…Connecting Communities ArroyoFest Bulletin # 15 June 12, 2003

Greetings, ArroyoFest is only three days away! We hope you’ve registered, and are as excited as we are about the event. ArroyoFest in the News! Check out the recent coverage on the event: “Take a Freeway Stroll for a New Look at the 110” By Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris and Robert Gottlieb, (Los Angeles Times, June 7, 2003) “ArroyoFest on the freeway will cultivate seeds of a new vision” By Marcus Renner, (Pasadena Star News, June 11, 2003) Look for articles coming out in today’s LA Weekly (Calendar section) and the LA Times on Friday. To hear more about ArroyoFest on the radio, tune in to KPCC 89.3         Airtalk - Friday morning at 9:00 am         Talk of the City - Friday afternoon at 1:00 pm Last chance to volunteer! You can still get involved in helping make ArroyoFest a success. We will be fliering neighborhoods along the freeway tonight, Thursday, June 12, 2003 and tomorrow, Friday, June 13, 2003. We will meet at the at the storefront UEPI office at 6:00 p.m. both evenings to distribute fliers and assign routes. Please come by at 6:00 pm and help us spread the word! Free T-shirt! While enjoying the ArroyoFest festivities please help us preserve the beauty of Sycamore Grove Park and the Arroyo Seco. The City of Pasadena Department of Public Works asks that you please recycle your CRV beverage containers, water bottles, soda cans, aluminum, plastic and glass beverage containers in the Blue Recycling Bins located throughout the park. Make sure you visit the City of Pasadena Department of Public Works Recycling Booth to learn more about their recycling programs. Bring 50 CRV beverage containers to their booth to be recycled and receive a free t-shirt (limited to supply on hand). ArroyoFest Souvenirs –Don’t miss out on the opportunity to purchase an ArroyoFest/Sweat-X T-shirt or a local artist's rendering of the Arroyo in map form. Volunteers in the park will be selling both ArroyoFest mementos, and will also be happily accepting donations to support the event. Funding Still Needed - We're close to meeting all expenses and budget items, although we've been hit with some last minute expenses related to closing down the freeway.  Event organizers have put their credit cards down to make sure expenses are covered for the time being.  We could really use any small donations (or medium sized donations!) even $5-$10 will help. Don’t forget your bus money! If you are planning on taking public transportation back to where you started…bus fares run at $1.35 Come early if you are planning to register on the day of the event. If you or your friends haven’t registered yet, that’s okay. You can still participate, but make sure you show up a little early, especially for the bike ride. Directions and Parking - information is posted on the web.  Please carpool, take the bus, or bike to your chosen starting areas. Shuttle service from parking areas in Pasadena to the Marmion Way walk start begins at 7:15 (every 15 minutes). Shuttle service from Union Station Stop Number 9 at the Transit Plaza to Avenue 26 begins at 7:30 (every 1/2 hour). Web Troubles – if you’ve tried to register recently you know that the company hosting our registration, Do It Sports, is having server problems. We’ve been in communication with them and the problem has been resolved…and then resurfaced, so we are keeping our fingers crossed that it will start working again. Please let people know that they can call us at 323-341-5091 or 323-341-5090 to register (we now accept credit card orders) or they can come early and register the day of the event. ArroyoFest is sponsored by: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, The Gas Company, Avery Dennison, Urban and Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College, Amalgamated Bank, American Union Financial and Oralia Michel Marketing and Public Relations, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, Councilmember Ed Reyes, City of Los Angeles, District 1, Safeco Insurance, Northeast Observer, City of Los Angeles, Department of Recreation and Parks, Southern California Edison, Western Asset Management. ArroyoFest is also supported by generous grants and donations from: Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Environment NOW, Operating Engineers Local 12, REI, Kaiser Permanente, The Metropolitan Water District Community Partners Program, The Ford Foundation, City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, City of Pasadena Department of Water and Power, City of Pasadena Department of Public Works, City of South Pasadena, Community Outreach Partnership Center at Occidental College, Foothill Transit, Professional Printers, On the Dot Designs. See you on the Freeway