At an East Village benefit for Washington Square Park Mutual Aid

Photos by Stacie Joy 

On Sunday, La Plaza Cultural hosted a benefit show and collection drive for the Washington Square Park Mutual Aid group. 

An array of performers and residents came to the community garden at the southwest corner of Ninth Street and Avenue C on a sweltering day to show their support. 

The entertainment included Federico of Pinc Louds and Crackhead Barney & Friends (featuring Matthew Silver).

Here are a few scenes from the afternoon...

WSP Mutual Aid, now in its third year, distributes food and clothing to people in need every Friday evening in Washington Square Park. Learn more about their work here.

About the 'Mutual Aid Plaza' benefit show this Sunday at La Plaza Cultural

La Plaza Cultural plays hosts tomorrow (Sunday) to a Washington Square Park Mutual Aid benefit show and collection drive. 

Here's more about the fundraiser — Mutual Aid Plaza — and WSP's work: 

It's no secret that, like many New Yorkers, we have struggled this year. Sustaining our community space has been a week-to-week challenge. Somehow, we have been able to get it together and pull it off. We're hoping that with your help, we can get ahead of things and also make some much-needed purchases to improve our distro space. 

We really need a new canopy. The one we've been using to keep our distro dry during inclement weather was recently damaged. Actually, two canopies would be ideal to cover the four tables we use to serve our community. We also need a new light! 

During Sunday's show, we will also be receiving any clean, good-condition seasonal clothing, hygiene supplies, bedding, sleeping bags, and tents you can bring to La Plaza! 

WSP Mutual Aid, now in its third year, distributes its products on Friday evenings. 

La Plaza is on the SW corner of Avenue C and Ninth Street. Gates for the benefit open at 4 p.m. (and is scheduled to run until 8 p.m.). There is a suggested $15 donation, though " no one will be turned away for lack of funds!"

About Pumpkin Smash 2023 tomorrow (Sunday!)

Now that Halloween is over... the 2023 Pumpkin (and gourd!) Smash takes place tomorrow (Sunday!) from noon to 3 p.m. at La Plaza Cultural on the SW corner of Ninth Street and Avenue C. 

Via the EVG inbox ... 

This FREE family-friendly event demonstrates how composting is a closed-loop system — transforming our organic waste such as banana peels and apple cores, to a valuable soil amendment — all on a local level. 

Your pumpkins will be turned into finished compost which will then be used to rebuild soil in City parks and public green spaces. 

Come for the smashing, stay for the:

🎃 Worm bin exploration 

👻 Native seed ball making

🍎 Free food and drink

🆓 Giveaways

The NYC Anarchist Bookfair is tomorrow (Saturday) in La Plaza Cultural

The 16th annual Anarchist Bookfair takes place tomorrow (Sept. 10) at La Plaza Cultural on the southwest corner of Ninth Street and Avenue C. 

According to organizers, the concept of this year’s bookfair is Direct Action. (Read more on this here.)

The day here begins at 11:30 a.m. ... and includes events in conjunction with the MoRUS 10th-anniversary celebration.

Tomorrow evening, there's the Emma Goldman Film Festival in Tompkins Square Park... read about the program of short films (expected to screen at 8 p.m.) at this link.

A solar pavilion fundraiser at La Plaza Cultural on Sunday

La Plaza Cultural is hosting a fundraiser on Sunday for its proposed solar pavilion here in the community garden on the SW corner of Ninth Street and Avenue C. 

The festivities include a performance by Claudi and Marc from Pinc Louds... there's also a variety of food, drinks, etc., from 3-9 p.m. There's a $10 donation for entry. 

As for what the fundraiser is about: 

We are raising money to install solar panels to power the garden and take us off-grid. The pavilion will also serve as a four-season classroom offering workshops for the community.

Winter Flowers return this spring at La Plaza Cultural

[Photo Sunday by Dave on 7th]

Winter Flowers, the unique sculptures that adorned the fence at La Plaza Cultural for nearly 20 years, returned to part of the community garden/green space over the weekend.

Last spring-summer, La Plaza received a new fence here on Avenue C at Ninth Street. The previous chain-link fence was sagging in spots and in need of repair.

