RSVP for the Great Los Angeles Walk Here!

Of course, anyone can show up on the day of the Walk and participate. But here's one way to show you're going... plus invite all your friends! Head to our Facebook Events page now:

The Great Los Angeles 2013 Facebook Events Page

The 8th Annual Great Los Angeles Walk Is Ready For Its Closeup: Sunset Boulevard!

It all started in 2006 as a way to celebrate my tenth year in Los Angeles. Inspired by the book "Wilshire Boulevard: Grand Concourse of Los Angeles," by Kevin Roderick (with research by J. Eric Lynxwiler), I decided to walk the street’s entire length. About 40 of you joined me.

In 2007, for an encore, I chose another downtown-to-the-ocean route: Pico Boulevard. The 2008 Walk took on Santa Monica Blvd. (via Sunset). In 2009, the event kicked off in the historic West Adams district and walked to Venice Beach via Adams and Washington. In 2010, for its fifth edition, the Great Los Angeles Walk reprised its original Wilshire journey. In 2011, Walk participants marched to the ocean via Hollywood Boulevard. And last year, we once again headed from downtown to the ocean, but this time via Melrose.



For our EIGHTH edition of the Great Los Angeles Walk, Mr. DeMille, we're ready for our close-up. That's right: We're finally tackling Sunset Boulevard.



Our 2008 walk actually began on Sunset (specifically, where Cesar Chavez turns into Sunset downtown), but veered onto Santa Monica Blvd. -- which means, believe it or not, we haven't yet marched down Sunset through Hollywood, and we haven't yet tackled the famed Sunset Strip. This year, we will!



But here's the rub: Sunset Boulevard is 22 miles long -- a bit too long for our Great Los Angeles Walk, which usually lasts between 16-18 miles. Plus, west of Beverly Hills, Sunset twists and turns and becomes a bit too dangerous. So we won't be walking the entire length -- but we'll be walking the most interesting parts. And we'll still be walking to the ocean -- but via a more pedestrian-friendly street. The full route (and afterparty location!) will be announced later.



Since we've already walked the far east side of Sunset, we're also switching things up a bit with the starting point. For the first time, the Great Los Angeles Walk won't be starting in the heart of downtown. Instead, we'll be meeting on SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23 at 9 a.m. at ECHO PARK LAKE.


(Photo via KCRW.)

That's right, the scenic and newly rehabilitated Echo Park Lake seems like the perfect place to meet up before we start our day.

Stay tuned for much more information on this year's walk via our new Facebook page, our Twitter account or the Great LA Walk website.

Save the Date: The GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK 2013 Is Saturday, November 23

As always, the GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK takes place the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Save the date -- as you know, it's always a great way to kick off the holiday season... and feel less guilty as you gorge on the following week's Thanksgiving feast!

Details, including this year's route, to come!

VIDEO/PICS: This Year's Best Takes on the Great Los Angeles Walk

Thanks to MsGeek703, who took part in the first half of this year's Great Los Angeles Walk on November 17. She shot this video of her experience.

ICYMI, you can read our recap of the seventh annual Great Los Angeles Walk here. But here are a few more recaps of our wet, wonderful day hiking 17 miles from downtown to the ocean, via Melrose:

I couldn't have explained the walk better than Mikki Brisk does in this wonderful post. A first-time GLAW-er, she writes:



A day like that is hard to explain. I guess it takes a bit of crazy to even agree to such a walk. Not everyone understands it or accepts it (“What do you mean it’s not for charity?”). Some people were deterred by the rain. Some people caught a bus to the endpoint. Some people caught rides. Some just hit their max and went home.

That’s all okay. But for me, I needed to do this for no other reason than to prove to myself that I could. There’s no reward in completing a trek like this. There’s no fanfare or to-do. One doesn’t get any special letters after her name for walking the entire 17 miles.

But there is a sense of accomplishment. There is the joy of camaraderie. There is the beauty of the city.

And yes, there is pride. As I sat at the bar at the end of the day and looked around, I was proud of everyone there (including myself). I was so pleased to have spent the day with women I adore. I was glad to have met a cool chick who was willing to maintain a crazy pace for the second half of the route. I was, in short, happy.

Blogger Nick Campbell wrote the other amazing post I read about this year's Walk; check it out here. Having recently moved into a downtown loft, Nick was excited to be so conveniently situated to this year's starting point, the Walt Disney Concert Hall. He also had Scoops ice cream on the brain. An excerpt:



We met up with the rest of the people on the steps of the Hall just after nine to see more people than I remember ever seeing. The requisite human interest reporter was there (not surprising given the event exists in the dearth of non-turkey-related activities the week before Thanksgiving and that the person who started the event, Michael Schneider, is, himself, press) and I saw a lot of the same people I’d seen the past two years: mostly active seniors, some middle-aged Angelenos involved in the community, and a few young people who are both. But this year there were a lot more of everyone. It was surprising and nice. This is an event I really love and get excited about every year. That being said, I’d already picked out some of the people that wouldn’t make it. Sorry, ma’am. Your dog is not going to want to walk 17 miles.

