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain, will shine in new and exciting ways. Familiar pathways will lead to exciting new discoveries as the latest in light and projection technology transforms spaces in the park. .

Los Angeles County Tree Lighting
November 26, 2018
The County of Los Angeles, Grand Park and The Music Center celebrate the holidays with the Los Angeles County annual tree lighting ceremony, featuring performances by local music artists and community groups.

Grand Park + The Music Center's N.Y.E.L.A.
December 31, 2018 8:00 p.m. - January 1, 2019; 1:00 a.m.
For the sixth year, Grand Park + The Music Center's N.Y.E.L.A. will be the go-to central gathering place in Los Angeles where Angelenos from all over the county and visitors from across the globe ring in the New Year. This unique civic event, which has been recognized alongside major New Year's Eve celebrations around the world, brings Angelenos and their family and friends together to celebrate the holiday at L.A.'s biggest dance party. Grand Park + The Music Center's N.Y.E.L.A. will focus on music and dancing with two stages. Guests will enjoy 3-D digital video mapping on the side of the iconic City Hall with an integrated light show inspired by the theme My Dream L.A., based on the limitless vision of 5th graders from across L.A. County for a better tomorrow.

Valentine's Day at Grand Park
February 14, 2019
Grand Park makes Valentine's Day easy and affordable for all Angelenos by setting the stage for a special picnic dinner and a moonlit walk through the park amidst the iconic views of Los Angeles City Hall and Grand Park's iconic Arthur J. Will Memorial fountain. Angelenos can bring a picnic dinner and enjoy a romantic evening at tables for two around the fountain and throughout Olive Court. Guests will experience special music curated to enhance the park's beautiful surroundings.

More Grand Park Favorites:

¡LUNCHTIME! Food Trucks
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Lunch trucks on Olive Court (between Grand Avenue and Hill Street) & the Marketplace (between Spring Street and Broadway)
With more than 50,000 lunches sold in the park just last year, Grand Park continues its tradition of lunchtime in the park by providing downtowners and park visitors a wide variety of food trucks three days per week. Trucks are parked in two locations in the park: on Olive Court, between Grand Avenue and Hill Street, and in the Marketplace, between Broadway and Spring Street.

¡LUNCHTIME! Yoga reTREAT
Wednesdays and Fridays, November 1, 2018 - May 30, 2019; 12:15 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Grand Park's popular yoga sessions return, giving participants the opportunity to relax, rejuvenate and re-energize.

For more information about free fall and winter programming at Grand Park, visit grandparkla.org. Follow Grand Park on Facebook (GrandParkLosAngeles), as well as Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (@GrandPark_LA).

About Grand Park
A vibrant outdoor gathering place, Grand Park is a beautiful public park for the entire community in Los Angeles County. With expansive green space for gatherings large and small, Grand Park celebrates the county's cultural vitality and is host to community events, cultural experiences, holiday celebrations, and many other activities that engage and attract visitors from all communities. The 12-acre Grand Park stretches from The Music Center on the west to City Hall on the east and is easily accessible by Metro via the Red/Purple line to the Civic Center/Grand Park station. The park was named one of American Planning Association's 10 "Great Public Spaces" in the U.S. for 2013. Working closely with the county, The Music Center is responsible for all operations and programming for the park. For more information, visit grandparkla.org. Follow Grand Park on Facebook (GrandParkLosAngeles), as well as Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (@GrandPark_LA).

About The Music Center
The Music Center is Los Angeles' home to the world's greatest artistic programs and events. With four iconic theaters and four renowned resident companies - Center Theatre Group, the LA Master Chorale, the LA Opera and the LA Philharmonic - The Music Center is recognized for its illustrious dance programming, Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, and is a destination where audiences find inspiration in the very best of live performance, as well as nationally recognized arts education and participatory arts experiences. With The Music Center On Location, the non-profit performing arts organization brings events and activities to locations outside of its Downtown Los Angeles campus. The Music Center also programs and manages Grand Park, a 12-acre adjacent greenspace, with year-round free programming. For more information, visit musiccenter.org Follow The Music Center on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (@MusicCenterLA).

Photo courtesy of Grand Park/The Music Center

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