It’s Time For the Many Winters Gathering of Elders;
Pedro Play Begins Run;
Community Painting Workshop for New LAMI Mural
The 17th Many Winters Gathering of Elders
The Many Winters Gathering of Elders or MWGOE brings its 17th annual gathering, Oct.12 to 15, to Angels Gate Cultural Center or AGCC in San Pedro, on Gabrielino-Tongva territory.
The MWGOE is a gathering where Native/Indigenous Elders and knowledge-keepers from across the country come together to share teachings through oral tradition with the community. The gathering also hosts Native ceremonies throughout the four days. MWGOE is held in partnership with AGCC and is open to the public and family friendly.
The MWGOE plays a vital role in the Native community of greater Los Angeles, with the participation and support of the original peoples of the land. The vision of the gathering is to host a sacred space for people to come together, with the intention to learn, pray, support Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities and to inspire a healthier future for Native people.
Red Earth Gaze, a multidisciplinary exhibition featuring indigenous relatives from local California Nations and the broader urban Native community across Tovaangar (Tongva world or homelands) will be on display at the AGCC Gallery in building A. At the center of this exhibition are contemporary Native voices and visual narratives that merge past and present techniques, alluding to the notion that indigenous people do not live in the past, but the past lives within them. The intention of Red Earth Gaze is to share and celebrate the expansive diversity of Native peoples that continue to thrive and evolve in a sustainable way so that Indigenous cultural expressions can continue into the next generations to come.
During the Many Winters Gathering of Elders, no alcohol, drugs, cameras, pictures, video or other recording equipment are allowed; the MWGOE organizing committee requests that attendees respect and observe ceremonial protocol, including no pets.
Time: Oct.12 to 15
Cost: Free
Details: 562-265-8323; https://mwgoe.org
Venue: Angels Gate Cultural Center, 3601 S Gaffey St., San Pedro
Cornerstone Theater Produces Pedro Play
Pedro Play, a theatrical experience created with and for the San Pedro community. Written by Juliette Carrillo and directed by Cornerstone’s associate artistic director, Bruce Lemon, this production is a love letter to San Pedro that holds up its past as a mirror to the present, so that it can joyfully imagine the direction of its future.
When Jessica is sent to San Pedro on a journalistic assignment, she finds much more than the feature story she expected. A romantic comedy with music, Pedro Play explores the meaning of home in a community in the midst of radical change. The show’s cast features Ruth Livier, Larry Bates, and Cornerstone actor Bahni Turpin alongside San Pedro community members. The cast will be accompanied by a six-piece band playing original music by co-composers David Markowitz and Nehal Shahin.
Pedro Play is a part of the company’s ongoing Change Series. In these volatile times, Cornerstone is undertaking an exploration of how societal change across the country and the globe is impacting local communities and, by extension, the very nature of Cornerstone’s work as a company.
This project began in partnership with the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles or HACLA and One San Pedro, the collaborative of developers responsible for Rancho San Pedro’s redevelopment, after the successful run of A Jordan Downs Illumination in 2019. That show was part theatrical performance and part installation produced at the Jordan Downs Housing complex in Watts. To build on the success of that project, Cornerstone was invited by HACLA to meet the Rancho San Pedro housing community in 2020, undergoing its own redevelopment that will drastically transform it. A few years later, Cornerstone produced a reading of an original play, Soccer Is Love/El Fútbol Es Amor, written by Jeanette Godoy and created with and for residents of Rancho San Pedro in the cast and in the audience. After this experience it was evident that the greater community of San Pedro was an epicenter of change, and longtime Cornerstone ensemble member Juliette Carrillo was commissioned to learn about, research, and write a script with and for the community.
Juliette reflects: “When we first began our conversations about doing a project in San Pedro, Angela Romero — a self-proclaimed San Pedro historian — was one of our partners. Unfortunately, I never got to meet Angela, as she died before I began my San Pedro journey. This story is (very) loosely inspired by her experience of San Pedro, and contains many lines that she spoke at one time or another. One of her mottos was “Keep San Pedro Cozy” and much of the impetus of this play is based on her wisdom.”
Pedro Play
Performances for all tickets are pay-what-you-can reservable through Eventbrite
Time: 8 p.m., Oct. 19, 20 and 2 and 8 p.m., Oct. 21
Cost: Free
Details: https://tinyurl.com/Pedro-play-tickets
Venue: Warner Grand Theatre, 478 W 6th St., San Pedro
Revival Mural Team to Lead LAMI Mural Workshop
The San Pedro Waterfront Arts District has announced a mural award of $13,750 to the Revival Mural team of Alonsa Guevara and James Razko.
The Arts District received more than 28 mural renderings and Alonsa and James’ submission was chosen by members of the Arts District board, LAMI and West Harbor.
The 72 ft X 15 ft mural on the side of the Los Angeles Maritime Institute’s Building G at Berth
73, included the following elements:
History of the shipping industry and its impact on the local economy;
History of the building’s historic use as a purse senor’s (making and repairing nets)
shop and the fishing industry;
Mission and history of the LA Maritime Institute (https://lamitopsail.org/) and the
ships built in the harbor;
Biodiversity of the marine environment and local resident’s stories.
In June 2019, the arts district launched Adventures in Public Art – a six-week mural workshop program, designed, in part, to engage community participation in public art projects The first mural was painted on the back wall of Sirens Java and Tea at 402 W. 7th St. The LAMI mural is the second to be painted in this program. It was funded by contributions from the Port of Los Angeles Community Grant Program, along with a grant from the LA County Creative Recovery Program and private donations.
The community is invited to help paint the mural on the following dates and times. Bring a signed copy of the waiver with you when you come to paint.
Time: 9 to 11a.m. Nov. 4, and Nov. 11
Details: Sign up at: https://tinyurl.com/LAMI-mural-sign-up