City Council candidate Elson Trinidad (who's running for the CD13 seat) walked part of the route amd wrote this recap. An excerpt:



People were fascinated to see even the most mundane things like holes in the windows in a DWP storage building along 1st Street, visually stunning murals like Eliso Art Silva’s Filipino American history mural, the “Twilight Zone” mural on Beverly and a Cache/Eye One “bicycling chickens” mural across the street from it. The walk also exposed the bad and the ugly, such as the blighted trash heaps and urine-stenched pavement under the 101 Freeway above Melrose, a reminder that there’s much work to do in the community.

Still, my 5.3-mile trek from Downtown to Hollywood enabled me to socialize, enjoy the city, see some things I’ve never seen before (such as the Jack London house off of Van Ness), see things I wish we didn’t have to see, and get to the places I needed to go that day.

Many Angelenos unfortunately have a hindrance to walking, which is purely psychological and socially-reinforced. But once freed from those shackles, walking lends to a wonderful world of discovery and exercise (it’s great for the blood pressure). Other hindrances, like uneven pavement and inconveniently narrow sidewalks (Melrose between Normandie and Serrano, I’m looking at you), are things the City needs to address.

But “Nobody Walks In L.A.” is already an outdated diatribe. Some of our streets and neighborhoods are getting more pedestrian-friendly, either through design or demand. A walkable Los Angeles is a must for our City’s future.

Great LA Walk-er Ron took some beautiful black-and-white photos of this year's Walk, check 'em out here.

Check out Great LA Walk-er Jonathan's pics here.

Check out all the Great Los Angeles Walk photos uploaded to Flickr here.

THE GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK 2012 RECAP: Braving the Rain From Downtown, Through Melrose and To The Ocean

The starting point: Walt Disney Concert Hall

Rain? What rain?

OK, so it was a bit wet this year. But nonetheless, at least 200 passionate Angelenos woke up early and braved an early-morning drizzle to take part in the seventh annual Great Los Angeles Walk.

The best part? Most of the Walk-ers braved a downpour or two and made it to the very end, 17 miles later! (Although the length is in dispute -- Google Maps claims we walked 16.92 miles, but several pedometers clocked in at closer to 19 or even 20.) More than half of this year's participants were brand new to the Great Los Angeles Walk -- which makes it even more impressive that so many of them weren't turned off by the rain! (Of course, we were expecting closer to 400 or more participants had it not been so gloomy on Saturday morning.) Folks came in from San Diego and elsewhere to pound the pavement, and this year see Melrose Avenue up close and personal.

Maybe it was the rain, or perhaps it was the shorter route than last year, but Great Los Angeles Walk veterans told me they felt much less winded this year. "Overall this Great LA Walk was less exhausting than prior ones," one regular, Raul, wrote on Twitter. Another Walk-er, Rhema, noted that she completed the Walk even with a bum knee, and mentioned how great other Walk-ers were: "Great day, Great walk, Great people! You guys are a good bunch. When my knee was giving out everyone stopped to make sure I was OK and asked if I needed something. GLAW participants are a very cool bunch!!"

Along the way, this year's Walk centered on Melrose, where Walk-ers walked by Paramount Studios and Raleigh Studios; unofficial L.A. Democratic party homebase Lucy's El Adobe cafe; the epicenter of L.A. bike culture at Heliotrope; the famous Melrose shopping district, home also to the Groundlings, the Golden Apple, the Improv and others; the tremendous (and colorful) Pacific Design Center buildings; the original Tommy's shack; the Ukranian Cultural Center (formerly Jensen's Melrose Theatre); legendary Brooklyn's Bagels; and so much more.

This year's Walk kicked off with a bit of a history lesson behind the Walt Disney Concert Hall, as shared by volunteer Bob Scales, who also worked on the building's construction. Then our pal (and L.A. expert) Chris Nichols, who's behind the popular Los Angeles magazine column and blog Ask Chris, gave a pep talk to the Walk-ers. (Thanks to both Bob and Chris -- and my embarrassed apologies to Big Parade LA's Bob Inman, who I had every intention of introducing as well, but then in my frazzled state, completely forgot.)


The crowd outside Valerie Confections.

At 9:15, we embarked on our journey -- leaving the Disney Hall and turning west on 1st, which quickly turned into Beverly. At Beverly near Virgil we were welcomed by Valerie Confections (3360 W. 1st), which had free, rich hot chocolate (with homemade whipped cream!) waiting for us, as well as homemade gourmet pastries. Truly yum. Valerie Confections will be selling pastries on Saturday mornings, and I know we'll be back to enjoy items like lemon tea cake with pomegranate frosting, creme fraiche scone and apple/pear pie with caramel. Did I say yum?


Tai Kim serves up ice cream goodness at Scoops.

