Super Fun Frogtown Art Walk& Happy Hour Foodie Crawl along the Historic LA River

Cross-posted

Don’t have plans for tomorrow, Saturday? Come join us for a super fun Art Walk Festival & Happy Hour Foodie Crawl I planned along the scenic Historic LA River. The weather is perfect for a walk! 75-80*.

🛑P-L-E-A-S-E BE CERTAIN TO READ THE TIME SCHEDULE & DETAILS V-E-R-Y CAREFULLY. YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS WHERE TO JUMP-IN BEFORE OUR DINING RESERVATION AT 5:30 PM.
I HAVE COLLABORATED THE INITIAL PART ONLY OF THE RIVER WALK WITH MY FRIEND CHRIS WHO IS HOSTING FOR LA HIKING GROUP. HE HAS OVER 100 RSVPS FOR THE ART WALK (CO-ED GROUP), BUT HE IS N-O-T DOING A FOODIE CRAWL. HIS GROUP WILL ALL SPLIT UP ON THEIR OWN AFTER THE BRIDGE CROSSING.

WE ARE EXTREMELY FORTUNATE TO HAVE DINING RESERVATIONS. ALL VENUES WILL BE AT FULL CAPACITY. IT’S GOING TO BE CRAZY BUSY!

FREE PARKING AT RIO DE LOS ANGELES STATE PARK
Rio de Los Angeles State Park Recreation Area
1900 N San Fernando Rd, Los Angeles, CA.
Open 10am-9pm. GATES CLOSE AT 9PM.

Enter the main park gates and stay to your FAR LEFT as you follow the road to the SOCCER FIELD. Park and join Chris’s Hiking Group in front of the bathrooms at 3:30 PM. Or you can join from the other side of the pedestrian river at JUSTINE’S at 4:00 PM or LINGUA FRANCA at 5:30 PM.

NOTE: If you stay past 9 PM they won't tow your car, but you will have to come back the next day to retrieve it. If you are going to stay till the very end (10pm), then park your car outside the park on San Fernando Rd. or a side street to play it safe.

From there we can walk across the orange bridge (Taylor Yard Bridge) to Frogtown Art Festival, which starts from 4 - 10 pm.

DINING RESERVATIONS
The Frogtown Art Walk is the most visited event of the ENTIRE year in the River Community of Elysian Valley. The ONLY reason why I was able to get a dining reservation at LINGUA FRANCA is by going there IN PERSON to negotiate a reservation with management.

My power of negotiation landed us a reservation on their busiest night of the year!! Woohoo!! 🎉
Your Meetup contribution helps support the cost to share events and lets me know to reserve space for you. All my events are very carefully curated to enhance your Meetup Experience.

I pre-scouted the entire RIVER WALK dining options (spent 4 hours there in person with Chris and tried different places) in order to select a FAB FOODIE CRAWL YOU WILL LOVE!! 🥂🍽️😋

NOTE: My first choice would have been lovely LORETO for upscale dining with a gorgeous patio garden but they are closed for a private event buyout. I will plan Loreto for a future dining event!

RESERVE YOUR DINING SPOT
$5 RSVP PayPal, Venmo or Zelle (NOT if waitlisted). NOTE: Fee is NOT refundable or transferable. If you need to cancel immediately update to “not going.”

Payment contact provided at time of RSVP made immediately due to short notice post or spot will be released so someone else can join the fun.

AT TIME OF PAYMENT INDICATE: Lingua Franca

NOTIFICATIONS-ON ARE REQUIRED
It is YOUR responsibility to know if you were moved-up from the waitlist.

FROGTOWN ART WALK
https://youtu.be/s6mbZewEoro?si=qSdWRuTEcA8KBuJi

FOGTOWN PARADE STARTS AT 6:30 PM

Run by Frogtown Arts, formerly the Elysian Valley Arts Collective, the Frogtown Artwalk is a biennial free tour of the studios of the artists and artisans of Elysian Valley (Frogtown). Every two years, Frogtown welcomes art lovers of all ages to enjoy pop-up galleries, artists' studios, musical performances and art installations along the Los Angeles River.

The Frogtown Artwalk was created in 2006 by a small group of local business owners/artists as a way to introduce neighbors to the local artists and craftspeople operating in their midst, and to introduce the artists to each other. The artwalk organizers reached out to everyone in the area, inviting participation at every level. The first event included 10 venues exhibiting art by 19 artists, and welcomed approximately 300 visitors to the area. Traditional artists opened up their studios, craftsmen gave tours of their work, equipment and processes, and local musicians, dancers, and drummers created impromptu performances.

Over the years, the event grew in scope and size, extending from Fletcher Dr in the north down to the orange "Taylor Yard Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge" to the south. Visitors numbered in the thousands, all gathering to see art and performances tucked into studios, offices, parks and restaurants throughout Frogtown.

URBAN RIVER WALK SCHEDULE OPTIONS:
3:30 PM Meet up early at Park (see details below) with LA HIKING GROUP. Chris will lead us across the long Bridge to the pedestrian side (see park & bridge photos as a reference).

