History of La Plaza Cultural now on display

A new exhibit just debuted titled "La Lucha Continua The Struggle Continues: 1985 & 2017."

Here's more about it:

In 1985, Eva Cockcroft, founder of Artmakers Inc., gathered together 34 “artists of conviction” to create 26 political murals on four vacant buildings overlooking the then neglected La Plaza Cultural Community Garden. Known as La Lucha Continua The Struggle Continues, the murals addressed six political issues: gentrification, police brutality, immigration, feminism, and opposition of U.S. intervention in Central America and apartheid in South Africa. Today, the garden is thriving, the issues remain of grave concern, and only two of the murals still exist, the paint cracked and faded.

The exhibit, which debuted last Saturday, is up through June 30 at the Loisaida Center, 710 E. Ninth St. just east of Avenue C. The exhibit is open Thursday through Saturday from noon to 6 p.m.

Fired up at La Plaza Cultural

Here's a scene from last night's fire jumping (the Persian/Zoroastrian fire-jumping holiday) at La Plaza Cultural on Ninth Street at Avenue C... thanks to Ryan John Lee for the photo (see more of his work here ... and here).

1 way to keep warm and get some exercise tonight

Fire jumping!

Some details...

8th Annual Chaharshanbe Sori (AKA the Persian/Zoroastrian fire-jumping holiday)
Tuesday, March 14, 6:30-8:30 PM
La Plaza Cultural, southwest corner Ninth Street and Avenue C

What we will do: We will light small fires at sunset, then jump through the fire. It is customary to sing the phrase, "zardi-ye man az toh, sorkhi-ye toh az man" as you jump. Literal translation: my yellow is yours, your red is mine. This is a purification rite. Loosely translated, it means you want the fire to take your pallor, sickness, problems and winter blues and in turn give you health, warmth, and energy.

Organizers say that the event is still happening despite the sleet/whatever that is falling from the sky. The Rude Mechanical Orchestra will also be playing. Find more details at the Facebook Event page here. (And maybe check there closer to the time where you'd venture to La Plaza.)

Watch the presidential debate tonight in the great outdoors at La Plaza Cultural

La Plaza Cultural will be showing the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tonight at 9 on a big screen.

The community garden is on the southwest corner of Avenue C and Ninth Street.

No charge. And the entertainment will be provided.

Celebrating 40 years of La Plaza Cultural

[Photo of La Plaza from March]

La Plaza Cultural, the community garden on the southwest corner of Avenue C and Ninth Street, is celebrating 40 years tomorrow night with performances by Lydia Lunch, James Chance and the Missing Foundation, among many others.

Here's more information about the event:

Join us for a party for the 40th anniversary of one of NYC’s most forward-thinking venues, a storied legacy of the 1970’s downtown art scene: La Plaza Cultural, a green, multi-use, civic, performance space, spread over a third of a city block on east 9th street at avenue C. The evening will celebrate downtown NYC's legacy of visionary, outsider music and art, social activism, community, and sustainable design.

La Plaza was the brainchild of guerrilla activists, including the Latino group CHARAS, who seedbombed the trash-filled vacant lot in 1976. La Plaza's founders and early supporters included era-defining artists such as Buckminster Fuller, who built one of his geodesic domes onsite, the anti-architect Gordon Matta-Clark and legendary street artist Keith Haring. Its 40th anniversary party will feature performances by legendary artists of the period and emerging artists alike.

Live Music:

Lydia Lunch
James Chance
Missing Foundation
SenseNet
Collin Crowe

DJ set:
Sal P (of Liquid Liquid)
Etienne Pierre Duguay

Performance:
"Birth" by FOLD

You can find more about the evening at the Facebook event page here. The event is from 5-9:30 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday).

Here's more on La Plaza's history and how community gardeners came together to rebuild after Sandy...

Watch the primary results tonight at La Plaza Cultural

La Plaza Cultural is on the southwest corner of Avenue C and Ninth Street... the live viewing action kicks off at 7 p.m.

Spotted: A one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater (made of yarn) on East 9th Street

The latest yarn creation courtesy of @madebylondon arrived today outside La Plaza Cultural on East Ninth Street at Avenue C ...

Previously on EV Grieve:
An evolution in yarn at La Plaza Cultural

An enchanted yarn garden on St. Mark's Place

Things to do tonight that involve fire jumping

The 7th Annual Zoroastrian Fire Jumping Event is tonight at La Plaza Cultural on the southwest corner of Avenue C and Ninth Street.

Here are details via Facebook:

Jumping over fire is a symbolic gesture to start a fresh new year. This tradition is celebrated for ringing in the Persian New Year and has been celebrated since at least 1700 BCE of the early Zoroastrian era. There will be music, dancing and snacks; wear your best fire proof pants.

The event starts at 7 p.m. The rain date is Wednesday (tomorrow!) evening.

An evolution in yarn at La Plaza Cultural

[Photo by Bill LoSasso]

This yarnbomb collaboration between @madebylondon and Frank Ape on East Ninth Street at Avenue C arrived outside La Plaza Cultural on Thursday...


[Photo by William Klayer]

...replacing the dinosaur that had been here. In terms of evolution, we're progressing — dinosaur to ape to...

Jimmy's holiday party is today at La Plaza Cultural

And if you're around today without any plans ... Jimmy's annual holiday party is today from noon to ??? at La Plaza Cultural, on the southwest corner of Avenue C and Ninth Street...



Per the Facebook invite: "There will be food and music and it is potluck. Bring firewood for the bonfire and grill if you can. Bring your musical instruments. It is rain or shine."