From there, we walked up Virgil to Melrose, and immediately headed West to start the portion of the hike down this year's featured street. But soon we were at Heliotrope, where Scoops Ice Cream (712 N. Heliotrope) maestro Tai Kim was busy working overtime selling ice cream to the Great Los Angeles Walk masses. Normally Tai opens the store at noon on a Saturday, but he was gracious enough to open it at 10:30 for Walk-ers. PLUS, among Saturday's flavors were two breakfast-themed ones created especially for the Great LA Walk: Maple Cap'n Crunch and Cornflakes. Both were delicious. And with lines out the door, I'm sure this was the first Scoops experience for many of our Great LA Walk participants -- and I'm pretty sure it won't be their last.


The crowd outside ink.sack.

We then continued down Melrose, from East Hollywood into Hollywood, and then West Hollywood. Near La Cienega, our pals at ink.sack (8360 Melrose) had prepared special lunch packs for Walk-ers: A gourmet turkey sandwich, a banana, granola and water, all for just $8. The regular ink.sack menu was, of course, available too.

Swift walkers got to the end as early as 2 p.m., but the biggest crowd hit the ocean at around 5 p.m. for a group shot. As always, there were Walk-ers who did the event right, stopping at The Village Idiot on Melrose for Bloody Marys, etc. For the after party, Santa Monica's Wokcano gave us a large space to sit down and enjoy happy hour drinks, while Smashing Young Lad & Co. set up a digital photo booth for all of us to take photos as souvenirs. (You should have received your pics via email by today.)



The rain may have kept some people away, but it meant that the Walk-ers who decided to brave the event were still gung-ho and happy to be there. If anything, surviving 17 miles in the drizzle gave all of us an even bigger badge of honor. Even my 7-year-old, the Blogger Kid, walked about half of it. (Next year he wants to do it all. We'll see.)

Read most of the Tweets from the day -- at least the ones with the #glaw hashtag -- here!

Post your Great Los Angeles Walk photos to our Flickr stream here.

Still want a t-shirt as a souvenir? They're available here: http://greatlawalk.spreadshirt.com/.

We'll post a link soon (or else, even post them here) from the after party's photo booth.

Some pics from the day:


Chris Nichols talks to the crowd.


The crowd listens.


I talk to the crowd before we embark. (Pic by Anthony Uy)


And we're off!


Passing by downtown.


Shakespeare? Cat? Shakespeare Cat?


'Tis the season: "The Nutcracker" now on stage at the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre.


Some take the bridge, some do not.


The people of Los Angeles, in mural form.


Something I had never noticed before: The United Firefighters of Los Angeles is based in a building that looks like it's literally on fire.


Filipino history mural in Historic Filipinotown.


The original Tommy's!


You think the $2 bath deal is still in effect at the Hotel Lafayette?


I shall name this chicken "Holly."


Ukranian Culture Center. Opened as a silent movie theater in the 1920s.


The Octagon "Church on Melrose"


Maple Cap'n Crunch and Cornflake, among the flavors at Scoops!


As Michael Jackson looks on, a crowd anxiously awaits the 11 a.m. open of their friendly local medical marijuana dispensary.


OK, what's going on here?


The woman in the billboard is clearly shocked at seeing so many people walk down her street.


Will likes what he sees.


Brief detour to check out the house that Jack London allegedly slept in.


Paramount.


Anthony and Spidey.


Insomniac.


Monsters on Melrose.


Kids, just stay away from Peter Pan. Stay. Away.


Dance class.


Thank You, Andy Warhol.


The Record Collector for 39 years on Melrose. (Photo by Anthony Uy)


Where The Wild Things Are: Cake Edition.


Widely considered the ugliest building in all of Los Angeles. Located at La Cienega and Melrose.


Downpour.


Vacancy at the Royal Santa Monica!


Whoa. What are they about to cut off that horrible-looking dog?


We made it to the ocean at around 5 p.m. -- where we met with several other finishers! Some got there earlier, and some later. (Photo by Anthony Uy)

Thanks to Chris Nichols; Bob Scales; Bob Inman; Tai Kim from Scoops; Joy, Will and the guys from ink.sack; George at Wokcano; Joshua from Smashing Young Lad & Co.; kim from Spin PR for finding us Wokcano; and Stan from Valerie Confections for participating in this year's event! And most importantly, thank you to the 200-plus die-hard Los Angeles fans who took part in the walk!

Save the date for next year -- Saturday, November 23, 2013. If you're looking to do more urban hikes before then, make sure you check out the regular epic walks that Big Parade LA puts together. Not only is it good exercise, but their walks are filled with history, culture, music and a lot of fun.

Here are some links to other recaps of this year's Great Los Angeles Walk. Send us your links!

The Great Los Angeles Walk 2012 Flickr Pool

The Great Los Angeles Walk 2012 Route (PDF)

Save some paper and download this PDF for the Great Los Angeles Walk 2012 Route to your smartphone. With clickable links!

KCAL Promotes The Great Los Angeles Walk!

Thanks to KCAL for having me on during the 2 p.m. newscast today to chat about the Great LA Walk. It's kinda weird to be on TV hyping my own project, rather than talking about other people's TV shows. (I think I got a bit flustered at times and gave weird answers, but oh well!)

Hope to see you all on Saturday -- go to GreatLAWalk.com for more info!