⚠️This is about an EXTRA easy mile walk until my group meets at our first Happy Hour stop at 4:00 PM. The HUGE advantage is that you will immediately find FREE parking at the park. Many streets on the other side of the river will be closed off due to the ART WALK. It will be tough to find parking on the pedestrian side off Riverside Drive and may require parking several blocks away.

WE WILL EXPLORE THE ART EXHIBITS & VENDORS ALONG THE LA RIVER.

FROGTOWN VENUE LIST
https://www.frogtownarts.com/copy-of-2024-frogtown-artwalk

4:00 - 5:25 PM JUSTINE’S WINE BAR
2029 Blake Ave, Ste 102, Los Angeles, CA 90039

I just love this quaint wine bar. I’ve been here twice. Be certain to see the photo gallery. They have a lovely outdoor small patio which is nicely shaded.

JUSTINE’S is a neighborhood wine bar pouring natural wines and serving seasonal food in a lively setting. They pour a curated selection of natural wines alongside a menu of seasonal dishes and offer HAPPY HOUR from 4 to 6PM. Designed for lingering dinners, easy conversation, and celebratory nights out. Inside, the room glows with candlelight and a relaxed, romantic energy, while the patio offers an easy California backdrop for late-night glasses and shared plates.

Justine Hernandez (a young successful entrepreneur in her 30’s) also owns the adjacent vegan bakery JUST WHAT I KNEADED. Hernandez spent her early career as a bartender at the iconic El Chavo and Chavito from 2011 until it closed in 2015. After El Chavo closed, Hernandez started taking classes at the New School of Cooking. She launched a GoFundMe in 2018 to raise funds for Just What I Kneaded and found resounding support from her former customers and the LA community, raising $40,000. She opened Just What I Kneaded steps away from the LA River in July 2020. A great success story of a young single ambitious woman.

Hernandez sources her wines from organic and natural wines vendors. She offers several vegan wines. There are white wines from France and Spain; orange selections; and reds from Santa Barbara, Austria, and France. There are also four beers on tap, plus a handful of wine cocktails. Chef Simone Schlanger developed a plant-based menu with light fare including nuts, olives, Impossible Meat-filled Moroccan cigars (my personal fave), fries with Old Bay Seasoning, personal pizzas, a seasonal salad and more! On Sundays they have delicious lasagna and Jazz Sundays.

5:30 PM DINING RESERVATIONS AT LINGUA FRANCA ON THE LA RIVER. HAPPY HOUR ENDS AT 6:00 PM.
2990 Allesandro St, Los Angeles, CA 90039

MENUS & PRICING CHANGE WITH THE SEASON AND MARKET COSTS

Happy Hour
https://www.linguafrancaco.com/happy-hour
Dinner
https://www.linguafrancaco.com/dinner

OWNERS LAUREN & PETER LEMOS met working in a restaurant. In 2014 they married and opened up their beloved sandwich shop WAX PAPER (https://www.waxpaperco.com/), which just celebrated their 10 Year Anniversary. After seven long years of red tape permitting an almost 100 year old building, a pandemic, and a prayer, they finally opened LINGUA FRANCA in February of 2023. Their mission has always been to cook & serve good food for good people. Together, they have worked a collective 30+ years in restaurants.

CHEF PETER LEMOS hails from the high desert of California. He was given a cookbook by his aunt Betti at the age of five and immediately fell in love with cooking. He is a graduate of California School of Culinary Arts, and has cooked in many kitchens up & down the Coast of California, including DOMAINE CHANDON, CRAFT, SPQR, BAZAAR, AND L&E OYSTER BAR. He was a runner up on FOOD NETWORK’S CHOPPED. Peter’s style of cooking is simple and effective. HIS MANTRA IS DON’T OVERTHINK IT, AND COOK WITH LOVE.

THOSE INTERESTED AFTER DINNER
We can explore a few more stops along the way. If you’re up to an extra half mile walk to FROGTOWN BREWERY we can enjoy a craft beer. They have a great patio with a live music stage.
2931 Gilroy St.
Los Angeles 90039

Frogtown Brewery is an independent craft brewery in Los Angeles known for its community-focused space, river-adjacent beer garden, and creative small-batch beers.
https://www.frogtownbrewery.com/

THE HISTORIC LA RIVER
The Los Angeles River is a 51-mile waterway stretching from Canoga Park to Long Beach, having transformed from a free-flowing natural resource into an engineered concrete channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szjeXFx-uRE

Indigenous and Spanish Eras
Tongva Lifeway: For centuries, the indigenous Tongva people relied on the river as their primary water and food source, establishing dozens of villages along its banks.

Spanish Naming: Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolá arrived in 1769 and named the waterway El Río de Nuestra Señora La Reina de Los Ángeles de Porciúncula.

The Foundation of L.A.: The water from the river sustained the original pueblo of Los Angeles after its founding in 1781.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Bring a small pocket flashlight 🔦 with you because after sunset, there are stretches of pedestrian and bike path that are totally in the dark.

PUBLIC BATHROOMS
There are large & clean restrooms here:
Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park (formerly Marsh Park).
2944 Gleneden St, Los Angeles, CA 90039,
https://mrca.ca.gov/parks/park-listing/marsh-park