And not to be a jerk, but these elves working the mail room at La Plaza totally lost my packages ...

Some Halloween-related things to do tomorrow (Saturday!)

There is the 25th annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade from noon to 3 p.m. …

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The Ruff Club at 34 Avenue A is hosting an after Halloween Parade party from 2-5 p.m. …

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The El Sol Brillante Community Garden Party Benefit is noon to the moon here at 530 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B…

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The El Sol Brilliante Jr. Community Garden tag sale is noon-4 p.m. at 537 E. 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B…

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La Plaza Cultural on the southwest corner of Avenue C and Ninth Street is hosting some pumpkin carving from noon-4 p.m. … (While it's free, there are a limited number of pumpkins, per the planners.)

City removes Sandy-damaged willow from 9th Street Community Garden Park

An EVG reader let us know that a city crew is taking down a willow tree in the 9th Street Community Garden Park … Sandy's floodwaters killed the tree here on the northeast corner of Avenue C and Ninth …



As we understand it, the remaining willows at La Plaza Cultural across the way on the southwest corner of Ninth and C survived due to an underground stream beneath it that provides fresh water (and also makes development in that part of the neighborhood difficult). While those willows lost some branches, they remain healthy.

And EVG reader stickmanpk shared these photos…

Free production of 'The Taming of the Shrew' in La Plaza Cultural this weekend

Via the EVG inbox...

William Shakespeare
"The Taming of the Shrew"
July 18 and 19 at 6 pm
La Plaza Cultural, Avenue C at East Ninth Street

Tale Told Productions, a nonprofit theater company based in NYC, now in its 4th season, will be presenting "The Taming of the Shrew" as part of our 7-Day Shakespeare Series! With only seven days of rehearsal Tale Told Productions strives to present performances that are visceral and authentic, capturing the actor at their most raw and honest self while maintaining the truth and core of the plot.

Admission is FREE. For more information please visit the Tale Told website.

Jurassic Park at La Plaza

[Photo via Bill LoSasso]

A new addition at La Plaza Cultural on Avenue C and East Ninth Street... the yarn dino the work of #LondonKaye...

A mural continues to grow on Avenue C

[Photo Wednesday by Peter from 8th Street]

On Wednesday, artist Zio Ziegler began work on a mural on the north-facing wall of the recently unveiled 137 Avenue C at East Ninth Street …

Here's how the mural was looking last evening in this photo via EVG Facebook friend Karen Platt…



The mural kinda looks like the plot of a Ridley Scott film. Actually though the building owner commissioned the wall to a nonprofit, the Solutions Project, to paint on in conjunction with the launch of their clean energy NYC campaign.

On Thursday, the Solutions Project held a kick-off event next door in La Plaza Cultural Community Garden where Mark Ruffalo, co-founder of the campaign, and Leonardo DiCaprio spoke while launching a national campaign that aims to "make clean energy more accessible and affordable for 100 percent of the people." (Read the news release about the campaign here.)

Several community leaders and activists were also in attendance.

Mark Ruffalo & Leonardo DiCaprio in the Lower East Side--100% clean energy campaign #100isNow http://t.co/wTrtrzXS4H pic.twitter.com/z59YHqwiZh

— GoLES (@GOLESNYC) June 18, 2015

Holiday celebration today at La Plaza

On the southwest corner of Avenue C and East Ninth Street… aka the North Pole

Avenue C's North Pole

A few photos via Bobby Williams showing La Plaza Cultural's transformation into the North Pole (NoPo?) on the southwest corner of East Ninth Street and Avenue C ...



This is all ahead of a holiday party on Saturday from 4-6 p.m. featuring cocoa, Santa, a toy drive, etc.



And while you're over here, check out the Ninth Street Community Garden across the Avenue ... which is equally decked out for the holidays...

Rejected headlines:
Today the North Pole, tomorrow Midtown South

Halloween at La Plaza Cultural: Shed of Horrors, Tombstone Making, etc.

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

La Plaza Cultural on Avenue C and East Ninth Street has been transformed into … Halloweenland (not the official title)… here are the activities this week, starting today...

Sunday noon - 4 pm: Pumpkin Carving, Tombstone Making, Face Painting
Thursday 5 pm - 7 pm: Spooky Storytime & Pumpkin Lighting
Friday 4 pm - 9 pm: East Village Insane Asylum with Haunted Garden, Magician, Fortune Telling, Shed of Horrors, Bat Cave & Treats! (Rain date Saturday, 11/1, 5 pm - 7 pm)

See you in the Bat Cave!

New building renderings we'd like to see

Also, La Plaza Cultural is having a handful of Halloween-related activities for kids next week here at East Ninth Street and Avenue C... details to follow...

La Plaza Cultural photos by Bobby Williams

At MoRUS and LaPlaza, an installation about blocking public access in public spaces

Via the EVG inbox...

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) will present “Shadows: Wall Disease” by Ryan Legassicke Saturday and Sunday at La Plaza Cultural Community Garden on the southwest corner of Avenue C and East Ninth Street. A public opening reception will be held in the garden tomorrow from 4-7 p.m.

After this weekend, the installation will move a block away to MoRUS at 155 Avenue C and will be available for public viewing from Oct. 16-26. A second reception will be held in the museum on Thursday from 6-10 p.m. Both MoRUS and La Plaza were abandoned spaces later reclaimed by the community.

The exhibit consists of five sculptures — life-sized embodiments of sections of walls used to block public access in public spaces. The walls, from different places and times, come together to embody the idea of how barriers can be used in public space to restrict access and movement.