With that, the handmade sculptures from discarded materials that Rolando Politi started creating in 2000 had to be removed in the fall of 2018. The collection had grown to nearly 250.


[Photo from September 2018]

While GreenThumb community gardens operating on NYC Parks property are currently closed to the public (open to gardeners only for necessary maintenance) you can check out the Winter Flowers along the fence simply walking by... and we've already heard from several residents who said they were happy to see Rolando putting these colorful creations back along Avenue C...

[Updated] A look at La Plaza's new fence

Updated 2 p.m. See below!

La Plaza Cultural, the community garden/green space on the southwest corner of Ninth Street and Avenue C, has been closed to the public since the spring for an installation of a new fence.

As you can see from these photos from the other day, the fence is up and around the garden, though work remains. (OK, there are technically two fences up ...)

Per the most recent La Plaza e-newsletter dated July 12: "Much of it’s in, but the work has not yet been completed. We’re waiting to hear what the hold-up is. Either way, it’s close! And it's a really beautiful, well-crafted fence that should stand a good long time."











No word just yet on an official reopening date for La Plaza, which local residents and activists founded in 1976.

Updated

The construction fence is gone... thanks to Eddie for the pic...



Previously on EV Grieve:
A fall day to remove the Winter Flowers from La Plaza Cultural

A wake for the last willow trees at La Plaza Cultural

At the Weeping Willow Wake

Spring into a new season tonight with the 10th annual Zoroastrian fire jumping event

[Photo from 2017 by Ryan John Lee]

Tonight marks the 10th Annual Zoroastrian Fire Jumping Event ... taking place from 6:30 to 8:30 in the Firemen's Memorial Garden, 358 E. Eighth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D. Updated 1:30 p.m.: The event will now take once place again at La Plaza Cultural on Ninth Street and Avenue C.

Here's a recap via the EVG inbox...

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 Rude Mechanical Orchestra will also be playing.

The event is in a different location this year with the new-fence installation underway at La Plaza Cultural Community Garden on Avenue C and Ninth Street.

I reached out to Simin Farkhondeh, a community activist and professor at the School of Visual Arts, who has choreographed and produced the event since its inception here. I started by asking her if the new location might pose any addition challenges. She also provided more background as well as her fire-jumping experiences growing up in her native Iran...

For me, this event is very spontaneous each year. It comes together because the community loves it. The very first time I did it was 2010 and people came to the garden, helped make the fires and we jumped and had a wonderfully freeing time doing it.

This year will be like every year and the change of space should not impact the experience. We strive to make it a powerful and fun and safe event.

It will be the 10th time I've worked on having this spiritually elevating, spring welcoming event. The way I experienced it in my youth, in Iran, was as a spontaneous event that the community felt necessary to do to welcome and get ready for spring. It was done without permits from any government entity or such. We would go out into the street and community members would gather tumbleweed and build fire's together. Then we would jump over them.

On my street, we had about 15 fires, from the entry of our street, down to the end of it. All the neighbors would come out. It was an energizing, freeing experience and community building, and that spirit is what I've tried to preserve each year.

It is clear that this exhilarating event speaks to people not only who come from the Zoroastrian tradition but also brings together folks from across the spectrum of cultures. What binds us is the connection to the earth and the elements.

As in past years, many people and groups are helping ... The folks from the Fireman's Garden, who have been at our event and cherish it, have generously offered their garden to us. A lot of expats from the various Middle-Eastern communities, including Armenians, Iranians and Afghans, are going to be there as well as the folks from MoRUS and Time's UP, who in the past two years have helped a great deal to make this happen.

As in the past years, the event is organized to be a lot of fun, but also safe for all members of the community, especially children and families. As in every year, I plan to have the customary dried fruit and nuts available for people to enjoy. Since about five years now, there also has been a band present at some point of the evening, so we can dance and be merry after jumping the fires and cleansing our souls from the winter blues and from last year's troubles.

Wednesday, March 20, is the vernal equinox, which marks the beginning of spring and Nowruz or New Year for people of Iran, Afghanistan and other places. We will be making ourselves ready for that.